Set Free by the Empty Tomb

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” – John 8:36

Last week as we celebrated Easter, I remembered a story I once heard about a first grade teacher who gave her class an assignment that involved plastic eggs. She passed out an egg to each of her students and told them, “Easter is about life. So, I want you each to take your egg home and put something inside it that is a sign of life.” The next day the kids returned with all sorts of things in their plastic eggs: leaves, blades of grass, an ant and even a butterfly. But when one little boy opened up his egg, it was empty. The other kids laughed. The teacher asked him, gently, why he didn’t do his assignment. He answered, “I DID do my assignment. My egg is empty because on Easter Jesus’ tomb was empty. Isn’t that a sign of life?”

It certainly is. And today I’d like to take a look at one of the first people to discover the empty tomb: Mary Magdalene. That empty tomb transformed her life. And it can transform yours as well.

 

All four gospels mention women going to the tomb at sunrise on resurrection Sunday to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. Matthew, Mark and Luke mention several women in the group, but each time, Mary Magdalene is at the top of the list. And John doesn’t even mention the other women. He focuses entirely on Mary Magdalene. What was so special about Mary Magdalene? That’s just the thing: As best as we can tell, she wasn’t very special at all. In fact, before she met Jesus a year or two earlier, she was pretty messed up.

Now, over the centuries many Christians have assumed that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute with loose morals. But nothing in Scripture supports that. When Mary Magdalene is introduced in Luke 8, we read that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (verse 2). So, most people who knew Mary Magdalene wouldn’t have said, “She’s a floozy!” They would have said, “This lady has lost her mind! Those demons are making her as nutty as a fruitcake.” But one day Mary Magdalene met Jesus. He drove out the seven demons and set her free. And she was never the same again.

From that point forward she stuck with Jesus wherever he went—regardless of whether he was popular or unpopular, regardless of whether the crowd was shouting “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday or “Crucify him!” on Good Friday. Mary Magdalene was one of the few remaining followers of Jesus who was faithful and courageous enough to stand at the foot of his cross. She was the first to arrive at Jesus’ tomb on Easter morning. And she was the first to see Jesus after he rose from the grave.

This woman had likely been tormented by demons for years, but she was set free from her demons by the power and authority of Jesus Christ. And she was forever grateful to him. She had been forgiven much, so she loved much.

This transformed woman became even more transformed when she experienced the empty tomb and saw her risen Savior face-to-face. She ran back to the disciples and exclaimed, “I have seen the Lord.” They probably thought she had lost her mind again. But she hadn’t.

This oppressed woman had been transformed by Jesus Christ. And she was more in her right mind than ever before. Once again, Jesus Christ had set her free.

Honestly, many of us need to be set free in much the same way as Mary Magdalene. Some of us are held captive by our past. We look back on who we used to be and we’re the first to admit, “I was nuts! I was out of my mind. I wasn’t rowing with both oars in the water.”  And what’s worse, we know our family and friends had a front row seat to our nuttiness. They saw it all! They heard it all! And sometimes we feel like crawling into a hole. We know that we’ve deeply hurt the people who mean the most to us. We’ve burned so many bridges. And even though we’ve made big changes in our lives, we can’t repair the damage we’ve done. We’re still haunted by the demons of our past.

Well, I have good news for you. Just as surely as Jesus drove Mary’s demons out of her, he can drive the demons of our past out of you and me—if we’ll let him. There were likely times when Mary Magdalene thought about the woman she used to be, and she felt like crawling into a hole. But Jesus Christ had set her free. So, she boldly stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified. And she boldly led the ladies to Jesus’ tomb on Resurrection Sunday. And after seeing Jesus with her own two eyes she proclaimed to the rest of Jesus’ followers, “I have seen the risen Lord!”

So, if you feel like a prisoner of your past, Jesus holds the key to your prison cell. He alone can set you free. As Jesus himself says in John 8:36, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” So, journey to the empty tomb today. Come to Jesus and take hold of his forgiveness. Take hold of his healing. And take hold of his peace. Because the tomb is empty, because Jesus is alive … you CAN be set free from the demons of your past. You CAN be set free from  your guilt and shame. Jesus Christ can set you free. And if the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our online worship service tomorrow at

10 a.m. at Live.GreaterImpact.cc or on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.

