Tag Archives: integrity

Integrity and choice, May 21, 2018

Today’s Podcast

As hard as it is to live a life of integrity, because we have God’s help in doing so, we have a choice in living the life of integrity he desires of us. We might not think about that very often, but it’s true. In today’s society, it’s easy to blame someone or something else on our lack of integrity. We push back justify our behavior on poor parenting. We blame the lack of material goods in a house bordering on poverty in a materialistic world. We blame the violence and immorality that invades us in mind-numbing entertainment like television, movies, games, and more. We blame schools for not enforcing rules that should be set and enforced at home.

We blame anything and everything on our failure to maintain a life of integrity. Why? Because like most things in our life, we have a hard time accepting the fact that most often our failures are out fault. And the failure lies in the choices we made somewhere along the line. We just don’t want to believe that we can fail. So we pawn our mistakes, our behavior, our failure on someone else.

The problem with that approach, though, we never learn from our failure unless we take responsibility for it. We must figure out where we went wrong, fix it, and go from there. Doing everything we can not to repeat those same mistakes in the future. We will fail again? Most likely. No one is exempt from error. We all fail at one time or another at one task or another. We can’t help it. We are part of Adam’s race. He and Eve disobeyed God in that first garden and we inherited his inability to live the perfect life of integrity God desired of him and us.

But there is something we can do about it. First, we can ask God and the individuals we might have wronged for forgiveness. John wrote that when we confess our sins, he is ready, able, and just and will forgive our sins. But also wants to lead us to a life of righteousness, right living. That means we must make some hard choices at times. We must look temptations in the eye and say no. We must obey his commands despite the lure and attraction of the things the world might offer us if we yield to her demands.

We have a choice. I can choose to satisfy those base desires in unhealthy, unholy ways. I can choose to follow my selfish desires. I can choose to use other people for my gain. I can choose to hoard the things God has entrusted to me. I can choose to push the helpless and needy away when I have the means to give them hope. I can just to execute vengeance and justice instead of grace and mercy toward my enemies. I can choose the path I take.

I can choose my path, but I cannot choose what lies at the end of that path. I cannot choose the consequences of every choice I make whether good or bad. I cannot alter the natural outcome of the laws God gave us. Sure, he is a God of love and mercy, but that doesn’t mean he will stop the natural course of events that come to us as a result of our choices. We may still suffer the lasting effects of those seemingly insignificant choices we made in an hour of weakness.

So, how do I ensure I make the right choices along the way? How do I avoid the consequence that God set in place at the beginning of time? How do I stand up to the failures that I cause through my actions?

First,lean more on him. Go to God in both the good times and the bad. Pray earnestly when you’re in a time of smooth sailing. When you do, it will be easier to approach him when the going gets tough. You wouldn’t ask a complete stranger to help you with a personal, intimate problem, but you might ask a dear friend. Think about your relationship with God. If you only interact with him on Sunday mornings at church, why would he help? If you’re not his friend, why would he stop to give aid in your time of need? So in the good times, when everything is going well, be careful to give God the glory. Maintain a constant personal relationship with him. When you do, you’ll find he is willing and ready to give you the support you need and he will never leave you or forsake you. So keep your prayer life up.

Second, meditate on his word. What does that mean? Think about what you have read in scripture. Of course, that means you need to read scripture…every day. Maybe even several times a day. David said, “I will meditate on your word night and day. I will hide your word in my heart, so I might not sin against you.” If David tells us a dozen times to meditate on God’s word and deeds, maybe we should pay attention and do just that. Read the Bible. Let it soak into your everyday life. Don’t let it be one of those tomes that gathers dust on a table. Let God speak to you through his word. He gives good advice in those 66 books if we would just listen to him and do what he tells us to do.

Third, before making life-changing decisions, stop and think. It’s surprising how often we just act without thinking about the second and third order affects our choices make on us or those around us. Most of the time it isn’t too hard to think about the consequences our actions will create. We just need to step back for a second and use that gray matter that sits inside our skull. Tragically, we too often just act and think about it after the fact when it’s too late to retract our action. Once done, it’s done. Things have been set in motion and the consequences are set whether we like them or not.

Then while we’re on this pause before making a decision, when possible and practical, seek the advice of a mentor. Most of the time, the decision you are about to make has been made before. It is truly amazing the number of times we repeat the mistakes of others because we fail to heed their warnings. Just take a moment to listen to those who have gone before you. Listen to their counsel. Understand they have your best in mind. If they have traveled that road before you, they can help you avoid the pitfalls and the suffering they may have suffered because of choice they would make differently if given the chance. Remember, two heads are better than one.

We’re back to where we began today. Integrity involves choice. You can be a person of integrity. You can choose that life. It will take God’s help. We can not do it alone. But we can choose to let him walk beside us and keep us on the right path. As we go back to our original definition a few weeks ago, integrity is about unity, oneness, cohesion. When we choose with God in mind, we draw closer to him. We we choose with our selfish desires in mind, we drive a wedge between us and him.

