LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, June 6, 2024

As we continue our study on God’s wisdom specifically related to moral integrity, we come to one of the most divisive and destructive arguments in the local church today. What position do we take on the use of alcoholic beverages. Is drinking a sin, or is just drunkenness the sin? Should we or shouldn’t we use them? If we believe it’s ok to drink in moderation, what constitutes moderation? Do we have any responsibility to God or to others when we make our decision? These are all questions that are asked and argued by all of us from the young in Christ to the mature.

I am going out on a very thin limb to address this topic today, and trust that our hearts will be open to hearing the voice of God. Please carefully consider everything that is said here before jumping to any conclusions.

First, the Bible does not call drinking a sin. I address this issue first because it is the issue that I believe causes the biggest problem in teaching others a true Biblical position on this subject. It is wrong to call something a sin that God has not called sin. When we try to conform another person’s behavior through untruth that we have called truth, we create rebellion in the other person against all truth. When our children grow to an age of understanding truth for themselves, they may reject what we have said because we tried to manipulate them into a certain type of behavior. Let’s just tell them the truth. Jesus performed His first miracle by turning water into wine, and we know it was alcoholic wine because the host of the party said so. (John 2:9-10)

Having said that, there are some very strong statements in Scripture about the use of alcoholic beverages, and several of them are right here in Proverbs.

Proverbs 23:19-21  “Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.”

This is what the Scriptures teach.

1.      It is not wise to join with those who drink too much, because it will lead to laziness and poverty.

2.      Choosing not to join with them will keep our hearts on the right path. Everything about our relationship with Jesus Christ begins in the heart. Wanting to join with those who drink too much shows heart dependence on the world and not on God. The key to understanding this is the word “join.” Why would we who are joined to Christ have any need or desire to seek acceptance and approval from the world by joining with them?

There is more we will address tomorrow. But for today, consider carefully the reason you believe what you believe about the use of alcohol. It is a decision that reveals your moral integrity. You may not drink so you will appear morally superior to others, which is sin. Or you may drink because you don’t care about being morally pure. But those are not the only two options. You may drink or not drink because you are striving to honor and glorify God by being thankful in all things. That’s the choice to make – to be morally pure because by choosing to honor God in everything you have a clear conscience.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, June 5, 2024

I love to go to restaurants that have a buffet. Oriental-style buffets are my favorite, because I can easily justify eating a lot because the food is better for me – lots of meat and vegetables and I can limit the carbohydrate intake. If a little is good for me, then a lot is better for me.

Today we shift gears in our study of wisdom for living to the issue of moral integrity. But what does eating a lot of food have to do with my moral purity? Why should the quantity of food I eat be a subject of moral importance? Today’s Scripture passage has something to say about my food attitude.

Proverbs 23:1-3 “When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.”

First, I think gluttony applies to a much broader base of indulgences than just food. In fact, gluttony is a heart condition that results in the constant pursuit of more and better in any area of our fleshly life: more food, more money, more recreation, better house, better car, etc., etc. You have probably heard the term used this way in the statement, “He is a glutton for punishment.”  Gluttony is an attitude that seeks self-satisfaction. That makes it a moral issue.

Secondly, because we are susceptible to self-satisfaction, we are in danger of being manipulated and deceived by those whom we give the power to influence our lives. Notice in the Scripture passage what is happening:

1.      The warnings are directed at those who sit down to dinner with a person of influence and renown. Don’t be a name-dropper. Don’t take pride in whom you know or whom you have met. All such behavior is an attempt to increase our own status in someone’s eyes and make us look better to them. Such behavior is motivated by self-satisfaction.

2.      The food that has been prepared has an ulterior motive other than just nourishment – it is meant to deceive and influence. We become easily influenced by the status and value we allow to be placed on our lives by people and things. “Note well,” it says, “what is before you.” Look deeply into your heart and determine if there is any motive of self-satisfaction or self-advancement in what you are doing. If there is, put it to death. And if the motive of the person who is providing you with the food, or any other resource in life, is to manipulate you in any way, don’t let it happen. Never let your friendship or loyalty be bought.

People of moral integrity are people who cannot be influenced to change their position on issues of truth. We must not give people or possessions the power to influence our position in Christ. No person or possession can ultimately provide us with anything of eternal value in God’s Kingdom. All they can give us is a momentary and fleeting reward to a need for self-satisfaction. Only what comes from God is good and perfect according to James chapter one.

