Our Words

 

Words are important because they impact people’s minds, people’s attitudes, and people’s lives. Jesus says it’s not what goes into a person’s mouth and into their stomach that defiles a person. It is what comes out of a person’s mouth that originates in the heart that defiles a person.

 

Words make a powerful impact in others’ lives and their spirits.

 

James in James 3 gives three illustrations of the power of words.

 

James 3:3

If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.

 

Bits control horses and guide them in the direction the rider wants to go. Words can control people and guide people’s lives.

 

Words can guide to truth.

Words can guide to lies.

 

Words can lead a person to a relationship with Jesus and salvation.

Words can lead a person to reject a relationship with Jesus and away from salvation.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is sharing words that lead others to the truth and to know Jesus and experience salvation.

 

James 3:4

Look at the ships also; though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

 

James is speaking of sailboats. The ships are big and they are driven by strong winds, but they are guided by a small instrument, the rudder.

 

Words can be used to direct people’s lives. They can overcome even large influences and strong emotions of our lives.

 

Our words can be used to guide others for good or bad. Words can encourage and positively influence or they can condemn and judge and negatively influence.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is using our words to encourage others to have faith in the one true God, Jesus.

 

James 3:5-6

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course life, and set on fire by hell.

 

A fire can provide light and warmth or it can total destroy something. It all depends on the words and how they are spoken.

 

Words can bring comfort and healing or they can bring hurt and harm.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is using words to heal, not hurt.

 

As people transformed by Jesus, we are to live and act differently from the rest of the world. James connects our living differently with the words we speak and especially words that we speak into other people’s lives.

 

Each of the illustrations James uses shows the great power that words have, a power that we must learn to use in God-honoring ways.

 

Colossians 4:5-6

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

 

Our words are to be:

Flavorful – creating an appetite for Jesus

Preserving – continuing to speak truth no matter the reception

Healing – bring healing and spiritual health others

Gracious – speaking grace, not condemnation

Wise Reponses – answering other’s question with godly wisdom

 

With Godly Wise Words, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                  Joe

God Said

 

Over 50 times the Bible records, “God said.” We hear that phrase, but do we believe that?

 

As a preface to the Ten Commandments Exodus 20:1-2 says, “And God spoke all these words saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery.’”

 

God speaks to the people of Israel and tells them that He is the Lord their God and that He is the one who delivered them out of slavery in Egypt.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that God is our Lord and that He has delivered us out of the slavery of sin.

 

Then in Exodus 20:3-17 God gives us the Ten Commandments.

 

We tend to see the Ten Commandments as rules that God demands we keep so He can control us. But what if we looked at the Ten Commandments with a different view?

 

The Ten Commandments are a moral code that help us to navigate through life.

 

Isaiah 30:21

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

 

God speaks and gives us the moral direction for our lives that is righteous and leads us to real life.

 

God is holy (morally up right) and righteous (right in God’s sight) and He is the only one that can be a reliable moral compass for our lives. If we don’t have God directing our lives and giving us righteous moral direction, our lives can lead us to destruction.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is having God as your moral compass.

 

The Ten Commandments are a way God protects our lives.

 

Each of the commandments in the Ten Commandments is a way God is giving us protection for an area in our lives.

 

Have no other gods – there is only one God and God is directing us to seek Him, find Him, and worship Him.

 

No idols – protecting us from the frustration of worshiping and serving something that cannot do what we need.

 

Not taking God’s name in vain – protecting us from offending God and offending others with our language and revealing a low moral character.

 

Remember the Sabbath and keeping it holy – protecting us from working everyday and not taking a day off to recharge physically and refresh spiritually.

 

Honor you father and mother – helping to set a pattern in our lives to properly respect authorities that God has placed in our lives.

 

You shall not murder – protecting us from, out of emotions, doing something that will destroy other’s lives and our own.

 

You shall not commit adultery – protecting us from violating sacred vows that give us real joy and provide powerful security for our children.

 

You shall not steal – protecting us from a life of dishonesty and hurting others.

 

You shall not bear false witness – protecting us from a life of deceit and deception.

 

You shall not covet – protecting us from a life spent on wanting what we don’t have and overlooking what we do have.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting God’s word protect us from a life that is empty and headed in the wrong direction.