Think about the choices you will make today. Stand as Joshua did with his declaration at the top of your priorities, “…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” It is always a choice. And God lets you make it at every crossroad of life. Choose today whom you will serve.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Music exit

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Integrity and duplicity, May 14, 2018

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

The subject of today’s podcast includes two terms that are mutually exclusive. Integrity and duplicity. The two can not coexist in the same person. We try awfully hard these days. We try to make things fit the way we want them to fit. We want what we think is best for us regardless what it might do to someone else. We want what we want and we want it now. But that’s not how integrity works.

Solomon said in Proverbs 11:3, “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

So what exactly am I talking about when I talk about duplicity in the context of integrity? We’ve already determined that integrity is about oneness with our Creator. It’s about his truth, not anyone else’s. Integrity isn’t defined by our norms, but by God’s. We’ve said integrity requires accountability and how important a partner and mentor can be in helping us stay on track, keeping us from straying from the path we’ve set out on.

Duplicity is defined as deceitfulness or double-dealing. It comes into play in this setting when we talk about integrity but then don’t live up to what we say. It reminds me of a public service announcement that was aired on the Armed Forces Network when I was stationed in Germany several years ago. The camera panned on a soldier called to his home because his teenage son had been caught shoplifting. The soldier did a pretty good job of chewing out his son, telling him how wrong it was to steal. How he had learned in church that was one of the Ten Commandments God gave us. He asked how in the world he could stoop so low as to steal something that didn’t belong to him.

All the while the soldier carried on this conversation with his wayward son, the camera moved position and drew the lens back to focus on a handful of black skillcraft pens laying on the soldiers desk at home. Those of you who have worked in the government know what that means. No one had those black skillcraft ballpoint pens except Uncle Sam and he bought hundreds of thousands of them. And why did the government buy so many? Because people like that soldier stole them from their offices.

You might think to yourself, taking a pen from my employer isn’t such a big deal. And maybe one pen isn’t. At that time they were about $1.50 a dozen. But this soldier along with probably 50% of the rest of the 5 million people employed by the federal government had two or three or more of those pens at home. If my math is right, that’s about $625,000 of theft. That’s a well organized gang conducting grand larceny. You probably never thought of it that way, but someone had to pay for that pen or pencil or notebook or pad of paper or whatever it is you might bring home for personal use. Is that duplicity? You bet.

Or how about that cell phone ding to remind you of an email or a facebook message that you just have to answer at work? Or the website you need to explore for just a few minutes at the office. Or a bill you need to pay from there because your internet speeds at home are so slow? Does your employer want to pay you for being completely unproductive when you’re supposed to be working for her? Stealing part of your paycheck by failing to give that time to your employer as you agreed when you were hired is called duplicity, deceitfulness, double-dealing. It certainly isn’t integrity.

Am I saying that I am perfect in these area? No. If you scoured my house, you’d probably find one of those long lost skillcraft pens in a box in the garage. And to be honest, once in a while I’ll answer or make a personal call or see a personal email pop up on my screen and answer it while I’m supposed to be doing something else. But I try to stay very conscious of my time and what I do with the equipment and supplies entrusted to me. I learned because of those skillcraft pens that I kept having to buy out of my meager budget as a company commander in the army almost forty years ago how just one innocent pen can suddenly add up to dozens, then hundreds, the thousands. And no one really notices until someone at the top of the chain coughs because more than half a million dollars in black government pens have gone missing.

It’s not that big a deal. Except it’s duplicious. It’s no big thing. Except it breaks commandment number eight. It’s nothing really. Except God says don’t do it. No one cares. Except it means your integrity is at stake.

Our society is trying hard to turn all these things into various shades of gray. Just a pen. Just a pad of paper. Just a box of paper clips. Just a few copies for my kid’s school work. Just a few messages during the day. Just a little me time during my work hours. Just a little here and just a little there. No big deal. No harm done.

The latest figure I could get comes from 2012, so this data is six years old and has only gotten worse since then. But listen to some of these facts from six years ago. 60% of workers spend at least some time on social media during work hours. The average college student in 2012 spent 3 hours on facebook and two hours studying. Which explains why college students who use facebook regularly have a GPA a full point lower than those who don’t.

In the US that year, collectively we spent 12,207,423,487 hours on social media. Twice as much time on social media as in any form of exercise. 10% of us spend more time on social media than we do at work and 60% of us connect with our social media at work. Workers are interrupted every 10.5 minutes by things like twitter, IM’s and facebook. Then studies show it takes 23 minutes to get back on task after an interruption. No one can really multitask by the way. Your brain will only let you do one thing at a time. If you think you’re multitasking, you’re fooling yourself and turning out poorer quality work that you are able.

