Who's in Charge?

“You ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes.”  – James 4:15-16

In August 1994, a Korean Air commercial airliner had a rough landing—to say the least. The plane overshot the runway, crashed into a safety barricade, and burst into flames. Thankfully, all 160 passengers and crew on board escaped safely. But what was the cause of the accident? According to news reports, the pilot and the co-pilot had gotten into a fist fight…over who was in charge of the landing controls. Now, you’d have thought they’d have figured that out before they left the ground. Over 150 people almost died, and a multi-million dollar airliner was completely destroyed, all because these two grown men weren’t on the same page about who was in charge.

This is nothing new. In James 4, James levels criticism at some wealthy Christians who weren’t clear on who should be in charge. These rich merchants traveled around the Roman Empire, buying and selling goods, and they thought they had their 12-month plans all figured out: “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money” (v. 13). Now, for those of us who are thoughtful planners, this sounds like good planning. So, is James telling Christian businessmen that they shouldn’t make plans? I don’t think so. The problem James had with these Christian businessmen was twofold.

PROBLEM #1: First off, these Christian merchants were boasting and bragging about their grand plans. As James puts it, “You boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil” (v. 16).

Theologian Warren Wiersbe puts it very well: “Man cannot control future events. He has neither the wisdom to see the future nor the power to control the future. For him to boast is sin; it is making himself God.” That’s an eye-opening perspective, isn’t it? When we boast and brag about what we’re going to do tomorrow or next week or next year, we’re foolishly acting as if we can actually see the future or control the future. But we can’t! Only God can.

PROBLEM #2: Their plans were missing one key ingredient: God. The merchants claimed to be believers and followers of Jesus Christ, but God was nowhere to be found in their plans. They weren’t praying for God’s guidance as they set their schedules. They weren’t studying God’s word to make sure that their priorities lined up with God’s. They weren’t even considering the possibility that God’s plans might be a whole lot different than their own plans. And their plans didn’t stem from a desire to bring God pleasure or to glorify Him. Instead, they were motivated by a desire to bring themselves pleasure and make themselves look good. As Pastor John MacArthur explains, “James does not condemn wise business planning, but rather planning that leaves out God. The people so depicted are practical atheists, living their lives and making their plans as if God did not exist.”

Think about this interesting term: practical atheists. An atheist is someone who doesn’t believe that God exists. John MacArthur makes the case that the greedy, ego-driven merchants in James 4 are practical atheists. They are saved, but they live as if they’re not saved. They call themselves “Christians,” but their plans and priorities are more like an atheist’s plans and priorities. Their motives are more like an atheist’s motives. And their lifestyles and spending habits are more like an atheist’s lifestyle and spending habits. These Christians are both “in the world” AND “of the world.” They could attend an atheists’ convention and blend in—no problem.

Let me ask you: Are you a practical atheist? If you’re a Christian, you have believed in Jesus Christ and have confessed him as your Savior and Lord. But is there evidence of your Christianity in your daily life? Sure, you lift up some token prayers before meals and go to church once in a while. But many atheists do those same things. I’m talking about hard evidence. If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? If not, then you are likely a practical atheist. Like the merchants in James 4, you identify as a Christian, but you live as if God didn’t exist.

In verse 14, James reminds these merchants: “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.” We don’t know what our health will be like tomorrow. We don’t know what family challenges we’re going to face tomorrow. We don’t even know for sure if we’re going to wake up tomorrow! On New Year’s Day 2020, just about 7 ½ months ago, we had NO CLUE that COVID was coming. We never would have imagined that we’d be dealing with a stay-at-home order; that our schools, churches and favorite restaurants would close; and even Disneyland and Dodger Stadium would close. Likewise, we were clueless about the social unrest that would grip our nation.

Only God knows the future, so only God knows which plans we make today will lead to our greatest good and His greatest glory tomorrow. So, it is foolish for Christians to brag about the future or to leave God out of our plans. As a wise man once said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.” God’s word tells us to get rid of our boasting and place Him in the very center of our plans. It’s okay to make plans—provided we keep in mind that all of our plans here on earth are tentative.

One of the most important questions you’ll ever answer is this: Who’s in charge of your life? And it’s a question you won’t answer with words. You’ll answer it with your humble obedience …or lack of it. If the day ever comes when you and I are on trial, accused of being obedient servants of Jesus Christ, I hope and pray that there is enough evidence to convict us.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our live outdoor worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. 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.

