James 2:1 NLT
My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?
How do I really get past this verse? This is a really hard verse to really, truly, live out.
For me, it is a litmus test of just how much of “me” is still alive. Whenever I think I’m doing pretty good, one of these tests comes along to show me just how much more of me needs to die.
Lord help me die to myself and see others through your eyes.
James 1 (NLT) 5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. 22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
In light of James 1, today’s devotional from Oswald Chambers (which I just “happened” to read today – not a normal occurrence) really hit me between the eyes. Read it here.
In case you didn’t, let me quote part of the article:
God speaks in the language you know best— not through your ears, but through your circumstances.
God has to destroy our determined confidence in our own convictions. We say, “I know that this is what I should do”-and suddenly the voice of God speaks in a way that overwhelms us by revealing the depths of our ignorance. We show our ignorance of Him in the very way we decide to serve Him.
Have I been persecuting Jesus by an eager determination to serve Him in my own way? If I feel I have done my duty, yet have hurt Him in the process, I can be sure that this was not my duty.
It’s a solemn reminder to “be still and know that I am God” and to wait on him. It’s a solemn reminder that every single act of ministry I do, I must be called specifically to do. I know to often, I jump in without asking if that is what He wants me to do at this time, at this moment, in this season.
Time for a little self evaluation… through His eyes and not my own.
Father, I invite you to inspect my life, my ministry, my motivations. Show me if anything is not pleasing or not for this time. If there is anything I have committed to without your calling to, I ask forgiveness and the wisdom to know how to handle it. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
James 5:1-6 (NLT)
1 Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. 2 Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. 3 Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment. 4 For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The wages you held back cry out against you. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
5 You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you.
I found it interesting that the verbs referring to the “things” of the rich in this passage are all present tense, when the rest of the verse has verbs indicating a time to come. “Your wealth is rotting…”, “… fine clothes are moth-eaten…”, “… gold and silver have become …”.
It just got me thinking of the here and now. All of it, the cars, the houses, the jobs, the status, the ______________ (fill in the blank of whatever floats your boat), is all crap to him.
Isaiah 64:6 “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…”
My best is like a filthy rag. If you’ve never heard what that word “filthy rag” really means, it means a bloody tampon. That’s what I have to offer him. My best acts, all the “greatness” I acquire on earth is nothing more than a bloody tampon to Him.
A little further in Isaiah the Lord says this:
“I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.
I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’
to a nation that did not call on my name.
All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.
But they follow their own evil paths
and their own crooked schemes. ” (Is 65:1-2)
God is in the now of things. Jimmy Evans preached a great sermon on “The God of Now” that I really like. I’ll tell you this, I don’t want to be the one not asking for His help, when He’s ready to respond. I don’t want to be the one not looking, when He’s wanting to be found. I don’t want to be following my own evil path or crooked scheme when Papa is crying out “I’m here! I’m here!”
Where is my focus today? Where is my focus in this moment? Right Now! That’s all that really matters.
We have a very complex microwave. There are tons of different settings to cook almost anything you can imagine. It has the ability to brown and bake using light while cooking the inside with microwaves. It can cook a batch of chocolate chip cookies in 7 minutes. That 3-5 whole minutes faster than the oven! It can cook biscuit in 6 minute. Whatever you want to cook, it can cook and it can do it faster than the convection oven (which is faster than a conventional oven).
However, our microwave has two buttons that are used the most… far beyond any other buttons. THE single most used button on the microwave is the “Microwave Express” button. This button turns the microwave on for 30 seconds. If you touch it while the microwave is on, it adds another 30 seconds. So, if I want to cook something for 1 and 1/2 minutes, it’s 3 touches of the button.
The second most used button is the one just above it that turns the light on in the microwave, so I can see my food being nuclearized, because I just HAVE to see my coffee get reheated!
I’ve noticed that I’m just that same way with Father. I want to push the “God Express” button in various areas of my life:
Prayer
How many times have I sent up A SINGLE prayer… a.k.a. the “flare prayer” to God? “OK Lord, I’ve pushed my God Express button, answer this prayer please…”
Ezra 10:1 Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.
Neh 1:4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
When Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray… (Matt 26:36-46) Jesus prayed for an hour the first time…
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
He went on to pray for two more sessions.