I Am Not a Fan of Jesus

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

- Matthew 21:9

Over the past several months, my wife Christine and I have really enjoyed watching L.A. Lakers games. Christine has been a big Lakers fan since she was a kid, and she got me hooked early in our marriage. Now, this year the Lakers have been having a fantastic season. They acquired LeBron James two years ago and added Anthony Davis to their starting lineup last summer. Together LeBron and A.D. have led their team to first place in the Western Conference. The Lakers are having one of their best seasons in 20 years.

But I have a confession to make: I didn’t watch nearly as many Lakers games last season or the season before that. And it wasn’t because I was busier than I’ve been this year. It’s because over the past few seasons, the Lakers stunk. Yes, I am a fair-weather Lakers fan. When they’re playing well, I jump on the bandwagon and cheer them on. But when they’re stinking it up, I pretend I don’t know them. To diehard Lakers fans, that makes me a bit of an embarrassment. I’m not a loyal fan through good times and bad. But when all is said and done, I can live with being a fair-weather fan. Because, after all, it’s just basketball. But when it comes to the most important thing in life—following Jesus Christ—I never want to be a fair-weather fan. And I hope you don’t either.

On the first Palm Sunday, almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus was greeted by thousands of fair-weather fans as he entered Jerusalem riding a donkey colt. The enthusiastic crowd lined the streets of Jerusalem, placing cloaks and palm branches on the ground in front of Jesus. And according to Matthew 21:9 they shouted: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Now, there is a whole lot of meaning packed into this one word: “Hosanna.” Hosanna means “Save us now.” Or to say it a different way, “God save us!” Some of the people in the crowd that day were probably in terrible health and wanted Jesus to heal them as he’d healed so many others. Some were probably out of work and in debt up to their eyeballs, and they wanted Jesus to get them back on their feet. And certainly many Jews in the crowd were sick and tired of Israel being under Roman occupation. They longed for the coming king of the Jews to be a military leader who would mobilize a Jewish army to drive Rome out of Israel once and for all.

There were likely many reasons why people shouted “Hosanna!” on that first Palm Sunday. But I think it’s safe to say that most of those reasons were selfish. People were excited to see Jesus enter Jerusalem because, on that day, he was wildly popular. They were getting to lay their eyes on a celebrity. And they were hopeful that Jesus would do something for them. Well, five days later Jesus would do something for every one of them. But it wouldn’t be the thing that they most wanted. Instead, it would be the thing that they most needed. You see, Jesus didn’t ride his little donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to heal diseases or provide a financial bailout or kick out the Romans. Jesus rode his little donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday because he had his eyes fixed on the cross. He had come that day to save the world from sin and death.

Sadly, the fair-weather fans of Jesus would end up saying, “Thanks, but no thanks! If you’re not going to give me what I want, I’ll just pick up my palm branch and go home.” By the time Friday rolled around, Jesus was arrested, flogged, had a crown of thorns shoved on his head, and was nailed to a cross. It was just five days after Palm Sunday, but the cheering crowds were nowhere in sight … just a few dedicated women and one apostle a short distance from the cross.

I wonder—had I been there in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, would I have been one of the few loyal followers of Jesus there at Calvary? Or would I have kept my distance and kept my mouth shut, along with all of Jesus’ other fair-weather fans? How about you? Are you a fair-weather fan of Jesus?

To be honest, there are times when it’s easy to cheer for Jesus and stick by his side. But at other times, it’s really, really hard. It’s hard to cheer for Jesus when He doesn’t seem to answer your prayers and your life seems to be falling apart. It’s hard to cheer for him when your health is failing, when you lose your job, or when your bills are piling up. It’s easy to cheer for Jesus and take selfies with him on Palm Sunday … but it’s not so easy to do the same the rest of the week. Jesus isn’t looking for fans who wave the palm branches on Sunday but take a hike on Monday. Jesus is seeking truly loyal followers who trust him and love him and obey his commands every day.

So, here we are, in the midst of one of the most challenging times in the life of our nation. During this Covid pandemic, it’s not easy for some of us to trust Jesus. Will you trust him anyway? It’s not easy for some of us to love Jesus during this time. Will you love Him anyway? And it’s not easy for some of us to obey His commands during this crazy season. Will you obey His commands anyway? If your answer to each of these questions is “Yes,” I can guarantee you that you won’t regret it. I hope you , can join me today in saying: “When it comes to Jesus, I am not a fan! I choose to be a loyal follower. And nothing that goes on in this world around me will change that.”

