James 4: 1-10
(1) What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?
Are you focused on satisfying your own physical needs? Getting the things that will provide comfort to yourself?
(2) You lust and do not have; so you commit murder.
You assassinate someone's reputation to obtain what you think they have.
You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.
You want what someone else has, so you pick fights, and argue, and sue them.
You do not have because you do not ask.
(3) You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Jesus said to ask for what we need, but God loves us too much to give us what would not be good for us. And when we ask just to waste it, no wonder He doesn't grant it to us.
(4) You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
An adulteress is one who is not faithful to her husband. Jesus is our husband, as the Bridegroom to His bride, the church. When we turn to the world to satisfy our desire for pleasurable things and relationships that are outside of His plans for us, then we are turning away from Him, and being unfaithful to Him.
We're acting like the world provides better than our Maker, treating Him as an enemy who doesn't want good for us.
(5) Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"?
The best translation of the Greek here is in the NIV footnote: "that God jealously longs for the Spirit that He made to live in us."
The difference between envy and jealousy is that envy desires what belongs to someone else, and jealousy is not wanting to lose what belongs to them. He just said that we are committing spiritual adultery, and God is a jealous God, He does not want to share us with the world.
(6) But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
God's grace is always more than we need, and He will give us all the more grace when we're struggling to turn back to Him from the world. The quote is from Proverbs 3: 34: "Surely He scorneth the scorners: but He giveth grace to the lowly." (KJV).
(7) Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
God will help us to turn to Him, to submit to Him. The devil knows that God is in us, and when we confront him, he must flee away! We are to run away from temptation, but when we confront the devil, we must stand our ground!
(8) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
In several places God has said that, "If you seek Me, you will find Me, if you search for Me with your whole heart; I will be found by you" (Jeremiah 29: 13. See also I Chronicles 28: 9 and II Chronicles 15: 2).
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
We who have been sinning need to wash our hands of these things; we who have been bouncing between God's ways and the worlds ways need to decide to follow God and confess our wandering to Him for cleansing, and leading us aright, and purifying our hearts.
(9) Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
If you have been enjoying the pleasures of sin and worldly delights, then turn around; realize how you've been breaking your Lord's heart, and mourn and weep for hurting the One who loves you more than you can imagine!
When God saved me, I wept for having hurt the heart of the One who Loved me that much! He made such an impression on me, that even now, almost 50 years later, I will never go back to that besetting sin that had me trapped, that God released me from that day!
(10) Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
I gave my whole life to Him that day, because I knew I didn't know what I was supposed to do, and He knew why He had given me this life. I became His bond-slave, willing to follow Him wherever He would lead, and He has blessed me beyond my fondest dreams!
I cannot out-give God. When I try to bless one of my sisters in the Lord, she just blesses me more! Whenever I give what I "can't afford," He just gives me more!
He always generously gives us more grace whenever we think we lack the resources we need. He is our Source for everything!
O my Father, thank You for all of Your goodness and grace and provision! Thank You for Loving us more than we can ever imagine!
O Father, help us to know that this world can never satisfy us, and that when we turn to it for its pleasures, they always come with a cost.
You give to us freely, and the abundance of the Lord comes with no regrets (Proverbs 10: 22). And our only cost is a benefit, to be under the Master's authority! To have His provision and protection.
Father, we Your children need to get to know You better, so we will always turn to You instead of to the world. To know You is to love You back! And we will also love who You love, those who are still in the world.
My Father, You have chosen to create the human race to be Your children. This is why You are not willing for any to perish. You want every one of us to turn to You, but You've given us the choice; and You know that not all of us will believe You.
Send out Your children, Father, into all the world, to let them know how much You love them, to rescue them from their traps and cages that hold them hostage, even snatching them out of the very fires of hell licking at their heels.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Wisdom
James 3: 13-18
(13) Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
God's wisdom is gentle.
(14) But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
(15) This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
(16) For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
Bitterness, envy for what belongs to another, and arrogance are all deceptive. Worldly wisdom comes from our enemy, the liar, who only wants to kill, steal, and destroy. And he can be very persuasive.
(17) But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
God's wisdom is not mixed or diluted with any selfish or prideful attitudes, but is pure, as God is pure. And because it is pure, it promotes a positive peace among one another, in gentleness.
Someone with God's wisdom is willing to listen, and is reasonable, even with people they don't agree with. And they will give allowance to someone, forgiving slights; and merciful, with the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23). Their emotional responses are level and honest.