 

We wrongly view the Ten Commandments as rules that are meant to control us and restrict our lives.

 

The right way to view the Ten Commandments is to see them as:

God’s direct word to us

God’s way of giving us a righteous moral compass

God’s way of protecting us from things that will harm us

 

Following God’s word honors God and benefits us.

 

Following God’s Word by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                               Joe

Jesus Pursues and Accepts Us

 

There are some scripture passages that we read so many times that we miss some of the important aspects of the passage. One those is the three parables in Luke 15.

 

The first is the lost sheep in verses three through seven.

 

A shepherd has a flock of one hundred sheep and one of the hundred wanders off. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes to seek the one who had wandered off.

 

The nature of sheep is to wander off. The shepherd pursues the sheep and brings him back to the flock. Then once the sheep is back in the flock, they celebrated the wandering sheep’s return.

 

Our old nature is to wander away from Jesus. Jesus nevertheless pursues us and when He has brought us to His body, the church, there is a celebration. The celebration should be by the body but, if not, there is absolutely a celebration in heaven.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is Jesus pursuing the wandering person to bring them to Him and His body.

 

The second parable is the lost coin in verses eight through ten.

 

A woman has ten coins and loses one of them. She seeks that coin diligently until she finds the coin and invites her friends and neighbors to celebrate that she has found it.

 

The coin was lost because of a circumstance. The coin is important because it’s part of the bridal veil. It represents a love relationship with her husband. She spares no effort to seek and find the coin. She seeks the coin till she finds it and, again, there is a celebration.

 

We may find ourselves lost because of circumstances. We may not have the opportunity to really hear the gospel or to understand the reality of Jesus’ love. Jesus will still pursue us because He created us to have a relationship with Him and He will pursue us to establish it.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is Jesus pursuing a love relationship with us no matter the circumstances.

The third parable is the lost or prodigal son in verses eleven through thirty-two.

 

A man had two sons and the younger son demanded his part of the inheritance. The father didn’t have to give it to him but he sold some of his property and gave the money to him. The young man squandered the money in reckless living. A famine hit the land and the young man found himself feeding pigs. He realizes the foolishness of this and goes back to his father seeking to be a hired servant. The father sees the young man returning a long way off and goes running to greet him. The father hugs him and restores him as his son. There is then a celebration that a lost son is found and that a son thought dead is alive.

 

The young man made a choice to leave his father and pursue his will and not his father’s will.  The father welcomed him back as a son, not a servant, and celebrated his return.

 

We make ungodly choices that separate us from Jesus and lead to reckless living. Jesus will welcome everyone back who sees their sin and returns to Jesus. He will restore us as His children and welcome us back into the family.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is recognizing our sin and coming to Jesus so we can become children of God.

 

Life is not hopeless because Jesus pursues us if we wander away or circumstances push us away.

 

Life is not hopeless because no matter how badly we sin, if we confess our sins and come to Jesus, He will accept us and make us children of God.

 

Many people think that it is too late to experience God’s love and be accepted by Him as His child – It Is Not!

 

Many people think that they are too bad to experience God’s love and be accepted by Him as His child – It Is Not!

 

Jesus’ invitation is to come to Him and follow Him, and it is given out to all.

 

Knowing and Following Jesus

by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe

Dealing with Temptation

 

How do you handle temptation? Not some little temptation that really has very little allure or enticement. I am talking about the temptation that seems to be a constant companion in your life. The one that you know is wrong and that you really don’t want to do but seem to be drawn to all the time.

 

In Ephesians 6:17 we are told to take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. God’s Word is the offensive weapon that He has given to us to defeat our enemy, Satan, and the temptations that he attacks us with.

 

In Luke 4 Jesus is attacked by Satan with three temptations.

 

The first temptation is in verse 3. Satan says to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

 

Jesus replied, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God.’”

 

Jesus uses the Word of God to defeat Satan’s temptation of trying to get Him to use His power to benefit Himself. Jesus says no, it is not about satisfying My personal needs but about what God says.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about obeying what God says in the Bible.

 

The second temptation is in verses 5-7. Satan takes Jesus and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and says to Him, “To You I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If You then, worship me, it will be Yours.”

 

Jesus replied, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’”

 

Again, Jesus uses the Word of God to defeat Satan and the temptation that Satan attacks Him with, which is to worship someone other than the one true God. Jesus makes it very clear that the Bible teaches that God is the only one who is worthy to be worshiped.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about worshiping the one true God and Him only.

