Posts Tagged ‘James’

I wonder if the LORD ever gets jealous of “nature” when we speak of natural and supernatural events and circumstances. Do we realize the LORD is in all things?

When we overlook the LORD as sustainer of everything, we fail to give credit where credit is due. In Colossians 1:17b, we read that “in Him all things hold together.” Hebrews 1:3 reminds us the Son is “sustaining all things by His powerful word.” In Isaiah 46:4 the LORD reminds the children of Israel that He is their sustainer. “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” (NIV)

The reason we can pray “I shall not want” from Psalm 23 is that God holds all things together. Do we realize that “our daily bread” comes from the LORD’s sustaining power, or do we just credit “nature” for the provision of food?

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17 NIV)

James, the brother of Jesus, enlightens us, his readers, regarding reasons for not obtaining our desires. Sometimes we don’t acquire what we wish for because we just don’t ask; or we may have asked wrongly or with an unacceptable motivation. We can make improperly motivated requests to God; this implies it is possible to have pure motivations. So what motivates us? How should we approach the Throne of Grace?

Hezekiah provides us with a positive example of pure motivation in Isaiah 37. Sennacherib, the wicked king of Assyria, sent a message of imminent destruction to Israel and Hezekiah. King Hezekiah responded by laying the pages of the message out before the LORD and praying the following prayer.

“O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

“It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.” (Isaiah 37:16-20 NIV)

This prayer isn’t a plea for God to provide anything for Hezekiah or even for the people he ruled as king. In great humility, Hezekiah praises the LORD, exalts the Most High, and makes a plea for God to act in such a way that the LORD’s glory will be evident to the nations of the earth. Do we care about the world’s perception of our God? Do we pray to our LORD with the understanding that it isn’t about us – that we exist to bring glory to our Creator? Or, are we motivated by personal comfort, personal reputation, personal peace, and squandering God’s blessings on our own passions?

The English Standard Version, of God’s Holy Word, provides a title for chapter 11 of Hebrews: “By Faith”.

The phrase “by faith” is repeated nineteen times throughout the chapter. By faith we understand… By faith Abel offered… By faith Enoch was taken up… By faith Noah constructed… he became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham obeyed… By faith he went… By faith Sarah herself received power… By faith Abraham offered… By faith Isaac invoked future blessings… By faith Jacob blessed… By faith Joseph… By faith Moses… By faith Moses… By faith he… By faith he… By faith the people… By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab…

The ‘by faith’ term is attached to individuals and their actions. The book of James informs us that faith is demonstrated by works. This chapter appears to simply validate that claim until I read of the faith of the walls of Jericho. How can walls have faith? Then I realize that rock walls are just as capable of obedience to God as you or me. We were dead in our trespasses and sins until Jesus Christ made us alive. Jeff reminded me this morning of that familiar triumphal entry passage in Luke 19. The Pharisees tell Jesus to rebuke His disciples for proclaiming Him King. He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Prior to Christ giving us life, we are no more capable than stones of giving Him praise.

It is only through the power of Christ that we possess faith; it is only through His grace that we can act on that faith. So, along with all the other unlikely individuals that are credited with faith in Hebrews 11, we find the walls of Jericho. Again, I find comfort in knowing that God will empower me to praise Him, and then proclaim me righteous based on the faith He provides. How humbling; how awesome.

When I am not careful, I have a tendency to compare myself with other sinners and think that somehow, my sins aren’t as bad as theirs. But God does not compare me to others and grade on a curve; God sees our ‘righteous acts’ as filthy rags, and loves us anyway. I hope the following collection of verses will provide a little meat for meditation.

 “Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding”.  2 Corinthians 10:12

 “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him”. Proverbs 26:12

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14

 “Humble yourselves before the LORD, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10

 Scriptures selected by Tony from the English Standard Version (ESV)

In Deuteronomy 6:6-7 we read, “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” (NASB) Basically, Moses is exhorting readers to continuously be remembering God in everyday things, in what we do, in how we live, and in all our conversations. I contend that the reminders are already embedded in our daily conversations; we just don’t recognize them as “God’s Word” references. Think about some of the following greetings.

 Good morning, Good Day, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, Good Night: Genesis proclaims the story of creation and indicates that when God speaks things into existence he calls them ‘good’. James tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from God. There are over 50 entries in the Random House Dictionary for the word good; the first definition of ‘good’ is “morally excellent; virtuous; righteous…” Whenever we use any derivative of good in a greeting or farewell, we are stating publicly that we desire that time period to be morally excellent, that we wish to have God’s character of righteousness to be evident in our words, thoughts, and actions.  

Shalom: Some may use ‘Shalom’ as a greeting or a farewell. It comes from the Hebrew and just means ‘Peace’ or, you are wishing a person a life of “completeness, soundness, and welfare,” all of which only come from God.