So what did all that cost? When you do the 2012 math, social media cost companies almost $4500 per employee. And it cost the US economy about $650 billion. But it’s just one message, right? It doesn’t hurt anything? It’s only a few minutes, right? No one cares. It’s not like I don’t get my job done, so I can do this on the sly, right? Take a look at the number once more. The social media mafia successfully stole $650 billion dollars from everyone’s pocket.

Why everyone’s pocket and not just those C-suite executives? Because those C-suite executives didn’t have the money to give employees the raises they might have been able to give otherwise. They didn’t have the money to improve health benefits. They didn’t have the money to hire new employees. They didn’t have the money to build new facilities or new plants. $650 billion can do a lot of stuff, and collectively in the workplace…How did Solomon put it? “… the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

Integrity and duplicity can not exist in the same person. But we need God’s help to maintain our integrity. The world makes everything shades of gray instead of God’s black and white. The problem is that the world won’t be our judge when Jesus returns. God set the rules and God will judge us based on his rules. Not the world’s. Not ours. His. So how is your integrity meter running today?

Integrity and accountability, May 7, 2018

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

We started talking about integrity last week, defining real integrity as walking in unity with God. Following his purpose and plan rather than our own. Letting God determine what is true and right and good rather than letting society or even our own conscience determine the moral norms we should follow.

Today, I’d like us to consider a passage from Ecclesiastes chapter 4 as we think about our integrity. Solomon said this: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

You might ask, “What does that have to do with integrity?”

I’d answer, “Everything.” You see, we need a good friend to keep us accountable. Particularly in this day and age, and in our society in which it seems that what is right is only what I think is right for me. We live in a time when we are always asking the question, “What’s in it for me?” Instead of asking what God would have us do in the same circumstance.

When Solomon wrote these words, I’m not sure he had just the physical realm in mind. As we think about those verses, they apply equally to our spiritual lives, as well. Let’s take a look at them again. Two have a good return for their labor. You’ll remember that when Jesus sent the disciples out across the countryside to spread the message that the kingdom of God was at hand. He didn’t send them as single preachers. He sent them in pairs. Why? Because of this verse.

Two have a good return on their labor. Two reinforce each other. Two help each other from getting discouraged when tasks seem insurmountable. Two provide a little competition to each other to get things done faster and better. Two help each other see tasks from different perspectives and find solutions to problems that one alone would not see. It’s like someone writing letters in the sand and depending on which side of the letters you’re standing on, you might read the word mom or you might see the word wow. Both are right from your perspective. But together you can pick the one that makes the most sense for the problem at hand.

Climbers know you never climb alone because of that second axiom. If a piton slips out of place or a rope breaks or a misstep causes an injury in mountainous terrain, without help, a single climber might be doomed. With two, there is hope of rescue. The same is true of diving and other sports in which one slip could cause catastrophic results.

Those who live in the northern most climates understand the importance of maintaining body temperatures and the best way to warm up someone who has been exposed to the frigid elements of those arctic temperatures is to climb into a sleeping bag with them. Body spooned against body to raise the temperature of an exposure victim works when medical facilities are not readily available. But alone in that same sleeping bag, the hypothermic individual body temperature will rise very slowly if at all because there is nothing inside the bag to raise the temperature. Alone, they will continue to fight the lower core temperature for hours before the body can recover on its own, if at all.

Defense is the next one. I know you’ve heard the term, “I’ve got your back.” That’s what it’s all about. Alone, the enemy can come from behind and you’d never see him. But with two, your back is covered. The enemy can’t slip in. Your friend is right there with you.

And a cord of three strands? It’s the difference of wrapping a single thread around your hands and breaking it versus wrapping that same thread around your hands several times. Now it gets pretty tough to break if you can break it at all. The additional rounds of that thin thread add the extra strength that makes the “cord” stronger than you.

Now do you see how all those fit with our spiritual fight.?

In our society where integrity can slip away so easily because of the situational ethics, the sliding morality, the growing sense that right is whatever is right in your own eyes. We need someone to help us maintain our integrity. We need an accountability partner. We need someone who will walk along beside us who is not afraid to tell us like it is and keep us on the path of God’s truth, not our own.

When we find that accountability partner, we can help each other in our labor. We can grow in our faith and in our relationships with God and man because we have nothing to hide. We live a life of integrity which means we stay above the filth and lies that have become the norm for so many in our society.

When we find that accountability partner, we can help each other up when we fall. None of us are perfect. We will falter from time to time. We do not that helping hand to reach out and help us get up and get back on the path of truth and rightness and integrity. We need someone who will stay with us during those times and lift us up with a helping hand, not point fingers at us and walk away. But at the same time, that accountability partner will not condone the bad behavior. He will not allow you to stay on a path of destruction. A good accountability partner will be just that, one who holds you accountable for your actions and your words and your attitudes.

