Category Archives: Accountability

Accountability, Allies, Bible, Calling, Gospel, Purpose, Scripture

IN VAIN

GALATIANS 2:2

“It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that somehow I might be running, or had run, in vain.”

A few times in my life I have found myself trying to get something done and everything fell against me. It was like taking one step forward and two steps back. I was getting nowhere fast. It’s a hopeless feeling and a complete waste of energy. I want to see something accomplished.

I love today’s verse, not so much because of Paul’s revelation or his ministry to the Gentiles. I love the fact that he submitted himself to leadership and wanted confirmation that he was not “running, or had run, in vain.” In the Greek, “vain” is the word kenos. It means to be empty, ineffective or worthless. Paul wanted to know that the work he was doing was not worthless. He wanted to be held accountable. That speaks volumes.

APPLICATION

In Philippians 2:16 Paul says this, “holding firmly the word of life, so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.” He said it again in 1 Thessalonians 15:58. “Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Vain work is worthless. Vain labors are ineffective. Do you think God wants us to just do something to stay busy? No! Everything God does has purpose. He wants the same for us. Years ago, there was book entitled “The Purpose Driven Life.” It was written by Rick Warren, former Pastor of Saddleback Church in California. It was a best seller. Why? Because people want to have a purpose.

Well, guess what? We are all given a purpose when we come to Christ. What is that? To share the Gospel with as many people as we can before we die. We need to have a passion for others so they can be led to the cross. That is a worthy purpose. It is not in vain. Give God the glory and find your purpose in Him.

Thank You, Lord, for giving me purpose when You called me into Your kingdom.

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Abiding, Accountability, Bible, Blameless, Encouragement, Following, Integrity, Ministry, Reputation, Salvation, Scripture, Testimony

YOUR REPUTATION PRECEDES YOU

GALATIANS 1:23

“but they only kept hearing, ‘The man who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.’”

I have had the opportunity to go back to my hometown church a few times to share about my ministry. Now, you need to understand something about me. I wasn’t always what you would call “ministry worthy.” My life before Jesus was filled with self. I wouldn’t call me a persecutor of Christians like Paul, but I didn’t want to be labeled as a “do gooder.” I kind of liked the reputation of a tough guy or at least as someone who loved to party. So, when I return now as a minister of the Gospel, those who knew me then raise an eyebrow or two.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the churches outside of Jerusalem had heard about Paul, but didn’t know him. They would have been a little wary of this guy showing up preaching Jesus. They may have seen him as a threat, as someone who was trying to trick them. Paul is still laying out his story here in Galatians. He is telling them who he was and where he had come from. He wasn’t who he was before. He had changed, and Jesus was the One who had changed him and given him the message he was to preach.

APPLICATION

Have you ever met someone for the first time, and they told you they had heard of you? That’s happened to me a few times, and I usually reply, “Well, I hope it was all good.” Listen to me – our reputation matters, especially to a lost world. I love Revelation 12:11 that says, “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” Notice that phrase “word of their testimony.” Our testimony has an effect on people. I don’t mean you have to have this testimony of coming out of drugs or alcohol. Your testimony consists of when you accepted Jesus and what He has done in your life since then.

But back to our reputation. How others see us and hear about us matters. Proverbs 22:1 tells us, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” We are told in Ecclesiastes 7:1, “A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth.” I could go on and list numerous verses on the importance of our reputation, but I will stop there. You can do your own study on that.

Why is our reputation important? Because we are representing the King of kings and Lord of lords. We are Christians – Christ like. We are His ambassadors who have been given a mission to carry out to a lost world. Paul had to overcome his bad reputation of being a persecutor of believers by showing them how he had changed. He had to love them. He had to share what Christ had done for him on that road to Damascus. He was faithful to the end, up to the moment he was martyred in that Roman prison. How about you? What is your reputation?

Let me never forget, Lord, that I represent You? I want others to know Whom I represent.

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Accountability, Bible, Boasting, Calling, Correction, Fellowship, Glorify, Gospel, Scripture

NOT MY WORDS

GALATIANS 1:11

“For I would have you know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel which was preached by me is not of human invention.”

Have you ever had to deliver a message to someone from someone else that you knew had the potential to upset that person? How do you start that message? I have a message for you from ________. Now, understand that these are their words, not mine. Am I right? Of course, I am. We want to make sure they know that we are just the messenger.

