Thoughts and Notes from Sunday's Message

James 1:2-3
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.” (NLT)

• During training, Navy Seals candidates must endure what is referred to as “Hell Week.” Hell week is so named for good reason. During this week of intense training, the candidates go 5 ½ days on little more than 4 hours of sleep. They are stretched to their limits physically, mentally, and are exposed to pain and extreme cold.

Upon completion, those who have not quit often consider it the greatest achievement of their lives. They realize that they can do 10X more than they ever thought was possible.

• In the same way, when we face struggles and challenges that sometimes stretch us to our limits, it forces our faith into the open and God is building in us strength and endurance. And as we come through it we can realize that we serve a God who is doing “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph. 3:20)

James 2:14-17
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

• Faith is not faith until it is exercised. What does it look like to exercise your faith? It is to embrace your divine purpose. To bring the Lord glory and honor by walking beside others in their struggle and loving them,

• It’s one thing to say something and another to believe and act upon your convictions. Faith is action…an expression of conviction…an expression of grace and mercy…an expression of God’s love.

• It is necessary for us to be stretched to exercise our faith. In times of struggle we are forced to reconcile our words with our actions.

• Faith is often born out of struggle, with the result being surrender.

• Real faith demonstrates its authenticity in the context of real life.

• Acting on our convictions gives credence to our words.

• The world needs us to act upon our convictions and be all that he has created us to be

The Anatomy of Character

When I'm in a crowded room, I have this innate ability to hear every conversation around me. I call it peripheral hearing. My wife thinks it's just ADD. She's probably right.

Anyway, the other day we were having lunch at a restaurant and my peripheral hearing honed in on a particular conversation a mother was having with her son. It went something like this:

Mother: You know what happens when you lie?

Boy: Uh huh!

Mother: You lose your integrity. Do you know what integrity is?

Boy: Uh huh!

Mother: What is integrity?

Boy: Your bones.

Mother: Bones? Nooooo. Integrity is what is inside you. What makes you happy. When you lose your integrity you are unhappy.

Is it wrong that I thought the boys definition was better than the mother's? After all, integrity is really defined as "the state of being unimpaired, whole, or complete." In all fairness to the boy, if you are missing bones or have bones that are broken, then you are impaired physically and not whole, your mobility is limited...Ultimately, your physical/structural integrity is compromised.

Integrity is the foundational structure of our character. Without it, we are not functioning as we were created to function, we are limited in our capacity for healthy relationships, and we are impaired as leaders. Billy Graham said, "Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together. We must constantly strive to keep our integrity intact...when character is lost, all is lost."

As such, we must endeavor to be people of integrity, honest and honorable people, who understand that our character is what gives us credibility in the human congregation. Integrity is the foundation for our character. Integrity authenticates our humanity. It is living as we were created to live. It is our capacity for greatness.

Therefore, as followers of Christ, it is vital that we protect our integrity...It is our very bones...the anatomy of our character.