Tuesday, May 22, 2007
James 2
(I won't always do this when I read. But right now writing out what God is revealing to me with each verse is what helps me get into the habit. I did this with the book of John last year and the book of John came alive to me in so many ways. And remember that this is what God is showing me in my own life. When you read this passage, you may get something totally different. I hope you do.)
1-4My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, "Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!" and either ignore the street person or say, "Better sit here in the back row," haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted? (The Message)
Face it. We live in a world that concentrates a lot on physical appearance and possessions. From clothing to weight. From housing to cars. Our society really struggles to follow the rule, "Don't judge a book by it's cover", because we do. I do believe that there are times in life where image truly matters. No matter how hard we try, you just can't get away from it. I will say that image and how we dress definitely matters. But, this is something that our world AND our churches have taken to the extreme.
5-7Listen, dear friends. Isn't it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world's down-and-out as the kingdom's first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God. And here you are abusing these same citizens! Isn't it the high and mighty who exploit you, who use the courts to rob you blind? Aren't they the ones who scorn the new name—"Christian"—used in your baptisms? (The Message)
The revelation I get from these verses may be different for you, I am sure it is. But these verses spoke to me in regards to my past. For some crazy reason, there are Christians out there that truly believe that God cannot use them to do great things because of their past. I know it's been said of me. Some have thought that my childhood would always hinder me from being in a position of leadership. Yes, I got junk in the trunk but we all do. Don't we? So when I read this verse and see that God chose the world's down and out, that gives me hope and it shows me again how thankful I need to be from WHERE I came from. I am so thankful for a youth pastor that saw something and me and took time to show me that God created me for something much bigger than myself.
8-11You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: "Love others as you love yourself." But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. You can't pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God's law and ignoring others. The same God who said, "Don't commit adultery," also said, "Don't murder." If you don't commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you're a murderer, period. (The Message)
We are pros at picking and choosing our sin. I hear Christians say a lot, "Well, it's your own conviction but it may not be someone else." True. But, I think we walk this line dangerously. When we choose to follow Christ and we learn His ways, there are some non-negotiables. Murder, Adultery, lying, those are three things that can't be justified. There are many, many other things that do not belong in the life of a Christ follower. But, I believe this is where the Holy Spirit comes in and shows us what it is in our life that we need to say goodbye to. And this is where we need to keep our mouth shut and not cast judgment on others but allow God to have His way. We have enough sin in our own life, why go pointing it out in the lives of our friends and family?! Sin is sin and if we have a relationship with Christ, He will show us what doesn't belong in our lives. We may fight it and struggle to give it up, but deep down I think we know.
12 So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. 13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you. (New Living Translation)
Honestly, this is something I really struggle with. I have empathy but I struggle to have mercy. I am praying about this in my life right now. If others are going to show me mercy, I need to be able to do the same. Where would I be without the mercy of Christ?
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. (NIV)
I remember being pregnant with Josiah and having a certain day where I did not feel him kick. I prayed and I truly felt like the Lord was saying, "Do not worry. There is strong life inside your womb." This day is one I will never forget because I had a lump in my throat all day long. I was only about 23 weeks along and now that I have had three, I know that it is totally normal for babies inside the womb to have days where they are not as active. On my drive home, I pushed on my tummy over and over again trying to get him to kick. When I got home, I called my Mom and she said this. "You know why you are so worked up? You know why you are so panicked? Because you are sinning! You have been sinning all day long by worrying. Nothing is wrong with that baby. He's fine!" We hung up the phone and I laid down on the bed to sleep until Jeremy got home from work. I remember I had Oprah on. Just as I was about to doze off, Josiah kicked and moved a lot. For some reason this sticks out to me as a time that my faith was without works. I knew deep down that the Lord had spoke to me and told me everything was fine. He gave me a gift that day by speaking to me and telling me not to worry. I had an opportunity to walk in faith and my deed would have been to put a smile on my face and not worry. I chose differently. My faith required action that day. Our faith always requires action. The Bible says so.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. (NIV)
I have not met very many people in my life that don't believe in God. Just about everyone believes in God. As to what that God looks like, I am not sure. I hear politicians, celebrities and many others say they believe in God. It's not enough to just believe. I believe a lot of things in my life but without action, my belief is pretty useless. Now I won't even begin to compare myself to Abraham. But our move to Austin was a moment in our lives where we had to take action. We knew that God had told us to come here so we had to make a choice right then and there to take action. Sometimes people make the mistake of sitting around waiting on something or someone to come along and change their lief or change their path. Faith requires us to get up, get moving and move in the direction God is calling us in. As soon as we felt the call to move, we started looking for a job for Jeremy. We came down here to visit so we could find a home. I truly feel with all of my heart that because we got active and stepped out in faith, God rewarded us and blessed us with a job, a home and a smooth transition. Sure, it's been hard but it really has been awesome too.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (NIV)
God will always give us an opportunity to put our money where our mouth is.