When we find that accountability partner, we will find one who challenges us and we will challenge them with new insights into God’s word. We will grow together on the journey before us. We will keep each other from getting cold in our faith. We will not let each other become lukewarm in our attitude toward God and his plan like the church at Laodicea. We will warm each other in our spiritual lives by constantly challenging each other to become more like Christ through the interaction we have with each other as partners, accountable to watch each others integrity quotient.

As accountability partners, we can help defend each other in the faith. Satan knows our weaknesses. A good accountability partner should too. But that means we must open up to them and share those points in our life where we are most weak. Then our partner can come along beside us and watch our back. He can watch where we go, observe what we do, help us to fight the enemy by helping us maintain our integrity by escaping from those temptations in the first place. A good accountability partner will help us change the habits that put us in places and situations that could compromise our integrity, our oneness with God.

What does the cord with three strands mean? It means I can’t get through this spiritual journey alone. I know churches are filled with hypocrites. I know there are evil people in churches. I know not everyone who has their name on a membership role or who teaches a Sunday School class is a model Christian or even a Christian at all. But some of the people in church are good solid followers of Jesus Christ. Some are worth emulating. Some are worthy of watching and learning from their lives.

Churches are like hospitals for sinners. They should be full of sinners. They should be filled with evil people seeking a way to find peace and forgiveness in their lives. And some of those leaders who you point to that don’t fit your definition of Christian? Well, they are in the right place, too. Where else can they hope to find Christ but in a sinner’s clinic?

We still can’t make it alone. We need people around us to help us on this spiritual journey. If you don’t like the church you’re in, find one you can worship in. Find one that doesn’t seem so hypocritical. Find one that preaches and teaches God’s word, not the latest news item. Find a church with people who are struggling with life’s questions the same way you are. I pass at least a dozen churches on the way to mine. Surely, some church around you fits the needs you have of finding a Bible believing church. Go there. Find an accountability partner. Grow together in a life of integrity.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more about The Story and our part in it. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

What is integrity?, April 30, 2018

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Music intro

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Last week we finished with “The Story” as we explored God’s plan to restore us to that face to face relationship he enjoyed with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before their act of disobedience that banished them from that paradise. God has been working ever since to bring us back to him and to teach us to live in community with each other and with him so we might share eternity with him in a new paradise he has created for all who follow him.

Well, as we start something new this week, I thought about a devotional series I read a few weeks ago on integrity. That’s really what God wants from us. To have integrity. To be genuine with him. But in our society today, I’m not sure we even know what integrity means anymore, much less practice it. So I want to take the next few weeks and explore what it means for us to have integrity.

Let’s start with David. He declared in Psalms 25:21, “May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord is in you.” If his understanding of integrity is such that it would protect him from something when he was running for his life from Saul’s army, then I’d like to figure out what that integrity is because I sure need some protecting in this day and age. Satan is alive and well and wants to destroy my soul. Just like he wants to destroy yours. So what is integrity, then.

The dictionary says integrity is, the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. Another definition is, the state of being whole and undivided. There are a lot of synonyms we could throw around to maybe help us get a handle on the word. Some like: honesty, probity, rectitude, honor, good character, principle(s), ethics, morals, righteousness, morality, virtue, decency, fairness, scrupulousness, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness. Or from that second definition things like unity, unification, coherence, cohesion, togetherness, solidarity.

All of those sound good, but I’m not sure that’s where David was going with this when he was talking to God about integrity. We too often fit our good character, principles, ethics, morals, and virtue into our societal code which may or may not be what God is looking for in us. I’m sure you’ve heard the term situational ethics thrown about more than once in the past few years. What’s right depends on the current situation and circumstances. Well, does it? Is God that wishy-washy in his behavior that he changes his rules to fit our circumstances? I doubt it.

David, in our eyes, had every right to defend himself against his accuser, Saul. He was falsely accused. God had already had Samuel anoint him as the next king to sit on the throne of Israel. Samuel had given Saul his pink slip from God. And twice God put Saul into David’s hands, when he relieved himself in a cave and David was close enough to cut off part of his coat. And against when the whole came around Saul slept and David went into the camp and took Saul’s sword and spear. But David was a man of integrity, not someone who adhered to the idea of situational ethics. His integrity kept him on the run instead of in the comfort of the palace. Was that protection? David thought so.

Does fair and decent fit the bill? It depends on who you talk to. Who is to say what is fair. Job didn’t think life was fair when he lost everything but his nagging wife and three friends that told him what a sinner he was. We look at the narrative and look up at God and say the same thing. “God, how is it fair to bring such calamity on such a righteous man?”

Was it fair for the Europeans to blast their way through the native Indians, cut down their forests, deplete their hunting grounds, pollute their rivers and streams, and turn this continent into a new country? They certainly didn’t think so, but their European victors did. And if history had not played out as it did, what would our country be like today? Would we still be living in animal skin huts and trying to forage for deer and buffalo meat for supper? Probably not, but the country would be far different since the Europeans would not have had the land to forge the pioneer spirit that has forged us into the nation we have become. Has it been fair to every group? No. Will it ever be? Not as long as people are involved in the process.