Col 1:3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
1 Thess 5:18 Pray without ceasing
I’m not advocating that there are not appropriate times for quick prayers to the Lord for wisdom, for an immediate situation, whatever… but if that’s the ONLY kind of prayer I’m offering and I’m expecting immediate results, then I’m treating God more like a Genie in a Bottle than I am the Creator of the Universe.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, immediately after pushing my God Express button, I push the ‘light’ button, because I want to “see” what He’s going to do about it and how He’s going to handle it.
Transformation
To often I find myself with this same attitude in my own personal growth and transformation. “Gee, that was a great lesson Dad! I’m so glad I journaled that,” never to look at it again or continue working on, studying, or chewing on it.
Phil 2:12-13 (NKJV)
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure
“Work out” my salvation? “Work out?” That would imply that when I stop, I get weaker and less “in shape.” Wow. Great picture and application. My spiritual walk needs to be exercised and strengthened daily. There is no express button for instant muscles or instant fitness. It is a daily, continual, diligent exercise and regiment. So is my transformation. Again, I’m not advocating a religious formula or legalistic “do & don’t” list. It’s an attitude of the heart. It’s a process of discipleship based in a real, living, vibrant relationship with Jesus.
Guess what? The God Express Button and the Light button aren’t connected… in fact, they don’t even exist. They are stickers that I have put on and a deception that I have believed.
Yes, Father lets us “see” our own progress sometimes. He is a good dad. He encourages us along the way. But He wants me to grow. He wants me to learn patience.
Prov 19:11 A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
Prov 25:15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
Eccles 7:8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
Isa 7:13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?
Rom 2:4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
Rom 9:22 What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?
2 Cor 6:6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Col 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
Col 3:12 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
1 Tim 1:16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
Also see 2 Tim 3:10, 2 Tim 4:2, Heb 6:12, James 5:10, 2 Pet 3:15
We have a very complex microwave. There are tons of different settings to cook almost anything you can imagine. It has the ability to brown and bake using light while cooking the inside with microwaves. It can cook a batch of chocolate chip cookies in 7 minutes. That 3-5 whole minutes faster than the oven! It can cook biscuit in 6 minute. Whatever you want to cook, it can cook and it can do it faster than the convection oven (which is faster than a conventional oven).
However, our microwave has two buttons that are used the most… far beyond any other buttons. THE single most used button on the microwave is the “Microwave Express” button. This button turns the microwave on for 30 seconds. If you touch it while the microwave is on, it adds another 30 seconds. So, if I want to cook something for 1 and 1/2 minutes, it’s 3 touches of the button.
The second most used button is the one just above it that turns the light on in the microwave, so I can see my food being nuclearized, because I just HAVE to see my coffee get reheated!
I’ve noticed that I’m just that same way with Father. I want to push the “God Express” button in various areas of my life:
Prayer
How many times have I sent up A SINGLE prayer… a.k.a. the “flare prayer” to God? “OK Lord, I’ve pushed my God Express button, answer this prayer please…”
| Ezra 10:1 | Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly. |
| Neh 1:4 | So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. |
When Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray… (Matt 26:36-46) Jesus prayed for an hour the first time…
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
He went on to pray for two more sessions.
Col 1:3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
1 Thess 5:18 Pray without ceasing
I’m not advocating that there are not appropriate times for quick prayers to the Lord for wisdom, for an immediate situation, whatever… but if that’s the ONLY kind of prayer I’m offering and I’m expecting immediate results, then I’m treating God more like a Genie in a Bottle than I am the Creator of the Universe.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, immediately after pushing my God Express button, I push the ‘light’ button, because I want to “see” what He’s going to do about it and how He’s going to handle it.
Transformation
To often I find myself with this same attitude in my own personal growth and tranformation. “Gee, that was a great lesson Dad! I’m so glad I journaled that,” never to look at it again or continue working on, studying, or chewing on it.
Phil 2:12-13 (NKJV)
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure
“Work out” my salvation? “Work out?” That would imply that when I stop, I get weaker and less “in shape.” Wow. Great picture and application. My spiritual walk needs to be exercised and strengthened daily. There is no express button for instant muscles or instant fitness. It is a daily, continual, diligent exercise and regiment. So is my transformation. Again, I’m not advocating a religious formula or legalistic “do & don’t” list. It’s an attitude of the heart. It’s a process of discipleship based in a real, living, vibrant relationship with Jesus.
Guess what? The God Express Button and the Light button aren’t connected… in fact, they don’t even exist. They are stickers that I have put on and a deception that I have believed.