(18) And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
This peace is more than an absence of hostilities. It is a positive well-being and quietness; a restfulness.
A person who teaches others how to relax and trust the One who holds them in His hand is sowing a righteousness-seed.
We may have many seasons of sowing before a season of harvesting, but we will reap what we have sown when the right time comes.
O my Father, thank You for Your peace that surpasses what we can understand. Teach us how to appropriate Your wonderful gift of peace of mind, even in the midst of trials and troubles and sorrows.
Help us to show one another how they also can settle down, curled up in Your lap, when they face circumstances that are upsetting. Show us all how You care for us, as a Daddy who is so tender with His little toddlers.
O Father, You are God and we are not. We need You, we need Your wisdom, to not fall prey to the enemy's deceptive ploys.
Father, grant us Your peaceable wisdom, to discern the truth of all we consider, so that we will be able to see Your plans for us, and Your great Plan of the Ages and our part in it.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
(13) Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
God's wisdom is gentle.
(14) But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
(15) This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
(16) For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
Bitterness, envy for what belongs to another, and arrogance are all deceptive. Worldly wisdom comes from our enemy, the liar, who only wants to kill, steal, and destroy. And he can be very persuasive.
(17) But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
God's wisdom is not mixed or diluted with any selfish or prideful attitudes, but is pure, as God is pure. And because it is pure, it promotes a positive peace among one another, in gentleness.
Someone with God's wisdom is willing to listen, and is reasonable, even with people they don't agree with. And they will give allowance to someone, forgiving slights; and merciful, with the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23). Their emotional responses are level and honest.
(18) And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
This peace is more than an absence of hostilities. It is a positive well-being and quietness; a restfulness.
A person who teaches others how to relax and trust the One who holds them in His hand is sowing a righteousness-seed.
We may have many seasons of sowing before a season of harvesting, but we will reap what we have sown when the right time comes.
O my Father, thank You for Your peace that surpasses what we can understand. Teach us how to appropriate Your wonderful gift of peace of mind, even in the midst of trials and troubles and sorrows.
Help us to show one another how they also can settle down, curled up in Your lap, when they face circumstances that are upsetting. Show us all how You care for us, as a Daddy who is so tender with His little toddlers.
O Father, You are God and we are not. We need You, we need Your wisdom, to not fall prey to the enemy's deceptive ploys.
Father, grant us Your peaceable wisdom, to discern the truth of all we consider, so that we will be able to see Your plans for us, and Your great Plan of the Ages and our part in it.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
How To Tame The Tongue
James 3: 1-12
(1) Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
We who share our insights need to take special care that we speak only at the Lord's direction.
(2) For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.
This is an amazing statement. The person who never says an untoward word is perfect! That means we all must watch what we say, and always consider before we reply. We all have offended with our words.
(3) Now we put the bits into the horses' mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.
(4) Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.
(5) So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.
Tiny bits and small rudders. Tiny items that control mighty things. So is our tongue. A minor-sized organ that moves our whole lives!
See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
Just a tiny match, or candle, can burn down a whole forest.
(6) And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
Our tongue gets us into more trouble than any other body part. Our words that spill out of our mouths are dumping out what is overflowing our hearts.
(7) For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.
(8) But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
Our tongue sometimes seems to have a mind of its own. It is untameable. To bridle the tongue we would have to bridle our brain! Our thinking processes and attitudes! This is what is so difficult to accomplish. We need changed hearts.
(9) With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;
(10) from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these thing ought not to be this way.
This is not right, but it happens all the time! Opposite attitudes come pouring out, blessing and cursing.
(11) Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?
A fountain cannot, but our mouth-hole does! What is our heart filled with, good or evil? It sometimes looks like--both!
(12) Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs?
Plants do what they're supposed to do: fig trees produce figs, olive trees produce olives, and grape vines bring forth grapes. They obey their directives from their Maker.
Nor can salt water produce fresh.
Aboard ships, reverse-osmosis brings potable water from the sea. But it takes a lot of energy to do it.
It takes a lot of consistent effort on our part to bring out blessings and encouragement to one another out of our human hearts. It's a constant battle. But God has given us His word and His Spirit to teach us His word, to overflow all the negative input that fills our hearts, and replace those bad attitudes with His love.