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our online worship service Sunday at 10 a.m. at Live.GreaterImpact.cc or on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.

A Wretch Like Me?

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.

 I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” – John Newton

Without a doubt the most popular Christian song of the past 200 years has been “Amazing Grace.” It’s been featured on 11,000 different albums, and it’s sung an estimated 10 million times every year. I love the story behind the writing of this great hymn. “Amazing Grace” was written by John Newton, who as a young man did one of the most disgraceful things a human being could do. He was a slave ship captain who kidnapped dozens, possibly even hundreds, of Africans and forced them into the slave trade in England. But several years after becoming a Christian, he quit the slave trade as God convicted him that slavery was a wretched sin.

At the age of 46, as Newton reflected back on his life with a sense of guilt and shame for what he had done, he wrote these words: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” Hundreds of millions of people have found strength and comfort in these powerful words. Countless Christians would say, “I LOVE this song!” But honestly, there is one word in this song that most Christians these days don’t like very much. It’s right there in the opening lines: the word “wretch.” 

Millions of Christians sing these words, but deep down inside they insist, “I am NOT a wretch!” After all, the word “wretch” means “a despicable person” –a scoundrel, a villain, a reprobate, a delinquent, a creep, a jerk, a good-for-nothing, a snake in the grass, a lowlife, a scumbag. Honestly, most of us don’t think of ourselves as despicable, do we? We don’t think of ourselves as scoundrels, creeps, lowlifes or scumbags.

But in Luke 7, the Bible shows us a woman whose perspective was much different from ours. If you had asked her, she would have told you: “I’m a wretch.”  And she would have been right. The incident took place when Jesus was dining at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. An unnamed woman who had lived a sinful life came in, walked up to Jesus and begin anointing his feet. “As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them” (v. 38).

Simon said to himself, “If this man [Jesus] were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner” (v. 39). And remarkably, this woman would have completely agreed that she was all those things: a scoundrel, a lowlife, a scumbag… a wretch. But clearly--Jesus accepted her anyway. Simon the Pharisee had straight A’s in identifying other people’s sin. But when it came to identifying his own sin, he flunked every class. Warren Wiersbe says it this way: “Simon’s real problem was blindness…. It was easy for him to say, ‘She is a sinner!’ but impossible for him to say, ‘I am also a sinner!’”

Until we open our eyes and see that we are deeply flawed and admit that we desperately need God’s grace and healing, we will never receive it. You see, God’s mercy and forgiveness are offered only to those who come to Him humbly, in desperation and ask Him for it. “God, please have mercy on me, a sinner.” “Lord, I know I don’t deserve it, but please forgive me anyway.” God loves pouring out His amazing grace on those who pray those kinds of prayers.

God despises self-righteousness. He hates it when sinners say, “I’m so much better than THAT guy! I’m so much more moral that THAT girl! I’m so much more deserving of heaven than THOSE low lifes!” Bottom line: If you insist on buying into the lie that you are right with God because you are a “good person,” you’re never going to be right with God.

The truth is: I am a wretch, and so are you. The world tries to convince us that we are basically good, but the Bible says the exact opposite. We are all in the same boat with John Newton and the woman at Jesus’ feet. We are all scoundrels, reprobates, delinquents, snakes in the grass. More than we’d like to admit, we are in the same boat as those we would call lowlifes and scumbags, because we say and do the exact same things as them. If you keep comparing yourself to people you know who have lied more than you or gotten drunk more than you or cheated on their taxes more than you or kicked their dogs more than you, then you are going to be in for a rude awakening when you stand before God on Judgment Day.

Whether your sins are few or many, you are no more or less deserving of heaven than the next guy. None of us deserves heaven. Regardless of how many sins are on your ledger, your only chance of making it to heaven is by God’s amazing grace. And here are the “A,B,C’s” of receiving God’s grace: A = Admit that you are a sinner who desperately needs God’s grace. B = Believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins. C = Choose to follow Jesus Christ and obey his commands.

