"Do not grumble against one another so that you won't be judged."
Every Church has one. Generally, everyone connected to the church knows who the Chair of it is. It's the Back to Egypt Committee. They gripe and grumble and moan that things aren't good. They say it was better when they were back in Egypt. They say it was better when Moses wasn't their leader. They say it was better when...
James reminds us at the close of this book to recall some of the key themes. He recalls chapter three and says you're either giving life with your words or your taking it away. He reminds us that endurance is central to sanctification.
I was for whatever reason, feeling discouraged, negative and a little beaten up last week. Then I woke up one morning midweek and just felt the Holy Spirit nudging at me about the word 'Hope'. If I'm not careful, I can join that Back to Egypt Committee and God just convicted me that the resurrection is bigger than that. It's bigger than the frustrating meeting. Bigger than the wilderness experience that sometimes a ministry or a leader goes through. It's bigger than our preferences. It's bigger than our conflicts, our agendas, our discontent, our negativity, our bitterness.
So if I don't get my way, if people don't get on board with my idea, if I disagree with a direction of those God has put in authority over me,etc...two options...pull up a chair on the oft-largest committee in the church and grumble (which guarantees you will be judged)...or come at it with hope...come at it with resurrection lenses. Because in resurrection, the worst thing is never the last thing.
Congrats if you made it through the five chapters of James! It's been a good week of Bible Study for me personally and I hope for you too!
Showing posts with label James Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Challenge. Show all posts
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The James Challenge Chapter Four
Anyone who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.
If you're like me, you tend to understand sin as the things that we do in defiance of God's authority and righteous way. I hate enemies. I covet the grass that is greener in another's life. I murder. I lust. I lie. I deceive. I ________.
But ultimately that is barely the beginning of following Christ. In one sense, yes, God wants to turn our affections away from the sinful ways, acts of disobedience, the defiance of our hearts. But He is at the same time desiring that we be turning toward Him.
It's not enough to avoid the things that God tells us to avoid. He wants us to follow His promptings. Its not just "Don't do this" but also "Do this". And when we experience those promptings and delay or disregard obedience to them, we are in the same boat as those who do the sinful things.
So when we read about being ministers of reconciliation and don't actually go work out the issues we have with the person, we're sinning. When we feel God nudging us to give the money we've been saving up for our kid's college fund away to the cause of Christ, we're sinning. When we're gifted to serve in youth ministry and don't offer to use our giftedness to serve, we're sinning.
Missing the mark is more than just doing the bad things God says to avoid. It is every time we are out of step with the grace and presence of the Holy Spirit.
So...how's the walk?
If you're like me, you tend to understand sin as the things that we do in defiance of God's authority and righteous way. I hate enemies. I covet the grass that is greener in another's life. I murder. I lust. I lie. I deceive. I ________.
But ultimately that is barely the beginning of following Christ. In one sense, yes, God wants to turn our affections away from the sinful ways, acts of disobedience, the defiance of our hearts. But He is at the same time desiring that we be turning toward Him.
It's not enough to avoid the things that God tells us to avoid. He wants us to follow His promptings. Its not just "Don't do this" but also "Do this". And when we experience those promptings and delay or disregard obedience to them, we are in the same boat as those who do the sinful things.
So when we read about being ministers of reconciliation and don't actually go work out the issues we have with the person, we're sinning. When we feel God nudging us to give the money we've been saving up for our kid's college fund away to the cause of Christ, we're sinning. When we're gifted to serve in youth ministry and don't offer to use our giftedness to serve, we're sinning.
Missing the mark is more than just doing the bad things God says to avoid. It is every time we are out of step with the grace and presence of the Holy Spirit.
So...how's the walk?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The James Challenge Chapter Three
James 3 is the classic text about speaking life rather death, breathing heaven rather than hell by what we say and how we say it. When something is 'set on fire by hell', we should probably slow down and tread gently.
Your words matter. If they aren't life-giving, they are hellish.
So when you rip apart your boss or your pastor. When you jab at your spouse. When you tear down your kid. When sarcasm belittles those who converse with. When your words are the level of quality, intelligence and couth of The Hangover 2 (a.k.a. a bunch of perverted filth and trash that could have been written by me when I was a childish 7th grader), when you gossip about the latest drama in your school or workplace...(Have I covered us all yet?!)...It is hell, not heaven we are bringing.
And God is not ok with that.
It is interesting that the remedy to the taming of the tongue comes at the end of chapter three...it begins with wisdom. And I remember a guy preaching on the topic of fear one time...and the verse "The Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" was used.
So Fearing God leads to wisdom. Wisdom leads to gentleness. Gentleness and purity and mercy and peace and impartiality and non-hypocritical living...they all are rooted in wisdom. And wisdom is rooted in fearing God.
So...if I am wreckless or hellish in my speaking, it is predominantly a God-fearing problem. So...how are you fearing God these days?
Your words matter. If they aren't life-giving, they are hellish.
So when you rip apart your boss or your pastor. When you jab at your spouse. When you tear down your kid. When sarcasm belittles those who converse with. When your words are the level of quality, intelligence and couth of The Hangover 2 (a.k.a. a bunch of perverted filth and trash that could have been written by me when I was a childish 7th grader), when you gossip about the latest drama in your school or workplace...(Have I covered us all yet?!)...It is hell, not heaven we are bringing.
And God is not ok with that.
It is interesting that the remedy to the taming of the tongue comes at the end of chapter three...it begins with wisdom. And I remember a guy preaching on the topic of fear one time...and the verse "The Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" was used.