The challenge for us is to live each day loving God above all else, especially self. Only then will we be stable, strong, unshakable and unmovable. Only then will we resist the selfish need to sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate. Only then will we be living with moral integrity.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, June 4, 2024

There’s one more principle for financial integrity, and it may be the most difficult to live by. It’s found in Proverbs11:18. “The wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.”

We are to be honest wage earners.

Back on November 05, 2004, I wrote this challenge about financial integrity with regard to wage earning. It bears repeating.

“It seems like a no-brainer to most of us: don’t steal what belongs to someone else. But let’s define what it is that belongs to someone else. The obvious things are tangible- clothing, cars, boats, household goods, etc. Where it gets tough is when we think about the intangible things, i.e. TIME.”

For example, let’s say your boss hires you for an 8-hour day, with two fifteen-minute paid breaks and a one-hour non-paid lunch break. You will be paid $18.00 per hour. You arrive for work at 8:00 AM, and during the next two hours you work hard. You take your first 15-minute break. At 10:25, you finally arrive back at your desk 10 minutes late and work until noon, except for a ten-minute bathroom break which you didn’t do on your paid break. You leave for lunch at noon and return to your desk at 1:10 PM, and refreshed from your lunch break you put in two solid hours of work. At 3:10 you leave for a break and arrive back at your desk at 3:30 PM. During the next 90 minutes you again take five minutes to go to the bathroom, plus spend ten minutes reprogramming a couple of phone numbers on your personal cell phone. You then check out at 5:00 PM to go home.

Question – How much should you be paid?  If you said $144.00, you are guilty of stealing. You did not work 8 hours: you actually worked only 7 hours and 10 minutes. Now, that may sound picky and insignificant, but that $15 you just stole from your employer by making him pay you for personal time adds up to $75 per week, or $3900.00 per year. It is significant, not just from a cost of business perspective, but from a personal integrity perspective.

How much integrity in our finances is enough? Of all the people in the world, Christians should be the best to deal with when it comes to business and financial transactions. Unfortunately, that is not the case most of the time. For some reason Christians can be the most demanding and obnoxious of all people when it comes to money. Maybe it’s because we have put our trust in the deal or the money with which we make the deal rather than in the God who will provide for us richly when we are honest. Let’s consider all of this carefully today.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, June 3, 2024

Here are the next two principles in our study of Wisdom for Financial Integrity. They are found in the following verses from King Solomon’s wisdom writings.

Proverbs 20:14  “It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer; then off he goes and boasts about his purchase.”

Proverbs 11:1 “The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight.”

Proverbs 20:10  “Differing weights and differing measures- the LORD detests them both.”

Proverbs 16:11  “Honest scales and balances are from the LORD ; all the weights in the bag are of his making.”

Principle number two is this – be careful not to take advantage of others. The example Solomon gives is of the person who loves to negotiate for a better price, but carries it to the extreme of actually finding fault with the product or service for which he is paying. Then, after making the deal, he brags about how great the product or service is and what a deal he got. I observed people close to me in my formative years who would actually get angry about not getting a better deal than someone else, or who would use their profession or their position to demand a discount. As a man of financial integrity, I have learned to respect the right of the merchant to sell his product for a fair price. If he chooses to make known through his business practices that discounts are available, I will wisely take advantage of those discounts. But we should never belittle a product or service or manipulate the merchant into giving us a better deal. To me, that proves selfishness on our part, and will not be blessed by the God who requires integrity.

Principle number three is connected to the previous one – we are told to be honest in our business dealings with customers. Have you ever wondered how you can trust the pump at the gas station to dispense the correct amount of gas for the correct price? One of the divisions of our state government is the division of weights and scales, and one of the young men acquainted with our family worked as the district weights and measures guy. He went around and verified all the pumps and scales at all businesses in Western Wisconsin. Because he is doing his job, we can trust the accuracy of our grocery store’s meat department to be selling us the correct weight for the correct price.

I worked in a meat department in high school and college, back in the days when there was no self-serve, pre-packaged meat. Everything was sold over the counter, and it had to be weighed and priced. I remember one of the managers of the meat department being fired from his position because he was caught using his thumb on the scale as he weighed the meat to increase the profit margin. He was cheating people for his own commissions and bonuses. This kind of dishonesty – the kind that is for personal benefit at the expense of another person – abhors the Lord. He detests it.

So next time you have a thrift sale, or sell something on an online marketplace, make sure you are completely honest about the product, and don’t try to make more than it’s worth.  The same principle of honesty that is required in your job applies to your personal life as well.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, May 31, 2024

As we continue our study of Wisdom for Living, we come to a subject within the context of financial integrity that requires serious personal evaluation, and it will probably be painful. Over the next few devotionals, we will learn four principles of financial integrity from the writings of King Solomon. I pray that the Holy Spirit will encourage us as followers of Jesus to be completely honest with ourselves about where we may need to make some changes to become people of integrity.

