David CM Bell Leadership Blog

 James 5 - The Player Coach The best kind of coaches are those that the entire team knows that they have experienced the ups and downs of the game.  The players know for certain that the coach is willing to fight for them, for their benefit.  In my hockey career, as unremarkable as it was, I had all sorts of coaches, from the horrendous (seriously) to the grossly incompetent self-promoter.  The best coaches love not just the game, but selflessly love the players.  The Reggie Dunlops and the Ted Lassos - they are a rare breed.  It’s much more common to find coaches who talk a good game, but by their actions, you can see that it is all about them, their salary, their record, etc.  For them, the players are a commodity to be used.  The players know it.  So does God. Our Lord God, and I don’t mean any irreverence here, is the ultimate player-coach.  Jesus leads by example.  He always has.  The reason James tells us to show...

 James 4 - Draw Close to God So the bad news is our evil desires are strong and stubborn.  There is often a short distance (like the trenches in war) between what is a good friendship, fellowship, camaraderie, and genuine sharing and caring for each other) and what is evil (jealousy, lust, gossip, telling lies, scheming, favoritism, desiring only pleasure).  As Paul says in Romans 7, people know without confusion what is good, right, sinful, and wrong.  The trouble isn’t identifying the bad conduct, the problem is in winning the spiritual war that rages within us. Let’s not pretend the spiritual realities of James 4 don’t exist and that our conduct doesn’t matter.  It does.  James 4 and Romans 7 and 8 are both true.  Scripture is always aligned.  That is, the Lord’s way is good and practical.  There is indeed no condemnation for those who belong to God (Romans 8:1).  And yet we must live a blameless life, do what is right, speak the ...

  James 4:1-10 - Battling Evil Desires         God is known in war.  That’s true for nations (Ezekiel 25) and for the spiritual battles, every believer fights daily.  Our motives and the level of our friendship with the world are shown by what we fight for, how we fight, and the results of the battle.  Don’t let your temptation and sin grow.  Instead, resist the devil and he will flee from you.  God gives us grace so that we can fight the good fight today, and win.  That is God’s promise. What issue of sin are you facing?  What are you doing to resist those evil desires?  Are you feeding and allowing that sin to grow?  If it is arrogance and pride or sexual sin or gluttony or selfish ambition and jealousy of others, acknowledge that sin today.  Right now.  When sin is allowed to grow.  It gives birth to death (James 1:15). God is with us in our battles.  But God expects us to fight.  It is...

 James 3:13 - Pura Vida! We often hear that there is a special place in hell for certain people: dictators, abusers, greedy bankers, etc.  Perhaps that’s true, we leave judgment of men’s souls to Jesus as that is His realm alone.  Consistent with 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 we hear in James that there will be a judgment of the believer (no mercy to those who have not shown mercy, 2:13) and that some believers are held to a higher standard.  But who does the Bible say will be judged more strictly? Those who teach the Bible (3:1)!  Well, if that isn’t sobering.  I don’t claim to be wise or to understand God’s ways - but I want to be wise and to have understanding.  Like you, I want my life to be meaningful.  Nay, godly.  But we find out in this chapter that there is a big difference between what is holy and what is not holy - selfish ambition and jealousy on one hand and purity and humble work for God’s way on the other.       ...

 James 2 - A Day of Good Deeds I remember my AAA Midget hockey coach telling me my first year in the league that his captain the year before, his best player, would never go on to the NHL because he wasn’t coachable.  I thought that odd, but he was right.  Many guys I played with were talented but lacked vision, drive, or coachability.  Others were much less talented, but they abounded in cocky Canadian hockey confidence.  And they were coachable.  As for me, I was pretty stubborn, and still am.  I indeed need the challenge from Saint James to grow, to be coachable, and to be useful to God. As Christian brothers and sisters, it’s reasonable to ask ourselves if we really want to grow.  Do we want God to teach us?  Are we satisfied with our bad habits, or do we want to honor God, nay, obey God?  It's easy for me to point out the speck in your eye, but what about my eyes, are they clear? Everyone has some sort of plan.  Even no p...

 James 2:1-4 - Good Deeds - Holiness “My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?  For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?” (James 2:1-4) Well, this is about as hard a passage as you will find in Scripture.  It is hard because it shows God’s never-changing standard of justice and our Father’s command for holiness in personal conduct.  And, frankly, it calls out what fools and frauds we can be.  James was calling out the evil partiality of the ancient churchman and he just as much can call out the same today. What do...

