Heard From Your Conscience Lately?

“Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity.” – 2 Corinthians 1:12

God has supernaturally and strategically placed an early warning system inside you. It’s called … your conscience.

 

Warren Wiersbe describes it this way: “Conscience is that inner faculty that … approves when we do right, but accuses when we do wrong…. It is the window that lets in the light; and if the window gets dirty because we disobey, then the light becomes dimmer and dimmer (see Matt. 6:22-23; Rom. 2:14-16).”

 

You see, your conscience can change over time. It can become LESS sensitive or MORE sensitive to the light of God’s moral truth – depending, in part, on whether you listen to it or ignore it. Your conscience is vital, but it’s not the final judge of truth or sin – God is. Therefore, it’s vital to wash your conscience every day with the truth from God’s Word. The more you expose your conscience to God’s pure Word and pay attention to it, the more useful your conscience will be.

 

Halfway through the first chapter of 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul is defending his apostleship against false teachers. And in verses 12-14, Paul makes it clear that his conscience testifies to three things: his conduct is sincere, his words are trustworthy, and his motives are pure.

 

Can you say the same for yourself? Or could the window of your conscience use some scrubbing? To keep your conscience in good working order, here are 3 action points:

 

Action Point #1: To keep your conscience clear and properly calibrated, spend time every day praying and studying God’s Word. Your conscience is no replacement for the Word of God or for the Holy Spirit living inside you. But make no mistake: Your conscience IS a beautiful and necessary gift from God. So, cleanse it by studying God’s Word and praying every day. The psalmist writes in Psalm 119:11: “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.”

 

Action Point #2: Pay attention to your conscience, because God uses it to keep both your conduct and your words in check. Evil forces at work in our culture will try to convince you that ignoring your conscience is no big deal. Whatever you’ve been doing that you know you shouldn’t be doing—whether it’s viewing porn, drinking too much or blowing through stop signs — start paying more attention to your conscience. It might be in bad shape from lack of use, but God can give you a new conscience if you’ll ask Him.

 

Action Point #3: Knowing that God will judge the motives of your heart, do a motive check today. As Christians, many of us do good things for the wrong reasons. Sometimes we do good things because it makes us feel good and it makes us look good. But in 2 Corinthians 5:14, Paul writes, “Christ’s love compels us.” Can the same be said about you? Check your motives today.

 

If you allow the Word of God to cleanse your conscience and calibrate it to God’s perfect truth, it will speak to you more than ever. And when your conscience starts testifying … listen.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services at 9am: at 17746 George Blvd., or at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

The God of All Comfort

"For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 1:5

God doesn’t always answer our “Why?” questions. Why do kids get cancer? Why are innocent people killed by stray bullets? Why are entire villages swept away by rising flood waters? We don’t know, and we probably never WILL know … at least not this side of heaven.

 

But in 2 Corinthians 1, God’s Word brings us encouragement and hope by teaching us that God uses our suffering for our good and His glory. In verse 3, Paul describes our God as “the God of all comfort.” But we need to understand that God's comfort is much more than warm sympathy. It's life-changing ... both for us and for those around us. 

 

The Greek word for “comfort” in this passage is “paraklesis,” and it is used 10 times in verses 3-7. “Paraklesis” carries the idea of bringing help, consolation and comfort. in John 14, Jesus uses the verb form of this word, “parakaleo,” as a name for the Holy Spirit – and the Holy Spirit IS our Comforter. When Christians are grieving, He brings us consolation. And when we are suffering, He brings us comfort. He doesn’t necessarily take the pain away, but He holds our hand through the pain and speaks words of encouragement and hope into our hearts.

 

In this passage, we learn 3 ways that the God of all comfort uses your suffering for YOUR good and HIS glory:

 

#1: Suffering prepares you to comfort others (vs. 4-7). If you look past your present hardships, you can focus on how you will be able to help others down the road. This will bring you hope. By God’s grace, as you endure your hardships now, God will equip you to bring comfort later to those who are undergoing the same kind of suffering. The comfort that God gives you when you suffer isn’t intended to end with you. God gives you comfort so that you can pass it on to others.

 

#2: Suffering protects you from the sin of self-reliance (vs 8-9). Stop fighting your pain and hardships alone! Take hold of God’s hand, and walk through your hardships with Him. This will increase your faith. As Paul puts it in verse 9: “This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” You might think you’re strong enough to do anything you put your mind to. I’m sorry, but you can’t! But God can. So, stop trusting in yourself. Start trusting in God.

