9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

What is accountability? Dictionaries define it as “a state of being liable or answerable”. More simply, it is being given a responsibility and then being checked-up on. Why is accountability important for a person? For one thing it can make them more effective in achieving a task. Accountability can also provide encouragement, motivation, comfort and companionship.

Accountability can be extremely important and beneficial in our Christian lives. All of us go through difficult times where we feel like we are failing, or at least lacking, in our walk with Christ. This can result from numerous different things. It can result from failures with temptations. It can result from times of tragedy. It can result from apathy or neglect in our devotional times. It is during these times that accountability can be a huge benefit to us. To have someone that we know is going to check-up on us and ask if we have spent time with Christ today by reading in His Word and praying with Him can be a very powerful motivator. To know that we have a friend who is going to ask us how we are dealing with a specific temptation can help us to make Christ honoring decisions in our lives. To know that there is a person that is going to encourage us when we do fail (sometimes with a good swift kick in the back side) can be very comforting. Also, having a person that you can trust and pour out your heart and pain to, can also be a source of deep relief.

Christ never expected us to walk through this life alone, figuring things out by ourselves, and at times wallowing in our own heartache, loneliness and sorrow. In Ecclesiastes chapter 4, God’s Word confirms that it is better to have a companion and to not be alone. Verse 12, which says “one may be overpowered by another”, is especially true when it is Satan who is fighting against us. But together with another person’s help and accountability we “can withstand him”. We would also do good to remember that when we are standing together with an accountability partner, and we have Christ as our focus, then we are actually a “threefold chord” as Christ is the third strand.

(Originally published on: June 5, 2008 at 10:54 am)

ShareThis

I know I’ve met my share of them, and I’ve just got to tell you that these kinds of people make me sick! I don’t want to be around them. I don’t want to be near them. I don’t want to have anything to do with them.

And yet, sometimes, when I look into the mirror, and honestly, more often than I care to admit, I see someone who looks a lot like a judgmental person. I see someone who sometimes looks for the faults in others, who occasionally assumes the worst about people, and who has a tendency to view himself as more spiritual than a lot of people he meets. In a nutshell, sometimes, when I look into the mirror, I see a very, judgmental person.

Do you ever see a person like that when you look in the mirror? If you don’t, you’re not looking closely enough! In fact (and I don’t think I’m judging you as I write this), you can be extremely judgmental too!

Isn’t that true?

Now, because this issue, this struggle is so prevalent in all of our lives, you would expect that at some point Jesus would talk about it. And of course, he does. And in Matthew 7, Jesus introduces us to this subject of “judging others” with these words, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

I believe that this is one of the most misinterpreted passages in all of Scripture, so let me try and explain it. Jesus isn’t saying, “Never judge.” If you look at the whole of scripture and even the rest of this chapter, I think that it becomes clear that this isn’t what Jesus is doing.

Instead, what Jesus is prohibiting is condemnations without due process. Jesus’ point seems to be that if you are the kind of person who sets yourself up as a judge over other people, then you need to be aware that it’s going to come back to get you.

I think Jesus is saying, “Judge others the way you want others to judge you”. And, I can’t speak for you, but I know how I want to be judged. If I’m going to be judged, I want the person judging me to take everything into consideration. I want them to take into consideration that I had a bad day at work and the kids have been sick and I didn’t get much sleep and I had a warped childhood from being a pastor’s kid, and I just want a lot of slack.

If I have to be judged, I want be judged gradually, carefully, and mercifully. That’s what I want for me. I want someone to say, “There’s probably something we don’t know” or “There’s probably another side of the story.” Isn’t that what you want as well?

And so Jesus says, what you want for yourself in this area of being judged, be gracious enough to do for someone else.

I’d love to write more, but this is a devotion, not a sermon. Plus, I think we’ve got our work cut out for us with just this little bit of Scripture.