 James 2 - Faith and Actions The Bible says that the wicked conceive evil; they are pregnant with trouble, and give birth to lies (Psalm 7:14).  This passage in James, consistent with all Scripture, tells us that we must repent of our sins, and put our faith in Christ into action.  You see, evil motives and actions come in many forms.  God sees it all.  He knows our thoughts, actions, and everything in our minds and hearts.  But God is also for us; He's never against us.  James nails it here.  He puts his finger on the Achilles heel of the ancient and modern churchman.  He asks us this haunting question, “How can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others” (James 2:1). God never changes or casts a shifting shadow.  I suspect we'll fully agree there.  God gives mankind a way to eternal life: through the Cross of Jesus Christ.  Make no mistake, God is and always will be, G...

James 1 - Grace and Endurance Thank God for James, the Lord Jesus’s younger brother.  Thank God for his no-nonsense straight talk.  And for all the straight talkers who call a spade a spade.  Those who care enough to speak the truth.  What good is it if we fool ourselves with worthless religion?  Why gain the whole world and lose our souls? I thank God in Heaven that He listens to our prayers.  I know that God listens to our prayers.  And I thank God that He does not judge us in His anger.  God's justice is loving, good, and pure; He’s slow to anger, merciful, and just.  Notice here that God desires us to be just.  Like Him.  He wants us to be great listeners, self-controlled, deliberate talkers, and slow to get angry. There are imperatives here.  We must get rid of the filth and evil in our lives.  Bitterness.  Lust.  Greed.  Laziness.  Pride.  Arrogance.  Lack of concern for widows, ...

 James 1 - Grow in Wisdom Oh, the secret of life.  It is so elusive.  And yet we have it, right here in this chapter.  We are told the reality of this life - it’s a consistent message throughout Scripture.  It is a matter of our minds and hearts.  It’s a matter of repentance of sin and allegiance to God. In the Bible, we hear of ancient Israel’s leaders who set up idols in their hearts (love of power and money - polluted hearts). They embraced things of the world and cemented their patterns of sin.  God was clear that He did not cause their bad behavior, but He certainly had good cause to condemn it (Ezekiel 14). There is nothing new under the sun.  We too share the human condition.  This chapter is about loyalty to God, growing our faith and endurance, and trusting in God.  It is the Christian growth mindset.  Our faith will be tested.  When it is tested our endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow!  ...

 Hebrews 13 - You are Equipped to Do God’s Will Sorry, I can’t help myself, one more on Hebrews then we’ll move on to James.  Thanks for bearing with me. We need good teaching.  Each of us.  We often forget how much our leaders of character, like Churchhill, read and learned from others.  Despite difficulty in learning (he flunked the Sandhurst entrance test two times - thank God for second and third chances - that would become a characteristic of Winston's perseverant life!) Churchill was a voracious reader, knew the Bible by heart, and soaked up the example of good leadership via experience in the House as a young MP and then off and on for the rest of his life, in the Cabinet.  And he learned from his mistakes (i.e. think of how he went to fight in the trenches during the Great War after the debacle in Gallipoli).  How many men would willingly go from Cabinet to the front lines?  I suggest you could count them on one hand. More than ever ...

  Hebrews 13 - Christian Life and Hope I love Hebrews.  I love its encouragement.  It gives us clear instructions for Christian living.  I love the explanation of what Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd, ratified with His blood: the eternal covenant of God.  It explains God's wrath fulfilled; His gift to His people, given in love. I love the reminder that this world is not our permanent home.  We have an eternal home yet to come.   This letter is serious.  It is a matter of life and death.  It is a matter of the eternal destination of our souls.  Yet it is pastoral and practical.           It is encouraging, motivating, and enlightening.  It makes clear that the old Hebrew system is obsolete - replaced forever with a much better system and promise.  It confirms the Jewish system is no longer in effect - and never will be again.  It was just a shadow of the real thing.  It could n...

  Hebrews 12 - Worship Jesus with Fear and Awe Jesus reigns in heaven indeed.  He is alive, resurrected, and ascended to heaven.  Yet, do we as His people follow Him as commanded in this chapter?  Are we burdened by our sin, the church's greed and gluttony, and the detestable sins committed in our communities? God showed Ezekiel the depth of the depravity of idolatry, disdain for God, and open rebellion.  The so-called leaders were even worshiping the sun with their backs to God right in the Temple.  How is that even possible?  Easy for us to ask of others, but again, what about ourselves.           And God brought justice (Ezekiel 9).  Likewise, we hear a lot of so-called Christian leaders bemoan the state of America and the blasphemy of our political leaders - and rightly so to a large degree.  But culture starts in the hearts of men and women, right in our homes.  Many of our leaders, just like the an...