One of the wisest men I know once said "All our lives are won and lost between our ears. Our greatest battles, struggles, temptations and how we choose to live is all contingent on what's in our mind." What happens when your mind is in turmoil? When you're tired and aching making what normally is your source for intelligence, wise decision making skills is rather effected. It's these times where I thank God for His Spirit. That he can take control over my incessant ramblings and express the unexpessable. He can describe the indescribable. He shouts my thoughts and praises when I'm struck speechless. He comforts me when I am uncomfortable. Most of all he saves me when I am wrapped up in myself. When I look at God and believe that this ruler is anything shy of the amazing Lord of my life. The loving Master whom I serve.
Clayton King is an evangelist who travels all over the world preaching the gospel unabashed and without apology. His teaching of the word last week during Liberty's Spiritual Emphasis Week brought with it a question of allegiance: "Who is Lord?" In your financial life, who is Lord? Does Jesus deserve the allegiance of your wallet? More importantly than the question of whether or not he deserves such allegiance, does he possess that allegiance? Jesus' deserving of our total and allegiance sadly does not always warrant the answer of whether or not he has it. James says those with divided interest and half-hearted allegiance is like a wave tossed about. When I first think of this analogy I give the wave too much credit, believing that such a thing would be powerful and useful for something at least. The realization comes to me that power without direction is nothing but destructive.
The only thing a brutal wave is good for is erosion. The land masses that we have that guide is when we are adrift in sea slowly get whittled away as we let the waves of our misguided interests slam against the shores like thousands of slow chisels sculpting away at our lives. The great memorial for the things God has done and the lands he has built get eroded the more we let these waves go unsettled. James also goes further to say that our tongues are a part of our lives that need desperately to be tamed. In our lives where we are aimlessly adrift in the restlessly crashing waves our boat is controlled by a rudder that is our tongues. When our tongues are amidst the words of the world and the language of those who do not declare Jesus to be their Lord, our tongues abandon our set course and drive for us. Much like the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked our tongues will similarly leave us destroyed, abandoned and without a vessel to carry us further.
Once again, though the question arises: "Who is Lord?" The funny thing is, our greatest enemy is our free will. That we have the choice to say yes or no. Because all of creation knows. And James says that the Demons know, too. Luke tells us that not only does creation know Jesus is their Lord but they clearly obey him. In Luke's Good News he brings us to the disciples conversation in chapter eight when they ask, "Who is this man, that commands the wind and water? And they obey!" And there's only one answer to the very similar question, "Who is Lord?". Who IS this man who is the commander of life, the blesser of finances, the keeper of security, the creator of creation and the Word who is on our tongues? Jesus is Lord.
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