Mercy Triumphs - James 2:12-13

James 2:12-13             Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

            Most Facebook users enjoy sharing their thoughts, photos, and ideas with their friends and families. From time to time, however, after posting a picture or writing a statement, other folks weigh in with negative opinions or add their own uninvited two cents worth of criticism. The original post ends up being forgotten and a whole thread of comments, dialogue, and arguments hijacks the entire conversation. This usually disheartens the original poster who sometimes ends up having to delete the initial post in order to curtail the conversational conflict and divisive dialogue. It seems that judging or criticizing others is a full-time occupation for some folks on Facebook and it can be very easy to be drawn into a spiral of embittered words and strong opinions by them.

            As Christians, we sometimes find it hard to avoid these conflicts, especially when politics and religion get thrown into the mix. Pastors are not shielded from this either; instead of being peacemakers, we can end up becoming shakers and breakers in an online debate.

            When the Apostle James was writing his letter to the young Christian churches in the First century, they didn’t have Facebook, but most of the Roman, Greek, and Jewish people loved to argue and criticize others who did not live up to their standards. James reminded the new followers of Christ that their salvation depended on God’s mercy, so rather than judge other people for their mistakes, opinions, or choices, Christians were expected to show forgiveness and mercy.

            This week, we will probably encounter folks who may antagonize us in person, public, or on Facebook. The temptation to get even is great, but the expectation to be gracious should be greater. No person will ever be won for Christ by arguing, but some folks will be drawn to Christ by the gifts of mercy and grace from His followers.

Question for reflection

How do I display Christ’s grace and mercy to other folks?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, grant us the gifts of Your grace and mercy in our lives, so we may honor You by passing on those blessings to the people we will meet, work, and be with this week. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to ask questions or make comments about today’s message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is an old Holy Week drawing of John’s depicting mercy. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on this link: Mercy.

Free Devotions - Intervention - James 5:20

James 5:20     Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

“Don’t be judgmental!” “Only God can judge!” “You Christians are always judging others.”

If I had a dollar for every time that I’ve heard or read that somewhere, then I’d be a rich person today. People want to live their own lives and make their own choices, but when a pastor, a church member, or a faithful Christian points out the foolishness or danger of such decisions, they’re often met with those kinds of aggressive answers.

Now people can say what they want against Christians, but Christians do have a responsibility of helping and encouraging people to change their lives, especially when their life style choices are self-destructive, sinful and selfish. The world may criticize Christians for being judgmental, but in many cases Christians are actually displaying discernment and trying to help sinners turn from the error of their ways. It may not be popular, but sometimes Christian intervention stops a person from further injury, addiction, or isolation.

I know that for me it took Christ’s intervention and real supportive Christian people to enable me to overcome my alcohol addiction. They knew that I was an alcoholic, even although I would not admit it to myself. But rather than say or do nothing, my Christian friends held me accountable for my foolish decisions and eventually enabled me to win my battle against drinking alcohol. I may have thought that they were judgmental at first, but when I overcame my addiction I realized how much their tough love, confrontational care, and true discernment of my self-inflicted situation had challenged and changed me.

Christians should not be afraid of being called ‘judgmental’ when dealing with self-destructive sinners or sinful behavior. Sometimes God places us in-between those people – family & friends especially – and the negative consequences of their selfish choices. Intervention is not easy to do or maintain, but if it is successful (as in my case) then it does indeed save the sinner from death and covers over a multitude of sins.

Perhaps there’s someone in your life who’s near and dear to you but their lifestyle decisions are drastically affecting their relationships, work, and future. Evil triumphs and addictions destroy when good people say and do nothing. Don’t be afraid to speak out and ask the Holy Spirit to grant you the right time, place, and words to say what needs to be said. In years to come, that very same person you are confronting may truly thank you for turning his or her life around.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we let the world diminish our gifts of discernment because we don’t like to be thought of as being judgmental. You however dealt with people straight-forwardly and candidly when it came to confronting sin. Help us to help those who need to be challenged in order to change. Grant us the presence of Your Holy Spirit in our lives to lovingly and compassionately intervene. In Your Holy Name, we steadfastly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is currently the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask questions of today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is of a poster that I designed with regard to overcoming alcoholism. It’s entitled “Alcoholic Aurora” and depicts empty drinking glasses against the back ground of the rising sun. The message reads: “ALCOHOLIC AURORA – when the Sun rises and your spirit doesn’t.”

You can view a larger version of the poster here: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1292/1071957099_1c477987be_o.jpg

Daily Devotions: Seasoned with Salt

I gave up salting my food years ago. I felt like all I tasted was salt and no matter what type of food I ate, it was too heavily layered in salt for me to get to the heart of the taste. It was hard to do without salt at first because everything tasted different, but I persevered and eventually, after about three weeks, food started to taste wonderful. I discovered that most foods have their own salt in them anyway. Adding more sodium chloride to my plate was doing nothing for the food: all it was doing was clogging up my arteries and increasing my blood pressure. I hardly take salt with anything now, and feel better because of it. Who knows how high my blood pressure would be right now if I continued to salt my food?

Podcast version here

Bible Verse of the Day

Colossians 4:6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

In Paul’s time, salt was important for food because it not only seasoned it, it also preserved it. Roman soldiers were paid with a monthly allowance of salt, which is where the word ‘salary’ originates. In Paul’s time, salt was both an important and essential commodity, which is why he urges Christians to season their conversation with the salt of grace. Even in his time, too many Christians were unyielding and judgmental. For the Gospel message of Christ to be received by pagans and heathens, Paul encouraged Christians not to forget the healing and inspirational message of grace.

There’s an old story told about two pastors in London, England, who were holding revival campaigns at the same time. One of the campaigns was always crowded; the other only managed an average attendance. A reporter went to both meetings, listened to the preachers, and thought that they expressed the same Gospel message of repentance, judgment, and salvation. He wondered why both preachers didn’t have the same large gatherings, so he asked a couple of people what the difference was. They replied: “Both evangelists preach the same Gospel message and talk about judgment, but the more successful preacher seasons his words with grace.”

As Christians, we can sometimes be hyper-critical of other people and are too quick to pronounce judgment, hellfire, and damnation upon other sinners. Our message becomes a tirade of self-righteousness and our hearers just turn off listening. However, if we confront sin and apply words of grace to the sinner, it will be more effective because they will be more receptive to what we have to say.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, there are times when we let You down with our insensitivity and poor judgments. We’re too quick to condemn other people and we make too many rash judgments about their lives. Forgive us for being so unforgiving, and graceless with our opinions. Help us to clarify what Your Gospel is all about to others, and enable us to express it with grace, patience, and love. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.