This is all about Jesus. He even told the folks at Nazareth it was about Him, when He read from this passage in His hometown synagogue (Luke 4:16-21). Jesus of Nazareth is the perfect fulfillment of this prophecy.
But this passage is not just about Jesus; it’s about us, too. When we choose to follow Him, His mission becomes our mission, too (thus, The Great Commission).
What’s our mission? To bring good news to the poor. To bind up the brokenhearted. To proclaim liberty to the captives. To proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God. To bring comfort and gladness to all who mourn. To build up the ancient ruins, repair the ruined cities.
The promise if we apply ourselves to these things: You shall be called priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God (Isa 61:6).
We follow the Messiah. We are priests of His, with a great mission. Make that a Great Commission.

Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: The Messiah’s mission is our mission.

The enormity of the decision of those fishermen haunts me, centuries later. Up to this point in their lives, success in fishing was the goal, the achievement marker for life. Along came Someone who could grant that longing effortlessly, without even getting in the water. Simon Peter tried to disqualify himself: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Yeah, like Jesus didn’t already know that. Instead of being excused from discipleship because of a lousy track record in holiness, Jesus gives Simon an unbelievable challenge and promise, on top of the unbelievable catch: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

That’s all it took. The committed fishermen walked away from the greatest catch in their lives to follow One who could do anything, who had called sinful men to just follow Him. What an epic adventure! There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything that compares with serving God! To follow Jesus Christ is the absolute guarantee of adventure, and it’s for eternity!

My mind spins with memories of what it has been like to follow Jesus. The word “adventure” doesn’t do the journey justice. And to think our earthly existence is only the beginning of the trail! If it’s adventure you want, follow Him!

Dave Ness

The Bottom Line: There is nothing that compares with following Jesus Christ!

Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD.  Proverbs 20:10

Sometimes it surprises me what matters to God. For instance, the “hairs of your head are numbered” thing—who but God and a few bald guys would care? I just got my hair cut. When she got done, it looked like a fat gray mouse had exploded on the barber shop floor. I think I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Recalculating.”

Anyway, although I’ve seen this verse and the ones like it before, it still surprises me that “unequal weights and unequal measures” would earn the status of being “an abomination to the LORD”—a term generally reserved in the Bible for “icky” sins like sexual depravity. Just having two sets of weights, one for friends and family, another for people we don’t like or know, earns us this kind of rebuke from God? Yup. He’s serious about a lot of things, apparently including fairness.

This verse hearkens back to earlier times when, instead of a bar code beeping across a scanner, a small business merchant would be in possession of a basket or a scale by which to measure goods. It probably wasn’t that hard to have a “guest” measure available to shortchange people who looked like they could afford it. It wasn’t as if a “weights and measurements” inspector was standing around the open marketplace, making sure everything was kosher. Merchants were pretty much on the honor system, when it came to fairness. It turns out that God doesn’t like people getting ripped off, even if they’re rich people.

So, fairness and honesty matter to God. The double standard in business which gouges customers on purpose; the insider trading which goes on; all kinds of rip-off’s created to bilk people out of their money—He doesn’t appreciate that? No. It’s an abomination to Him. Really. His followers should have no part in cheating people, even if “they’re on the other side.” Fairness and honesty—to everyone. That’s what God expects of His children. He expects it in business. He expects it in relationships. I’m thinking He even expects it in politics, a playground for double standards if there ever was one.

As followers of the Most High and Most Fair God, we’re obligated to be just in our dealings with all people, not just the ones we like or who share our whatever. It’s one more part of the price we pay in trying to live a righteous life.

Dave Ness

The Bottom Line: God cares about, and expects, honesty and fairness from us.

There were some key evidences of God’s work among the Ephesians. One was a huge bonfire, fueled by books of magic flipped onto the flames by recent converts from sorcery to Christianity. The value of the books would today have come to around six million dollars!

Another indicator that things were changing in Ephesus was the reaction of the local silversmith’s union. They were not pleased! They felt this preacher posed a threat to their livelihood, which principally consisted of making silver shrines of Artemis. Her popularity had taken a dive since the apostle hit town. Led by Demetrius, the silversmiths started a riot. Demetrius would have been better off to just start making silver handkerchiefs inscribed with “Jesus is Lord.”

They had a tremendous revival in Ephesus. Question: Would this have happened had Paul gone there years before, when he first intended?