1-4My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, "Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!" and either ignore the street person or say, "Better sit here in the back row," haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted? (The Message)
Face it. We live in a world that concentrates a lot on physical appearance and possessions. From clothing to weight. From housing to cars. Our society really struggles to follow the rule, "Don't judge a book by it's cover", because we do. I do believe that there are times in life where image truly matters. No matter how hard we try, you just can't get away from it. I will say that image and how we dress definitely matters. But, this is something that our world AND our churches have taken to the extreme.
5-7Listen, dear friends. Isn't it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world's down-and-out as the kingdom's first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God. And here you are abusing these same citizens! Isn't it the high and mighty who exploit you, who use the courts to rob you blind? Aren't they the ones who scorn the new name—"Christian"—used in your baptisms? (The Message)
The revelation I get from these verses may be different for you, I am sure it is. But these verses spoke to me in regards to my past. For some crazy reason, there are Christians out there that truly believe that God cannot use them to do great things because of their past. I know it's been said of me. Some have thought that my childhood would always hinder me from being in a position of leadership. Yes, I got junk in the trunk but we all do. Don't we? So when I read this verse and see that God chose the world's down and out, that gives me hope and it shows me again how thankful I need to be from WHERE I came from. I am so thankful for a youth pastor that saw something and me and took time to show me that God created me for something much bigger than myself.
8-11You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: "Love others as you love yourself." But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. You can't pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God's law and ignoring others. The same God who said, "Don't commit adultery," also said, "Don't murder." If you don't commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you're a murderer, period. (The Message)
We are pros at picking and choosing our sin. I hear Christians say a lot, "Well, it's your own conviction but it may not be someone else." True. But, I think we walk this line dangerously. When we choose to follow Christ and we learn His ways, there are some non-negotiables. Murder, Adultery, lying, those are three things that can't be justified. There are many, many other things that do not belong in the life of a Christ follower. But, I believe this is where the Holy Spirit comes in and shows us what it is in our life that we need to say goodbye to. And this is where we need to keep our mouth shut and not cast judgment on others but allow God to have His way. We have enough sin in our own life, why go pointing it out in the lives of our friends and family?! Sin is sin and if we have a relationship with Christ, He will show us what doesn't belong in our lives. We may fight it and struggle to give it up, but deep down I think we know.
12 So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. 13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you. (New Living Translation)
Honestly, this is something I really struggle with. I have empathy but I struggle to have mercy. I am praying about this in my life right now. If others are going to show me mercy, I need to be able to do the same. Where would I be without the mercy of Christ?
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. (NIV)
I remember being pregnant with Josiah and having a certain day where I did not feel him kick. I prayed and I truly felt like the Lord was saying, "Do not worry. There is strong life inside your womb." This day is one I will never forget because I had a lump in my throat all day long. I was only about 23 weeks along and now that I have had three, I know that it is totally normal for babies inside the womb to have days where they are not as active. On my drive home, I pushed on my tummy over and over again trying to get him to kick. When I got home, I called my Mom and she said this. "You know why you are so worked up? You know why you are so panicked? Because you are sinning! You have been sinning all day long by worrying. Nothing is wrong with that baby. He's fine!" We hung up the phone and I laid down on the bed to sleep until Jeremy got home from work. I remember I had Oprah on. Just as I was about to doze off, Josiah kicked and moved a lot. For some reason this sticks out to me as a time that my faith was without works. I knew deep down that the Lord had spoke to me and told me everything was fine. He gave me a gift that day by speaking to me and telling me not to worry. I had an opportunity to walk in faith and my deed would have been to put a smile on my face and not worry. I chose differently. My faith required action that day. Our faith always requires action. The Bible says so.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. (NIV)
I have not met very many people in my life that don't believe in God. Just about everyone believes in God. As to what that God looks like, I am not sure. I hear politicians, celebrities and many others say they believe in God. It's not enough to just believe. I believe a lot of things in my life but without action, my belief is pretty useless. Now I won't even begin to compare myself to Abraham. But our move to Austin was a moment in our lives where we had to take action. We knew that God had told us to come here so we had to make a choice right then and there to take action. Sometimes people make the mistake of sitting around waiting on something or someone to come along and change their lief or change their path. Faith requires us to get up, get moving and move in the direction God is calling us in. As soon as we felt the call to move, we started looking for a job for Jeremy. We came down here to visit so we could find a home. I truly feel with all of my heart that because we got active and stepped out in faith, God rewarded us and blessed us with a job, a home and a smooth transition. Sure, it's been hard but it really has been awesome too.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (NIV)
God will always give us an opportunity to put our money where our mouth is.