Yes, Father lets us “see” our own progress sometimes. He is a good dad. He encourages us along the way. But He wants me to grow. He wants me to learn patience.
| Prov 19:11 | A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. |
| Prov 25:15 | Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. |
| Eccles 7:8 | The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. |
| Isa 7:13 | Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? |
| Rom 2:4 | Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? |
| Rom 9:22 | What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? |
| 2 Cor 6:6 | in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; |
| Gal 5:22 | But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, |
| Col 1:11 | being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully |
| Col 3:12 | Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. |
| 1 Tim 1:16 | But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. |
| 2 Tim 3:10 | You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, |
| 2 Tim 4:2 | Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. |
| Heb 6:12 | We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. |
| James 5:10 | Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. |
| 2 Pet 3:15 | Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. |
Papa, I repent of believing the lie that there is a “God Express” button that I can push to make you respond in the time frame of MY choosing. How selfish and prideful I was. I ask your forgiveness and know that according to 1 John 1:9 You are faithful to forgive me because I have confessed. Help me to be patient. I ask for that fruit of your Spirit to manifest and find good soil to grow in my life. Continue your work in my heart and in my life. I want to be extinct so that You are all others see, hear and feel. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Matt 7:1-5
1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
I Cor 2:14-15
14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:
I’ve been chewing on the difference between judgment and discernment. A few posts ago I discussed my natural bent toward judgment. (See it here).
Here’s what Dad gave me: “Judgment and Discernment are very close. It depends on who is doing it. If it’s 100% from God, it is discernment. If there is any of me in it, it is judgment.”
I Cor 2:16 “But we have the mind of Christ.”
It’s just a daily discipline, an hourly discipline, a moment by moment discipline of surrender and dying to self. Like KE posted yesterday, trusting Him with everything and getting out of the way. Easily said. More difficult to practice.
James 5:19-20
I’ve always felt the book of James ends abruptly, like it’s missing the conclusion or the wrap-up or even a “good bye” that are seen in so of Paul’s writings.
Today, though, it kind of made sense.
19 My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, 20 you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
It implies two things to me:
1. God intends us to live in community, and 2. we need each other.
If a brother (a believer) wanders from the truth (the Word of God) and doesn’t live in a fellowship of other believers, how far off course will he/she wander? Jim Jones? David Koresh? I don’t know much about them, but I wonder if they had any accountability in their lives? I wonder if they had anyone who loved them enough to say, “Whoa dude, that’s wacked! You’re way off base on that!”
I need you. You need me. We need to make sure that what we think – what we interpret the Word of God to be – is accurate.
Chapter 1 of James opens with the progress to sin and the result if it is left unchecked (death).
Chapter 5 of James states how to be healed from our sin. By confession and prayer with EACH OTHER.
The last two verses just summarize the beginning and end of the book.
I need you. You need me. We need each other to be healed of our sin.
Chapters 2-4 deal with how to live life and how to live with each other.
I need you. You need me. We need each other to grow. “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Prov 27:17) The premise of this whole blogsite.
Father, thank you for your design. Thank you for faithful men who will live in community with me. May we be ever aware of Your presence and true to Your Word as we sharpen each other. Thank you for my friends and brothers.
Romans 15:7 (NLT) 7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
The word “accept” loses some of the intent of the original Greek for this word. The word is proslambano which is a very intimate word… giving access to one’s heart…
Verse 5 tells us that this passage is about believers… accepting other believers. I find this difficult with some believers. There are some people, quite frankly, that just get on my last nerve. God calls me to give them access to my heart. God calls me to be Jesus with skin to them.
The only way to do that for me is for me to get out of the way and let Him who died for them love and accept them through me. Again it leads to Gal 2:20. It seems of late that all roads go there.
Daddy, thank you for your word. Help me to live it out in Christ and not try to live it under my own power. You love everyone the same. Everyone is your favorite. Help me show that to others by the way I accept them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
James 3:13-18 (NLT)
13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
“If you are wise…” James begins, and then he throws it down with “prove it!” Prov 9:10 says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy one is understanding.” A simple substitution of wisdom with “Fear the Lord” would change the context of this passage.
If you fear the Lord… prove it by living a life based in humility. Obviously paraphrased, but kind of a a “duh” moment for me this morning. Who am I compared to the Lord? Of course I fear and revere Him, so why should I do anything outside of an attitude of humility? Just because of who He is, should be enough to keep me on my face. But often time it isn’t.