 

The third temptation is in verses 9-11. Satan takes Jesus to Jerusalem and up to the pinnacle of the temple. Satan says to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You, to guard You. And on their hands they will bear You up, lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’”

 

Jesus replied, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

 

Jesus for the third time uses the Word of God to defeat Satan and his temptation to test God. We are not to intentionally put ourselves in a position that God does not want us in and then expect God to get us out of it.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about obeying and trusting God but not testing God by our disobedience.

 

The way Jesus deals with Satan and his temptation is with the Word of God. This is in contrast to the way Eve dealt with Satan and his temptation in Genesis 3 where she listened and tried human reasoning. Satan overcame Eve, but Jesus overcame Satan.

 

The reality is that Satan is smarter and more powerful than we are. Jesus is more powerful and smarter than Satan. When we depend on ourselves to deal with Satan, we will succumb to the temptation and enter into sin. Sin when it is fully grown will lead to death.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing the Word of God, believing the Word of God, and using the Word of God to defeat Satan and every temptation he attacks us with.

 

Using the Word of God and Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                   Joe

A Meaningful Life

 

My wife shared a poll this week. In the poll the question was asked. “What makes your life meaningful?” 23% of those who took the poll said nothing, nothing in their life brought real meaning. This group of people didn’t have anything in their lives, even harmful or ungodly things, that they could point to that brought significant meaning to them.

 

Jesus shares an incident where He encounters a man looking for meaning.

 

Matthew 19:16

And behold a man came to Jesus saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

 

The man was works-oriented. What “good deed” must I do to get eternal life? What deed do I need to do, what action do I need to take, or what rituals do I need to do. He wanted something that he could do to earn or deserve eternal life. He wanted meaning and he wanted to do something to get that meaning.

 

Matthew 19:17

And He said to him, “Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

 

Jesus tells the young man that if he wants life to keep the commandments. This is not just about eternal life; this is about living with meaning in this life and having the assurance of eternal life also.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living life with meaning and eternalness.

 

Matthew 19:18-20

He said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

 

The young man’s question is which commandments do I need to follow. He doesn’t want to do any more than he has to do. He wants the minimum effort for the maximum results.

 

Jesus shares six commandments and all of them are human to human. They show this young man is outwardly a very good and moral person. It also shows that he has no real relationship with God. He lives motivated by what he looks like and how others view him.

 

The young man says that he kept all of these. So, he wants to know what does he still lack.

 

He had done all he knew to do and he knew there was something lacking.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living in moral uprightness out of love for Jesus and the desire to obey Him.

 

Matthew 19:21

Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me.”

 

Jesus tells him that his riches are what is hindering him from experiencing meaning in his earthly life and having the assurance of eternal life. Jesus tells him to go sell his possessions and give to the poor so that he can have treasure in heaven as oppose to having treasure on earth which will fade away. Then come follow Jesus. He can follow Jesus because he had gotten rid of what he had put ahead of God, his wealth.

 

Jesus doesn’t tell anyone else in the New Testament they have to do this.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is making Jesus Lord, the sole ruling authority in your life.

 

Matthew 19:22

When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

 

The young man was presented with the chance to put Jesus first in his life and have an eternally meaningful life. He was given the opportunity to have an abundant life. He chose to keep his wealth which could not and would not bring meaning or eternal life.

 

There is a world wanting to experience eternal meaning in life. What they are really looking for is Jesus.

 

The question is: Are we who claim to know Jesus going to show the world Jesus or settle for just being good moral people?

 

With Jesus as Lord Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                 Joe

The Greatest

 

In Mark 10 James and John come to Jesus and ask Him if He would do whatever they ask Him to do. Jesus asked them what they wanted and they said they want Him to grant them to sit at His right and left when He comes in His glory.

 

James and John wanted to be the greatest in God’s kingdom.

 

When the other ten apostles heard about what James and John had asked, they became indignant with James and John.

 

What does it mean to be great or the greatest?

 

The world sees great as:

Being Wealthy

Being in a Powerful Position

Being Famous

Having Others Serve You

 

Jesus shows us that His view of great and greatest is very different than the world’s view.