Marx and Stalin thought they could make a fair system work under communist rule. It lasted about 70 years until those that worked hard so that the fruits of their labor went to those that chose not to work so hard. Then no one worked very hard and the Soviet Union finally collapsed. Socialism and communism only work if every single person in the system are highly motivated to give their best to the system. We know humans don’t operate that way because we are inherently selfish. So governments of any flavor are never fair because people are not fair.

Well, what about that decency rule? If you’re old enough, you remember the National Geographic documentaries of newly found tribes in Africa and South America where no one wore clothes. Were they decent? To them they were. To us they were far from it. But even in our society, we have extreme views of what people call decent. Laws can’t dictate decency, though we try. So decency is out of the question if we want to try to define integrity by that norm.

How about ethics? I’ve been to countries where it was impolite to tell a guest something that might hurt their feelings, so lying was okay if you knew the facts would be disturbing. Were they ethical? In their society, absolutely. For me and my colleagues, we were more than frustrated when the facts were discovered later. But as guests around their table drinking tea, everyone needed to be all smiles so were we told what they thought we wanted to hear. Were they wrong? To them it was quite ethical. We were the crazy Americans with stupid ideas.

I could go on down the list of synonyms and pick them apart and find that none of them describe what David saw as protection against his enemies. But I think the second definition will give us some clues about the integrity David and God have in mind when we think about integrity in spiritual terms. Think back on our journey through God’s word over the last eight months. In God’s upper story, he desperately wants to have us return to him in an intimate face to face relationship. He wants to restore that oneness Adam and Eve enjoyed before the fall.

So what was that second definition again? Integrity is the state of being whole and undivided. But when Adam and Eve were banished from the garden, a piece of them went missing – the presence of God in their life. They walked with him face to face until they disobeyed. But because of their disobedience, God’s truth, his integrity, his holiness demanded their sin be put away from his presence. So they lost his presence in their life.

Jesus talked over and over about unity among the disciples. He talked about how others would know they belonged to him, by their love for each other. He talked about the oneness between him and the father and that same unity could happen between him and us. Jesus mentored his disciples on togetherness. How to break bread with each other and share their faith. He taught them to overlook that faults and dwell on the spirit that God forgives when we ask him. Jesus talked about a kingdom that is open to anyone who believes. That kingdom is not bound by race or color or nationality. It is bound by faith. By unity. By oneness. Cohesiveness in believing in the one name above all names. Jesus, the Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.

I kind of think if David wrote this psalm in twenty-first century vernacular he might say, “God, I’m going to do my best to stick to you like glue. I know that if I do that, you’ve got my back. I don’t need to worry about the things that go on around me because you’re God and I’m not. But together I can make it because you can’t fail. I can’t make it on my own, but my hope, my peace, my joy, my comfort, my assurance is in the one I put my faith in and that’s you, Lord.”

Integrity. It’s not about me or what I think is right or wrong. It’s not about what society thinks is right or wrong, good or bad. I’m not even sure it’s about any in that long list of synonyms that focus on personal character. I think integrity has everything to do with how close I can squeeze up to God and let him carry me through this life wherever he wants to take me. Doing with me whatever he wants to do. Teaching me whatever he wants to teach me. Molding me into the likeness of his son day by day as I obey his voice as he whispers in my ear.

How do you define integrity?

If today’s devotional strikes a cord in you about your personal integrity as it relates to your nearness to God, what will you do about it today? Tomorrow and the next day?

How can you show integrity where you live?