First, we are told that we are not to pursue wealth that comes from dishonest means.

Proverbs 10:2-5  “Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death. The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.”

Proverbs 13:11   “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.”

Proverbs 21:6  “A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.”

I don’t believe that this applies to our normal salaries and income from employment, but rather to those other methods we use to make extra money for ourselves. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with making extra money, but how we do it can be wrong. We have all been tempted by those “get-rich-quick” schemes that appeal to the greed of our materialistic nature. They can be so attractive to us that we fail to investigate their legality or even try to determine if they are ethical.

]I remember the pyramid money schemes of the 70’s and early 80’s, when we were told to send twenty dollars to each of five people, and then add our name and the names of twenty more people to a list. We were promised that in 10 days we would receive thousands of dollars in the mail. It worked for the first few people in the pyramid, but then the law caught up with those who originated it and a bunch of people got in deep trouble. Praise God I chose not to be involved. Listen to this wisdom from Prov. 13:11 – “he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.”

There are innumerable marketing schemes out there today to tempt us to elevate riches to a higher priority than integrity. Many of them seem legitimate and may even provide a valuable service or product. But let me ask you to consider two things.

First, how many people have to be paid in the marketing line of this service or product, and how much does it inflate the price? Does it matter to your financial integrity to sell something for more than it’s worth?

Second, how much has the pursuit of riches influenced your decision to make extra money, and is it competing with your trust in Jesus to provide for you?

Serious questions to consider today.  We will give you more food for thought next time.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, May 30, 2024

Yesterday we laid out six wisdom principles to develop a successful work ethic which will result in financial security. Today we look at the other side of that coin and discover what makes for failure from the story of a man who owned a vineyard.

Proverbs 24:30-34  “I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.”

Here are five characteristics of financial failure:

1.      Laziness – “I went past the field of the sluggard”

2.      Poor decision-making ability – “past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment;”

3.      Procrastination – no discipline to do a job when it needs to be done – “thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.”

4.      A progressive downward spiral into pleasing self by resting whenever it is convenient for him – “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest”

5.      Denial – being oblivious to the consequences and taking no personal responsibility for causing them – “and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.”

Maybe you can relate to one or more of these characteristics in your own life right now. Their presence in your life may be the cause of your financial worries. Go back to yesterday’s devotional and review the six principles of financial security, and make some changes. Put an end to a poor work ethic and bring an end to your insecurity. You will be glad you did.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Maybe you have heard the adage, “Give a person a fish, and feed him for a day: teach a person to fish, and feed him for a lifetime.”  That bit of wisdom has one unstated implication that is very important – the person who is taught to fish needs to take action and catch fish to be fed. Teaching doesn’t feed him. Fishing doesn’t even feed him. Catching feeds him. Any person will starve on good intentions. What we need is production. We need fish in the fry pan.

Today and tomorrow we will compare two passages of Wisdom Scripture. They describe two different people. Both have the same opportunity for success. Both have been provided a means of making a living – one has sheep and the other has grapevines. One will make it, one will not. Why does one succeed and the other fail? There are principles that determine who does and who does not have some degree of financial security. Today, let’s look at the principles of financial security found in Proverbs 27:23-27.

“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in, the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field. You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you and your family and to nourish your servant girls.”

Principles for Financial Security

1.      Be diligent to take care of what you already have: make the most of what you have been given. Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds;

2.      Recognize the temporary nature of wealth: without discipline and proper management it will not last. for riches do not endure forever,

3.      Do not assume that past successes guarantee future success without increased knowledge and effort. and a crown is not secure for all generations

4.      Do your work in a timely and energetic way, applying yourself wholeheartedly until the task is completed. When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in,

5.      Use your income to provide for your basic needs first. the lambs will provide you with clothing…You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you and your family and to nourish your servant girls.

6.      Use your increase to improve your financial security. and the goats with the price of a field.

Let’s all take some quality time today to reflect on our attitudes towards work, and let the Holy Spirit teach us. But don’t stop there. Put it into action! You’ll feed yourself for a lifetime.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, May 28,2024

Yesterday we taught the Divine eternal principle that life is lived to it’s fullest when we give it all away. God’s principle of life is that after death, multiplication occurs. But what if we are looking for material and financial blessing?