In verse 11 today, Paul is telling the Galatians something similar. He is telling them that the message that he preached to them didn’t come from him or any other person. Where did it come from? It came from God! The phrase, “not of human invention,” is literally “is not according to man” in the Greek. Paul didn’t get it from Peter or James or any other person. The message, the gospel message is straight from God.

APPLICATION

This is why it is so important for us to be very careful when we handle the Word. I recall Paul’s word in 2 Timothy 2:15. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” In 2 Corinthians 2:17, Paul further explains the need to handle the Word correctly. “For we are not like the many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.”

Handling God’s message to mankind is a weighty job. Far too many people mishandle it. They take what is the truth and make it their own truth. They add to or take away from it. This is what Paul was battling in the Galatian churches. The Judaizers would come in and require these new believers to adapt what they had learned and add certain requirements that had nothing to do with the original message of the Gospel.

Today, we risk the same thing when we require people to jump through our hoops in order to achieve the righteousness of Christ. The Gospel is simple. Christ intended it that way. Don’t complicate it.

Thank You, Lord, for keeping the message of salvation simple of all mankind.

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Accountability, Bible, Clarity, Commands, Scripture, Testimony, Truth

THE BRACKETS

GALATIANS 1:1

“Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through human agency, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),”

I entitled this devotional “The Brackets.” No, I’m not talking about the CFP (College Football Playoffs) or March Madness (NCAA Basketball Tournament). I am talking about those statements you make that are used to clarify a point. That’s what I did above. I wanted to make sure you knew what CFP and March Madness stood for. We do this all the time in conversation. We may not use the brackets in our speech, but they are there to clarify.

We see the same thing in the first verse of Galatians, which we are starting today. Paul begins this letter to the Galatians, whom we will describe later, by clarifying his position as an apostle. He says very clearly that he was appointed by Jesus and the Father. He even states it was God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead. He wants to remove all doubt of his authority to address them on the matters in this letter. Hang on, it’s going to be a great study.

APPLICATION

Are there some things in your life that need clarifying? We all have some. I know I do. We have to clarify why we said something to someone. We have to clarify why we did a certain thing. That’s okay. It’s good to be clear. Jesus even tells us so in Matthew 5:37. “‘But make sure your statement is, “Yes, yes” or “No, no”; anything beyond these is of evil origin.’”

James says something similar in James 5:12. “But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.” Clear, simple remarks are always best. Then, if need be, clarify it to make sure you are understood.

I heard the story of Winston Churchill when he addressed the students at Harrow School on October 29, 1941. He began the speech by saying, “…never give in, never give in, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.” That’s pretty clear, isn’t. Nor should you give in to anything or anyone. Let the Lord lead the way this new year.

Father, I thank You for a new year. Help me be clear in all I say and do and when necessary I should clarify.

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Accountability, Belief, Bible, Commands, Forgetting, Joy, Law, Obedience, Scripture

REMEMBERING THE IMPORTANT STUFF

MALACHI 4:4

“‘Remember the Law of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.’”

I have to admit that my memory is slipping a bit. I make a lot of lists to keep me from forgetting stuff. I am thankful for that Note app on my iPhone. I work hard at memorizing Scripture because I believe that will help my memory. But I still forget things that are important to me or others (Sorry, Chris).

The statute and ordinances which the Lord is referencing in verse 4 were not unknown to the people. They had heard them from the priest and scribes. They probably did not have their own copy, but they were expected to know and obey them. These had been around since Moses. That’s a long time. There was no excuse for forgetting them.

APPLICATION

Joshua 1:8 tells us, “‘This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success.’” This verse is the third verse we memorize in the Every Man A Warrior study. It is key to what we teach about Scripture.

While we are not under the Law anymore as Christians, we still have to obey the Lord’s commands all through Scripture. For instance, Deuteronomy 6:5-7 still applies to us today. “‘5 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 And you shall repeat them diligently to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.’”

If we will remember God’s commands and obey, we will be blessed. If we don’t, we run the risk of falling into sin which always has its consequences. I have heard it said, “Joy never precedes obedience.” So, remember His commands, obey them and receive joy. We all want more of that, don’t we?

I have joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. Thank You, Lord

P.S. For my frequent followers, I will be taking a short break when we finish Malachi in two days. I will pick back up on January 1. Pray that the Lord shows me where to go to next in our daily study.

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Accountability, Bible, Conviction, End Times, Fire, God's Will, Judgment, Promises, Scripture

HOT DAYS

MALACHI 4:1

“‘For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,’ says the LORD of armies, ‘so that it will leave them neither root nor branches.’”