John Newton and the woman at Jesus’ feet understood something that far too many of us have missed. They understood that it’s not the person who has the fewest sins who will make it to heaven but the person who humbly brings whatever sins he/she has to the feet of Jesus.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our online Palm Sunday worship service tomorrow at 10 a.m. on our website, www.GreaterImpact.cc, on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.

I Will Praise You in This Storm

“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 
- 2 Chronicles 20:15

Last week I heard the story of Johnny, a 5-year-old boy who was in the kitchen with his mom while she was making dinner. Johnny’s mom asked him to go into the walk-in pantry and get her a can of tomato soup—but he was afraid to go into the pantry alone. He protested, “Mommy, it’s dark in there, and I’m scared.” She waited a minute or so and asked him again, but he still said he was too scared. Finally she said, “It’s okay—Jesus will be in there with you.” So, Johnny walked hesitantly to the pantry door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw that it was dark, and started to abort his mission. But then he had an idea. He faced the darkness of the inner pantry and called, “Jesus, if you’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?”

We all have times when we’re scared. I was scared when my wife was rushed in to the OR for an emergency c-section with our first daughter. I was scared when I saw my second daughter at the age of 2 fall head-first out of a shopping cart at the grocery store. I was scared a year ago when I passed out in an ICU patient’s room. And honestly, I’d be lying if I said that I don’t find this whole coronavirus pandemic to be a bit scary.

King Jehoshaphat of Judah experienced fear, too. At the beginning of 2 Chronicles 20, he got the news that three nations—Moab, Ammon and Edom—had formed a vast army to make war on his kingdom. Moab and Ammon were located to the east of Judah, and Edom was located to the south. These enemies joined together somewhere south of the Dead Sea and began moving north toward Jerusalem. As the three armies made their way to within 50 miles of Jehoshaphat’s doorstep, there’s no doubt about it: Jehoshaphat was worried, and he was scared. So, what did he do?

Jehoshaphat rallied his people to call out to the Lord in prayer. He asked the nation to fast and pray, and that’s exactly what the people of Judah did. As he led his people in prayer, Jehoshaphat acknowledged that God rules over heaven and earth. He reminded God of the promise He had made to his great, great grandfather King Solomon after the temple was dedicated: If God’s people would humbly turn to God and cry out to Him for deliverance, God would hear them and save them (vs. 6-12). And we’re told in verse 13 that it wasn’t just the men’s Bible study group, or the women’s prayer group, who stood humbly praying before the LORD. It was everyone--men, women, children and even little toddler—all crying out to God.

In response, God calmed Jehoshaphat’s fears by sharing with him the same four words that He repeats time and time again to His worried followers: “Do not be afraid.” It’s the most repeated command in the Bible. “Do not be afraid” appears more than 100 times in the pages of Scripture. When God commissioned Joshua to lead the Israelites, he said, “Do not be afraid.” When the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, he told her, “Do not be afraid.” When Jesus appeared to the women on Resurrection Sunday, guess what he told them? “Do not be afraid.” Over and over and over again in Scripture, God tells His followers, “Fear not! Do not be afraid.” And that’s what God told Jehoshaphat.

The next morning, his army marched out to the battlefield. Jehoshaphat gave his people a rousing pep talk: “Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld” (v. 20). Then he did something very strange. According to verse 21, Jehoshaphat put a praise team at the head of his army. And this praise team had one task: “to sing to the LORD and to praise him for splendor of His holiness.”

As Jehoshaphat’s army marched toward the battlefield, the hillsides were filled with the sound of voices singing, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His love endures forever.” And as men of God leading the army of God praised God, the Spirit of God was catapulted by their praise onto the battlefield, turning Judah’s enemies against each other. On that battlefield, the LORD won the victory without Jehoshaphat’s army having to lift a single sword. Praise has the ability to defy the odds and win victories in Jesus’ name!

2 Chronicles 20 reminds us that when we as God’s people humble ourselves before the LORD and pray … as we lift our voices in grateful praise to Him … there is power in our praise. It’s our job to trust God, love God, and obey His word. And part of that obedience involves praising Him. So, regardless of how crazy the circumstances around us are …we praise God. Because He is always good. He is always strong. He is always faithful. And He ALWAYS comes through.