I don’t think so. Apparently, the timing wasn’t yet right. Also, the Spirit directed the apostles to first encircle Asia with the Gospel, before coming back to it, and there is purpose to everything God does. There was a reason for the delay. The end result was a powerful ministry which reached both Jews and Gentiles. Paul had the time of his life! It may have been his most enjoyable ministry.

What can we learn from Paul’s Ephesian ministry? The pattern Paul used in Ephesus of letting people come to him, then teaching them, used to work in America. In most American ministries of today, the plan is to establish a nice facility, provide worship services and programs which people find attractive, and let them come to us so we can share with them about Jesus. Sometimes, this works. More often, not, particularly on the skeptical coasts, where it’s hard to get anyone but Christians to come to a church service. Are we stuck? God is never stuck! It’s again time to seek God’s power, timing and methods for our situation.

Dave Ness

The Bottom Line: God-powered, God-timed evangelism is always effective.

Paul did his homework, prior to engaging the Athenians; he didn’t waltz in assuming an automatic audience. He studied their culture, their poets, their way of thinking, found a place of commonality, and went from there. He didn’t leave out hard concepts like the Resurrection, but he also didn’t begin there. He started where they were: so afraid of leaving something out that they had made an image to “the unknown god,” just in case!

We need to do like Paul, and start from the page of those we’re trying to reach. In ministering to modern-day Americans, we can make points with the church crowd if we start out by attacking the moral values of the surrounding culture, but we’re not going to connect with the broken people of this age that way. Their minds are on the economy, their messed-up relationships, their loneliness, lack of purpose. Music. Their kids. Sports. Entertainment. I can’t believe many of them go around thinking about how to get forgiveness for their sins. They want help, but “a Savior who died for them” doesn’t compute. This doesn’t mean they don’t need Jesus; it just means they don’t yet know why they might need Him.

The Church needs to listen, then start from where people are, not where we think they should be. The help we offer should be within their reach.

There is still a place for church ministry from the pulpit, but very little evangelism is taking place in sanctuaries in America, anymore. It’s like fishermen waiting back at the house for fish to come find them. Successful fishermen go out. Likewise, successful evangelists. If we reach this generation, we need to haunt the marketplace, because they just aren’t coming to find us, no more than the Gentiles were tracking down the Jews and trying to be converted to Judaism, back then. Sitting in our synagogues is not working. It’s time to go to the marketplace, on purpose, and spend the days there, not marketing the Church like another commodity, but listening to a hurting world, helping them find their place in God’s Kingdom by starting where they are, not where we think they should be.

We don’t all fit in the same spot, but we all fit, somewhere. And whatever we do, we need to approach America as the mission field it is, rather than sitting in our synagogues expecting the world to beat down our door, anytime soon.

Dave Ness

The Bottom Line: We reach people by starting where they are.

The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:22-31

Welcome to Philippi! What happened to the pleading Macedonian who wanted Paul to “Come over and help us”?! It’s a good thing this game plan came directly from the Holy Spirit, because had it come from denominational headquarters, somebody would have gotten fired over it. The missionary team had skipped over territory right in front of them, in order to sail to Europe, shortly to encounter this ignoble welcome. Their crime? Delivering a slave girl from some sort of evil spirit! (Her masters had been using her fortune-telling abilities to generate income; they didn’t appreciate Paul turning her back into an ordinary slave girl).

Things quickly went from low-key evangelism along the river bank to a high-profile mini-riot, complete with being stripped, beaten with rods and thrown into jail, with the added discomfort and indignity of their feet being placed in the stocks. So this is where helping people in Jesus’ name gets you!

The apostles had plenty of reasons to moan, to be angry and bitter, but they’re stronger men than that. What they do is the exact opposite of what logic or their bodies must have told them to do: they sang praises to God. Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. It won’t be long, now!…

Dave Ness

The Bottom Line: The less likely the circumstances, the more powerful the praise.

I’ve drawn criticism for being anti-planning, a denominational sin if ever there was one; on the contrary, I love to plan—it’s implementing those ideas which is hardest for me! What God was teaching the early missionaries, and what I think He’d like to teach us, is the thrill of faith. Faith is when you don’t have blueprints, the money is not in the bank, and you don’t have a forwarding address, but you go anyway, because “God said.” When you get there and find the miracles and provision are better than you could have imagined, you know it was God. It’s a kick! And when you get to Macedonia, because that’s where God sent you, and for your efforts you are beaten, thrown in jail and placed in the stocks so you can’t even move, you still know it was God, who somehow gives you the courage to sing hymns, setting Him up to pull off an earthquake, a little prison ministry and a new Church in Philippi, then it’s on to the next faith adventure.