I am really enjoying the weather right now. I like cool and cold days. Why? Because I can always add another layer of clothing to keep warm. But in those hot summer days, it is difficult enough to take off enough clothing and still be able to go out into public. I don’t want to get arrested, lol.

A day is coming that will be the hottest yet. The Lord said it will be “burning like a furnace.” In fact, He said this day will turn all the evildoers into chaff, the ash that is left after an intense fire. Nothing will be left, even the root and branches will be gone. God’s judgment came that way then and still comes that way today. Nothing’s changed.

APPLICATION

I hunt on a piece of property that has been clear cut (all the trees removed for harvesting). Sometimes the lumber company will do a controlled burn afterwards to burn up all the debris left from the logging machines. I can tell they did that in some areas, but not in all. There are still a few trees standing and some logs and limbs lying around. It looks pretty barren as it is. I cannot imagine a scene like the Lord describes in today’s verse.

As believers in Jesus, we do not have to be concerned about being burned up into chaff. We will not face the wrath of God in judgment. Jesus took that upon Himself. As Isaiah says in Isaiah 53:4-5, “4 However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, and our pains that He carried; yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, struck down by God, and humiliated. 5 But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; the punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”

That should leave you very thankful. As we close in on the end of Malachi (we started the last chapter today which only has six verses), take some time to reflect on the promises we have in a Savior who died in our place and then conquered death and is seated at the right hand of the Father. We certainly serve a glorious King.

Thank You, Father, for sparing me the punishment I deserve. Christ covered that with His blood.

P.S. For my frequent followers, I will be taking a short break when we finish Malachi in five days. I will pick back up on January 1. Pray that the Lord shows me where to go to next in our daily study.

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Accountability, Arrogance, Bible, Judgment, Obedience, Punishment, Righteousness, Scripture, Wickedness

UPSIDE DOWN

MALACHI 3:15

“‘“So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also put God to the test and escape punishment.”’”

There is an amusement attraction in Pigeon Forge, TN which is an upside down house. Everything inside that house is upside down. And people pay money to go inside. Now, that really doesn’t make any sense, lol. Life seems upside down at times, doesn’t it? Nothing makes sense. Everything is contrary to how things should be.

The murmuring people of Israel were claiming these falsehoods in verse 15. The arrogant were being called blessed. The doers of wickedness are built up, testing God and escaping punishment. The sad thing was they were saying these things to excuse their own bad behavior. If the world was so bad, nothing they did mattered. Sound familiar?

APPLICATION

Proverbs 21:24 says it well. “‘Proud,’ ‘Haughty,’ ‘Scoffer,’ are his names, who acts with insolent pride.” All around us today we see the same thing going on. Sometimes we may say to ourselves, “How can these wicked people get by with all this stuff they are doing?” It’s hard to imagine God tolerating them.

We see that explained in Isaiah 55:8-9. “8 ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the LORD. 9 ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” We will never understand the mind of God, therefore we will never understand why He allows the wicked to continue.

The real question is more personal. What are you doing that displeases Him? How are you living out your faith? What are you representing today for Christ? We are not responsible for the behavior of others, only ourselves. So, stop pointing your fingers at them and look inward. Check out yourself. Let others look at you in amazement as you live for Jesus.

I know I can only be held accountable for myself, Lord. Help me reflect Your glory.

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Accountability, Bible, Death, Fear, Reverence, Scripture, Sin

YOU DO NOT FEAR ME

MALACHI 3:5

“‘Then I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, those who oppress the wage earner in his wages or the widow or the orphan, and those who turn away the stranger from justice and do not fear Me,’ says the LORD of armies.”

Oh, how our sins pile up in the face of God’s truth. That’s why I start every day in my Quiet Time in a period of confession. I confess any and all sins I have committed and even ask for forgiveness of those I may have committed but was not aware of. That can happen, you know. But more than likely, I am well aware of my sins and confess those by name. Why do I do that? Because I fear my Lord, not in a cringing, bone-shaking way. I revere His authority in my life.

The Lord lays out a list of sins before the people in today’s verse. A couple of these (sorcery and adultery) were worthy of death but had been tolerated by the priests. They all boil down to the last thing the Lord says, you “do not fear Me.” This is the bottom line. One commentator says this, “The words, ‘and fear not me,’ point to the source from which all these sins flowed, and refer to all the sinners mentioned before.” (Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament)

APPLICATION

I did a quick google search (yes, I use Google sometimes) and found 100 verses on the fear of the Lord. Hmmm, that might be important, you think. One of my favorite verses on this topic is Proverbs 1:7. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” How about these words of Jesus in Matthew 10:28, “‘And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.’” I could go on and on listing dozens of verses, but I think you get the picture. Do your own search of verses on this and spend some time just meditating on the verses.