Labels: bread of life, reading His word daily
Monday, May 21, 2007
James chapter 1
Where do I begin? James 1 is exactly what I needed today and just reading it reminds me of how much I need to be fueled by God's word. I really like to think of it as a power source. Just as a light plugs into the wall, I need to plug into His word. This morning I sent out an email to my LTG girls asking them how I can specifically pray for them and also asking them to pray for me about some things too. It felt good releasing it and confessing what I am struggling with. So if any of you out there need someone to pray for you and your not quite sure how or who to ask, send me an email. I tend to get way more emails from a lot of you than comments and I love that because I get to see a part of your heart that I might not see in a comment posted on my blog. Lurkers, email me! :)
I've read James a lot. I remember my youth pastor telling me to read James once when I was teenager. I know when to go to James because I know how it will help me. But the interesting thing is this. When I read James, something new is going on in my life. A new struggle, a new challenge, a new trial. I've heard it said many times that if you aren't in a trial, if you haven't just finished a trial, you will soon be in one. That may cause some fear for some of us to look at it that way but it's true. But the great thing about trials is what it produces. James1:2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing Our faith cannot grow without trials, it's impossible.
Last week I was talking with a friend of mine on the phone and I told her that I was in the midst of being uncomfortable. But I also told her that I knew what God was doing. I know that the struggles I am facing right now are producing some pretty great things in me. If you go back and read some of my entries in FAR MORE THAN RUBIES, you will read a lot about my childhood and the struggles I faced. Honestly, I would not change my past for one second. It's my past that has produced a strong, Godly woman. It's my past that has shown me how much I have to depend on God and it has taught me to do so as soon as things get crazy. It's my past that has taught me to go into my closet, turn out the lights and cry as hard as I want to, for I know the Holy Spirit will comfort me. My Mom has always told me that there is a cost for our anointing and now I really know what she means by that. Our trials are a gift. Think about that for a second. The pain you are enduring right now is a gift.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. I am struggling beyond measure right now with my parenting. Right now all three kids are sleeping and I have to be honest with you. I am very upset with two out of three right now. Josiah and Ava Beth seem to be fighting all the time. Their closeness in age is a blessing but also extremely difficult. Both of them have been throwing fits, bad fits. Consistency is key but sometimes it doesn't work either. For the first time in my parenting, I have hit rock bottom. I am frustrated beyond what I ever imagined I could be. Having three is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. This week I am really trying to work on some things in this house and really pray for guidance. Too often I feel like I am wingin' it. I printed out some scriptures to meditate on for my parenting and James 1:5-6 is one of them. I want to choose the best plan of action with my children. I want to make sure I am disciplining exactly how God wants me to. I don't want to yell. I want to handle it God's way. The only thing I can do is ask. So this week I am going to ask boldly and I am going to BELIEVE that God is going to help me.