Like Jehoshaphat, when a vast enemy—or a highly contagious virus—is bearing down on us, we tend to get nervous. And we tend to get frightened. But when that fear grips us, we need to do what Jehoshaphat did: We need to take our worries and fears to God. The battle belongs to the LORD.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. During this COVID-19 outbreak, please join us for our online worship service Sundays at 10 a.m. Simply go to www.GreaterImpact.cc to view the service on our homepage.

A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way

“If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little one because

he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” 

- Matthew 10:42

Last Monday—after waiting in line for over an hour for toilet paper at Target—I found myself longing to return to the big box store later that day. Why? Am I a glutton for punishment? No. I wanted to return to the hullaballoo because of the amazing thing God had taught me while I was there.

Shortly before 7 a.m., I arrived at the Apple Valley Super Target, and I took my place in line outside the store. There were about 50 people lined up in front of me. I said to myself, “Under the circumstances, this line isn’t that bad.” But after entering the store, grabbing a shopping cart, and making my way to the toilet paper aisle, I learned that there was a second line forming inside the store. Of the 50 people who had been ahead of me in line outside, around 40 of them had already formed a line for toilet paper inside.

And wouldn’t you know it! The line was at a standstill. There wasn’t a single package of toilet paper on the shelves, but the Target team members assured us that toilet paper would be trickling in as it arrived. So, we waited. And waited. And waited.

Surprisingly, the one-hour wait was quite entertaining. The two young ladies in front of me in line were wearing double-barreled gas masks and giggling as they held up their cell phones to take selfies and make video calls to their boyfriends. And after a few minutes in line, I turned around and began talking with the middle-aged man standing behind me as well as the two chatty ladies in line behind him. It quickly became clear that these two ladies were strong Christians who attended church regularly and trusted in Jesus Christ to see them through these troubled times.

After about ten minutes in the standstill line, I thought to myself, “I might as well get some other shopping done.” So, I asked my three new friends in line if they’d mind holding my place for me while I grabbed some eggs. They quickly agreed, so I offered to grab some eggs for them as well. After a few minutes I returned to my cart---still no movement in the line. So, I left the line a second time to grab a few more items. Over the next 40 minutes I left the line an additional three or four times.

Finally, I reached the front of the toilet paper line, and there was just one package left. I felt bad taking the last package, because I knew that the man behind me in line had been, like me, waiting for an hour. And I knew that he had an appointment to get to, and he wouldn’t have time to wait the 20-30 minutes for the next shipment to arrive.

So, without giving it much thought, I tore open my newly-acquired package of toilet paper and gave him a couple rolls. You wouldn’t believe the sounds of shock that came from the crowd behind me. It was as if I had just handed him two gold bars. The man offered to pay me for the entire package, but I said, “Don’t worry about it!” as I made my way to the checkout line.

After waiting in the checkout line for a minute or two, a Target manager asked me to step into a closed checkout line, and she began to ring me up. She said, “I saw what you did. Thank you for taking care of one of our guests.” I stood there in disbelief as she gave me free plastic bags for my groceries, plus a 10% discount on my entire order.

As I pushed my cart out the door, tears welled up in my eyes. The Lord had revealed to me this simple truth: During this coronavirus pandemic—as millions of our fellow Americans are running around in fear like chickens with their heads cut off—simple acts of kindness will carry a much greater impact than usual. As followers of Jesus Christ head to Target, WalMart, Costco, Stater Bros., and WinCo and carry out simple acts of kindness and love in Jesus’ name, people’s hearts will be touched in a way that they wouldn’t normally be touched.

Never forget, followers of Christ, that God never wastes anything. On so many different levels, this coronavirus pandemic is a stress-producing nightmare. But we serve a God who specializes in bringing life and goodness out of the ashes. We serve a God who works “all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

So, in the days to come—as you venture out from your home and cross the paths of perfect strangers at the store, at work, or at your favorite drive-thru—please be kind. Be compassionate. Be patient. And allow every word that you speak and every action you carry out to communicate this peace-giving message: “It’s going to be okay. If we trust in God, He will see us through.” 

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. During this COVID-19 outbreak, please join us for our online worship service Sundays at 10 a.m. Simply go to www.GreaterImpact.cc to view the service on our homepage.

Me and My Big Mouth!

