Sail Away New York

James 3:1-18 and Mt. Sac

Current Song: "Restored" by Jeremy Camp

So far today I've caught times of an hour or so in between trying to add classes to myself. Earlier I was able to continue my journey through the book of James. I read James 3: 1-18. In these verses the topics of how evil the tongue is and wisdom appear. I love how in verse 1 James starts out in a rather bold way. He says that not all of the people he is writing to should be teachers and the reason he gives is the stricter judgement of God on Christian teachers. Than James goes on to speak about the tongue.

What really stands out to me is that James mentions that from the same mouth comes blessings and cursing? How often do we as believers fail to remember such a passgae as this when cursing or telling coarse jokes? The God of the bible calls us as believers to a high and holy life.

Are we ever aware of our testimony to the world or do we blend in so well that the world doesn't even think of us as Christians? What a reminder of my own personal failures to live the life Christ has called me to live. Failure to live out this life in front of the very people I am trying to reach for Christ. May beleivers be more aware of how their lives can either lift up or sully the name of God.

Verses 13-18 of chapter 3 were on wisdom. James describes that bitter jealousy and selfish ambition are not wisdoms from God but that they are in fact earthly and demonic. James goes on to say that wherever we find these earthly and demonic wisdoms we will also find disorder and every vile practice. We need not look further than our own country for the evidences of this very truth.

After this description of earthly wisdom, James gives us a description of heavenly wisdom. It's interesting to note how James uses the word pure first in his list of words for heavenly wisdom. True wisdom has the purity of God. Amazing!!! May God grant all His servants an ever increasing amount of godly wisdom.

My First Day Of Junior College

Current Song: "Birth of Uncool" by The O.C. Supertones

So it's 10:20am as I write this post. I'm sitting outside of the science center at Mt. Sac listening to The O.C. Supertones. I've tried to add both an English class as well as an anthropology class to my utter failure. The feeling of trying to go back to college and yet being constantly rejected is quite the mix of emotions and thoughts.

Should I be mad for being at the bottom of the priority list? The thought of going to another junior college eminates. Maybe Chaffey or Fullerton. All I know is that for the first time in my life I am actually serious about going to school. Oh well. Got of few minutes of reading in but I'll leave that for the next post. Meh.

6 Cures For The Fear Of Evangelism

Current Song: "Anchored" by Enfield

This morning on the Lord's Sunday, we had a guest speaker. Pastor Jack is out on vacation and so we had a speaker named Charlie H. Campbell speak. First and foremost, let me just start off by saying that this mornings sermon topic was unexpected. With that said, I believe that it was a sobering reminder of why we should witness to say the least.

For me it is normal to listen to audio sermons, Christian podcasts, or sermons by way of radio that would speak about this very topic. I can't say that this is typical for the average church goer. So to hear a message that I've heard on more than one occasion being preached in my own church is quite nice. Anyways, here's what I jotted down in ink as I wrote away in my notepad.


6 Cures For The Fear Of Evangelism

A Few Thoughts
- Jesus came to earth to save sinners from hell (1 Timothy 1:15)
- Humans are more valuable than animals (Luke 12:24)
- Jesus says that there are many unsaved but very few to witness to them (Luke 10:2)
- 3 reasons we don't witness is because we are afraid of what people will think, being rejected, or hurting a relationship


1) Remind yourself of what awaits the unsaved
- Because believers know the fear of God's wrath, we witness (2 Corinthians 5:10-11, Revelation 20)

2) Remember that Jesus has absolute authority in heaven and on earth
- Because Jesus is in control of everything, we shouldn't be afraid to witness (Matthew 28:18-20)

3) Remember that God is with you
- We don't have to be afraid when we witness because God says that He is always with us (Acts 18:9)

4) Know your message
- Study the bible to be ready to give a defense for it and its message (2 Timothy 2:15, 1 Peter 3:15)
- Some good evangelism verses to memorize are:
John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Acts 17:30, Romans 3:10, Romans 5:8, Romans 6:23, Romans, 10:9-10, 1 John 1:19

5) Remember how God has powerfully worked in your life
- Remember how the Israelites saw God's wonders yet quickly forgot about God ( Deuteronomy 7:17, Psalm 106)

6) Pray for boldness
- Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:19-20, 29-31)
- Do not stop praying. Remember that Jesus said to ask and it will be given to us (assuming that we are praying with God's will in mind and not that of our own agendas and pleasures)

Do We Really Savor Christ As We Should?

Here is John Piper speaking about unknowing thoughts that many seem to have in the evangelical church these days.