It's our responsibility to let Him do that, by getting into His word regularly, consistently, and to keep His ways on our minds constantly, especially in the crunch of life. It's when the stuff hits the fan that shows what we've been filling our minds with. When our minds are saturated with His ways, then they seep down into our hearts, too.
And our Father re-makes us, molding us into the very image of Christ's character. This is His miracle in us.
O my Father, help us to be faithful to You in imbibing Your good ways into our minds and thinking, to soak down into our hearts. Re-mold and re-make us, Father, wash away all the deceitful and harmful attitudes we've picked up from the world we live in. Replace them with Your good and healthy and beneficial ways that You designed into this world for us.
Father, help us to follow Your ways in all of our days, to enjoy the benefits and give You the glory. Your ways are not our ways, Father. We need You to lead us into the narrow path, guide us along that strait way that leads to Life.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
(1) Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
We who share our insights need to take special care that we speak only at the Lord's direction.
(2) For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.
This is an amazing statement. The person who never says an untoward word is perfect! That means we all must watch what we say, and always consider before we reply. We all have offended with our words.
(3) Now we put the bits into the horses' mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.
(4) Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.
(5) So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.
Tiny bits and small rudders. Tiny items that control mighty things. So is our tongue. A minor-sized organ that moves our whole lives!
See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
Just a tiny match, or candle, can burn down a whole forest.
(6) And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
Our tongue gets us into more trouble than any other body part. Our words that spill out of our mouths are dumping out what is overflowing our hearts.
(7) For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.
(8) But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
Our tongue sometimes seems to have a mind of its own. It is untameable. To bridle the tongue we would have to bridle our brain! Our thinking processes and attitudes! This is what is so difficult to accomplish. We need changed hearts.
(9) With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;
(10) from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these thing ought not to be this way.
This is not right, but it happens all the time! Opposite attitudes come pouring out, blessing and cursing.
(11) Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?
A fountain cannot, but our mouth-hole does! What is our heart filled with, good or evil? It sometimes looks like--both!
(12) Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs?
Plants do what they're supposed to do: fig trees produce figs, olive trees produce olives, and grape vines bring forth grapes. They obey their directives from their Maker.
Nor can salt water produce fresh.
Aboard ships, reverse-osmosis brings potable water from the sea. But it takes a lot of energy to do it.
It takes a lot of consistent effort on our part to bring out blessings and encouragement to one another out of our human hearts. It's a constant battle. But God has given us His word and His Spirit to teach us His word, to overflow all the negative input that fills our hearts, and replace those bad attitudes with His love.
It's our responsibility to let Him do that, by getting into His word regularly, consistently, and to keep His ways on our minds constantly, especially in the crunch of life. It's when the stuff hits the fan that shows what we've been filling our minds with. When our minds are saturated with His ways, then they seep down into our hearts, too.
And our Father re-makes us, molding us into the very image of Christ's character. This is His miracle in us.
O my Father, help us to be faithful to You in imbibing Your good ways into our minds and thinking, to soak down into our hearts. Re-mold and re-make us, Father, wash away all the deceitful and harmful attitudes we've picked up from the world we live in. Replace them with Your good and healthy and beneficial ways that You designed into this world for us.
Father, help us to follow Your ways in all of our days, to enjoy the benefits and give You the glory. Your ways are not our ways, Father. We need You to lead us into the narrow path, guide us along that strait way that leads to Life.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Monday, March 2, 2020
Faith And Works
James 2: 14-26
(14) What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
(15) If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
(16) and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
If you say that you are a Christian, and you believe in Jesus, then what are you doing to show that He has saved you? If you know someone has a need that you can help with, but refuse to do so, is that loving your neighbor?
(17) Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Just to say you believe is not enough to save you.
(18) But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
Whether with works or without, the substance of your faith is really what matters.
(19) You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
The demons know who God is, and what Jesus accomplished for us, and they know that they are under condemnation.
(20) But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
When a person has put their trust in Christ to have taken their place in death to pay their sin-debt, then they will express this salvation in love for one another, meeting needs and encouraging.
(21) Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
(22) You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
(23) and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God.
(24) You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
The word justified is dikaioo, which means "to show as just or righteous," not to make righteous. Justify means to show to be just, not to make just. So he was saved by his faith, which was shown by his works.
When Abraham offered Isaac on the altar, it demonstrated that his faith in God was genuine, many years after it was reckoned to him as righteousness. So he wasn't saved by his works, it was by trusting in God in faith.
