James

A Living Sacrifice

February 10, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

Are you living your life as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1)? It is what God commands us to do, but how many of us understand what this means, much less are doing it? Jesus gave His life for us, a perfect sinless sacrifice for every sin we have ever or will ever commit. His death was the sacrifice needed to assuage God’s wrath over our sins (Isaiah 53:5-6; 1 John 2:2; Romans 5:8-9).

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His sacrifice became the model for how each of us is to conduct their lives (1 Peter 2:21; Ephesians 5:1-2). We aren’t perfect and never will be. At the same time, we are called to be holy, just as He is holy (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:15-16). There aren’t some commands of God that we can take seriously and others we can disregard. If we love Him, we will keep all His commands (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3-6).

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Our Fruit

February 3, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

Throughout scripture, we see a great importance placed on our fruit. Our fruit is what we produce and cultivate by our actions, decisions, and attitudes. It is the ultimate result of how we live. Good fruit is that which pleases and brings glory to God, while bad fruit results from selfish and prideful living. We often say our excess is the fruit of our labors because hard work often results in providing for the needs of our families and ourselves.

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A farmer who does not sow his fields will not reap a harvest. An office worker who goofs off all day will not get the promotion they crave. We reap what we sow in the physical world, and this is even more true in the spiritual realm (Galatians 6:7-8).

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Have You Died?

January 30, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

You claim Jesus is the Lord of your life, but have you died to sin? Both cannot be true in one’s life. We cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). If we are a slave to sin, we cannot be a servant of God (John 8:34; Romans 6:16). In the same manner, if we are a slave of Christ, sin no longer has any claim on our lives (Romans 6:17-18). There is tremendous freedom in that realization. The chains of sin will drag us to an eternal death, but the blood of Christ penetrates those shackles and causes them to fall away (Colossians 2:13-14).

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We no longer have to carry the weight of our sins (Psalm 103:12; 1 Peter 2:24). As free men and women, why would we ever choose to hunt down those chains, reassemble them and clamp them back on? We need not do that, and if our commitment to Christ is genuine, we never will.

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Violating God’s Will

January 20, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

A couple of different thoughts have been fighting for attention in my mind for the past several days. One was sparked by reading Job 28:28, where God said, “The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding.” We’ve talked about what it means to fear the Lord before (see “The Fear of The Lord”), but this verse is so clear.

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We could take it to mean that it is wise to fear God, which is true, and we can also understand it to be a succinct definition of what fear of God looks like: to be wise. Wisdom will keep us from violating God’s will. Which brings me to the other topic that’s been on my mind: finding God’s will for your life. I’ve also written on that topic before, and if you want a deeper dive, see, “Explaining God’s Will for Your Life.” I submit you will never understand God’s will until you develop a proper fear of His holiness.

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Exchanging Truth for Lies

January 6, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

God’s Word never ceases to amaze in how relevant it remains. Anyone who thinks the Bible is an outdated collection of dusty writings isn’t paying attention. Almost 2,000 years ago, the Apostle Paul penned these words in his letter to the Church in Rome: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen” (Romans1:25).

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We see this verse continue to play out in Western countries all over the world. Societies and cultures founded on the principles of Scripture and their faith in God have abandoned the truth of God’s Word to follow their desires, lusts, and pleasures (2 Timothy 3:1-4; 1 John 2:16). They are exchanging truth for lies, convinced their wisdom is superior to God’s (1 Corinthians 1:18-21).