Music exit

Betrayal always carries bad consequences (John 13:12-20), March 22, 2017

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Have you ever been the victim of betrayal? Have you ever betrayed someone? There are always consequences, you know.
Scripture
1. John 13:12-20
2. Jesus: Do you understand what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and truly, that is who I am. So if your Lord and Teacher washes your feet, then you should wash one another’s feet. I am your example; keep doing what I do. I tell you the truth: a servant is not greater than the master. Those who are sent are not greater than the one who sends them. If you know these things, and if you put them into practice, you will find happiness. I am not speaking about all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but let the Hebrew Scripture be fulfilled that says, “The very same man who eats My bread with Me will stab Me in the back.” Assuredly, I tell you these truths before they happen so that when it all transpires, you will believe that I am. I tell you the truth: anyone who accepts the ones I send accepts Me. In turn, the ones who accept Me also accept the One who sent Me.
Devotional
1. It’s been a lot of years and I won’t mention any names, but a fellow officer in one of the units to which I was assigned was a good friend…I thought.
  1. We often ate lunch together.
  2. We shared techniques in leading our units that worked and those that didn’t work so well so we helped each other.
  3. Families spent time together after work during our leisure hours.
  4. Thought we were good friends
2. One day things changed
  1. Had an inspection and some things were missing from his unit
  2. Accountable, but consumable
  3. Used up in training, but had to account for their use and replace because of alert status
  4. His soldiers got lazy and didn’t do the proper paperwork to account for the consumables after one training event and so there was a shortage
  5. I was accused of stealing
  6. Took less than an hour to show the paper trail to prove no one in my unit took any of his consumables. All mine were accounted for and a trail for when and where each came from
3. Pain came from the betrayal
  1. We were friends
  2. He knew my character
  3. He knew I wouldn’t tolerate such behavior from anyone under my authority
  4. Still he accused me to try to cover his soldiers’ failure
  5. “The one who ate bread with me, stabbed me in the back.”
  6. My friend left the service very soon after that event
4. Nothing of what Jesus felt
  1. Judas sat as His feet continually
  2. Listened to His teaching
  3. Said he believed what the Master taught
  4. Said he believed Jesus to be the Son of God
  5. Would soon betray Him to the high priest and the Sanhedrin
  6. He would die because Judas decided to betray his friend
5. You just don’t know the consequences that will come as a result of betrayal
  1. My friend ended his career
  2. Judas hung himself
  3. Jesus died on a cross
  4. Be careful of betraying your friends
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

God won’t be a scapegoat (John 9:3-5), March 1, 2017

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
It sure is easy to blame someone else for the trouble we face, isn’t it? And it’s really easy to blame God. He’s a good scapegoat, but it usually doesn’t work out when we do.
Scripture
1. John 9:3-5
2. Jesus: Neither. His blindness cannot be explained or traced to any particular person’s sins. He is blind so the deeds of God may be put on display. While it is daytime, we must do the works of the One who sent Me. But when the sun sets and night falls, this work is impossible. Whenever I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.
Devotional
1. God came into the garden in the cool of the day. He wanted to talk with Adam after his day’s work was done. A day filled with caring for the creation over which God had given him dominion. Adam tilled the soil, harvested crops, cared for the animals in the garden. Life was really good. Work was satisfying. His companionship with Eve and God and the rest of creation seemed perfect. At least until this day.
  1. Sin had entered in
  2. Adam broke the perfect relationship he had with God because of his disobedience
  3. He felt his guilt and shame
  4. God came into the garden and what did his sin cause him to do?
  5. Adam and Eve both hid
    1. Their bodies from God and each other
    2. Sewed fig leaves together
    3. Hid behind the vegetation when God came to the garden
2. We all have a tendency to blame someone else for our sin
  1. Devil made me do it
  2. He tempted me
  3. He gave me the fruit
  4. Adam even blamed God as do we
  5. It’s God’s fault we fail to do what He asks
3. Until we own our faults and failures we cannot find healing from our sins
  1. If we confess our sins, He is able
  2. Opposing message, if we do not confess our sins, He is not able to forgive us
  3. Why? We fail to take ownership of our wrongs
  4. We fail to recognize our need for Him
  5. We fail to understand just how depraved and hopeless we are without Him
4. Jesus can work in and through us, but only when we are open and honest with Him and others. We must be vulnerable with Him. We must recognize just how much we need His grace, forgiveness, Him.
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Are you part of an accountability group? (John 8:19), February 20, 2017

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Are you part of an accountability group? Do you have anyone that really knows you and challenges you in your daily journey? How do you find someone like that in your life? One group of men I heard did just that.
Scripture
1. John 8:19
2. Jesus: You don’t know the Father or Me. If you knew Me, then you would also know the Father.
Devotional
1. A few days ago I was listening to a vignette about a men’s group that decided they wanted to become accountable to each other. The short video didn’t explain how the men met or tell much about any common interests that brought them together.
  1. Might have been a Sunday School Class
  2. Might have been a Men’s Bible Study
  3. Might have been neighbors at the time
  4. Might have been co-workers, but probably not
  5. Came several areas of business, some entrepreneurs, some blue collar
  6. Made a commitment to met for support and accountability to each other for the next 20 years
2. During those twenty years…
  1. One plead guilty to felony charges and spent time in prison
  2. Two lost a child
  3. One when through rehab for drug and alcohol addiction
  4. Three went through divorce
  5. All had major crises in life
  6. All supported each other and helped them through those crises
3. Seventeen years later
  1. They know each other
  2. No secrets
  3. Nothing off limits in their accountability circle
  4. Grow in their spiritual journey together
  5. Challenge each other in all areas of life
  6. Still committed to life of integrity
4. Jesus said we don’t know Him or the Father
  1. Maybe it was because they didn’t spend any time with Him
  2. Maybe they thought a superficial relationship would do
  3. How are you, what’s happening, good to see you, kind of relationship
  4. He wants us to commit like these ten men committed to each other
  5. Spend time with Him, get to know Him and make nothing off limits in discussion with Him. He knows anyway.
5. When we spend time with Him we will get to know Him and when we know Him we will know the Father because they are One. How? I don’t need to understand it, I just need to believe it.
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Are you a truth-teller? (John 1:47-51), January 18, 2017

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

2017-01-18-devotional-

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Do people know you as a truth-teller? How can they tell? And do you know who is looking? Is it just your boss? Your family? Your pastor? Who might be looking that you don’t know about?
Scripture
1. John 1:47-51
2. Jesus: Look closely, and you will see an Israelite who is a truth-teller.