Hello:  The word ‘Hello’ is an interjection used to express a greeting, answer a telephone, or attract attention. Its origin dates back to the 1800’s and is a variation of ‘Hallo’ which is also a variation of ‘Hallow’ which may be familiar to you from The Lord’s Prayer. Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary tells us that ‘hallow’ means to render sacred or to consecrate. So each time we begin a conversation with ‘Hello’ we are setting that conversation apart as sacred or consecrated.

Hi:  ‘Hi’ is an informal, simplified spelling of  “High” reminding us of The One who reigns from on high.

Adios: According to the Online Etymology Dictionary – “1837, American English, from Spanish ‘adios’ from the phrase “a dios vos acomiendo” which means “I commend you to God.”

Adieu: Middle English, from Old French a dieu, (I commend you to God).

Good-bye: A contraction of “God be with ye.”

 As you may notice, many of our greetings and farewells give us opportunity to put our thoughts on God and to follow the Command of Deuteronomy 6.

In the midst of an exhortation to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God, Paul reminds us that we can only do that in accordance with the measure of faith God has given us (Romans 12). Peter, in his second epistle, expounds on how we are to take that God-given faith as a base and add to it goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love; we are to “possess these qualities in increasing measure.”  If we are moving in that direction we will be kept “from being ineffective and unproductive” in our true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul, in his first letter to Timothy, tells the young pastor to train himself to be godly because “godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” He adds that “godliness with contentment is great gain,” and to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith …” And “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,” writes “to those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ;” and he urges us to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” James has much to say regarding faith and deeds. While it is obvious that our salvation comes purely as a gift from God, it appears that our God-given faith becomes a foundational platform to be built upon.

Before we start thinking that we can bring this about in our own strength, we should turn to the Old Testament. Solomon, in Psalm 127, proclaims, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Proverbs 3 sort of ties this rambling meditation together. Verse 3 says to “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” Verse 4 speaks of the effectiveness and fruitfulness of the faith life; “Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” And the familiar verses (5-6) remind us where to go in order to build on the God-given faith. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

”The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.”           Proverbs 18:17 (NIV)

How do we know who or what to believe? Here is one example of differing advice from different sources, in 2 Chronicles 32 (NIV)

• Hezekiah told the children of Israel, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.”  (verses 7 and 8a)
• The people gained confidence from what Hezekiah told them. (verse 8b)
• A messenger from Sennacherib came and questioned the wisdom of what Hezekiah had told the people. He suggested that Assyria was much stronger than all nations and that no god could protect people from the power of Assyria. (verses 10-19)
• Hezekiah went to God in prayer. (verse 20)
• “The LORD sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king.” (verse 21)

Hezekiah and his people were wise to not heed the advice of the questioning messenger from Sennacherib, even though on the face of it the messenger had a good argument. Assyria had conquered many nations and peoples far greater than the Israelites. They just hadn’t come up against the God of Israel. The LORD gives wisdom liberally to those that ask. Hezekiah sought the LORD and wasn’t swayed by the worldly argument that questioned his wisdom.

 In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of soils and then explains what it means. In the explanation of that parable, some individuals had received the Word when presented, but then fell away later. They didn’t stand their convictions because they had no roots. They lacked wisdom. James 1:5-8 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”

 “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.”          Proverbs 14:15 (NIV)

We have all heard of Moses, Aaron, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Peter, Andrew, James and John. If you have spent much time in the Bible you probably also know of Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Debra, Boaz, Solomon, and David. But, are you familiar with Oholiab and Bezalel? They were both chosen by God for a special purpose – even though they can’t pass spell-check in a Microsoft Word document.

Exodus 31 tells us the Spirit of God filled Bezalel because he was chosen to be the head craftsman for the building of the tabernacle. Bezalel was also given “skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of crafts – to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.”

God also appointed Oholiab to help Bezalel. Then God adds: “Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you.”

What a wonder that God chooses to fill workers with skills and abilities. James 1:17 reminds us that, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Do you have skills? Maybe you can build a cake, or turn a sentence, or sculpt a relationship. Every good gift, every skill, every ability that we possess, comes from a good God and should be used to further His kingdom.

 All quotes in this post from (NIV).

In Exodus 33:15 Moses said to God, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” In Psalm 127:1 Solomon writes, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” In Luke 1:37 the angel told Mary, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Again, Paul tells us in Romans 8:37, “In all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Clearly, the Presence of the LORD is necessary and desirable. Are we seeking Him with our whole heart? If we come near to God, He promises (James 4:8) to come near to us.

During His sermon on the mount, Jesus exhorts us to “Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.”  James tells us to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. The author of Hebrews proclaims, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (NIV)

Do we believe in the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us enough to earnestly seek Him? Do we believe in the faithful and just God that chooses to forgive and cleanse us and declare us righteous? Or are we like the voice from Psalm 10:4 who in his pride  does not seek Him;  in all his thoughts there is no room for God?