 

In 1 John 2:15 John writes, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

 

We as followers of Jesus cannot love the world, meaning we are not to love the principles of the world or the values of the world or the material things of the world.

 

We as followers of Jesus are to be different and have the values of God’s kingdom and love the things of God.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living differently by loving God and the things of God and not loving the world or the things of the world.

 

Jesus tells the Twelve that if they want to be great then they have to be servants and if they want to first then they must be servant of all.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being willing to serve others.

 

Jesus then tells the Twelve that He came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

 

Jesus says that He came to be a servant.

 

If anyone who has ever lived had a right to demand that He be served, it was Jesus.

 

Jesus is:

The Messiah

The King of kings and Lord of lords

The All-Powerful God in the Flesh

 

Jesus chose to give that up and become a servant. Jesus as a servant provided food for thousands, healed many with diseases, and washed His disciples’ feet.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being willing to give up any rights we have or think we have so we can serve others.

 

Jesus also says that He will give His life as a ransom life for many. Jesus chose to become the sacrifice for sin.

 

Jesus is our example for service and sacrifice.

 

Jesus serves others no matter who they are and we are to serve others no matter who they are.

 

Jesus sacrificed His life for humanity and we are to be willing to sacrifice to help people come to know and follow Jesus.

 

Jesus’ invitation to James, John, Andrew, Peter, Matthew, and Philip is to come follow Him.

 

When we accept that invitation we are committing to:

Living life not loving the world but loving God

Being willing to serve others

Being willing to sacrifice so others can know and become followers of Jesus

 

The people of the world will never care what we believe until they see that we care about them.

 

Jesus loved people, served people, and sacrificed for people. In doing so, He attracted people to Himself.

 

He attracted:

The Sick

The Outcast

The Weary

The Hurting

The Hopeless

The Sinful

 

We are to follow Jesus and serve others and sacrifice for others so that they can come to know and follow Jesus and receive forgiveness and eternal life.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is following Jesus.

 

Serving and Sacrificing with Jesus

by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                  Joe

Before and After

 

I want to start with a question. What is your “before”? What is your “before Jesus”? All of us have a before Jesus. According to Romans 3:23 all of us have sinned and come short of God’s standard. So, all of our befores are as sinners.

 

The good thing is that all of us can have an after. We can all have an after, an “after we receive Jesus as Savior and Lord”. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Peter’s before was as a prideful fisherman and his after, a humble proclaimer of the gospel.

 

Matthew’s before was as a materialistic tax collector and his after, a follower of Jesus who died as a martyr.

 

Paul’s before was as an angry persecutor of the church and his after was a planter and builder of the church.

 

Mary Magdalene’s before was as an immoral demon-possessed woman and her after as the person who Jesus first appeared to after His resurrection.

 

My before was bigoted, apathy toward God, and a bored-with-church young man to a young man who loves Jesus, wanting others to know Jesus, and serving through His church.

 

Raise the Roof and Removing the Walls is letting Jesus turn your before into your after.

 

All of our befores are as sinners, but not all sinners are alike.

 

Acts 10:34-35 says, “So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.’”

 

You can be the President of the United States or a homeless person living on the street. It does not matter to Jesus.

 

Jesus wants all people, no matter your standing in society.

 

Jesus called fisherman to follow Him.

Jesus called tax collectors to follow Him.

Jesus called Zealots to follow Him.

Jesus called rich people to follow Him.

Jesus called poor people to follow Him.

Jesus called conservative people to follow Him.

Jesus called liberal people to follow Him.

 

Sinners are sinners, even if they look very different and all sinners need Jesus. We all need Jesus.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is seeing our sin and coming to Jesus to be forgiven and changed.

 

The church is called the Body of Christ and the Family of God.

 

A body is made up of many different parts and all of those parts are joined together and work together though the brain. Jesus is the head, the brain, of the church.

 

A family is made up of many different members with many different personalities and many different backgrounds. Jesus is the head of the church; the family and the church are united through relationships.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is come together as people redeemed by Jesus and forming His family to serve Him and grow His kingdom.

 

God’s people are going to look different, have different backgrounds, have different personalities, speak different languages, and worship and serving Jesus differently. The thing that will create unity is knowing we all have a before Jesus but are living together in our after in Jesus.

 

Living in Our After in Jesus and Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                   Joe