 

#3: Suffering provides you with new opportunities to thank God (vs. 10-11). So many good things happen when you and I suffer for Jesus. When we’re going through it, we ask other Christians to pray for us. And when Christians start praying – REALLY praying – it’s good for them, it’s good for us and it brings glory to God. Later, after we’re delivered from our hardships, we have a brand new reason to thank God.

 

Chances are, God won’t answer all your “Why?” questions in this life. But His comfort during times of suffering will increase your hope, faith and peace, which is SO purposeful. So, I can say confidently: If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, the God of all comfort guarantees that ALL your suffering for Christ is totally meaningful.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services at 9am: at 17746 George Blvd., or at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Why Did Job Suffer?

“In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” – Job 1:22

Most Christians know the story of Job—a man who lost everything, yet still kept his faith in God. Many of us know WHAT Job went through, but we aren’t sure WHY he went through it. Was it just a matter of God winning a bet with Satan, or was there something more to it?

 

In Chapter 1 of Job, our hero has a family he loves, plus plenty of livestock, servants and property. And the Bible describes him as “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” (v. 1). So, along comes Satan, telling God that Job would drop his faith like a bad habit if he wasn’t so abundantly blessed.

 

God responds by allowing Satan to do anything he wants to Job short of killing him. By the end of Chapter 2, Job has lost his children, animals, servants and property … plus, he’s covered with sores. Still, he tells his wife, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10).

 

And that line may be the heart of the matter. Looking more closely at Job 1 and 2, I believe this is not primarily a story about a good man who suffered, but a story about a God who is both sovereign and good – even when it feels like our world is crashing down around us.

 

Both Job’s prosperity and his poverty testify to the goodness and power of God. Job’s story reminds us that as followers of Christ, we must hold our possessions loosely, because they’re all God’s anyway. Everything in your possession is just on loan from God … temporarily. To paraphrase verse 21: “Naked we came from our mother’s wombs, and naked we will depart.” So, like Job, we should declare: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

 

Here are 3 life lessons we can draw from Job’s powerful testimony:

 

Life Lesson #1: During times of pain and suffering, remember that God is always sovereign. No one can touch you without God’s permission—especially not Satan. Just because we don’t always understand why bad things happen to good people doesn’t mean that God is weak. When natural disasters strike, when tragedies occur, and people are cruel, God is still on the throne. He remains worthy of our worship and praise.

 

Life Lesson #2: During times of pain and suffering, remember that God is always good. Nothing comes your way except that which can pass through the filter of God’s love for you. 

That truth has given me much peace and comfort over the years. I can almost hear God saying, “Dane, you think what you’re facing right NOW is hard? You should see what Satan had planned for you that I shielded you from.”

 

Life Lesson #3: Satan will continue to accuse you and slander you in God’s presence, but with the Holy Spirit’s help, you can prove him wrong. With the help of the Holy Spirit, you and I can echo what Job says in Job 23:10: “When He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” When gold is refined in the fire, only the get burned up and left behind. The same is true for us when we go through trials. What comes out the other side is much better than what went in. Our faith in God is strengthened. Our character is refined. And our priorities are re-aligned.

 

We’ll never have all the answers to all of our “Why?” questions—at least not this side of heaven. But if we respond to our pain and suffering the way Job did, God will reward us for it … and most importantly, God will be glorified as both sovereign AND good. 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services at 9am: at 17746 George Blvd., or at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

What is a Man?

“So God created man in His own image.” – Genesis 1:27

Nowadays there’s a lot of confusion in our culture about manhood. What is a “man” as opposed to a boy? Is there any difference between being a “man” and simply being a responsible adult? And with so much talk about “gender fluidity,” so-called experts can’t tell us in plain English what a man is. But God’s Word cuts through the confusion and reveals what true manhood looks like.

In the book of Genesis, we read that man and woman were created according to God’s kind (Gen. 1:26) – first man, then woman. Since man was created FIRST, and God is a God of order, the clear implication is that man was given the place of headship in the family. Although both men and women are created in the image of God, He designed each of them differently, so that each can more effectively carry out his/her God-given roles.

Ephesians 5 gives us a more detailed description of man’s role in his household. By God’s design, a man is the Patriarch, Pastor, Prophet, Provider and Protector in his family.