(25) In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
Rahab, also, believed that the God of the Hebrews was trustworthy, and her faith was also demonstrated by her protection of the messengers, and was even included in the genealogy of our Savior.
(26) For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
So, James is not saying that we are saved by our works, because there is nothing we can do to pay off the debt we owe.
He is saying that when our faith is genuine, saving faith, then it will be worked out in our attitudes and treatment of one another in what we do. But if our attitudes have not changed, so that we still treat others the same way we did before we believed, then our faith is no more saving than that of the demons.
Saving faith is trusting Jesus to have taken your death on the cross. We are all the criminals who deserve execution, and Jesus fulfilled the personal sacrifice as the Lamb of God for each of us, individually. His blood has unlimited worth, and is more than sufficient to pay the sin-debt of every person who ever lived.
That is why God is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance, realizing that they deserve that death (II Peter 3: 9). Because He created the human race to be His children.
But He gave us a free will, because He wants us to choose to love Him back. Many have already chosen to refuse His offer of Redemption, because they've decided to believe the lies of our enemy, instead.
Only those who choose to turn to God and accept the sentence we deserve, then let Jesus pay that debt for us, will be born into His family. This is the faith we are to believe with: trusting Him to have done all the work for us.
Then we will have His Holy Spirit in us to prompt us and power us to do the good works He planned before time for us to do. The works that demonstrate that our faith is genuine, saving faith.
But the faith must come first, then the works will follow.
O my Father, please help us to understand what You are telling us in Your written word. We know that Your Love for what You made has caused You to do everything possible, and even impossible, to rescue us from the condemnation we have called down upon ourselves. And when You save us from ourselves, You wash us pristine clean in the blood of Your Son, then place in us Your own Holy Spirit to give life to our dead spirits, and be born into Your own family.
Then in the power of Your Spirit in us, You are molding and making us into the very image of Your Son, as Your sons and daughters resembling our Father; and doing the good things You planned for us to accomplish for Your Kingdom, our benefit, and Your glory.
O Father, send out Your children into the fertile fields of the world to gather all Your harvest, to find all Your lost lambs to rescue them from the brambles and pits that trapped them.
Father, fill Your house with all of Your uncountable children, surround Your great banquet table with Your sons and daughters, to eternally enjoy sweet fellowship with You and one another.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
(14) What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
(15) If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
(16) and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
If you say that you are a Christian, and you believe in Jesus, then what are you doing to show that He has saved you? If you know someone has a need that you can help with, but refuse to do so, is that loving your neighbor?
(17) Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Just to say you believe is not enough to save you.
(18) But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
Whether with works or without, the substance of your faith is really what matters.
(19) You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
The demons know who God is, and what Jesus accomplished for us, and they know that they are under condemnation.
(20) But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
When a person has put their trust in Christ to have taken their place in death to pay their sin-debt, then they will express this salvation in love for one another, meeting needs and encouraging.
(21) Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
(22) You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
(23) and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God.
(24) You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
The word justified is dikaioo, which means "to show as just or righteous," not to make righteous. Justify means to show to be just, not to make just. So he was saved by his faith, which was shown by his works.
When Abraham offered Isaac on the altar, it demonstrated that his faith in God was genuine, many years after it was reckoned to him as righteousness. So he wasn't saved by his works, it was by trusting in God in faith.
(25) In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
Rahab, also, believed that the God of the Hebrews was trustworthy, and her faith was also demonstrated by her protection of the messengers, and was even included in the genealogy of our Savior.
(26) For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
So, James is not saying that we are saved by our works, because there is nothing we can do to pay off the debt we owe.
He is saying that when our faith is genuine, saving faith, then it will be worked out in our attitudes and treatment of one another in what we do. But if our attitudes have not changed, so that we still treat others the same way we did before we believed, then our faith is no more saving than that of the demons.
Saving faith is trusting Jesus to have taken your death on the cross. We are all the criminals who deserve execution, and Jesus fulfilled the personal sacrifice as the Lamb of God for each of us, individually. His blood has unlimited worth, and is more than sufficient to pay the sin-debt of every person who ever lived.
That is why God is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance, realizing that they deserve that death (II Peter 3: 9). Because He created the human race to be His children.
But He gave us a free will, because He wants us to choose to love Him back. Many have already chosen to refuse His offer of Redemption, because they've decided to believe the lies of our enemy, instead.
