LifeLink Devotions for Friday, July 3, 2026

Social media has made it convenient for us to spout off anything we feel like saying. We feel enabled to speak our minds on any subject without fear of hurting anyone’s feelings because we don’t have to face them. We can even delete their comments when the argument gets too heated. Unfortunately, many people don’t delete the arguments, and they get rather embarrassing. But what hurts the most is when followers of Christ engage in such arguments and bring dishonor to the Gospel of grace. Such behavior is foolish. It is a direct contradiction to God’s wisdom.

Carefully read these sacred words from Scripture.

James 3:13  “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

James tells us that the proof of wisdom in action is by our good conduct. But how do we define good conduct. Thankfully the context of this verse tells us. The previous twelve verses all speak about control of the tongue. The tongue is described as a blazing fire of conflict and confrontation. It reveals the foolishness and imperfections of our lives. Those who can control their tongues have good conduct and are determined to be wise.

The conduct of unwise people is further defined in the next few verses.

James 3:14-16  “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

Far too many of the words we speak and social media posts we make are rooted in bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, and all such speech and posts have no relationship with the wisdom of God. In fact, it is all rooted in the spirit world of demons. I speak boldly and bluntly on purpose because it has to stop. We must be wise, and we are most unwise in how we talk.

James encourages us that our tongues can reveal the wisdom of God.

James 3:17-18  “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

Wise people have pure motives that honor Jesus. Wise people don’t contradict themselves. Wise people are peaceable and gentle. Wise people embrace reasonable debate. Wise people are merciful, impartial, and sincere. Wise people produce the good fruit of righteousness. Wise people use their words to do all of these things.

As we bring to a conclusion our study of wisdom, let me leave you with this one thought. Many times we have heard it said, “Show me your love by what you do not by what you say.” That is true. I think it’s also true to say, “Show me your wisdom by what you say and by what you choose not to say.”  Let’s all prove that the wisdom of God is in us by controlling our tongues.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, July 2, 2026

I get afraid when I’m up high in an unsteady position. I don’t like to fall. I’m sure none of us enjoys the thought of falling from any height. But for me, it’s more than just a fear. I get unnerved. I doubt my ability to make good decisions. I go into a mild panic attack. My heart races: I really am afraid. I’m afraid that the ladder I am about to climb will fall over. I am convinced before I even get part way up that if I go any higher it will tip over and I will fall. I get down and I look at the ladder. I check its stability. I know it is solid. I know the ladder has held me before, and that if I remain inside its boundaries it will hold me again. If I use it correctly it can be trusted. When I focus on the trustworthiness of the ladder my fears are somewhat relieved and I can do the job. So I climb again.

One of the scariest Bible stories for me as a child was the story of Jacob’s dream of the ladder going up into heaven with all the angels on it. Now you know why it scared me so much. I thought my journey to heaven had to be like that, and I couldn’t stand to think about going up that high on a ladder. But at the top of the ladder stands Jesus, and when my eyes are focused on Him and how trustworthy and faithful He is, my fears are relieved. My fear has increased my trust.

Solomon ends his discourse to his son in the same way he started it – with a challenge to fear God.

Proverbs 24:21 “Fear the LORD and the king, my son…” 

Let’s go back and review how this study on wisdom started:

Proverbs 22:17-21 “Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach,for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.So that your trust may be in the LORD, I teach you today, even you. Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge, teaching you true and reliable words, so that you can give sound answers to him who sent you?”

The purpose for Solomon’s teaching was to develop trust in the Lord, which is based on a healthy fear of the Lord. 

Solomon says at the beginning, “So that your trust may be in the LORD, I teach you today.” Solomon says at the end, “Fear the LORD.” Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom; trust in God is the application of wisdom. In between we discovered many practical ways to grow in wisdom. Now at the end we are put to the test – how well will we trust in God’s wisdom? Before you answer that, think carefully about the rest of today’s wisdom verse.

“Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with rebellious officials,” Proverbs 24:21

Trust in God is measured against our complacency to and complicity with rebellious people. We may not participate in rebellious actions, but what about our attitudes and conversations? Do our minds still conform to the rebellious world’s system in the ways we think? How influenced are we by our political and social environments? How have we, as the Apostle John puts it, “taken the mark of the beast” by becoming dependent upon the world’s system and not on God alone?

Fear God. Trust God. It is the circle of wisdom, and it goes on. Biblical wisdom takes us from fear to trust to fear to trust. Let the circle grow, but keep it intact. Stay within the boundaries of wisdom. It is far better to fear the LORD in a trusting relationship than to fear the destruction of the LORD based on our rebellion. 

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Today’s wisdom passage is hard for me, because my human nature does the opposite of what it says.

Proverbs 24:17-18  “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.”

I tend to rejoice when people who have done wrong get their just rewards. You must know what I mean and have felt the same way about certain people. For example, as you’re driving down the interstate, a sports car races past you doing 85 mph. What’s the first thought in your head? “I hope there’s a highway patrol up ahead and he gets stopped.” Two miles up the road we see the flashing lights and we think another thought – “I hope it’s that sports car guy.” We drive by, and when we see that it is, we smile and think – “good, you got caught.”

If our thoughts at such a time go beyond just being thankful that we have police to keep our roads safe, and they move to rejoicing over someone else’s misfortune (even though they made the choice to speed and deserved the consequences), then we are not acting in God’s wisdom. God’s wisdom is defined in James 3:17, which says, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”  I cannot in any way justify my feelings of revenge or rejoicing over someone else’s misfortune when I read this description of wisdom.

What is my heart thinking when I wish harm on another person? What kind of spiritual dysfunction exists in my mind when I am happy to see a sinner suffer? How carnal have my attitudes become when I devise ways to see justice enforced upon other people? How un-like Christ do I appear when I love conflict more than peace; self more than surrender;  justice more than mercy? How self-centered am I when I desire consequences for the actions of others but seek to avoid consequences for my own choices? Oh that the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ toward enemies and sinners would overwhelm us with sincere compassion for those who need to be shown the path of wisdom and righteousness.

Dale Carnegie, who wrote the book How To Win Friends and Influence People, says “You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.” The simple point I would like to make today is this – We will attract more people to Christ by showing them the right and the good way they could live rather than by constantly pointing out to them the wrong and the bad way they are living. When we focus on sharing the good news, we become merciful. When we focus on voicing the bad news, we become judgmental.

Wisdom is merciful and loving. Let’s “Be wise in the way we act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let our conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that we may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6)

Pastor John