Some people live by faith. We should be among those people! I’m not talking about quitting your job (although, if that’s God’s direction, it’s a quick faith-builder!). I’m talking about getting our guidance from the Holy Spirit. I’m talking about believing that God has plans of His own which include us, and that we’d be a lot happier going His way than ours. Living by faith means being so committed to Jesus that we obey Him, await His orders, and are led by Him, which means there will be times when people are demanding to know what our plans are, and all we’ll be able to tell them is that we plan to serve Christ! It’s not easy living this way, but neither is it boring. Want witnessing opportunities? Live by faith!

We could be Spirit-led people, if we choose to be. He’s still doing it, and He uses whomever is willing to follow Him and listen to His direction. Did I ever tell you about my first summer in Alaska? Man, that was a blast! I didn’t know a soul in the whole state and I didn’t have a job or a place to live or transportation, but I just thought God wanted me to go there and….

I still remember telling the Lord at the end of that summer, “If this is living by faith, give me more!” That’s a prayer He’s answered.

Dave Ness

The Bottom Line: Living by faith is thrilling, fulfilling and pleasing to God.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Here’s the lineup. A new string of shows is coming to television, aimed at the elusive “faith community” which likes to hear stuff on religious subjects, yet which is funny, edgy and true to real life.

First off, we have the show, “Adam and Eve,” with two of the biggest names in Hollywood in the starring roles. Set, of course, in the beautiful Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve are two people who are drop-dead gorgeous, with a wardrobe composed mostly of flora and fauna blocking the camera shot. Filming must have been interesting.

There is in the Garden a tree, the one known in the Bible as “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,” but here shortened to just “The Tree of Knowledge.” It’s the one God doesn’t want them to touch, since God, in this show, is paranoid of His people finding out what’s really behind all this, which is not much (kind of like “Ignore that man behind the curtain,” on “The Wizard of Oz”). God is against His people getting knowledge (read: Science), so He has quarantined the Tree of Knowledge, to keep the human race in perpetual stupidity (read: Believing and trusting in God, rather than in themselves).

There is another character with a major role. Through the wonders of computer animation, there is a talking snake who interacts with Adam and Eve on a daily basis. God does, too, but it’s only on a remote, voice-from-the-sky basis, and usually what He says is dorky and inane. Example: A booming voice startles Adam and Eve, as out of the blue, God commands, “Thou shalt not eat the yellow snow!” Adam looks heavenward, and says, “What’s snow?” There is a pause, and God replies, “Oh. Yeah. Never mind.” Adam and Eve shake their heads and go about their business.

The snake, however, is cool. Cast with the voice over talent of one of the best comedians in the business, the snake is pretty much the highlight of “Adam and Eve.” He comes up with the best one-liners, he’s intelligent but not condescending, he’s pretty much the best friend Adam and Eve have. The snake consoles them in their fate of being stuck with a clueless Creator, and agrees to help them out. Using the snake’s intelligence, Adam and Eve are able to garner some of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, chow down, and instantly become brilliant scientists, who know the answers to everything, including how to get away from God, who starts pursuing them through the Garden, plodding along like the giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk.” The snake helps them escape.

Now that they have the gift of knowledge, Adam, Eve and the snake have weekly adventures in outsmarting God, which usually isn’t that hard. The show is now set for sit-com style humor, with God as the fall guy and everyone else taking turns being the hero. “Adam and Eve” is lauded as a breakthrough success. Christians by the millions watch the show, chortle at the antics, then attempt to remind themselves that it’s not real, and that what the Bible says is what counts. It gets a little harder all the time, since they really do enjoy the show.

“Adam and Eve” looks to be such a hit that there are already spin-off’s: “Adam and Steve,” in which the growing colony of Edenites in rebellion against religion discover the wonders of same-sex relationships. “Adam and Steve” really gets in its digs at those who would dare to term such a noble lifestyle “sin,” as if humans had some control over their own behavior, in reaction to bodily urges and impulses.

There is also a crime show, “CSI Eden,” focused on the sad-but-true story of the first murder, when Cain killed his brother, Abel. The show’s emphasis is in understanding the inner pain of the perpetrator, plus showing gory shots of the crime scene in a kind of artsy fashion. The aspect of mystery keeps viewers’ attention.

