June 15, 2010

"But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:25-27

The third theme in chapter one is that of serving. How you serve is a reflection of what you believe.

What does it mean to serve?

James gives us a couple of insights.

True religion, is faith that serves God and others who are in need.

The key to serving God is obedience. You must listen to the Word and learn the Word so you can live the Word. Until you live it you don't believe it. Until you live it you haven't learned it.

In order to obey God you must deal with the sin that is revealed in your life from looking into the Bible - a moral mirror. That is where obedience begins. You can't disregard the Word and dismiss the conviction of the Holy Spirit and expect to serve God. Getting right with God takes your focus off of you and gets you focused on what matters to God.

What matters to God is helping the helpless people Whom He loves. He mentions a couple of them - widows and orphans.

Faith works out through service. Faith exercises obedience by caring for those God cares about. There are needs all around you that you could meet if you were to get your eyes off of yourself and your suffering. Obedience opens your heart to God and your eyes to the needs of others.

How is your religion? Are you living what you say you believe? Is there unconfessed sin in your life? Are there some sinful attitudes or unhealthy habits you are nurturing in your spirit?

If you are not living your faith you don't really have a faith. Your religion is worthless.

June 14, 2010

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22

A second big theme of the first chapter of James is your approach to the Scriptures.


I think there are three common approaches to the Word.

Some read the Bible for inspiration. When they need a little emotional boost or a spiritual lift they pull the Book from the shelf and read some verses.

The Scritpures certainly ARE inspiritational, just consider the Psalms, for example, but they are far more than that. If you are just reading them for inspiritation you are short-changing yourself.

Some read the Bible for information. There certainly is a ton of great information in the Scriptures. Think about it - there is historical information. Much of what we know about the rise of human culture we know from the Bible. The Bible contains amazing stories about heroes and villans, about wars and conquests and some steamy love stories. If you want to know about the origin and early history of the Church, it is all contained between the covers of this Book. But it offers more than just information.

A few read it for implementation. THAT is what James recommends for you. The Bible is a living Word. For the Bible to be truth and transforming it must be lived out in the lives of believers. Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life must be allowed to flesh out the power of His truth through you.

James admonishes you to "do" the Word not just "hear" it. How about you? What is your approach to His Word?

Are you reading it for inspiration?

Are you reading it for information?

Or are you reading it so you can implement it and allow its power to transform you - and others through you?

June 13, 2010

When I assumed my first ministry assignment at Princeton Wesleyan Church in Illinois, I spent a year preaching through the Book of James. I figured the theme of the Book - "practical Christianity" - might be a good place to start. It was a pretty safe bet!

This Summer I am trying to do it in 10 week with Father's Day, July 4 and giving my assistant an opportunity to speak. This is proving to be a bigger challenge than I thought. So much good stuff and so little time!

Having completed Chapter One this morning, let me see if I can summarize that Chapter in a timely and coherent manner.

In Chapter One I identify three big themes: Your attitude during suffering, your approach to Scripture and your actions in serving.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

How do you take joy in suffering? Is this some form of masochism?

I give you three reasons to rejoice in suffering. First, rejoice in the confidence that God is in charge of your trials and testing and He promises that He is faithful to make sure you are not tested beyond your endurance and that He will provide a way of escape. Also, He promises that everything works out for good to those who love and serve God.

Another cause for rejoicing is that tests and trails bring you to greater commitment. Here James admonishes you to commit to His wisdom. When things get tough you tend to be guided by your pain or to seek His wisdom and insight. He promises that if you ask for wisdom He will shower it upon us. Fully commiting to Him and placing our trust in His wisdom will definitely bring us joy.

Thirdly, you can rejoice in character of God and the knowledge that His character will be developed in you as you trust Him through your suffering.

That is how you develop the right attitude during suffering.

No one wants to suffer. But, it sure helps to know that your suffering is profiting you and your pain is not being wasted. Consider what Jesus' suffering gained you and rejoice in what your suffering can secure for you - an Him!

June 12, 2010

"Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." James 1:23-24

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-i8zKJaHMA

How do you determine your reality?

The evil queen in the Snow White story depended on a magic mirror to get her truth. She did that because she agreed with what she heard from it. It told her what she wanted to hear.

One day she had to hear something hard - the real truth. She didn't handle it well. She did what people do when they don't want their fantasy to be disturbed, they destroy whatever dares to challenge them - usually that is another person.

Let me ask you something, do you have a magic mirror?

Seriously, do you? Of course, I am not talking about a literal magic mirror - we ARE dealing with truth and reality here!

But, if we are not careful we can be lured into a comfortable habit of hearing what we want to hear and believing convenient lies. Denial is not just a river in Egypt!

Unless we are willing to open God's Word and expose ourselves to Biblical teaching and preaching - we will live in our little self-constructed fantasy world. We will listen to our magic mirror and find comfort in the lies. We will find ourselves feeling threatened by people who question us or challenge our reality. They have to be brought down or destroyed to discredit their truth and preserve our reality.

Here in our text, James suggests an alternative to our magic mirror. He calls us to look into the mirror of God's Word and to measure our reality against His.

It is hard to discover you are not the fairest of them all - until you disover HE IS! And you can be like Him!

Is it time to trade in your magic mirror and get real?

June 11, 2010

"Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." James 1:23-24

Mirrors have something in common with truth. Can you guess what it is?

Both can be very cruel.

Sometimes I don't like what I see when I look in the mirror. But, if I want to know how I look I need to do it. The only way I can improve how I look is to get a realistic view of myself so that I can repair the damage.

