Pearls Of Wisdom

In Matthew 7:6, Jesus tells us not to throw our pearls to pigs. So is He simply trying to stop the unnecessary feeding of fine jewelry to livestock? Well, no. First of all, pearls are defined here as words of great value, like wisdom. God gives us wisdom. Alright, so who are these pigs that we shouldn't throw our wisdom to? Well, you should know that God doesn't call people pigs the way we might think. He isn’t insulting His creation. Instead, He's describing a type of person—one who will eat anything, meaning they’ll take advice from anyone. These people ask everyone they know for advice, including you. And they don't know Jesus, yet. Does Jesus want these people to know Him? Absolutely. And will giving them your God-given wisdom get them out of their mess? Probably. But they still won’t know Jesus, which is a problem! The wisdom is hidden for believers. So if an unbeliever says, "Hey, what should I do about this problem?" Just smile and say, "Jesus. You need Jesus." Jesus was the beginning of all the wisdom God has given you. So the first thing they need from you isn’t an answer; they need the answer. They need Jesus.

Pastor Jason Anderson
Living Word Bible Church
Scottsdale | Mesa | Ahwatukee

More To The Story

The book of Ruth is a story about a woman whose husband dies, and she is living with her mother-in-law, who is also a widow. They have very little, and times are hard. Ruth could have thought to herself, "Well, it's over. My life didn't turn out the way I thought it would. I'm a widow, and I have nothing. I give up." But it wasn't over, and there is more to the story. So Boaz comes along, second in line to be what was called a “kinsman redeemer.” It’s important to remember that Jesus is our redeemer. Boaz marries Ruth, and they have some kids, and wouldn’t you know it, one of her descendants is King David. Oh snap! That's huge. But it doesn't stop there. The lineage continues all the way to Joseph, who married Mary, who gave birth to Jesus. So I don't know what's happened in your life: maybe your parents abandon you, or you were abused, or you have nothing, and maybe you’ve even considered just giving up. But Jesus is your “kinsmen redeemer,” so the story ain't over—with Jesus, the story is just getting started. Just hold on, ‘cause it's about to get all kinds of good!

Pastor Jason Anderson
Living Word Bible Church
Scottsdale | Mesa | Ahwatukee

Pay It Forward

In II Samuel 9:1, David asks, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?" David learns that his ole buddy, Jonathan, had a son, so He gives that son all of King Saul's land, some workers, and then he invites him to eat from the king’s table for the rest of his life. David decided to show kindness. Kindness is doing something nice for someone that will probably bring you no benefit at all. Lots of times we do something based on what we will get. We go to work, because we get paid to. And we should go to work. But here, David just decided to do good because he wanted to. And it started with a decision to show kindness. In our world, kindness may seem rare. But when we do this, acting like King David, God will reward us. David's kindness here was drawn up from a moment when someone had shown him kindness. Johnathan helped David when David was in a mess; Johnathan's kindness was stored up in David's heart. So think of a time when someone showed you kindness. Let it stir you. And when you show kindness, it keeps moving, because one day, that person will probably pass that same kindness along.

Pastor Jason Anderson
Living Word Bible Church
Scottsdale | Mesa | Ahwatukee

Are Things What They Seem?

In John 11:25, Jesus is talking to Martha, whose brother has just died, and she is in that state of hurt, despair and loss, you know, because death stinks. He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” So what He’s saying to her is that with Him, things don't have to remain as they are. We say, “It is what it is,” like we can't do anything about it. But, with Jesus, we can do something about it. Maybe your hopes have died, and you've let some dreams die, too. Maybe you've accepted what the doctors have told you as truth, or there are places in your heart that are wounded. Jesus still raises the dead, just like He raised Martha's brother. You see, with Christ, we can reject the idea that things just “are what they are.” Jesus can bring resurrection and life to your world. He says this: "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live." Okay, so what do you have to do? Be good enough? Act perfect? Earn God's love through good behavior? No. Actually, Jesus did all of that for you. All YOU need to do is work on your believing. Put your faith in Christ today.

Pastor Jason Anderson
Living Word Bible Church
Scottsdale | Mesa | Ahwatukee