Let’s take a quick look at these 5 P’s of biblical manhood:

1. Man has been called by God to be the PATRIARCH of his family. “Patriarch” is defined as “a male head of his family.” In Ephesians 5, we learn what kind of leader God calls a patriarch to be. While married women are to submit to and respect their husbands (v. 22), married men are given two commands: Lead (v. 22-24) and Love (vs. 25 and 33).

2. Man has been called by God to be the PASTOR in his home. To be the pastor in your own home means to be the spiritual leader and shepherd. Men: As the spiritual shepherd, it is YOU who should lead your family in reading the Bible and praying together every day.

3. Man has been called to be the PROPHET in his home. To be the prophet means to be one who speaks and lives out God’s Word with clarity. You must love your wife and kids with a selfless, sacrificial agape love (vs. 25-27). Take the initiative to seek God, listen to His Word, and communicate God’s Word to your family.

4. Man has been called to be the PROVIDER in his home. As the provider, you must work hard to meet the practical and financial needs of your family (v. 29). Now, there is not a “Thou shalt not work outside the home” command for Christian women. But, sadly, far too many men don’t have a valid excuse for shirking their God-given responsibility to provide for the practical needs of their family.

5. Man has been called to be the PROTECTOR of his household. A protector is one who lifts his shield of faith and protects his family from physical, moral and spiritual harm. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” Jesus’ life and death were all about humble self-sacrifice. In agape love, He gave Himself up for us. And a man must do the same—humbly give himself up for his wife and kids.

In our day, when so many people are confused about manhood, God’s Word provides beautiful clarity. A man is created by God as distinctively male and is called by God to be the leader in his family.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services at 9am: at 17746 George Blvd., or at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Where Is Your Treasure?

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:21

Life here on earth is NOT all there is. This is a biblical truth that we all need to hear. You were made to last forever.

 

Because this life is preparation for the next, you must live with eternity in the FOREFRONT of your mind – not the BACK of your mind.

 

Jesus zeroes in on this topic in Matthew 6:19-24. The bottom line of this passage: If your life on earth is wrapped up in money and possessions, you’ll be penniless in eternity.

 

Warren Wiersbe suggests that in these verses, Jesus gives us 3 warnings about money and material possessions:

 

Warning #1: Money and possessions can enslave your HEART (vs. 19-21). Jesus warns us not to chase after temporary, earthly things, but to store up treasure in heaven (v. 20). In Wiersbe’s words, we need “to ‘hang loose’ when it comes to the material things of life … measuring life by the true riches of the kingdom and not by the false riches of this world.” Only what we do for Christ’s kingdom and the glory of God will last in eternity.

 

But being rewarded isn’t the main reason to store up treasures in heaven. Jesus tells us in verse 21, “For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Heavenly rewards are wonderful. But the main reason Jesus wants you to store up treasure in heaven is because He wants your heart. And He knows that your heart will follow your treasure.

 

Warning #2: Money and possessions can enslave your MIND (vs. 22-23). Jesus uses our eyes to make an analogy: “If your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness” (v. 23). When we’re focused on money, it’s like going through life with blinders on. We can’t see or pursue what is good because we’re blind to it. As Wiersbe puts it: “If the eye is properly focused on the light, the body can function properly in its movements. But if the eye is out of focus and seeing double, it results in unsteady movements. It is most difficult to make progress while trying to look in two directions at the same time.”

 

Warning #3: Money and possessions can enslave your WILL (v. 24). You can have two supervisors, but you can’t have two masters. You can have two bosses, but you can’t have two lords. As Jesus says in verse 24, “You cannot serve both God and money.” If you love your money, you will hate it when the Holy Spirit tells you to give it away. But if you love God with all your heart, you will hate it when you see yourself holding your possessions too tightly.

 

Now, it’s important to understand that the Word of God doesn’t condemn wealth or glorify poverty. Money, wealth and material possessions are neutral. What matters is what part they play in your life. A wise man once said, “It’s fine to have possessions – as long as your possessions don’t have you.”

 

If you invest your time, talent and financial treasure in kingdom work, you will have treasure in heaven. Missionary Jim Elliot hit the nail on the head when he said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services at 9am: at 17746 George Blvd., or at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Are You Giving God Your Leftovers?

“I will not … sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”
– 1 Chronicles 21:24

King David is one of best known, most loved heroes in the Old Testament. He was the only man in the Bible whom God referred to as “a man after My own heart.”

But David was far from perfect. At times, this legendary king messed up royally (pardon the pun). Just like you and me, David was a sinner in need of a Savior.