My alternative is to try to image how I look or to wish I looked a certain way and let that fanatasy guide how I view myself. While I might fool myself with those false notions I would not fool anyone else. They would honestly see what I refuse to see.

Anyone who really cares about their appearance will stand before the mirror to get the truth and then adjust to that reality. Healthy well-adjusted people do that.

If that makes sense to you then you will understand what James is saying when he compares the Word of God to a mirror. Not a mirror to reflect our outward appearance but a mirror to reflect the condition of our spirit. That is not any easier. But, it is necessary for spiritual health.

Mirrors and Bibles are necessary tools for anyone who wants to live a healthy and successful life. The reason that is true is because each of them keep us in touch with reality. That is the purpose of faith. Faith brings us in touch with what is real in life - and beyond. The great irony here is that in order for us to connect with the spiritual and eternal reality that is God, we must be willing to deal with the truths that we can see and know.

I think the struggle is being willing to move into God's reality rather than stubbornly trying to shape God around our notions of what it real.

God is the Arbiter of what it real and what is true. He reveals that to us through His Word, the Bible. And that requires us to daily present ourselves before His Word to allow it to reflect our weakness or sins.

Each of us have a choice. We can live in the ugly fantasy world of our foolish pride and rebellion. Or we can humble ourselves before the truth of His Word and make the hard adjustments required to align with His eternal realities.

What is real to you depends on what you decide is true. If God is true then He should determine what is real in your life. If He isn't, then it is up to you to shape your own reality. The only way to really know is to a hard look in the mirror of His Word.

June 10, 2010

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." James 1:18-21

This portion of Scripture has a lot to say about how to benefit from the Word of God. Today I am thinking of Jesus' parable about the sower and how when he sowed the seed it fell on four different types of soil and resulted in four different types of results.

From these verses here in James, as well as in Jesus' teaching it is clear that for the teaching of the Word to be effective there must be some preparation on the part of the hearer. The seed of God's Word can only produce fruit if it falls on fertile soil.

When prepared hearers interact with a prepared teaching the result is a spiritual harvest.

James is presenting a point of view quite different from the mindset of modern church-goers. He is placing the responsibility on the hearers of the Word to make sure they are spiritually prepared when they show up for the teaching. It is apparent that he understood the power was in the truths being taught not in the techniques of the teacher.

The modern church is characterized by a vastly different attitude and approach. Many 21st century believers come to church unprepared and expect the preacher to move them with his presentation and oratory skills. No wonder there are so many anemic Christians and unhealthy churches.

Certainly, the more skillful a communicator is the easier it is to receive his teaching, but even the most skilled teacher can only sow the seed and the seed is subject to the soil upon which it lands. It is the duty of any preacher or teacher of the Word to show up well prepared and to work hard to continually hone his communication skills. That is a given. But the listener shares an equal responsibility to show up prepared.

A healthy church is a place where a well-prepared teacher of the Word interacts with properly prepared hearers in the power of the Spirit. In that atmosphere the preaching gets better and the people get better!

How do you prepare?

James gives a couple of insights on that!

First, prepare your attitude. He specifically mentions the problem with anger. Angry people don't learn well for a host of reasons. I think there are people who come to hear the Word for inspiration. They want the teaching or the sermon to make them feel good - or bad - who knows? But coming to church just to get moved emotionally is not healthy. The Word is about instruction not just inspiration. It is your responsibility to come with an open mind and a teachable spirit. James suggests the attitude of humility.

Second, come prepared to actively involved yourself in learning. Bring your Bible. Bring your pen to jot down notes. Expect to hear from God and to be convicted by the Holy Spirit. Understand that growth results from obedience. James says the Word is like a mirror that will show you the spiritual flaws in your life. If you are not prepared to take an objective look at your soul, save yourself the hassle of coming because once you hear the truth you are responsible for what you do with it.

Spiritual growth and health are the result of prepared teaching connecting with prepared hearers. When the seeds of truth are planted in good soil your get a spiritual harvest!

Want to help your preacher be better? Be a better hearer! Expect him to be prepared but prepare yourself.

June 9, 2010

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." James 1:18-21

The theme of James is "practical Christianity". The Book of James provides the answer to "what should a Christian look like?".

What can be more practical than the issue of dealing with anger? James makes some very interesting observations regarding anger. He says that an angry heart is not receptive to the Word of God.

Why is that?

Let's examine these several verses:

Anger is reactive and not open to instruction. When you are angry you are not usually open to truth. Neither you mind nor your spirit are receptive to what others have to say. You do not wanted to listen you want to lash out.

Anger is usually not based in righteousness. There is a righteous anger but what is described here is not that. This is referring to negative emotions expressed in angry ways. In fact, he insinuates that their anger originated from their immorality. Unrighteousness is not usually good soil for the seeds of truth to land in.

As powerful as the truth of God's Word may be - and it is - it is rendered ineffective by those who do not receive it with the proper attitude or mindset.

Therein is the problem. Anger and unrighteous attitudes cannot be overcome apart from the power of God's word. But that power cannot be recieved into a proud or arrogant spirit. So, angry people not given to God's Word tend to get angrier and less open to truth and that leader to further unrighteousness.

On a more positive note James reflects on the advantages of humility. It leads to hearing the Word of truth and hearing what it says.

So, we can say that anger resists the Word while humility recieves it.

Which best describes your attitude toward the truth of God's Word, anger or humility?

Do you need to be more open to listening to others whom you might be inclined to disagree with?

Is there any area of anger that is keeping you from receiving the Word of God?

If so, what will you do about it?