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

- Proverbs 18:21

I can only remember one time in my life when I was slapped by a girl. I was a senior in high school, and there was a certain sophomore girl who was looking for a boyfriend, and for some reason she set her sights on me. I wasn’t interested, so when I found out that my friend Rusty liked her, I opened my big mouth and gave him her phone number. This might not have been a big deal were it not for the fact that most girls found Rusty to be…well, less than a catch. He was socially awkward, and, honestly, he looked like a younger version of Orville Redenbacher.

Well, the following Sunday as I was standing in front of the youth room at church, the girl in question spotted me from across the parking lot. She walked up to me, called me a name that I can’t repeat in The Daily Press, and smacked me upside the head. As far as slaps go, It was a “10 out of 10.” Excellent form, good follow-through, and a large red mark on my cheek to prove it happened. As a 17-year-old high school student, I learned a very important lesson: My mouth can get me into a whole lot of trouble.

Nowhere is this lesson made more clear than in the New Testament book of James, chapter 3. In verses 2-12, James paints a vivid picture of how influential and powerful our tongues really are. In fact, he teaches us that our tongues are powerful in three key ways.

#1: OUR TONGUES HAVE THE POWER TO DIRECT (vs2-4). Just as a one-pound bit in the mouth of a one-thousand-pound horse can direct him wherever the rider wants to go, our two-ounce tongues have the power to steer and direct our entire lives. James is very honest with us in these verses. He basically says, Hey, Christians! Face the facts. We’re all screw-ups. Every one of us stumbles in many ways, not least of which is with our mouth. In fact, whenever you reach a point where you can successfully keep your big mouth in check, you’ll be able to keep the rest of your body in check as well. Because as goes the mouth, so goes the body.

#2: OUR TONGUES HAVE THE POWER TO DESTROY (vs5-8). James gives us an illustration to convey the destructive power of the tongue: he compares it to a single spark. Do you remember the Ranch Fire? In the summer of 2018, the Ranch Fire destroyed 410,203 acres across four counties in northern California. It was the largest wildfire in California history. Do you know how the fire began? It began with a single spark that flew from a hammer as a man was driving a metal stake into the ground. Isn’t that remarkable? A single spark grew into the largest fire in California history.

Similarly, a single sentence—even a single word—can destroy countless lives. Consider this: Adolf Hitler’s manifesto, Mein Kampf, contains 153,750 words and takes the average reader about ten hours to read. Someone has calculated that for every single word in Hitler’s toxic book, 125 lives were snuffed out by the Nazis during World War II. How tragic! Over the course of human history, hateful words have caused wars and destroyed nations. We know this! But we tend to think that our tongues can’t do nearly as much damage. Well, don’t be so sure.

#3: OUR TONGUES HAVE THE POWER TO DEFILE (vs9-12). In verse 10, James offers a strong rebuke to every Christian with a mouth: “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” Point well taken! We shouldn’t be singing praises to God with our mouths on a Sunday morning and dropping “F-bombs” with these same mouths an hour later when someone cuts us off on the drive home. We shouldn’t be saying, “God bless you!” to strangers one minute and saying, “I can’t stand you!” to our family members the next.

Just like on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), God desires to set our tongues on fire for His purposes with the flames of heaven. But far too often we allow our tongues to recklessly burn with the fires of hell. And when we do, a few seconds of hell-bent language can completely defile days, weeks, even years of good, heaven-bent language. Consider how many marriages have been destroyed by a few hateful words and how many people have left churches because of a few careless comments.

But there is good news. If we allow God to take the reins of our tongues every day, He can use our tongues for great good. Our tongues can be used to speak peace, kindness, and hope into the lives of others. And if God holds the reins of our tongue, He can help us keep our big mouths shut so that we don’t defile the good things that we’ve already said and done.

In closing, let me be bold enough to suggest that you incorporate the following twelve life-giving words into your vocabulary every day. These are twelve of the most God-honoring words that could ever come out of your mouth: PLEASE and THANK YOU. These three words never grow old. Use them every day. I’M SORRY. Don’t be stubborn. Let God use your tongue to sincerely apologize and bring healing to the relationships you’ve strained or broken. YOU ARE LOVED. Whether you’re talking to a family member or a stranger, everyone needs to know that God loves them. I’M PRAYING FOR YOU. Don’t just say, “I’ll pray for you.” Make it immediate. Make it definite.