Only those who choose to turn to God and accept the sentence we deserve, then let Jesus pay that debt for us, will be born into His family. This is the faith we are to believe with: trusting Him to have done all the work for us.
Then we will have His Holy Spirit in us to prompt us and power us to do the good works He planned before time for us to do. The works that demonstrate that our faith is genuine, saving faith.
But the faith must come first, then the works will follow.
O my Father, please help us to understand what You are telling us in Your written word. We know that Your Love for what You made has caused You to do everything possible, and even impossible, to rescue us from the condemnation we have called down upon ourselves. And when You save us from ourselves, You wash us pristine clean in the blood of Your Son, then place in us Your own Holy Spirit to give life to our dead spirits, and be born into Your own family.
Then in the power of Your Spirit in us, You are molding and making us into the very image of Your Son, as Your sons and daughters resembling our Father; and doing the good things You planned for us to accomplish for Your Kingdom, our benefit, and Your glory.
O Father, send out Your children into the fertile fields of the world to gather all Your harvest, to find all Your lost lambs to rescue them from the brambles and pits that trapped them.
Father, fill Your house with all of Your uncountable children, surround Your great banquet table with Your sons and daughters, to eternally enjoy sweet fellowship with You and one another.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Favoritism
James 2: 1-13
(1) My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
Favoritism always causes divisions in the family, and God's family is not different.
(2) For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,
(3) and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,"
(4) have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?
Are you looking at people for what you can get out of them? Are you brown-nosing those who you think can do you favors?
(5) Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
You are not thinking God's thoughts when you honor the rich man above the poor man.
(6) But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?
(7) Do they not blaspheme the fair Name by which you have been called?
Don't the rich tend to become rich by taking advantage of others? Haven't some of these rich people taken advantage of some of you, suing you in court?
(8) If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well.
Those of you who are loving one another as brothers, regardless of their social or financial standing, are doing good.
(9) But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as transgressors.
This is a serious matter. Sin is to be avoided, not courted. To sin is to transgress a law.
(10) For whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
This is where the idea comes in that the Law is like a chain, each rule or precept is a link in the chain. When a link is broken, the chain is broken.
(11) For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "do not commit murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the Law.
The same Law that forbids sexual sin also forbids taking life into our own hands. When we agree with some parts but disregard other parts, then we become judges of the Law, instead of followers of it.
(12) So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.
The rules that put order into our relationships give us the freedom, the power, to do what is right; and helps us to get along with one another in the family.
(13) For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Jesus said that we will be forgiven as we have forgiven one another (Matthew 6: 14-15), and that we will be judged by the same standard by which we have judged others (Matthew 7: 1-2). So, if we have shown no mercy, none will be given us, either.
Even Shakespeare, in his play, The Merchant of Venice, put into Portia's mouth that, "The quality of mercy ... becomes the throned monarch better than his crown ... But mercy is above this scepter'd sway,--... it is an attribute to God himself; and earthly power doth then show likest God's when mercy seasons justice."
God's mercy on us does not put on us the wrath that we deserve, the death our sin has earned. Instead He pours out His grace upon us, all the goodness that we could never deserve.
As God is merciful to us, so we are to show mercy to one another, in not calling to account things that merely irritate us. And don't look at only the outward appearance, whether rich or poor, but see into each others character, and build up one another in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let God build in you the sterling moral character of Christ, as a member of His body, and a child in the family of God. We are to resemble our Father as His sons and daughters, and show His love for us to the world around us in our daily living. Don't show favoritism of someone over another. We are all God's favorites.
O my Father, please teach us how to see one another, without letting their outward show influence our opinion of them. Show us the good qualities they possess, and enable us to encourage them to grow in the areas where they are still needful.
Help us all to grow up in maturity to the full stature of the Son of God.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
(1) My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
Favoritism always causes divisions in the family, and God's family is not different.
(2) For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,
(3) and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,"
(4) have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?
Are you looking at people for what you can get out of them? Are you brown-nosing those who you think can do you favors?
(5) Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
You are not thinking God's thoughts when you honor the rich man above the poor man.
(6) But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?
(7) Do they not blaspheme the fair Name by which you have been called?
Don't the rich tend to become rich by taking advantage of others? Haven't some of these rich people taken advantage of some of you, suing you in court?
(8) If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well.
Those of you who are loving one another as brothers, regardless of their social or financial standing, are doing good.
