James 1:12-18

James 1:12-18

"Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.  Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God' for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death."       

                                      directing my thoughts

                What are your biggest temptations?  Can you see how they connect to your own desires?  If I desire recognition, I will be tempted to do things that will lead others to focus on me rather than on God.  If I desire to escape stress or worry, I will be tempted to do things that numb my mind to rational thinking.  If I desire to feel loved, I may do things that cross moral boundaries to get that sensation (even if only momentarily).  The irony is that these needs can truly and fully be met through relationship with Jesus, and through renewal that comes as a result of His truth being worked in our life.  The catch, is we must be deliberate in how we position ourselves to face difficulties.

                Where do actions originate?  If we want our actions to be good, wholesome, pleasing to God, we need to begin by recognizing the battles are won and lost, first, in our hearts and minds.  We must take all of our thoughts to Jesus.  Nothing will shock or surprise Him.  Nothing can separate you from His love.  In our weakness He will meet us and provide His strength if we sincerely invite Him to do so.  

If there is an area of your life where a particular temptation repeatedly presents itself, consider these tactics:  1) Avoid the “scene of the crime” 2) Use scripture to reinforce truth 3) Establish accountability with another sincere follower of Jesus.  In I Corinthians Paul speaks truly when he says, “…let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.  No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”  The question is, will I choose to be lured into the temptation, follow with sin, and experience the death that results?   It may be the death of innocence, the death of humility, the death of some relationships, the death of purity, the death of hope, the death of joy, the death of freedom…--you get the idea!  Or will I take the way of escape by finding shelter with Jesus in the Word of Truth?  It is entirely my choice.  The course will be set according to where I direct my thoughts.

                Though circumstances and challenges change, the Lord does not.  He is faithful, true, kind, good, merciful, forgiving and full of love for us!

Read and Pray: 2 Cor. 10:3-5, Rom. 8:38-39, John 17:17, Phil. 2:8

James 1:9-11

"Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.  For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes.  So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits."

                                            glory in Christ, not myself

               When I read this passage, I often struggle because I know that on a global scale, I am one of the wealthy ones.  I have secure lodgings, plenty of food and clean water, ample clothing, and all sorts of amenities that are above and beyond my basic needs. So I identify with the rich, and that makes me uncomfortable.  Who do you most identify with in this passage? Whatever we may appear to be in the eyes of the world, lowly or rich, our true status is determined by our relationship to God. Where is the “lowly” brother’s exaltation?  It is in his belonging to God in Christ. The lowly brother knows need and seeks peace. Where is the rich man’s humiliation? Perhaps it is shown in the comparison of the temporary nature of the earth’s goods with the eternal nature of God the Creator.   He may be one who “has it all” but he still seeks peace. Our status before God is far, far different than our status before the world. For all of us, our only secure identification, our only avenue to peace is in Jesus.

               When we get bogged down by what we lack, we have an alternative:  Be lifted up in the spiritual reality of belonging to God, being at peace with Him, and having a future inheritance in His kingdom.  When we find ourselves walking in a fleeting confidence because of favorable circumstances: Take note, and be humble, for the comforts and riches of this world are temporary and ever changing!   Jesus said that whoever humbles himself will be exalted, and whoever exalts himself will be humbled. (Matt.23:12)

            Is your ‘glass’ half-full or is it half-empty?  Either way, the thing we can glory in and dwell upon, is not the present state but the fact that in Christ, our cup is in the process of being filled, and will one day be completely spilling over.

               Read and Pray: Isaiah 40:6-7, Isaiah 55:6-11, Phil.3:8-10

James 1:5-8

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord:  he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

                                                 single minded seeking

There are a couple of particular areas I am feeling an acute need for wisdom:  career/job change/potentials, interactions with specific people, navigating aging parent issues.   Often I am afraid of making decisions because I am afraid it is not the very best decision.  So I waffle back and forth, agonize, and worry.   I think I sometimes miss the gift of wisdom because I miss the peace that comes with trusting God to work all things together for good.  
*‘faith’, pistis,  means more than a belief that God will give what we ask; it is active and includes confident, unwavering trust in God.
*‘doubting’, diakrino, means to differentiate and includes the idea of judging and disputing with oneself.  This implies that James is not talking about intellectual doubt, but rather about conflicted loyalties.          