Fortunately, the “Adam and Eve” show exists only in my imagination. There is no such show (I hope), nor are there spin-off’s. Satan, however, is real, and he continues to spin God’s good Word to make everything upside down, using every tool available, one of his favorites being the media. Consider most of the entertainment industry’s offerings. Is the bottom line of the programming all that different from my imaginary “Adam and Eve” show, or would “Adam and Eve” (and spin-off’s) only be a variation from what’s already out there? Does most of the programming available to us agree with Biblical reality, or is everything backwards? Who is the hero in television, movies, magazines, etc.? God? The person who believes in or follows Him? Hardly ever. God’s followers are consistently portrayed as narrow-minded, stupid, anti-intellectual, bigoted. God doesn’t exist, except in the minds of His weak-minded followers. Smart people will look within and find what it takes to save the planet. Dumb people will stick to the manmade rules of religion. If there’s a hero at all, it’s the mythical, cute, clever serpent who brings us the wisdom of the ages, and encourages us to break free from the moral restraints imposed by holier-than-thou types who insist their way is the only way. Oh, yeah. In the Bible, the roles are reversed. Christians probably should try to remember that.

It’s hard, though, when so much of our entertainment is geared to precisely the opposite of the scripture, and we tend to spend so little time occupied with the Bible. So we tell ourselves, “Enjoy the show, but forget each and every message it promoted. Enjoy the show, but don’t believe any of it. The Bible is real, this isn’t. The Bible is real, this isn’t. The Bible is real? Yeah, I’m supposed to believe that. Gets harder all the time.”

Find me a show or movie which agrees with the Bible on the subject of sin, and I’ll show you a program with an uphill battle ahead of it, and probably a very short life span.
Sin, the Key Ingredient
In the Bible, sin is the key ingredient of death. In modern-day American culture, sin is the key ingredient of entertainment. Isn’t it?

Check out what’s available in movies and television, plus the various other media avenues. Take the Bible definition of what constitutes sin (for a starting point, we’ll take the Ten Commandments), and how is sin portrayed? Once in a while, we get the Bible message that this stuff will kill you and bring you all kinds of misery, but more often this is what we see and hear:

Sin, made clever.
Sin, made funny.
Sin, made sophisticated.
Sin, made noble.
Sin, made artistic.
Sin, made interesting and exciting.
Sin, made romantic.

Only it’s never called “sin.” With the exception of a few sins like murder which are socially unacceptable even among the ungodly, there’s usually another name for the behavior, which doesn’t sound so, well,… sinful. Adultery is an “affair;” homosexual acts are a “gay” lifestyle practiced by, in real life, the unhappiest of folks, but portrayed by actors as enlightened, wise and carefree people; pre-marital sexual activity is true romance; lying is being smart; cursing is rugged, powerful and “realistic;” coveting is nothing more than the desired result of good advertising; at least murder is still “murder”—no, scratch that, I forgot about a woman’s right to choose.

Hour after hour, day after day, the serpent’s message blasts winsomely across our lives: Sin is great! Sin will get you “heaven.” Sin brings pleasure, power. Sin is the way to get what you want and deserve. You shall be like God, you’ll be as powerful as God, as smart as God, you are God, and the ever-present “There is no God, (so it doesn’t matter).”

Satan’s bottom line is, “Sin gains you Eden.” God’s bottom line is this: Sin costs you Eden, and it cost Jesus His life to get it back for you. Don’t talk to God about the romance of sin. He watched His only Son being tortured to death, in order to save you from its consequences.
Camera-angle Ethics
My reason for bringing up this subject is not to harp on anyone or cast judgment on the entertainment choices of other Christians. This is a personal journey, but I realize I’m not alone. Everyone who is trying to live a holy life, trying to be closer to God, yet continually being frustrated in the attempt by the ravages of our pervasive “culture” knows what I’m talking about. I’m wondering how many times we can imbibe the latest crud served up as “entertainment,” then shake it off and go back to loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

I’ve set limits for myself through the years, learned the hard way, as far as what my standards are to be regarding entertainment. For instance, with movies, I have refused to bring home “R” rated films, establishing the line at “PG-13.” This has kept me from seeing a lot of bad movies and a few good ones. I’ve plugged away at PG-13, and rejoiced in the rare PG or even G film made available which was also worthy of my time. “Good entertainment” vs “bad entertainment” has been determined for me according to the letters slapped on it by the MPAA ratings board. I guess it hasn’t worked that badly, but I’m rethinking some stuff. Why? Because I’m coming to see that more and more, regardless of the rating on the film, the message of so much of our media is the same: Sin is good; God and His laws are not.