(9) But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as transgressors.
This is a serious matter. Sin is to be avoided, not courted. To sin is to transgress a law.
(10) For whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
This is where the idea comes in that the Law is like a chain, each rule or precept is a link in the chain. When a link is broken, the chain is broken.
(11) For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "do not commit murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the Law.
The same Law that forbids sexual sin also forbids taking life into our own hands. When we agree with some parts but disregard other parts, then we become judges of the Law, instead of followers of it.
(12) So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.
The rules that put order into our relationships give us the freedom, the power, to do what is right; and helps us to get along with one another in the family.
(13) For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Jesus said that we will be forgiven as we have forgiven one another (Matthew 6: 14-15), and that we will be judged by the same standard by which we have judged others (Matthew 7: 1-2). So, if we have shown no mercy, none will be given us, either.
Even Shakespeare, in his play, The Merchant of Venice, put into Portia's mouth that, "The quality of mercy ... becomes the throned monarch better than his crown ... But mercy is above this scepter'd sway,--... it is an attribute to God himself; and earthly power doth then show likest God's when mercy seasons justice."
God's mercy on us does not put on us the wrath that we deserve, the death our sin has earned. Instead He pours out His grace upon us, all the goodness that we could never deserve.
As God is merciful to us, so we are to show mercy to one another, in not calling to account things that merely irritate us. And don't look at only the outward appearance, whether rich or poor, but see into each others character, and build up one another in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let God build in you the sterling moral character of Christ, as a member of His body, and a child in the family of God. We are to resemble our Father as His sons and daughters, and show His love for us to the world around us in our daily living. Don't show favoritism of someone over another. We are all God's favorites.
O my Father, please teach us how to see one another, without letting their outward show influence our opinion of them. Show us the good qualities they possess, and enable us to encourage them to grow in the areas where they are still needful.
Help us all to grow up in maturity to the full stature of the Son of God.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, February 29, 2020
What Is Religion?
James 1: 26-27
(26) If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.
The word for religion is threskeia, which means a "ceremonial observance," an outward display with scripted actions. This word comes from the word threo, which is "to wail, clamor, as to frighten--trouble." Religion is the demonstration of doing some ceremony to attract God's attention and favor.
James says that someone who doesn't try to control what he says, yet thinks he's religious, then he's only lying to himself.
We don't have to do anything to get God's attention--He already sees us and sent His Son to save us, and has already done everything for us that we need.
Now our response is to love Him back and to love others with His love.
(27) Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
So, James says that to demonstrate our love, then we should take care of those who don't have anyone to take care of them, and to do our best to not walk through too much filth as we live in this world of dirt.
That's why we need to "wash in the water of the word" regularly to clean our feet. When Jesus washed Peter's feet at the Last Supper, He told him, He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean.
Jesus "bathed" us completely and permanently clean in the blood of Calvary that splashed on the sides of the Cross. Now we only need to "wash our feet" in the water of the word regularly, to remove whatever dirt we may have picked up from living in this fallen world. That's how we keep [ourselves] unstained by the world.
James will teach us some more about the tongue in Chapter 3.
O my Father, thank You that we don't need to do anything to get Your attention! Thank You that You see me, You know me, You love me, and You have me on Your mind all the time. You loved me before I was even born; before I ever did anything good or bad, You already planned out my life for me.
Now strengthen me, Father, to be able to do the things that will demonstrate Your sterling character, as we see in Your Son Jesus. Continue to mold me into the moral image of my Lord, that the world will see how much You love them through me.
O Father, send out all Your children to bring Your message of Love to every creature, every person alive. Let Your Word cover the Earth, and let every human in every nation, tribe, language, and family hear Your good news of how You have already met all their needs, so that all Your children will be drawn into Your family, and no one else will have any excuse for not turning to You.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
(26) If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.
The word for religion is threskeia, which means a "ceremonial observance," an outward display with scripted actions. This word comes from the word threo, which is "to wail, clamor, as to frighten--trouble." Religion is the demonstration of doing some ceremony to attract God's attention and favor.
James says that someone who doesn't try to control what he says, yet thinks he's religious, then he's only lying to himself.
We don't have to do anything to get God's attention--He already sees us and sent His Son to save us, and has already done everything for us that we need.
Now our response is to love Him back and to love others with His love.