Yes, your tongue can cause a whole lot of damage. But, praise God, in the hands of God it can do a whole lot of good—more good than you’ll ever know. 

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our worship service Sundays at 9:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd., Victorville, or on Facebook Live at www/facebook.com/greaterimpactcc. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Autopsy of a Dead Faith

“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

- James 2:17

The Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard told a story you might call “The Parable of the Ducks.” In this story, there was a certain town where only ducks lived. Every Sunday morning, the ducks would waddle out of their houses, waddle down the main street and waddle into their church building. One week, as usual, they waddled down the aisle and sat in their pews. As the service began, the duck choir sang, and then the duck pastor stepped up and read from the Duck Bible. And he gave them a stirring, inspirational message. He urged them: “Ducks, God has given you wings! With these wings you can fly like birds! No walls can confine you! No fences can hold you! You have wings, and you can rise up and soar like eagles!” All the ducks shouted, “AMEN!” And when the service was over … all the ducks waddled on home.

Those ducks might have had lots of faith. But their faith was dead. And in the second chapter of the book of James, James talks about the problem of dead faith. In verse 14, he asks two questions. The first is: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?” The implied answer is, it’s no good at all. If you believe something in your head, but you don’t live it out with your hands, it’s useless faith. Next, James asks the hard question: “Can such faith save him?” Once again, the implied answer is no.

In verses 14-17, James is basically saying: “If you believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God and you believe that he died on the cross for your sins and rose from the grave on the third day and you believe in Heaven and Hell—but those beliefs don’t change the way that you live—that’s not real faith. That’s dead faith.” That’s a sobering thought. So maybe it’s time for a spiritual check-up. If you really want to know if your faith in Christ is a dead faith, here are three things that would be true of you:

1. You talk the talk, but you don’t walk the walk. In verses 15-16, James gives an example that is repeated in churches more often than we’d like to admit. A Christian brother walks to church in the wintertime, and he’s way underdressed because he doesn’t have a warm coat. And a fellow believer says, “God bless you! Stay warm out there!” That’s a nice thing to say, but what good does it do the guy? None, really!  Or a Christian sister comes to church and happens to mention that she’s run out of food stamps with a week left in the month. So, a fellow believer says to her, “I hope it all works out okay. I’ll pray for you.” That’s a kind thing to say, but it doesn’t put food on the poor woman’s table.
 

2. Your beliefs are biblical, but they don’t stir your emotions. A believer with dead faith believes the lyrics in the praise songs are biblically sound and accurately describe Jesus. But those lyrics don’t stir his heart. Those lyrics don’t move her spirit. The believer with dead faith attends church week-in and week-out and remains emotionally unmoved by what is sung, by what is preached, or by what is done. There is no passion for Christ, no true excitement for Christ, no real love for Christ.
 

3. Your faith is compartmentalized. It’s in your head, but it hasn’t led to repentance. It hasn’t changed your lifestyle. Jesus has made it clear that many believers will come to him on the day of judgment calling him, “Lord! Lord!” And Jesus will say to them, “I tell you the truth, I never knew you…. When you did not help the least of these brothers of mine who were hungry or thirsty or homeless or sick or in prison, you didn’t help me either. So, go away into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Warren Wiersbe says it really well: “Beware of a mere intellectual faith. No man can come to Christ by faith and remain the same any more than he can come into contact with a 220-volt wire and remain the same…. Dead faith is not saving faith. Dead faith is counterfeit faith and lulls the person into a false confidence of eternal life.”

So, ask yourself this important question: Is my faith a dead faith? Do I talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk? Are my beliefs biblical, but they don’t stir my emotions? Despite my beliefs about Jesus, am I actually going to miss out on heaven because my beliefs haven’t transformed my behavior?

By contrast, John Calvin explained real, biblical faith this way: “People are justified by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone.” Works can never save you. But neither can inactive faith. Real biblical faith … works. True, saving faith leads to action. Real, Biblical faith involves the whole person: mind, heart, spirit, and body. If God’s word has stirred your heart … DO it. Obey it. Live it. Because faith—real, real biblical faith—works.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our worship service Sundays at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.