Not all movies bear that underlying tone, of course, and some wonderful ones have been made over the years. But think about the message being communicated by the majority of films and television. If sin is portrayed at all, isn’t it almost always either taken for granted as being natural, or romanticized? When the message of the film is directed toward making young people think sex outside of marriage is noble and there’s nothing wrong with it, cutting out enough skin scenes to earn it PG-13 doesn’t change that message. After we watch the thing and find ourselves vicariously celebrating fornication as being romantic, we’re supposed to forget all about it, and go back to the view that the Bible standard is realistic, and the serpent’s version brings heartache and death. I’m thinking that many of us have a harder time getting all the way back to the Bible, each time we enjoy another movie where sin is glamorized.

When it’s all told, the damage is done by the repeated gospel that marginalizes God and exalts sin. The message is the same, whether the director graphically illustrated it or left it to the imagination.

Then there’s the issue of evangelism. When sin is celebrated, when it’s used as the base ingredient for nearly everything termed “entertainment,” convincing a culture that we are all sinners in need of a Savior becomes increasingly difficult. The more of the “romance of sin” we accept into our lives, the harder it is to be very disturbed over a world all around us headed for eternity without God. The more we entertain ourselves with sin made cute, clever, funny or noble, the harder it is to remember that it always leads to death in real life, which is the one that counts.
Real Life Reality
Real life. This is how it works in real life: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23). I believe that, but the more of the world’s contradictory view I willingly take in, the harder it is to have any kind of an edge to my belief. Sin is heavily romanticized in our culture, these days. It’s a struggle to maintain a lifestyle aimed at holiness when the exact opposite message is invited to occupy many hours of our time. It pretty much kills all desire for evangelism, too. When sin “isn’t that bad,” why risk embarrassment or rejection to try to free people from it by pointing them to Christ?

The wages of sin is death. This is a concept usually absent from screens, big and small! It’s the truth, though, and God wants us to know it. This is the outcome of sin, glamorized or not: Death. You get the pay-off, regardless of whether you want it or not. Even a part-time pursuit of sin pays the minimum wage, which happens to be death. “Yes, but Jesus our Savior paid the penalty for sin, so we’re not under the Law, anymore!” Righto. The only reason we’re not all toast is because of the blood of the Son of God, given for us. That’s the “free gift of eternal life” part. Some have wrongly concluded, however, that “the free gift of eternal life” constitutes a coupon for unlimited free sin without consequence, that sin somehow no longer matters to God or anyone else.

The entire New Testament contradicts that thought, and since it was written after the events on Calvary, we’re talking about the new reality, not the Old Testament perspective of sin. The sacrifice has been made, we are free, and Jesus our Lord is able to deliver us from sin and its penalty! Yet, in Ephesians 5, we are told not to even talk about the sins committed by the disobedient, that it’s shameful to mention them. We are to have no part in the various works of darkness; instead, we live as children of light. (Awkward pause) Right?

Might I add that this was written to believers whose address was Ephesus, home to the temple of Diana, goddess of sex? And they’re supposed to not even talk about all that goes on in their key local industry? Maybe sin still matters to God, even in the New Testament. Maybe it’s like listening to someone you rescued from alcoholism, who is dry now, but spends all his time moaning about how great life was back when he was a drunk. So it cost you everything you had to get him clean and sober, but he insists on hanging around his old crowd and having a Coke—at the bar. You’re thinking perhaps your sacrifice may have been for nothing.
Celebrating Sin
I’m tired of being part of celebrating sin. I feel God is leading me to adjust my entertainment choices to reflect compliance with His message, rather than tolerating the romanticization of sin, content just because it wasn’t the worst thing available. I want to pursue the things which make me closer to God and more in love with Him, rather than the entertainments which push me away from Him and make it harder to live a holy life. I also want to give a harder look at things formerly considered “neutral,” having little effect on my spiritual life. Are they really that neutral? Or is the underlying message that sin is good, God is bad or non-existent, and we’re on our own?

In addition to trying to avoid what is sinful in itself, I want to try to better avoid what promotes sin, or re-characterizes it as being normal or noble. I’m thinking if I feed my mind a diet rich on God’s values, I’ll do better than if I practice the form of entertainment bulimia to which so many of us Christians have grown accustomed (take it in, then purge and try to get rid of the effects and go back to Biblical values).