(27) Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
So, James says that to demonstrate our love, then we should take care of those who don't have anyone to take care of them, and to do our best to not walk through too much filth as we live in this world of dirt.
That's why we need to "wash in the water of the word" regularly to clean our feet. When Jesus washed Peter's feet at the Last Supper, He told him, He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean.
Jesus "bathed" us completely and permanently clean in the blood of Calvary that splashed on the sides of the Cross. Now we only need to "wash our feet" in the water of the word regularly, to remove whatever dirt we may have picked up from living in this fallen world. That's how we keep [ourselves] unstained by the world.
James will teach us some more about the tongue in Chapter 3.
O my Father, thank You that we don't need to do anything to get Your attention! Thank You that You see me, You know me, You love me, and You have me on Your mind all the time. You loved me before I was even born; before I ever did anything good or bad, You already planned out my life for me.
Now strengthen me, Father, to be able to do the things that will demonstrate Your sterling character, as we see in Your Son Jesus. Continue to mold me into the moral image of my Lord, that the world will see how much You love them through me.
O Father, send out all Your children to bring Your message of Love to every creature, every person alive. Let Your Word cover the Earth, and let every human in every nation, tribe, language, and family hear Your good news of how You have already met all their needs, so that all Your children will be drawn into Your family, and no one else will have any excuse for not turning to You.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
Friday, February 28, 2020
Don't Have A Spiritual Bad Hair Day
James 1: 19-25
(19) Know this, my beloved brethren: everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;
(20) for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
The art of listening needs to be learned by us all. We must be able to listen to one another, and especially to hear what God is saying to us in His word. This is essential to put all the parts together into a godly lifestyle.
And if we're too quick to speak, then we may not have thought through the concepts being discussed, or we may miss what someone else may contribute to our understanding.
Especially if we disagree with what someone said. Then we need to listen more closely to their thoughts to find some common ground. When we react too quickly, we may act rudely to the person, and disrespect their standing in the group. This is not loving one another.
Our human anger often springs from our own self-importance, and is seldom a "righteous anger." Even if it arises in response to some disrespect or disregard of God's ways, it is still dangerous for us. To speak out against injustice and deceit requires great discernment and grace on our part.
Anger may spur us on to righting a wrong, but we must be careful with it, because human anger tends not to promote God's love. We are responsible for loving one another, not judging each other. God's wrath will fall upon all the unrighteousness, we can trust that to Him.
Too often our anger will lead us into doing something that is not charitable or encouraging, but harmful and destructive. And even prideful or spiteful.
(21) Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness,
We are to cleanse our minds of all dirty or unloving thoughts by washing them out. Replace them with godly, loving, righteous thoughts. Get rid of every residue of the attitudes we used to have before we were saved.
in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
Let God's word be implanted in your thinking processes and attitudes. Plant them deep in your mind, to grow into new, charitable and loving attitudes toward one another. Let Scripture so fill your thoughts that they crowd out all the old, sinful, evil thoughts.
The word for soul here is psuche, which refers to a concept between our immortal soul and the basic life force, so it is our "sentient principle only." This means that our rational thinking processes can be washed out, cleansed from all the harmful and destructive thoughts by replacing them with Scripture, to save your soul.
(22) But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
(23) For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
But just to know Scripture and memorize verses and think godly thoughts all day is not yet living a godly life. Don't lie to yourself by thinking that this is enough. We must also do something, put into practice all these Scriptures we're studying. We don't want to "sit, soak, and sour." The Dead Sea is dead because it constantly takes in but never lets anything flow out.
We must put into practice the concepts we are learning. We must get up off our duffs and do something. We need to open our eyes to see one anothers needs so we can benefit each other, using our resources to meet their deficiencies.
he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
(24) for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
This is like looking at yourself in your bathroom mirror, noticing that your hair is a mess, but instead of picking up your comb, you're called away by a phone call, and you forget about combing your hair. Then you go all day without another thought for your hair, but everyone else sees it. You've just suffered a "bad hair day." We don't want to do that spiritually.
(25) But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer,
So, when we don't let ourselves be distracted, but continually keep godly principles on our mind; then when life happens, we will have godly ways ready to live out, instead of worldly ways.
this man will be blessed in what he does.
The one who can do this will be successful in what he does in life, cooperating with the way God designed it all to work out.
O my Father, Your wisdom guided you in creating everything you made (Proverbs 8: 22-30). To know You, Father God, is to begin to have wisdom, and this wisdom is our guide to success in whatever we endeavor.