(Originally published on: June 10, 2008 at 1:40 pm)

ShareThis

“Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”

A couple of weeks ago, my unsaved brother-in-law was in a motorcycle accident where alcohol was involved. Both eye sockets were shattered and there was bleeding on the brain along with brain damage.  We don’t know to what extent the full damage is. My brother-in-law and I are fairly close, or were until alcohol became the overriding force in his life. I have had several chances to speak with him about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yesterday in Church, my wife and I knelt at the altar to lift he and his wife in prayer.  While at the alter, such a sense of guilt rushed over me that I was unable to pray so my wife prayed for both of us. I told her later that I felt so guilty for not being more compassionate in my witness to him and felt responsible for his refusal to accept Christ as his savior. Later, as I thought on these things, I realized that I was looking at the situation from the wrong point of view. Could I have been more compassionate? Possibly. Could I have been more forceful? Probably. But I realize that God instructs us not to bring the lost to him unwillingly, but to preach the Gospel in both word AND deed. Have I done this? Yes but perhaps not well enough to make an impact. As we look toward going to visit, I have vowed to my self to make a loving appeal for Christ. But I realize that it is the Holy Spirit who must affect real change in his heart, not me. I ask that you all make this a matter of prayer and remember, God knows the exact needs of this situation and only He can provide. God bless you all!

ShareThis

The front page is open for guest devotions.  If you have some subjects you are interested in, please comment and suggest away. If you are interested in writing a guest devotion, please comment or email me.  We reserve the right to refuse any content.

Some basic guidelines if you would like to do one:

1) Provide a little info about who you are (and a picture)
2) Title the devotion
3) Provide Scripture
4) Write a devotion that someone else could use for their daily devotional

How are you doing with your devotions?

ShareThis

ShareThis

We’ve updated our member map for your viewing pleasure Our current goal is to get to all 50 US states & all 7 continents.  You can access this map by going to our member directory where the link is at the bottom of the page.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

FYI, this map is a member only map. Register today to see it!

ShareThis

ShareThis

I have been employed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons for 20 years now and have been involved in prison ministries for about 15 of those years. I have found that the days when I feel least like ministering are the days that bear the most spiritual fruit. On June 20, 2008, the Bureau experienced a great loss when a staff member was murdered at the hands of two inmates who were serving life. I was scheduled to hold religious services for the inmates on the 24th and I admit I really didn’t feel a great deal of compassion for the inmate population that day but I went anyway. The preacher whom I had preaching that day gave one of the simplest yet greatest sermons I have ever heard that day and 22 souls received the gracious gift of salvation.

As I sit today and think on the awesome grace that God has offered us, undeserving as we are, I’m reminded of Judy Hyland who, after being captured and imprisoned in 1941 by the Japanese for more than three years, returned after being freed to minister to the Japanese people for more than thirty years.

Jesus never told us to preach only where we felt comfortable but instead, directed us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. This past week, for me was a great example of just what He meant.

ShareThis

ShareThis

She could see what was coming and there was nothing she could do to stop it. And so, she did the only thing she could do; she took the alabaster flask of costly oil from its place on the shelf and, without concern for what other’s may say or think, she walked into the house, sat down at the feet of the Master and poured out upon Him the adoration and anointing He so deserved, just hours from His death.

Many in the room indignant about her waste of such costly oil, “It could have gone to feed the poor” they said.  But in Mark 14:6 and 8 Jesus spoke these words, “She has done a beautiful thing to me…She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.”

This humble woman’s act of adoration and service so touched Jesus that He not only called it beautiful, He said that wherever the Gospel is preached, what she did would be retold throughout the world.

How was somebody with so little able to do something so precious in the eyes of the Lord? Easy. She did what she could.

You may not have a lot of money or power or influence. No problem. Just do what you can.  You may not be famous, talented or brilliant. That’s OK. Just do what you can.

No excuses. No fear. Serve the King with abandon. You don’t think you can do much. That’s fine. Just do what you can; nothing more and nothing less.

Thanks to Jim over at The Edge! (#277)

ShareThis