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

That’s a realistic, reasonable philosophy, right out of the Bible. If the entertainment in question agrees with that philosophy, it may be a candidate worthy of my time; if not, probably not. I’m going to try to do a lot better in selecting entertainments which reinforce that mind set, or else do without, which is also not a bad thing. It doesn’t have to be preachy or even religious; if it just doesn’t romanticize sin, it would be a step above much of what’s out there! I’m looking for the bottom-line message, not just the camera angle or the rating. Meanwhile, I’m glad that “Adam and Eve” is not a real TV show, even though they were real people. And I’m glad we have a real Savior named Jesus, who frees us from the law of sin and death and grants us eternal life. That’s the life I want to celebrate.

Dave Ness

The Bottom Line: Avoid whatever glamorizes sin, because sin always ends in death.

Generations ago, circuit riding Methodist preachers scoured the countryside, evangelizing much and dying young. Where are the missionaries to America, these days? Shouldn’t that be us? Some questions, based on Acts 13:

*Are we being led by the Holy Spirit or man? The answer to that question is quite important, especially when things are tough, results less than favorable. The only incentive which keeps us in the game, sometimes, is a divine commission.

*Are we committed to Christ and the mission on which He has sent us? If not, all it takes are some disappointing circumstances, a desertion or two, or one angry letter, and we’re ready to bag it. Committed to Christ, regardless!

*Are we willing to forego pragmatism in favor of the leading of the Holy Spirit? In many situations in the world, the only kind of evangelism which will break through is courageous evangelism, where you’re not sure you’ll survive. Are we willing to obey Christ, even when we seemingly only have loss to show for it?

*Are we willing to “release” when told by Christ? This means releasing a town, a person, a ministry method, in order to go on to the next assignment. A willingness to release when led by the Spirit is important, as is the willingness to pursue ministry through pure obedience, regardless of the prospect of “success.” Will we grab on or let go, according to the Spirit’s will?

*Are we willing to be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit? This is not an automatic thing. It comes when the disciple invites the Spirit to have full control of his life, withholding nothing. The joy comes when we’re filled with the Spirit. The joy accompanies complete obedience.

When we’ve opened our lives fully to the Holy Spirit, allowed Him to fill us, allowed Him to lead us; when we’ve completely obeyed, there is an indescribable, indestructible joy. It’s circumstance-proof, desertion-proof, rock-proof. This kind of joy comes only from God. It’s available for every disciple who invites God to fill him with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Dave Ness

The Bottom Line: For indestructible joy, we invite God’s Holy Spirit into our lives.

Proverbs is a book about reality. The teachings are reminiscent of the oft-repeated sayings of parents, intent on imparting all the wisdom they can into their offspring in the usually vain hope that their own mistakes won’t be repeated anew in the next generation. It’s worth a try. Proverbs has that tone. Again and again, on a myriad of subjects, Proverbs puts wisdom down where we can get it, if we’re interested. If we choose to go our own merry way, we can’t say we weren’t warned.

This is one of those “warning” proverbs—the subject: Anger. A man of great wrath will pay the penalty, for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.

What might the “penalty” be? Oh, let’s see… All the way from juvenile hall to jail to prison. A trail of short-term relationships intended to be long-term ones. A long rap sheet and a short, depressing resume. A life marked by wasted potential, blown up time and time again by rage not quite under control. Out-of-control people pay the penalty in so many ways; not only that, but they are often in need of someone to bail them out. Again. Here’s where the warning comes in: Until the person learns to control their own rage, you can go ahead and be their savior, but you’ll just get to do it again. Just sayin’.

There is Someone big enough to handle our anger. The fruit of His Spirit includes peace, patience, gentleness and self-control, all of them really good anger inhibitors. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, the make over begins. When we get in the habit of straining our raw emotions through the filter of His love before speaking or acting, anger seldom makes it through, and when it does, remorse quickly follows. It’s a beautiful thing to see it happen in someone’s life! Sweeter yet when it’s our own intemperate temper now under Christ’s control.

I remember the days of rage. A kid whose prized possessions included half a dozen plastic horses was infuriated at his insensitive mother for ordering him to take a bath. He knew just how to get even with her. He bit the tails off all his own horses and spat them out on the floor! Kids who grow up playing with tail-less horses learn to give their temper over to God, if they’re smart. It’s better that way. I still have a tail-less black plastic horse. It’s a reminder: Jesus saves! He’s the only One who really can.

Dave Ness

The Bottom Line: Give God your life, including your temper. Jesus is the Savior.