Team Kick Devotionals

“….faith without works is dead” James 2:20

Just how does faith cooperate with works to produce the desired effect? Several years ago (how many years I will leave to your imagination) I entered the United State Navy with the desire (faith) to become a Navy SEAL. However, I soon realized that my faith was overpowered by the work required and my vision of becoming one the Navy’s greatest divers faded away. Faith without works is dead! The same is true with martial artist. If anyone has the faith to become a black belt he or she must work very hard to make that desire a reality. Hard work proves that faith is real. In the Scripture text, James the half brother of Jesus declares “show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works.” May we never forget, that for Christians, sitting on the sidelines of the faith is not an option. Genuine faith is seen by continuing to work toward the goal of becoming like Jesus. For the martial artist genuine faith is seen by continuing to work toward the goal of becoming a better student of the art.

What action steps can I take toward making my faith and works one and the same?

-Sensei

I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice — the kind He will accept” Romans 12:1 (NLT)

Regardless of style or method, martial artists share their stories of bumps and bruises earned in training. A few hurts and pains come with the package of the coveted blackbelt. My instructor used to say, “it’s not ballet.” Martial artists must pay the price through hard work, dedication and perseverance. These are bench marked by sore muscles and sometimes by bruised ribs and broken toes and fingers. But for sure, a lot of “blood sweat and tears.” What I am talking about is sacrifice! Jesus has made the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. When He died on the cross He bore all our sin and paid the debt of sin we owed, but could not pay. Christ paid it all!! However, Jesus teaches that when we consider believing on Him as our Lord, we need to count the cost of following Him.(Luke 14:28) Our text, Romans 12:1-2, urges us in light of God’s mercies in Jesus, we are to live our life sacrificing what we must to worship God and carry out His purposes. And what if we get a few bumps and bruises along the way? … Well, at least we are used to it!!!

-Sensei

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger” Proverbs 15:1

My loose paraphrase of this verse is “talk trash and you are likely to fight.” We all hope that we can remain calm in the middle of a confrontation and say or do the right thing. Several years ago I was talking to some men about Jesus outside a country store. As I turned to walk into the store one of the men who had become angry with me said, “preacher, next time I see you I’m going to whip your ….XX##!” Now at that point I had a choice to make. I could say “well …. why don’t you let this be the next time” or I could apply this verse to the situation. I looked at the man and said, “Well, Jesus will still love you and so will I.” The man became frustrated at my words and mumbled a few choice words and the incident was over. The next week I went to his house. He invited me onto his porch for some coffee and I made a friend that day. May we remember that what we say and how we say it carries a lot of impact on making the situations we face in life better or worse!

Could applying this principle have helped you calm situations of the past? See if it can help you calm them in the future!

-Sensei