                These are important distinctions.  Grasping complex intellectual concepts is often a result of intellectual doubt or questioning, and I do not believe this is being discouraged.  We need to have courage to ask our questions, dare to search for answers, and accept that we will likely fail to grasp everything.  Wonder can be, actually should be, part of our intellectual development.  There can be an undergirding security in the midst of this kind of questioning or doubt:  trusting God's love and His good intentions for us and for others.

               Think about someone (or yourself), conflicted in loyalties.  One who is divided like that tends to change according to circumstance, as James says, like a wave on the sea.  “That man[person]”, (verse 7), should not logically expect God to answer their prayer, because if their loyalty is divided, behavior will be inconsistent,  commitment and sincerity lacking.

            In my current situation, it would be helpful to recognize my own motivation for seeking wisdom.  Am I aiming to be something special like a “notch above the others” (where really it is all about me), or am I aiming to love well?  I need to let go of the desire, hope, and expectation that I will be a great _______________, and cling to God as the Great One who fills people with the Holy Spirit, empowering them to love with divine love.  I need and want wisdom so that what I choose to do won’t simply be in hope of some personal satisfaction or recognition. I hope and pray my personal ambition can be subservient to the love of God, that the wisdom God grants me will lead others to ponder the beauty and wonder of God, the horror of sin, and our need for relationship with Jesus.

            In what area do you need wisdom right now?  What have you been praying about? What are driving your requests to God? Is it a whole hearted love for God or a heart divided with self-serving desire?  Thankfully, we can approach God in any state of being, and receive both grace and mercy to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 underscores this and empowers us to live Deuteronomy 6:5 .  May God grant each of us the wisdom to recognize the state of our heart, and the action(s) that can/should be taken to move toward wholeheartedly loving God and loving others, and may He help us to trust in His faithfulness.

               Read and pray:  Proverbs 1, Psalm 51

James 1:1-4

                                                          Joyful in spite of trials

What trial(s) are you currently facing?  How do you deal with difficult things, and what surfaces as a result?  Do you find you are irritated, angry, sad, frustrated, insecure, …?  Trials give us an opportunity to see what is really at work within us.  It takes a lot of courage, but we can work to identify and change our negative reactions/responses—if we choose.  The purifying of metals is much the same:  as the heat rises, the impurities rise to the top and can be skimmed or poured off.   The “skimming off” of impurities happens as we look at things in the light of truth, repent of the attitudes which are not born out of love for God and man, and purpose to walk in a new way.   But this is not something that “just happens”.  We must take deliberate action.  (I John 1:9, and Romans 12:1-2) 

                The trials you and I face are not so much about ‘testing’ to show whether or not we have faith.  (I am pretty sure God already has a sense of our faith!)  Rather, might they have the potential to be about strengthening the faith that is already present?  I say potential, because you and I are free to choose how we will respond and that choice will either strengthen or erode our relationship with God, and either strengthen or erode our personal character and integrity.  In this light, if we meet our trials with rigorous honesty our trial is a opportunity for our faith to grow deeper, our understanding and compassion broader, and our love stronger.
                 My current trial of not knowing what to do next, is like an octopus with tentacles that reach into how I react to other things. I have some work to do --not just mind mapping, networking and resumé building.  For my spiritual and emotional health I also need to reflect on truth, accept grace, receive and grant forgiveness, keep seeking wisdom, rest and enjoy the presence of God.
How are your current trials affecting you, and do you have a plan for navigating them?

                Read and pray:  Psalm 119:73-76, 2 Cor. 1:3-4, Heb. 4:16

Here are a couple of great resources for personal growth:  

The Renewing of the Mind Project by Barb Raveling (this is especially practical)

Rising Strong by Brené Brown 

1 Thessalonians 4:7-8

                God’s calling is not necessarily like a telegram that tells me what I get to do in my little world.  Nor is it simply an invitation.  As John Piper says, it is an act of creation!

“…when God looked forward into history from His standpoint in eternity he did not see free people using powers of self-determination to believe; he saw people enslaved to sin and spiritually dead, whose only hope was that the sovereign call of God would create the faith he commands.”[1]

 We are not called to uncleanness, though our will can choose to go toward uncleanness.  But in His holiness, God’s created call is holy, beckoning our spirit to lead the rest of our body to follow toward holiness.

                The person who rejects this holy calling is rejecting the very source of faith, and ultimately the giver of life.  This is pretty serious stuff to consider when sin presents its alluring temptations.  How might we respond if it were phrased to us this way:  “Come away dear one to my uncleanness.  You will find sickness, decay and death both for your body and your soul.”?