Are You a Party Crasher?

“Whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” – Luke 7:47

In 1829 two men robbed a U.S. Mail carrier train. They were both arrested and sentenced to hang on July 2, 1830. One of the men was executed on schedule—but not the second man, George Wilson. His friends had petitioned President Andrew Jackson to give him a presidential pardon, and President Jackson DID. But surprisingly, George Wilson refused the pardon.

Well, the courts didn’t know what to do, so they petitioned the Supreme Court to make a ruling. This is what Chief Justice John Marshall wrote: “A pardon is an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws…. But delivery is not completed without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered, and we have no power in a court to force it on him.” Marshall said, in a nutshell: We can’t force the Presidential Pardon on George Wilson. If he doesn’t accept it, his sentence stands, and he must be hanged.

Not a very cheery story! But I’d like you to keep Justice Marshall’s words in mind: “Delivery is not completed without acceptance.” That not only holds true for a Presidential pardon. It also holds true for God’s grace and forgiveness. Hold on to that thought as we look at an episode in Jesus’ life from Luke 7.

Jesus had been invited to eat at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. And as Jesus was at Simon’s house, in came an uninvited guest—a party crasher. Luke 7:37 tells us that she was a woman in that town “who had lived a sinful life.” We don’t know for sure, but most likely she was a prostitute. At any rate, she wasn’t on the guest list. But she came in with a jar of perfume and stood at Jesus’ feet, weeping so much she was able to wet his feet with her tears. “Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them” (v. 38).

What was the Pharisee’s reaction to this party crasher? He thought Jesus, if he was a prophet, should know the woman was a sinner and should want nothing to do with her. But Jesus pointed out that because she had received more forgiveness, she loved Jesus more, while his respectable host had shown him little or no love at all. As Jesus put it, “Whoever has been forgiven little loves little” (v. 47). Here are a few lessons we can take from this incident.

1) A Lesson on Acceptance: Jesus was utterly accepting of deeply flawed people, and so too should we be. Simon refused to accept this woman, but clearly Jesus did accept her. I love how Chuck Swindoll makes this point. He writes: “Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus never compromised the righteousness of God, yet he remained utterly accepting of deeply flawed people. No incident illustrates this better than the day a prostitute crashed the Pharisee’s party.” Did you catch that important phrase in the middle? Jesus “remained utterly accepting of deeply flawed people.” As Christians, we sometimes do a good job talking about God’s grace. But we often do a shoddy job sharing that grace in real life. That shouldn’t be.

2) A Lesson on Self-Awareness: Until we open our eyes and see that we are deeply flawed and admit that we desperately need God’s mercy and healing, we will never receive it. The greatest sin I could ever commit would be to blindly think that I don’t have any sin for Jesus to forgive. As this sinful woman kept carrying on—crying and wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair and pouring more and more and more expensive oil all over his feet, Simon the Pharisee began to have second thoughts about inviting Jesus to his house. He didn’t realize that even if you sin less than the next guy, you’re STILL A SINNER! And you need to realize that. Simon the Pharisee was very good at identifying other people’s sin. But he was terrible at identifying his own sin.

3) A Lesson on Love for Jesus: The more we express our sorrow for sin and our love for Christ, the clearer evidence we have of the forgiveness of our sins. What came first, the woman’s love or the woman’s forgiveness? Did Jesus forgive her because she loved him, or did she love Jesus because he had forgiven her? Jesus told the woman in verse 50, “Your faith has saved you,” making it clear that her faith in Jesus led to his forgiveness of her many sins. And once she had experienced his amazing forgiveness, she couldn’t help but shower him with love.

Now, let me ask you: With whom do you most identify in this story—the party host or the party crasher? At first glance, you might say, “The Pharisee.” But the Pharisee was blind to his own sin, and he stubbornly refused to repent and put his faith in Jesus—much like the train robber who refused his pardon. So, he wasn’t forgiven, and therefore he had very little love for Jesus.

I hope you and I can most identify with the party crasher, because SHE was the one whose eyes were open to her own sin. SHE was the one who humbly reached out to Jesus in faith and repentance and love. And her repentance and love for Christ give crystal clear evidence that SHE was the one who was truly forgiven. I so much want us to identify with her … because I want us to be forgiven much and respond by loving Jesus much.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.