One of my memory verses is on this subject. Psalm 86:11 reads, “Teach me Your ways, O Lord, that I may rely on Your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart that I may fear Your name.” That’s why I spend time each morning confessing my sins before Him. I do fear His name. I want an undivided heart.

Do you have a healthy fear of God? Are you aware of His power to deal with your sins at a moment’s notice? Yes, as a believer in Jesus, your sins are forgiven, but that does not give you license to sin, as the priests and people were doing in Malachi’s time. We must own our sins and confess those in our fear of God, our holy God. Do that now.

O Lord, You are the One I fear. Cleanse me, Father, from all my sins. Wash away my iniquities today.

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Accountability, Bible, Cleansing, Fire, Forgiveness, Judgment, Purity, Salvation, Scripture

CLEANSING POWER

MALACHI 3:2

“‘But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap.’”

I have had some pretty, dirty jobs in my lifetime. I grew up in Southwest Georgia and worked tobacco fields on my cousin’s and uncle’s land. There is nothing much dirtier than working tobacco fields in the morning. All that tar from the plants stains your hands, arms and clothes. I could literally come home from work and stand my jeans up because they were so stiff from that tar. We discovered that green tomatoes rubbed on our hands would remove the tar. Nasty, dirty work!

Today’s verse has been often quoted. The Lord is still speaking here and referring to the coming of His Son. Whether this is referring to His first coming or the second, the Lord goes on to say how His conviction for sin “is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap.” What does that mean? Every person will be judged one day. Some will accept His grace and avoid final judgment. Our sins need either a fire to purify us or soap to clean us up. One is harsh, and one is more gentle. One or the other is needed though to take away our sins. Those who refuse this will not be able to stand before Him.

APPLICATION

Albert Barnes says of this refiner’s fire, “But as God is ‘a consuming fire, Who must burn out the dross, unless we be ‘reprobate silver’ which ‘the founder melteth in vain,’ either He must, by His grace, consume the sin within us, or must consume us with it, in hell.” That is pretty much to the point, isn’t it? We either fly or fry, turn or burn, get right or get left. Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.

Seriously, God’s cleansing power is for all people, if they will accept it. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 even tells us our works will be judged by fire. “12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire.”

This is not a devotional to scare you into repenting. I am simply bringing out the message in today’s verse as it applies to believers and unbelievers. Where are you today in your walk with Christ? Do you need a good scrubbing with landerer’s soap or maybe your sins need the refiner’s fire? Just come to Him.

O Lord, purify me. As James says, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

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Accountability, Bible, Boasting, Evil, Guilt, Holiness, Judgment, Perversion, Scripture, Wickedness

WRONG IS RIGHT AND RIGHT IS WRONG

MALACHI 2:17

“You have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet you say, ‘How have we wearied Him?’ In that you say, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delights in them,’ or, ‘Where is the God of justice?’”

Our world has so many things backwards. Men who were born male can now become women physically. Women who were born female can change their sex. We are arguing about what pronoun to call someone. None of this makes sense to me. I am sure many of you are confused. But just think what the Creator of the universe thinks about all of this.

Malachi told the people that they were wearying the Lord with their words. They were even claiming that the Lord approved of the evil being done (Sound familiar?). They were even mocking God by saying “Where is the God of justice?”. They were thinking, “If this evil they were doing was so bad, why wasn’t God punishing them?” Arrogance and lack of awe of God was prevalent.

APPLICATION

Man, this sounds just like today, doesn’t it? What is different? The New Living Translation writes Psalm 10:13 this way, “Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, ‘God will never call us to account.’” You see, this question has been asked for generations. We see a bad person prospering while we are serving the Lord and struggling to make ends meet. Why?

It isn’t ours to know why. God will judge everyone at some point. His timing is not our timing. We are called to be holy and devoted to Him. We are to focus on becoming as Christlike as possible and trust God with the rest. Do you trust Him? Do you believe He is just?

Take a few minutes and meditate on Psalm 73. Asaph struggled with this question of the wicked prospering as well. You have to read the whole psalm to see how he ends. But near the end is one of my favorite verses – verse 26. It says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” That is where we rest, beloved.

Father, I need to keep my eyes on You and not on the prospering wicked. You will take care of them in Your own time.

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