Nathanael (overhearing Jesus): How would You know this about me? We have never met.

Jesus: I have been watching you before Philip invited you here. Earlier in the day, you were enjoying the shade and fruit of the fig tree. I saw you then.

Nathanael: Teacher, You are the One—God’s own Son and Israel’s King.

Jesus: Nathanael, if all it takes for you to believe is My telling you I saw you under the fig tree, then what you will see later will astound you. I tell you the truth: before our journey is complete, you will see the heavens standing open while heavenly messengers ascend and descend, swirling around the Son of Man.

Devotional
1. Do people know you as a truth teller?
  1. Jesus saw Nathanael from a distance and told those around Him that he was a truth-teller.
  2. Announcement sounded like truth-tellers were rare.
  3. Something about Nathanael made him different than others around him.
  4. Can you tell the difference when you see truthers versus liars? Can they see the difference in you?
2. Jesus saw Nathanael under the fig tree enjoying its shade and eating its fruit.
  1. Truthers enjoy the simple things in life
  2. Recognize the beauty of creation in and of itself
  3. Find pleasure outside the norms of society, within the norms of nature
3. Watched him interact with others while sitting under the tree
  1. Shade at a premium so a gathering place for discussion
  2. Others seek out people who speak the truth in love
    1. When they need real answers to problems
    2. When they need help
    3. When they want to know God
  3. Others avoid those who are not truth-tellers
    1. Flat out liars
    2. Half truths
    3. Truths that only help themselves and not the asker
    4. Speak truth, but in condemnation and judgment
  4. Expect Nathanael provided truth from scripture, experience, wisdom freely but with love
1. If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

The way of the cross (Luke 20:46-47) December 29, 2016

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Song of Songs 5-6

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 20:46-47
Jesus: Beware of the religious scholars. They like to parade around in long robes. They love being greeted in the marketplaces. They love taking the best seats in the synagogues. They adore being seated around the head table at banquets. But in their greed they rob widows of their houses and cover up their greed with long pretentious prayers. Their condemnation will be all the worse because of their hypocrisy.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Do you know any of those? Are you one of those? You know, people that dig into God’s word just to trip other people up? They nitpick words and phrases to get their point across and condemn everyone around them for failing to see the message those words send us from God’s word. They stand firm on their conviction that what they say is absolutely true because they pulled it from the Book. And if God said it, it must be true.

Those people are right in one respect. What God says is true. But we have to be careful not to take His words out of context. The Bible says there is no God – that is if we stop in the middle of the psalmist’s thoughts. The rest of the words around that phrase says there is no God in a fools heart.

But those people are deadly wrong in the misuse of God’s word. They play with fire when they misrepresent God using His words to guide people in ways contradictory to the plan He has for us. Remember Satan used scripture often to entice people to do wrong. He even used scripture against Jesus to tempt Him to take shortcuts to His rightful place as Lord of all nations and all people. Jesus didn’t fall for it because He knew scripture and knew the missing parts. Because He knew scripture, Jesus recognized the fallacies in Satan’s arguments and recognized him for who he was. The tempter. The adversary. A lion roaming the earth seeking whom he might devour.

Those folks Jesus talks about look good on the outside. They are members of churches. They sit on boards and councils. They determine the direction denominations will go over the next years. They collect and spend the offerings that pour into the churches in the form of tithes and offerings. They teach and preach from God’s word, but it is often a perverted message that doesn’t share what God intends His word to share.

I’m certainly not talking about every Bible scholar and every preacher who fills a pulpit. There are some great men and women sharing God’s word and doing their very best for the kingdom. But there are some that use their religious platforms for their own greed and power. They care more about the size of their wallet than they do the size of their heart. If you’re listening to God through His word, you can figure out who they are pretty quickly. His word does not steer you wrong.

Is there hypocrisy in my church? Unfortunately, I would have to say yes, there is. I can see it in the lives of some of the members. Is there hypocrisy in your church? If I were a gambler, I would bet a paycheck there are. And I would bet another paycheck that I’m not wrong in that assessment. Our churches are full of hypocrites. But that’s okay. Look who Jesus was talking to. He was addressing the scribes and Pharisees. The scholars who knew scripture better than anyone else. The leaders of the faith. They attended services faithfully. They participated in all the rituals faithfully. They gave their tithe and more faithfully. Yet Jesus called them hypocrites.

