GrowthStarts

Quotable Quote: O.H. Mowrer

It is easier to act yourself into a better way of feeling than to feel yourself into a better way of action.

HT: Execupundit

Digging Deeper ... Bring It: Spent ... Tuesday

Read James 4:17 (NIV):

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

This verse likely applies to everything James has covered so far in his letter.

Compare this verse to Jesus’ words in the following Scriptures:

Luke 12:47 (NIV):

That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows.

John 9:41 (NIV):

Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

Sin is not just doing wrong (“sins of commission”); it’s also not doing what we know to be right (“sins of omission”).

Most of us have been educated Biblically way beyond the level of our obedience. We need to go back and do what we know God has called us to do. If not, we’re in sin.

Go back and skim through what we’ve covered so far in James 1:1-4:17. Has God asked you to do something? If you haven’t obeyed, God calls that sin.

Digging Deeper is a series of daily devotions based on Sunday's sermon at NorthStar. Click HERE to listen to the message "Spent" or other messages.

GrowthStarts events this fall

Look on the right side of this blog for upcoming GrowthStarts Events! I've just updated it with new seminars, classes, and a conference for the fall. Check out the GrowthStarts page on the NorthStar website for more details!

Previously @ NorthStar ... Bring It: Spent

Yesterday at NorthStar Mike Linch brought part 7 of the Bring It series: "Spent." We looked at what Jesus' brother had to say about wealth in James 5:1-6.

Miss Sunday's service? Click here to download audio of Mike's message or to view or print sermon notes.

Some highlights from the message:

• The amount of money you have has no correlation to your happiness.
• God has no problem with wealth, but He does have a problem with the misuse of wealth.
• Either we learn to manage our money, or our money will manage us.

How can I exercise my faith with my money?

1. Save it faithfully, don't hoard it (James 5:2-3; Proverbs 21:20).

• I am a manager, not an owner. (It all belongs to God.)
• There are no U-hauls attached to hearses.
• What you accumulate will deteriorate.
• Remember: I am "blessed to be a blessing," not to be selfish.
• This will require that I...
  • Learn to live on less than I make.
  • Learn to be satisfied with what I have.

2. Earn it honestly, don't steal it (James 5:4; Proverbs 13:11).

3. Spend it wisely, don't waste it (James 5:4; Proverbs 21:5).

• Money will test my trust. And it will be a lifelong battle.
• With affluence comes influence.

4. Give it generously, don't abuse it (James 5:6; Proverbs 11:24-25).

• We're never more like Jesus than when we give and serve.
• The enemy will try to get us to live above our means (both in our money and in our time) so that we have no margin.

Apply It

Here are some ideas on how to apply Sunday's message to your life:

• Giving @ NorthStar: Mike said that we're never more like Jesus than when we give and serve. Make that commitment now to tithe (give 10 percent of your income) to the Lord. Remember, it's really all His anyway.
• Volunteering @ NorthStar: Promotion Sunday is coming up on August 16. That's the day that all kids move up to the next grade for the year. Serve God by serving our kids. Check out some of the possibilities here with babies through high-schoolers.
• NorthStar in the Community: Serve others like Jesus did by signing up for one of our many community events. Check out the calendar here.

Next Steps

Is it time to take one of these next steps along the road of your spiritual journey?

• NorthStar at the Lake: Sunday, July 26, 6 p.m., Dallas Landing. Register here to be baptized. Every family is encouraged to bring two large dishes to share. Drinks and paper products will be provided. Picnic starts at 6:00 with baptism to follow. (No 5:00 Compass service that day.)
• Newcomers: Sunday, August 16, 6:30 p.m., home of Thomas & Cindy Rainey.New to NorthStar? Learn more about the church, meet Mike and some of the staff, and hear about how NorthStar is impacting lives for Christ. Register here.

Upcoming

Check out more upcoming dates at NorthStar!

• Clothesline: Collections begin Sunday, August 2 for this annual clothing drive.
• True North Services Return: Sunday, August 9.
• Surviving Divorce Class: Begins Sunday, August 16.

Check out Digging Deeperto help you apply Sunday's message and develop a daily quiet time. These daily devotions can be found as an insert in each week's Navigator. They are also posted each day on the GrowthStarts blog (www.growthstarts.org). Use them to establish or strengthen your daily appointment with God and to further apply the truths of Sunday's message.

To receive Previously @ NorthStar weekly  in your inbox, send your email address to randy.elster@northstarchurch.org  and request Previously @ NorthStar!

Quotable Quote: Jack Handey

Instead of having "answers" on a math test, they should just call them "impressions," and if you got a different "impression," so what, can't we all be brothers?

HT: Execupundit

Digging Deeper ... Bring It: Spent ... Monday

We continue our journey through James as we look this week at what he has to say about planning, boasting, sin, and wealth.

Read James 4:13-14 (NIV):

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." [14] Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Is goal-setting a good thing or a bad thing?

How do you react when God steps in and rearranges your plans?

Life on this earth is short, especially compared to eternity. You may not have as much time left as you think you have. Do now what you’ve been putting off, because there may not be a tomorrow. Live fully for God today, not later, and you’ll have no regrets.

Read James 4:15-16 (NIV):

Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." [16] As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

When is boasting evil, and why?

When does planning turn into boastful pride?

What should our attitude be toward the future?

Why is it so hard for proud, boastful people to follow God?

Has pride damaged your relationship with God or with others? How can you begin to bring healing to those relationships?

Digging Deeper is a series of daily devotions based on Sunday's sermon at NorthStar. Click HERE to listen to the message "Spent" or other messages.

Quotable Quote: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.

HT: The Quotations Page

Digging Deeper ... Bring It: Cool Down ... Sunday

Re-read James 4:1-12 and review what we’ve studied this week.

James 4:1-12 (NIV):

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? [2] You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. [3] When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

[4] You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. [5] Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? [6] But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

    "God opposes the proud 
        but gives grace to the humble."

[7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

[11] Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. [12] There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

Is there anything God’s been leading you to do, but you haven’t yet done? Put it on your to-do list and Bring It!

Digging Deeper is a series of daily devotions based on Sunday's sermon at NorthStar. Click HERE to listen to the message "Cool Down" or other messages.

Quotable Quote: George Bernard Shaw

The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity.

HT: The Quotations Page

Digging Deeper ... Bring It: Cool Down ... Saturday

Read James 4:11-12 (NIV):

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. [12] There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

According to James, why should we not speak against fellow Christians?

Read 1 Peter 2:1 (NIV):

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

What are some other ways in which we can speak against a fellow believer?

In what ways do we judge others and end up judging the law?

What part does pride play in judging others?

Apply It

Do you need to apologize to someone for something you said against them? Call them today.

Digging Deeper is a series of daily devotions based on Sunday's sermon at NorthStar. Click HERE to listen to the message "Cool Down" or other messages.