                The context of 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 reveals that this is not referring merely to a one-time conversion experience.  It is referring to our daily experience of walking with God in the world.  It is not just about a one-time blatant rejection of the gospel, but it is about receiving or rejecting God’s call to us to choose life—daily! 

Our relationship with God is to be a dynamic, daily experience moving us toward His holiness.  It is a cooperative experience wherein He calls, we respond, He calls, we respond, He calls, we respond…

May we each understand that today is another opportunity to surrender the thoughts and intents of our hearts which lead us away from God.  Today is another opportunity to receive His holy call which beckons us toward His holiness, and enables us to daily live more and more in His holiness.

Read and Pray:  Deuteronomy 30:19-20a, Proverbs 13:14, Isaiah 42:5-9

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[1] Piper, John, Future Grace, (Multnomah Publishers, Oregon, 1995), p.128

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

                                             increase in love

                Paul’s hope and prayer is that the Lord will work so as to cause the Thessalonians to increase and abound in love to one another.  Why?       ______________________________________________________________ 

So that our hearts will become established in His goodness and holiness—so that we will not be ashamed when we are face to face with Jesus.  Does Paul’s prayer cover it in such a way that the Thessalonians don’t really have to do anything except sit back and watch God cause their love to increase?  The Scriptures put way too much responsibility on us to think it is an entirely passive experience.  How does this increase come about?  ______________________________________________________________

                It is often in the context of relationships that we see God’s goodness reflected.  It is also in the context of relationships that we recognize our own weaknesses, and the weaknesses of others.  In the context of relationships we discover not only the sins and faults of others, but our own as well.  Relationships can reflect what is deep in the heart, and hard relationships sometimes reveal the most!

                Choosing to grow in love means at least three things:

1.        Confronting sin in my own heart

2.       Sacrificing my selfish interests and desires for the sake of others

3.       Putting off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts, and being renewed in the spirit of your mind, and putting on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph. 4:22-24)

How, specifically can we do these things and increase in love?  Asking ourselves a few questions is a great way to get started:

1.        Are there things in my life that are preventing me from loving God and others well?  --Do I want to grow enough that I will address those things?

2.       What is the loving thing to do (in a particular situation)?

3.       How can I best love God in this situation?

4.       How can I best love others in this situation?

We grow in love in the context of relationship, with the elements of need and time:  work, play, trials, suffering, rejoicing, … We will not be truly established as blameless and holy in Christ without an increase and abounding experience of his love in and through us.  Are we willing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit so that our love will increase and abound?

Read and Pray:   Psalm 119:9, Philippians 1:9-11, 1 Peter 1:22 & 3:8-9, Colossian 3:12-14

               

1 Thessalonians 3:11

                                            being directed

In verse 11 Paul says, “Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you.”  Paul is not demanding God to take him where he wants to go, nor is he planning to force his own will in regard to his own whereabouts.  He uses the word,  “may”,  implying a prayer and hope, but it is not a demand nor does it carry with it an absolute guarantee.  This is a good reminder to hold our plans lightly, trusting that if things don’t turn out as we currently desire, God is still at work in our lives and in our situations.

I believe there is another subtle message in this verse that has to do with God’s relationship to our situation.  Read the verse again and then answer the question, “Is God more like the ‘Grand Watchmaker who plans and designs the world then sits back and lets it roll’ (as the Deists claim), or is He more like the ‘loving Father intimately involved in our lives’?”  Paul apparently has a clear opinion on this—our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus Christ—directs our way!  He cares about where we are and what we do!

But how does God direct us?  Through circumstances?  Other people?  Our own desires?  He may sometimes use any of these, but we must remember these can all be used to influence us for good or for evil.  Scripture, if we are willing to take it in its entirety, will consistently influence us for our own good as well as the good of others.  It may not tell us specifically where to go, or when, but it will tell us  1) what is of true value, and 2) how to move forward with a right attitude and a pure heart.

Most Christians will say that they want God to direct their ways.  And most Christians probably also have a preference about where they end up.  The real question, I believe, is will we submit our desires to the scrutiny of the  Bible, and will we trust God with the outcome even if it is not what we necessarily hoped for at the outset.   I personally, could use continued growth in learning to follow His direction.  How about you?

 I think the first step is humility in understanding that I don’t necessarily see the whole picture.  The second is learning to watch for and listen to God as He guides and directs in a variety of ways –all of which should line up with scripture.  And finally, to trust that He has our very best interests in mind.

Read and Pray:   Proverbs 16:9, Isaiah 58:9-14, Jeremiah 29:11-13