So Fearing God leads to wisdom. Wisdom leads to gentleness. Gentleness and purity and mercy and peace and impartiality and non-hypocritical living...they all are rooted in wisdom. And wisdom is rooted in fearing God.
So...if I am wreckless or hellish in my speaking, it is predominantly a God-fearing problem. So...how are you fearing God these days?
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The James Challenge Chapter Two
Couple socks to the stomach today.
I have been going with Shaina to our Centering Classes which are where we get our check ups with the midwife, and spend a couple hours with other people who are due right around the same time we are.
There are people in there that I naturally am inclined to. I find them more interesting, sometimes I find them less annoying than others in the class. So I gravitate toward conversation with them, toward engaging life with them. And when the others speak up, I find myself tuning them out or getting agitated.
The same can be said in the context of the gospel. There are some that I will readily connect with, share my faith with and engage the gospel with...maybe we get along well, have similar interests, etc. But there are some who have quirks or personalities that I just dislike and so I disengage.
So I pick up James 2 today and the first verse says "My brothers, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?"
Do I really believe? Because if I believe that Jesus is indeed the remedy for sin, hell and brokeness, then my disengagement is hypocrisy. The gospel is meant for every one to encounter and if I am responsible for withholding that opportunity, it is reprehensible.
Which goes to the second jab from James 2. If I really believe...and that belief does nothing to impact the way I live, then I am dead. Not dying...dead. Hypocritical faith is not faith at all. If our orthodoxy (right belief and worship) does not impact our orthopraxy (right living) then it is irrelevant...irrelevant to my life...and others will deem it irrelevant to their lives and to the world as well.
Stop painting an impotent god for the world to see. Either participate actively in the sanctification of your life and the working out of your salvation, or stop claiming association with a God who doesn't work with dead things.
Ouch.
I have been going with Shaina to our Centering Classes which are where we get our check ups with the midwife, and spend a couple hours with other people who are due right around the same time we are.
There are people in there that I naturally am inclined to. I find them more interesting, sometimes I find them less annoying than others in the class. So I gravitate toward conversation with them, toward engaging life with them. And when the others speak up, I find myself tuning them out or getting agitated.
The same can be said in the context of the gospel. There are some that I will readily connect with, share my faith with and engage the gospel with...maybe we get along well, have similar interests, etc. But there are some who have quirks or personalities that I just dislike and so I disengage.
So I pick up James 2 today and the first verse says "My brothers, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?"
Do I really believe? Because if I believe that Jesus is indeed the remedy for sin, hell and brokeness, then my disengagement is hypocrisy. The gospel is meant for every one to encounter and if I am responsible for withholding that opportunity, it is reprehensible.
Which goes to the second jab from James 2. If I really believe...and that belief does nothing to impact the way I live, then I am dead. Not dying...dead. Hypocritical faith is not faith at all. If our orthodoxy (right belief and worship) does not impact our orthopraxy (right living) then it is irrelevant...irrelevant to my life...and others will deem it irrelevant to their lives and to the world as well.
Stop painting an impotent god for the world to see. Either participate actively in the sanctification of your life and the working out of your salvation, or stop claiming association with a God who doesn't work with dead things.
Ouch.
Monday, May 23, 2011
The James Challenge Chapter One
This week, our church was invited to dive into the book of James, a chapter a day, Monday through Friday to ask God to restore relevance and hunger for His Word. You're invited to join us. I will be blogging this week on some ways that God is connecting each chapter with my heart. Feel free to add your own insights!
James 1
ENDURANCE.
"Whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4
Trials that lead to endurance lead to maturity. Ultimately that is a primary aim of the follower of Jesus...to grow more and more in Christ-likeness throughout their lifetime.
So here's how we fail. We experience adversity, difficulty and trial and it derails our faith. I know I experienced this when my dad died. I was ticked off at God for not hearing my prayers to make his dead heart beat again and it took me to a place of distance from God and bitterness to Him...and I would still be there if He didn't draw me back to Him. Alot of people don't responding to God's drawing during adversity...They check out...despise God and live out their days in some hollow form of what they could have or should have been...bitter...alienated...indifferent.
When our faith is derailed in times of adversity our growth is stunted.
Without my dad's passing, God would never have taken me to deeper waters, where He revealed to me that His desire was to make my own dead heart beat again, in the rhythms of his grace. Trials that are endured will take you to deeper waters with Christ...I know this is true...but I'm not ready to count it as Joy to encounter the trials!
James 1
ENDURANCE.
"Whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4
Trials that lead to endurance lead to maturity. Ultimately that is a primary aim of the follower of Jesus...to grow more and more in Christ-likeness throughout their lifetime.
So here's how we fail. We experience adversity, difficulty and trial and it derails our faith. I know I experienced this when my dad died. I was ticked off at God for not hearing my prayers to make his dead heart beat again and it took me to a place of distance from God and bitterness to Him...and I would still be there if He didn't draw me back to Him. Alot of people don't responding to God's drawing during adversity...They check out...despise God and live out their days in some hollow form of what they could have or should have been...bitter...alienated...indifferent.
When our faith is derailed in times of adversity our growth is stunted.
Without my dad's passing, God would never have taken me to deeper waters, where He revealed to me that His desire was to make my own dead heart beat again, in the rhythms of his grace. Trials that are endured will take you to deeper waters with Christ...I know this is true...but I'm not ready to count it as Joy to encounter the trials!
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