9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. I used to struggle with a spirit of vanity big time. Sometimes I still do. When I was twenty-five years old and engaged, I suffered from severe adult acne. After trying everything ever created for acne, the dermatologist placed me on acutane. No doubt, it was a miracle drug. Unfortunately I have some scaring on my face. Most people don't know it is there but I do. It's a huge insecurity of mine. I also have large pores. I hate pictures of myself that are in color because I feel like I can see all of my pores. There are times when I struggle with this a lot and usually it's because I am around women that are obsessed with their looks or I am spending too much time in the flesh worried about stupid stuff. If I was singing on a Sunday, I would go buy a new outfit to wear to church on Sunday. It was so ridiculous that I would not wear the same thing twice. No other word can describe it better than vanity. Some change took place in my life when we moved from Little Elm/Frisco back to the mid-cities. God got me alone and really convicted me of vanity. I still love to dress hip and trendy but the Holy Spirit instantly convicts me when it becomes a god in my life. My obsession with having new clothes and new shoes and new accessories was not healthy. Really I was just filling up my life with the wrong thing. I over compensated for what was really going on. I grew up with a Mom and a grandmother and a great grandmother that had matching handbags and shoes for every single outfit. I come from a long line of clothes/shoe loving women. I am proud of my heritage and proud that my mom taught me to look my best even when going to buy groceries. Texas women usually get made fun of for this kind of stuff but I kind of like it. My mom gives me a hard time if she sees me wearing sandals with chipped polish. :) I feel better when I get fixed up, I really do. But I know in my heart when I have crossed the line. I will continue to struggle and I will continue searching for the balance in this but reading this verse in James reminds me of what is important. All of the surface stuff will fade away. Our clothes, our shoes, our cars and our accessories will mean nothing when we get to Heaven.
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,[c] and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. My flesh is a pretty powerful source. Too often my flesh has it's way in my life. It's loud, it's dominating, it's pushy and if I am not careful, it will have it's way in my life. This morning I prayed that the Lord would show me every single time I am doing something in the flesh. I pray that I can become so aware of it that I rebuke it. I pray that any sin in my life will die so that it will not be able to give birth. Sin seems to be waiting to manifest in our lives on a daily basis.
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. Lord, please help me to be a better listener. May I learn to respond instead of react. People cannot see Jesus in me when I react. But this is an area where I see the most growth in my life.
21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. Reading this verse reminds me that I need to take inventory. There are things in my life that I KNOW I need to get rid of or not associate with. I justify it too much and even my fellow Christians will justify it. But Father I know what needs to go. I know the things in my life that do NOT match up with the woman you have called me to be. Show me, remind me of what doesn't fit so that I may make room for your blessings.
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. The only thing I can say is ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!! This one hurts! How often do I do the opposite of what I KNOW to be true. The BIBLE talks about not gossiping, have I gossiped? The Bible tells me not to worry, have I worried? So much I know I am supposed to do and I don't do it.
26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. There is an old contemporary Christian song from a band called Degarmo and Key, "Casual Christian." Well, I have a few friends that are new to Christianity and to hear them talk about what they thought of Christians before they became one is pretty sobering. And then I think of a DC Talk song that has a voice at the beginning of the song, What If I Stumble that says, "The Greatest single cause of Atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and then on by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
There you have it! I really enjoyed James, Chapter one today. I am praying that my spirit can truly soak up all the stuff in there that I need to digest. God is doing a new thing in my life once again and I am excited to see what He does with me!
I've read James a lot. I remember my youth pastor telling me to read James once when I was teenager. I know when to go to James because I know how it will help me. But the interesting thing is this. When I read James, something new is going on in my life. A new struggle, a new challenge, a new trial. I've heard it said many times that if you aren't in a trial, if you haven't just finished a trial, you will soon be in one. That may cause some fear for some of us to look at it that way but it's true. But the great thing about trials is what it produces. James1:2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing Our faith cannot grow without trials, it's impossible.
Last week I was talking with a friend of mine on the phone and I told her that I was in the midst of being uncomfortable. But I also told her that I knew what God was doing. I know that the struggles I am facing right now are producing some pretty great things in me. If you go back and read some of my entries in FAR MORE THAN RUBIES, you will read a lot about my childhood and the struggles I faced. Honestly, I would not change my past for one second. It's my past that has produced a strong, Godly woman. It's my past that has shown me how much I have to depend on God and it has taught me to do so as soon as things get crazy. It's my past that has taught me to go into my closet, turn out the lights and cry as hard as I want to, for I know the Holy Spirit will comfort me. My Mom has always told me that there is a cost for our anointing and now I really know what she means by that. Our trials are a gift. Think about that for a second. The pain you are enduring right now is a gift.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. I am struggling beyond measure right now with my parenting. Right now all three kids are sleeping and I have to be honest with you. I am very upset with two out of three right now. Josiah and Ava Beth seem to be fighting all the time. Their closeness in age is a blessing but also extremely difficult. Both of them have been throwing fits, bad fits. Consistency is key but sometimes it doesn't work either. For the first time in my parenting, I have hit rock bottom. I am frustrated beyond what I ever imagined I could be. