But where do we get our directions when our desired destination is Heaven? Many look to their preacher or their pastors to get the information they need. In the Lord’s church this is often a valid method, but even within the body of Christ we should check out the information and validate it for ourselves:

When we are outside of the body of Christ, looking to man for direction is dangerous beyond measure. If one were to ask a false teacher “the way to Heaven”, they would get a multitude of answers – none of which would be correct.

That brings us back to the essence of today’s blog post. None of us should simply take our preachers “word for it”. When a preacher or teacher makes a claim, they should be able to back up that claim with the Bible, the Word of God.

Jas 3:1  My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

The word “masters” here is the Greek word didaskalos and means an instructor or teacher. The reason these teachers shall receive greater condemnation is because of the great responsibility of teaching the truth.

Let us hold our preacher/teachers accountable for their teaching, and let us always work to help our teachers see any error that they may be promoting. By doing so we can strengthen the body of Christ and keep our Bible study and worship services pure and holy.

The post The Bible is Our GPS appeared first on Jay Scott.

The internet is both corruption and possibility. When God created food, sex, material items, and an endless array of other “things”, He created them with a proper human use.

However, when the devil saw these “things” he also saw infinite ways to corrupt and disrupt the proper use of them. When God created food then the devil shifted that good thing into gluttony and lack of contentment. When God created sex the devil shifted it into pornography and the sex trade.

The devil can create nothing – but he can corrupt the wonderful things that God has made for our benefit and enjoyment. Our job is to learn to use the things God gives us in a Biblical way.

I see the internet as a new type of God-given blessing that must be used with responsibility and for the good of mankind. With the power of the internet we can look up Bible verses and commentaries in seconds. We can evangelize in ways we’ve never dreamed of (check out my YouTube channel to see just one of the ways we can reach people).

However, we all know that with the power of the internet we can also look up pornography and horrible photos of death and corruption in seconds. We can communicate with others across the world in sinful and improper ways.

The choice is yours. Will you use the power of the internet for good for for evil? Will you choose the path of light or the path of darkness? Let us all choose the path of light. This is, after all, the new frontier.

The post Is the Internet the New Frontier of Evangelism? appeared first on Jay Scott.

What I mean by this is that some people think that Jesus was a “made up” fictional character. This is simply not the case. Now, this is not just me saying this, but practically every reputable scholar on the planet.

I think that we should be sure to inform our young people – who are often going off to secular colleges and have secular friends – that Jesus Christ is a real historical figure. There are many Non-Christian historical sources that attest to the existence of Jesus. Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, and Josephus just to name a few.

And there are also very, very few modern secular scholars who deny that Jesus existed. For the most part, they all agree, Jesus was a real and living historical figure.

There is plenty of evidence for Jesus existence, and, yes, there is also plenty of evidence for his divinity. I also hope that this quick article will give viewers the desire to seek further evidence of Jesus divinity, allowing them to come to the knowledge that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.

The post Did Jesus Really Exist? appeared first on Jay Scott.

However, Jesus does not let us off the hook on this one. In Matt 28:18-19 he states that we should go and teach all nations, baptize them, and teach them to observe all that he commands.

I often hear people say that we should be a good example, and that is a wonderful thing for sure. We should let our light shine and be Christians in the world (Matt 5:16). However, we should also seek to save the lost in other ways.

Someone may ask, what other ways are there? Door knocking? That doesn’t work in the modern world. Well, first of all, door knocking does work. I think a number of church of Christ preachers would attest to that. Will the vast majority of people reject you? Absolutely. The majority rejected Jesus himself!

Still, starting out with door knocking is like starting your basketball career in the NBA. It’s a little advanced for most churches right now. I personally believe that we should do two things to improve evangelism in the Lord’s church today:

1. We should look at (and make a note of) where we are now.
2. We should strive to improve that…now.

We should not strive to improve our evangelism situation tomorrow. We should strive to do it now. I assert that any action counts. Know someone who needs Christ in their life? Send them a letter. Need a way to live stream your services? Get that in order.

We actually have ladies that give away clothes at our congregation. They often put a “Basic Bible References” card in the bag with the clothes. In my opinion, anything you can do to spread the gospel today that you didn’t do yesterday is a good start for evangelism.

But we must get started. Time is running out. Let us not be caught in sloth when the Lord comes. His command to covert sinners holds as firm today as it did centuries ago…

Joh 4:35  Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

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In my fitness business I tried to tell people the “secret” to getting in shape – unfortunately it involved hard work and discipline. While this helped many of the people I came in contact with, it also pushed away countless folks who were looking for an easier way.

The same happened on my local television appearances (NBC, ABC, CBS). Though I put my phone number at the bottom of the screen for each of these appearances, I only ended up with one phone call (in around 40 appearances). What was my message to the masses? Well, that there is no “easy” way to get in shape, but it can indeed be done with some dedicated work and some caloric reduction. Needless to say, this message did not “sell like hotcakes”, well, maybe like “broccoli hotcakes”. However, the problem remains. The truth is the only thing that works, and in the case of the gospel it is the only thing that saves.

As a member of the Lord’s church I see the same trend in national “Christianity”. Only 1-2% of the population is a member of the Lord’s church (a sad number indeed). As cultural truth is pushed farther and farther from the “absolutes” set forth by the Bible this number has continued to decline. The number of church of Christ congregations in the United States is dwindling, dropping 9% in the last three decades according to a National Directory published by 21st Century Christian.

What did Jesus say about this? Did he say that truth should produce the most Christians? Did he say that the truth should have people coming to us in droves? No, in fact he predicted our very situation:

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad isthe way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

So, does this mean we should give up? I do not believe it does. I believe it means we need to evangelize more than ever and work to engage the culture (and the young people growing up in said culture). I believe that the media is leading many astray and that we need to step up and “call out” those who are promoting false doctrine. Do I mean false gospels? Yes, but I also mean the doctrine of evolution, materialism, relativism, and the like.

Jesus wants us to spread the gospel to as many as possible, because indeed progress can be made. Some will accept the message and be saved, and our job is to maximize the number of saved individuals by telling them about Christ:

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

When should we start? Well, as the old saying goes the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, but the second best time is right now. Let us all strive to begin pushing back against the darkness that is enveloping our society, let us all strive to evangelize and spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

The post The Truth Sells like Broccoli Hotcakes! appeared first on Jay Scott.

There can be no better habit to establish than that of daily Bible reading. Fortunately, with just a few changes to your existing lifestyle you can easily fit this daily reading into your schedule. Remember, even a small amount of reading accomplished daily will really add up over time (and pay huge dividends).

I think any Christian would agree, studying the Bible is one of the most important things a human being can do. Prayer is our way to talking to God and the Word of God is the Lord’s way of talking to us. We need this two way communication in order to live our lives to the fullest and reach eternal life.

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

2Ti 3:15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

So, we know Bible study is important, but in today’s busy world we often have limited time to get things (like Bible study) accomplished. In addition, our minds have been corrupted by the modern “productivity” culture and its demand that we work for hours and hours every day. Many of the productivity guru’s today recommend that we should work as many hours a day as we possibly can. This, they say, is being “productive” and will lead to maximal gains in whatever endeavor we are pursuing.

I think that this is a foolish way to look at a challenging goal. For example, most walking apps recommend that you start out with 10,000 steps a day, which, in my opinion is way overboard. It would be much better to start with 3,000 steps a day, then slowly work your way to 5,000 steps over the course of a few weeks. Within a few months you could be at 10,000 steps a day, your ultimate goal.

In regard to Bible study, I believe that starting small is key. I think that if you are looking to start reading the Bible daily you should start with one chapter deeply read (for maximum understanding). Take it slow and really absorb the content. It is better to read one chapter well than five chapters quickly (and without comprehension). An interesting fact:

• If you read one chapter of the New Testament a day it will take you nine months to complete it.
• If you read one chapter a day right from the beginning of the Bible (Genesis) it will take you 3 years and 3 months to complete it.
• Typical chapters take 5-10 minutes to read.

After you establish a solid habit you can then add another chapter (giving you a total of two). However, don’t start the two chapter a day regimen until you have gone a month or two consistently accomplishing your one chapter a day goal. At this point I would recommend one chapter of the New Testament and one of the Old Testament. Then, when you finish the New Testament (and are still working through the longer Old Testament) you can just restart the New Testament.

Reading the Bible gives you a great sense of accomplishment. Regardless of what happens during your day (for good or ill), if you do your daily reading you will know that your Bible study goal was accomplished. As time passes you will begin to cherish your daily opportunity to let God speak to you. Happy reading!

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I was blessed enough to teach class last Wednesday night at Berea church of Christ. We discussed many things during the course of the lesson, but one of the most important was the fact that we don’t have to jump from 0 to 100 in our spiritual (or even physical) lives. I used to say (when I was a personal trainer) that “any movement is an improvement”. I still hold to this.

We all have the ability to improve spiritually but it is just so hard to get going! Getting started is the hardest part of achieving a goal. So, what is the solution?

In that Wednesday night class I put forth that one could start reading the Bible simply by reading one verse a day. Any movement (as long is it is forward movement) is an improvement. Maybe you can handle a chapter a day, five minutes a day, or maybe you are advanced and can engage in long study sessions. Any of these work as long as we aren’t “going backwards” and falling away from our good spiritual habits.

Remember, this isn’t just about Bible study. This applies to other areas of your spiritual life as well. Maybe you need to stop doing something. Maybe you need to add in more evangelism. Maybe you want to attend more services. The list is endless (we all need improvement in many areas).

So, this week’s blog is short and sweet and it encourages you to ask yourself just a few simple questions. Are your habits moving you towards Christ or away from Him? Are you improving or falling away? Are you growing spiritually or shrinking?

I think we all need to ask ourselves these questions from time to time and we all need to make sure our spiritual priorities are in the right order. After all, if we aren’t moving (forward) we aren’t improving! Thanks so much for reading and I’ll talk to you again soon.

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Here it is…

Be intent upon the perfection of the present day.

William Law

While I am typically very careful with whom I quote, I feel that this one has little to do with the speaker. Why? Because Jesus seems to share the same opinion (and long before Mr. Law):

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Too often today we worry and fret over tomorrow. We add anxiety and stress to our lives by not trusting God and allowing Him to help us along our way. After all, God is in charge of everything, and as long as we do our best to serve Him He will help us overcome any trials we may experience.

Truly, today is the perfect day to live in the present. Today is the perfect day to be grateful for all that we have. Today is the perfect day to stop being anxious and to let go of earthly fears. Today is the perfect day to start living for Christ and hand our problems to Him.

I hope you got as much out of this little lesson as I did this week. I think it lowered my blood pressure quite a bit. Let us all strive to seek God and to trust Him. Let us all live in this perfect present day.

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I just finished a book about readjusting your life to better accomplish goals and make less mistakes. In one of the chapters the author mentioned a saying used by the Special Forces when on dangerous and critical military campaigns. The saying is, “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast…”

In military parlance this basically means “if you go slow things will go smoothly, and if things go smoothly then they are going as fast as they can (safely), so go slow to get things done quickly and effectively.” I hope that clarified the saying a bit (the guy in the book explained it in depth).

As someone who far too often leaves behind keys, wallets, (and other possessions) this saying really hit home for me. It really made me stop and think, why does this happen to me? I believe it is because my mind races and moves on to the next thing. In fact it becomes so engrossed in the “next thing” that it forgets to do the “current thing”. The solution is to slow down and get things right – and hopefully get them right on the first try.

I believe we need to do the same thing in order to lead a successful Christian life. If we find ourselves thinking so much about some trivial subject that we forget Christ and his commandments then there is a problem. We can’t allow ourselves to get so involved in the “future state of the world”, or even “the future state of our world” that we forget to do the correct action immediately before us (whether that be a church service, bible study, or even proper behavior).

Jesus told us long ago not to worry about the present moment, and James told us we knew not what was to be on “the morrow”. I think we can all agree that we have enough to occupy us right here in this moment, we needn’t “borrow trouble” from tomorrow.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Let us all strive to stay focused on the prize of eternal salvation, and let us do so with deliberate, focused, and patience driven action.

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Jas 4:13  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Jas 4:15  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

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2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

As Christians we know that we need to read the Bible, yet for most of us this seems a daunting task. Many of us can’t seem to find the time in the day to perform this essential study (yet all of us would agree that Bible study is infinitely important).

That leads us to an age-old question – why is there such a profound human tendency for procrastination? Is there any way that we can overcome this tendency? I think there is, but I also think that it takes an effective strategy of scheduling and habit building for most people (including me) to accomplish this feat.

Our reasons for procrastination are almost limitless and while some of them are actually pretty legitimate, others are not. Our lives today are busier than ever before. Social Media, T.V., text messages, email, family issues, our jobs, babysitting, cooking, sports, after school activities; all of these tend to rob us of free time and encourage procrastination.

In the past I have been very prone to procrastination and in many ways I still am. Fortunately, I recently found a method that has helped me bypass procrastination (at least a lot more often) and better accomplish the tasks that I seem to always put off.

The strategy that I’ve been using over the past year to get things completed more effectively is called “time-blocking”. I learned this technique from a book called Deep Work by productivity author Cal Newport. Basically, you take your day and block out specific times to do certain activities. If you don’t block out (and thus set aside) the time for a given activity, you are very likely to skip doing that activity.

If your plan is to “read the Bible sometime today”, you will likely fail in that task – and even if you do succeed you will likely be unable to keep up the habit. Time blocking encourages you to block out the exact time on your schedule for a given activity (like Bible study). That means literally blocking out the time on a schedule and adhering to that schedule no matter what (barring an emergency).

Be sure to choose a time that is typically free on your daily schedule. It also helps to have a ritual that you place before your study to let your mind know its time for the activity. Maybe your ritual could be taking a walk, or getting a cup of coffee before you sit down with your Bible. Whatever your ritual is, your mind will begin to associate this “trigger” with the fact that it is time for Bible study, and that will help reinforce your habit.

How much time should you block out for study? I would recommend starting small, about fifteen minutes if you don’t currently read the Bible daily. Plan to read one chapter slowly and sit and ponder over each verse. Personally, I’m not a big fan of reading the Bible quickly (I’ve done it) because the Bible is a complex document that requires deep thought.

Over time you can build up the length of your study sessions, but I believe it is best to initially start with baby steps. By starting small you can begin to build up “little wins” that will engrain the habit of Bible study into your life. One thing is for certain, if you set aside time daily to study God’s Word your life on earth (and in eternity) will be enriched beyond measure.

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