Here’s where Papa took me with this…. v14 talks about “… selfish ambition…” and not to cover it up, but for me, to search deep in my heart to see if it’s lurking because selfish ambition and jealously open the door for the enemy to come in like a flood (v15). The ESV says that it is “… earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.” That scared me, because jealousy and selfish ambition are a couple of things I tend to (and I imagine many do) struggle with and I do not want to open any doors to the enemy. Verse 16 goes on to say that every “... vile practice (ESV)” comes along with jealousy and selfishness. Yikes!
So how do I gauge my wisdom? How do I gauge how much I fear the Lord? v17 explains… First off it is pure (which means reverent or sacred). James goes on to list a “checklist” of how I am to live. Man I hate checklists. I always so far short. Anyway, here it comes.
Thank you Lord for your mercy where I fall short. If I continue to live in my own strength, I will never check off this list. If I choose to die to myself (Gal 2:20), then and only then is this kind of life possible. With this kind of life is promised a harvest of what we sow. Sow peace. Sow peace.
What harvest do I want? What seeds am I sowing
For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, 4 doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? (James 2:2-4 NLT)
When I read this passage today, I got two pictures. The first picture is this: How often have I stopped at an intersection because of a red light and seen a panhandler working the intersection looking for “donations” to his/her cause and gone into “lockdown” mode – locking the car doors and looking straight ahead daring NOT to look them in the eyes? It has happened often. The second picture I got – immediately behind the first – is the same intersection but Firemen working the intersection looking for a donation to his/her cause. In this scenario, I react totally opposite. If I have loose change, I give it to them. I always smile and wave at the fireman, even if I don’t have anything to give.
Why? Exactly this verse. I am judging the person by their exterior. Yes, our culture today and often the intersections have something to do with how “safe” I feel for me and my family, but if I’m honest, it is no different than James 2:2-4. I am showing discrimination that is guided by evil motives.
It’s not just with such drastic differences either. I know myself. It is just as easy for me to show favoritism (a really nice way of saying ‘being prejudice’ or judging) to those ‘of significance.’ For example, given the opportunity to meet Stephen Curtis Chapman (a personal and long time hero of mine) or the dude on the 3rd row of the 2nd service at church, guess where my attention is going to be?
Is the fireman any different than the beggar in the eyes of God? Is Stephen Curtis Chapman any better than the guy at church in the eyes of God? Am I any different or any better than any of them in the eyes of God?
The answer is a resounding ‘NO!’
It goes on an on. It could just as easily be about to those with whom we have a common interest versus those we don’t; those who are easy to get along with versus those it is a struggle to have conversation with; those who are obnoxious versus those who are fun; boring versus exciting; pretty versus ugly; it really doesn’t matter in God’s eyes.
His eyes – His vision – His perspective is the only one that counts. It’s the only thing that matters. James 2:5-14 go on to make that exact point. We are all sinners. We have all broken His law. We have all fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23).
James 2:14-26
Originally, I thought this was unrelated, but it is not. My actions (my deeds) define my faith. If I have no deeds, I have no faith because it is dead. A dead faith is not a faith at all. Faith – true, living, vibrant faith in God – produces actions/deeds that are driven by my faith. I don’t choose the action, I just choose to be obedient to God’s directive. This is the example of Abraham placing Issac on the altar. God directed his actions and because of his faith, he obeyed.
I know people who let their actions drive their faith. It a natural extension of their ‘religion’. Actions do not create faith. Faith isn’t motivated by actions. Faith isn’t driven or created by actions / deeds / “do and don’t” commands. This kind of faith is a Works-Based faith, which the Lord clearly speaks about in Romans 4:1-5 (The Message):
So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things? If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we’re given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story. What we read in Scripture is, “Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own. If you’re a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don’t call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it’s something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift.
The deception in that kind of thinking – that kind of ‘religion’ – is that instead of actions being directed BY God, they are directed AT God. Minor words… MAJOR difference!
How I view others is just one “deed” that needs to change in my life.
Dad, today let me see others through Your eyes, Your perspective today. Destroy the preconceived ideas I have about people that color my vision and skew my attitudes towards them. Replace them with your perfect love today. In that perfect love, drive my actions to those things that bring you Glory. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Running After Papa…