 

David’s sin with Bathsheba was, to us, the most legendary. He seduced a married woman, then got her husband killed in order to cover up his crime. But surprisingly, God was more upset with David when he allowed Satan to tempt him into ordering a census of all his fighting men.

 

What was wrong with that? We can’t be certain, but it appears that David sinned on two levels. First, he DISOBEYED God by skipping the Lord’s instructions. God instructed Moses that whenever a census was taken, each person was to pay an offering to glorify God (Exodus 30:11-16). The second problem was PRIDE. David didn’t take a census to bring glory to God. He took it to bring glory to himself.

 

But when God rebuked David, David immediately humbled himself and cried out to God for forgiveness (v. 8). As David’s act of repentance, God commanded him to build an altar on the threshing floor belonging to a man named Araunah the Jebusite. Araunah offered to give David the threshing floor and all the land around it, but David refused: “I will not take for the LORD what is yours or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing” (v. 24). So he paid Araunah, built the altar, and made his sacrifices there – on what he vowed would be the site of the LORD’s temple (v. 22:1).

 

David knew that if he didn’t pay for the threshing floor and the land around it, his sacrifice would be worthless. The same is true for us today: If it doesn’t cost you something, it’s NOT true worship.

 

Today, you and I need to ask ourselves: What is my worship costing me? Many Christians who think they’re worshiping God aren’t really worshiping Him at all. Their worship is cheap and convenient. Instead of giving God their very best, they’re giving God their leftovers.

 

Ask yourself: When I’m in church, am I giving God my full attention? What is my offering costing me? Am I like the poor widow in Mark 12, giving God my first and my best – or am I just giving Him my leftovers? The same holds true of your time of Communion, and of studying God’s Word. Don’t just go through the motions. Don’t just listen politely.

 

God has called you to support your church with your 3 T’s: Time, Talent and Treasures. True worship ALWAYS involves sacrifice. And so, we sacrifice our time for Jesus. We sacrifice our talents for Jesus. And we sacrifice our treasures for Jesus.

 

As Christians, let’s draw a line in the sand. No more cheap, easy worship. No more giving Jesus our leftovers. We need to worship like David—giving God our VERY best.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services at 9am: at 17746 George Blvd., or at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

2 Big Takeaways from a Life-Changing Letter

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” – 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

The Apostle Paul must have felt like a dad who couldn’t turn his back on his kids for one minute.

 

He’d spent a year and a half with the Corinthian Christians, planting their church and teaching them God’s Word. Yet just a short time later, word got back to him: Many of those Christians had already shot down much of what he’d taught them.

 

So Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, wrote his first letter to the Corinthian church. For 16 chapters he taught them, rebuked them, corrected and trained them in righteousness. And God placed this letter in the Bible because we ALSO need to be taught, rebuked, corrected and trained in righteousness.

 

Reading over this important book, I found 2 key themes: #1) Right DOCTRINE, and #2) Right BEHAVIOR. Let’s take a quick look at what 1 Corinthians teaches us about both.

 

1. The Holy Spirit uses 1 Corinthians to teach us right DOCTRINE. In chapter 15, Paul writes: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (vs. 3-4). The core of right doctrine is the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Christ.

 

Without Jesus’ DEATH, you and I would be condemned to hell for our sin. Without Jesus’ BURIAL, we might doubt that Jesus had really died. And without Jesus’ RESURRECTION, you and I would have no hope beyond the grave. No matter how foolish the world thinks this message is, we as followers of Christ must proclaim it over and over again.

 

2. The Holy Spirit uses 1 Corinthians to teach us right BEHAVIOR. The Corinthian church had lots of behavioral problems. Over the course of his letter, Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their disunity and infighting; for their tolerance of perversion in the church; for suing each other in court. He gives them clear instructions on everything from taking the Lord’s Supper to the proper use of spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians is filled with deep and practical teaching about how we as Christians should behave.

 

But the very pinnacle of this teaching is found in 1 Corinthians 13. Often called “the Love Chapter,” it paints a beautiful picture of how Jesus’ agape love behaves. Through Paul, the Holy Spirit makes it crystal clear that when it comes to right behavior, agape love never fails. Verse 13 tells us: “Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

 

At home, in our community and at church, you and I must hold fast to these beautiful truths. Believe them. Live them out. And proclaim them to all who will listen.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services at 9am: at 17746 George Blvd., or at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.