That brings us to what Solomon says in Proverbs 11:24-28. “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell. Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”

Some would like us to believe that we can use this principle to make ourselves wealthier. Well, in God’s system, principles are only valid when proper motives are in place. If we attempt to use God’s principles for personal gain, we will lose. We must re-evaluate our primary motives and life principles, because the pursuit of wealth should never be what we are seeking from this life. But if our motive for giving away resources is totally an act of thanksgiving and humble service to the King, so that God is honored and God’s kingdom receives all the benefit, then there is a divine principle at work that says we will be abundantly blessed. Life is experienced to the fullest when it is given away.

So when we talk about generosity, we are talking about more than just money. We who have been loved by God with the grace of salvation, and who in turn love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, have an uncontrollable desire to give life away, just as Jesus gave His away for us. Generosity is not an action; it is an attitude that results in action. Test your spirit today and see if the dynamic principle of generosity is active. If it is, act on it! If it isn’t, what needs to be given away so you can experience it?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, May 27, 2024

 Solomon understood a dynamic principle of God’s kingdom – life is experienced to the fullest when it is given away.

This principle applies to every area of our lives, and yes, even to life itself. Just think of the truths presented in Scripture to support this principle:

       Acts 20:24 – Paul says, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”

       Philippians 3:7 – Paul says, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”

Mark 10:28 – Peter said to Jesus, “We have left everything to follow you!”

Luke 9:23 – Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

All these examples, and many more like them from Scripture, give us a clear statement that in God’s eternal plan for the fulfillment of man’s existence, there must be death for real life to occur. In John 12:23-25, Jesus said,  “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”  

When we finally reach the point of admitting that the life we are trying to attain is unattainable in our own strength and by our own efforts, and we choose to die to that pursuit of what the world calls life, we will cry out to the God who created all life and who is able to provide true life abundantly, and He will give it to us through His Son Jesus Christ!

When we have received that incredible and generous gift of forgiveness and eternal life, we will be filled with the Holy Spirit’s power and motivation to apply the “give it away” principle to every area of our lives. If we are looking for joy, then we must give joy away. If we are looking for peace, then be a peacemaker. If we are looking for security, then we must give away our trust in all the world offers as security and trust God alone. I challenge you to live by this principle in all areas of your life and discover the fullness that God brings that goes beyond my explanation. I have never felt better about life and who I am than when I am giving myself away for the sake of another person. You will feel the same fulfillment.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, May 24, 2024

If you want to ruin a relationship, start talking about how to give more money to the Lord. Finances are one of the biggest reasons for broken relationships. So if we are going to be people of wisdom, we’d better come to a mutual understanding of what God says about money.

Proverbs 23:4-5 “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”

Whenever the church of Jesus Christ takes up a discussion on money and finances there is the potential for great disagreement and conflict. If the church were to be compared to a car, then finances would be the potholes in the road waiting to throw the car’s steering out of alignment. Simple conversations between Christians can quickly become overheated when either the giving or the spending of money is the topic. It should not be so, but there are two potholes we have hit that have ruined our alignment with God’s values.

1.      Money has captured our affections. Let’s be realistic – we love money. We love the status it brings us when we have it. We have determined that the value of who we are as a person is directly related to the amount of money we have and are able to spend. We have given money the power to determine our personal worth. We also love the things money can provide for us, because we have also given possessions the power to determine our personal worth. We have adopted the secular standards of success by believing that the more we have and are able to manage the more successful we are. Money has captured our affections because we believe that God alone cannot fulfill our lives and give us a total sense of worth and purpose. That’s a big pothole we hit, and we need an alignment!

2.      Our Biblical understanding of giving and our obedience to it has become a pride issue for us. We try to convince others in the church to give the way we give. We even use the guidelines we believe in to justify the personal use of our funds. Whether we believe in tithing, or proportional giving, or generous giving, or sacrificial giving, or cheerful giving is not the real issue. What matters most is that we believe that all that we have is God’s and is available for His use for His glory at any time. There should never be a discussion in our minds about what is God’s and what is mine. It is all God’s, and we are simply the stewards, or managers, of His resources. Whatever we believe about the Biblical guidelines for purposeful, planned giving to the church, there should be an underlying philosophy that guides the management of our money, and it is this: I will honor the owner with every decision that involves the use of His resources. Proverbs 3:9-10 says, “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

I think we will stop there for today, because hitting two potholes has caused a major steering problem and I’m afraid that I won’t be able to safely drive until I get an alignment. So, as soon as I’m done here, I’ll make a call to the owner of Priority Alignment and let the head mechanic, the Holy Spirit, make any necessary adjustments. I’ll bet if you called, He’d have time to align you as well.

Pastor John