Father, teach us Your wisdom, show us how to apply Your wisdom to everything we do in life, and in all our relationships and dealings with one another.
O Father, grant us to know how to apply Your ways to our practical, day-by-day life, in all the ordinary things that fill our days. Keep our thoughts on Your ways continually, to have them ready in the crunch, to not react in our flesh, but to habitually reach into our spirit for Your strength, wisdom and righteousness.
And grant us success in what we do, Father. Help us to successfully apply Your ways and live according to Your plan for each of us, to successfully accomplish everything You set before us to do, and promote Your Kingdom here on this Earth, until Your Son comes to set up His throne here.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
(19) Know this, my beloved brethren: everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;
(20) for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
The art of listening needs to be learned by us all. We must be able to listen to one another, and especially to hear what God is saying to us in His word. This is essential to put all the parts together into a godly lifestyle.
And if we're too quick to speak, then we may not have thought through the concepts being discussed, or we may miss what someone else may contribute to our understanding.
Especially if we disagree with what someone said. Then we need to listen more closely to their thoughts to find some common ground. When we react too quickly, we may act rudely to the person, and disrespect their standing in the group. This is not loving one another.
Our human anger often springs from our own self-importance, and is seldom a "righteous anger." Even if it arises in response to some disrespect or disregard of God's ways, it is still dangerous for us. To speak out against injustice and deceit requires great discernment and grace on our part.
Anger may spur us on to righting a wrong, but we must be careful with it, because human anger tends not to promote God's love. We are responsible for loving one another, not judging each other. God's wrath will fall upon all the unrighteousness, we can trust that to Him.
Too often our anger will lead us into doing something that is not charitable or encouraging, but harmful and destructive. And even prideful or spiteful.
(21) Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness,
We are to cleanse our minds of all dirty or unloving thoughts by washing them out. Replace them with godly, loving, righteous thoughts. Get rid of every residue of the attitudes we used to have before we were saved.
in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
Let God's word be implanted in your thinking processes and attitudes. Plant them deep in your mind, to grow into new, charitable and loving attitudes toward one another. Let Scripture so fill your thoughts that they crowd out all the old, sinful, evil thoughts.
The word for soul here is psuche, which refers to a concept between our immortal soul and the basic life force, so it is our "sentient principle only." This means that our rational thinking processes can be washed out, cleansed from all the harmful and destructive thoughts by replacing them with Scripture, to save your soul.
(22) But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
(23) For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
But just to know Scripture and memorize verses and think godly thoughts all day is not yet living a godly life. Don't lie to yourself by thinking that this is enough. We must also do something, put into practice all these Scriptures we're studying. We don't want to "sit, soak, and sour." The Dead Sea is dead because it constantly takes in but never lets anything flow out.
We must put into practice the concepts we are learning. We must get up off our duffs and do something. We need to open our eyes to see one anothers needs so we can benefit each other, using our resources to meet their deficiencies.
he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
(24) for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
This is like looking at yourself in your bathroom mirror, noticing that your hair is a mess, but instead of picking up your comb, you're called away by a phone call, and you forget about combing your hair. Then you go all day without another thought for your hair, but everyone else sees it. You've just suffered a "bad hair day." We don't want to do that spiritually.
(25) But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer,
So, when we don't let ourselves be distracted, but continually keep godly principles on our mind; then when life happens, we will have godly ways ready to live out, instead of worldly ways.
this man will be blessed in what he does.
The one who can do this will be successful in what he does in life, cooperating with the way God designed it all to work out.
O my Father, Your wisdom guided you in creating everything you made (Proverbs 8: 22-30). To know You, Father God, is to begin to have wisdom, and this wisdom is our guide to success in whatever we endeavor.
Father, teach us Your wisdom, show us how to apply Your wisdom to everything we do in life, and in all our relationships and dealings with one another.
O Father, grant us to know how to apply Your ways to our practical, day-by-day life, in all the ordinary things that fill our days. Keep our thoughts on Your ways continually, to have them ready in the crunch, to not react in our flesh, but to habitually reach into our spirit for Your strength, wisdom and righteousness.
And grant us success in what we do, Father. Help us to successfully apply Your ways and live according to Your plan for each of us, to successfully accomplish everything You set before us to do, and promote Your Kingdom here on this Earth, until Your Son comes to set up His throne here.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
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