Did that stop Jesus from going to the temple to worship? Certainly not. Did it stop Him from participating in those same rituals? Absolutely not. He did them faithfully, understanding fully the reason behind those rituals. Did it stop Jesus from continuing to study God’s word and using it to support His messages to the crowds that followed Him? We see that most of His preaching took text from the ancient writings of the law given to Moses and the prophets and the writings that existed worship places of the Jews.

Jesus recognized the hypocrites wherever He went, but He still preached to them, healed them, ministered to them, invited them to follow Him. He never stopped them from being around Him to hear and witness the kingdom of God in their midsts. Jesus knew the only way to reach a hypocrite was to allow them to join into genuine, intimate worship. Until they see the difference between their fake religion and real righteousness, they will continue to fall prey to Satan’s lies. But when they draw near and listen, they have the opportunity to hear the message, make amends, repent of their hypocrisy and find their way back to God and His kingdom living.

Just stay in God’s word. You can pick them out. And when you do, be very careful that you don’t fall into the same traps they fell into. Stay rooted in the word. The whole thing, not just your favorite chapters and verses. The hypocrites will see your walk and maybe find a new way, a better way, the way of the cross.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Try a little integrity (Luke 20:9-17) December 26, 2016

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Deuteronomy 29-31

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 20:9-17
Jesus: A man planted a vineyard. He rented it to tenants and went for a long trip to another country. At the harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants so he could be paid his share of the vineyard’s fruit, but the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. The man sent another servant, and they beat him and treated him disgracefully and sent him away empty-handed too. He sent a third servant who was injured and thrown out. Then the vineyard owner said, “Now what am I going to do? I’ll send my much-loved son. They should treat him with respect.”
But when the tenants recognized the owner’s son, they said, “Here’s our chance to actually own this vineyard! Let’s kill the owner’s heir so we can claim this place as our own!” So they threw him out of the vineyard and murdered him. What do you think the owner will do to these scoundrels?
I’ll tell you what he’ll do; he’ll come and wipe those tenants out, and he’ll give the vineyard to others.
Crowd: No! God forbid that this should happen!
Jesus: Why then do the Hebrew Scriptures contain these words:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very stone
that holds together the entire foundation?

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

When I read these words today, my immediate thoughts took me back a few years to the many riots around the world in which hundreds of people took to the streets in protest of what they felt were injustices by governments, organizations, or individuals and just destroyed neighborhoods. You probably remember the pictures on the news. Cars turned over and burning. Windows in stores smashed. Looters carrying televisions and stereos out of those stores at will. Police standing in lines with shields to protect themselves from rocks and bricks tossed by the rioters.

The violence within the protests was incredible in many of those events. I even remember it happening on occasion when sports teams won pennants or Super Bowls or championships. How crazy do people have to get to thick it’s okay to destroy someone else’s property? When is that ever okay? When is it ever okay to just take what someone else has worked for and paid for? When is it ever okay to steal?

Just last week in my community we had a report in our neighborhood website to be on the lookout for a fairly non-descript white pickup roaming around the area. I live in a gated community, but like I’ve seen many do from time to time, the truck apparently tailgated a resident through the gate to gain entrance. Then the driver scoped out the area and just started loading up the outside Christmas decorations into his truck until his truck was full and left.

Somehow the tenants in the field in Jesus story and the looters and rioters and the many thieves we deal with today have twisted their minds into thinking everything belongs to everyone and so it’s okay to just take what they want. So what if what they take is something precious to the person who owns it? So what if they destroy property to get it? So what if they injure or kill in the process of getting the items they covet? They want it and they will have it regardless the cost.

I like the way my late father-in-law raised his kids. Many times they would go to the store with him when they were growing up. He would sometimes wait until he was out of the store or in his car before he checked to see if he got the right change. Of course, back in those days, the cash registers didn’t tell you how much change you were getting, you figured it out. You had to actually do addition and subtraction. But if he got even two cents too much change, he would go back to the cashier and return the money with the explanation to his girls that he would rather spend the extra time to give the money back than spend eternity in hell. He was not going to steal from the store.

His integrity in the small things bled over into the big things of life also. He was an incredible man of integrity and he passed that trait on to his children. Honesty is probably the most important characteristic each of them looked for in a spouse as they were beginning to date. I suppose I met the test with my wife of 40 years.

We don’t see that kind of integrity much anymore. Our political leaders certainly don’t show it and demonstrated by their recent campaigning. Our bosses often don’t show it in the way they operate their businesses with the bottom line being the most important thing about the business. Even close friends often lose that spot because they just fail to be honest with us in some of the important issues of life. But honesty and integrity are critical to God. It’s one of those commandments He told us not to break, remember? Stealing. Lying. Murder. Coveting. Adultery. They all rank right up there and they all start with the thought, “I want what I want and I don’t care about anyone else.” Don’t be like those tenants. Try a little integrity.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.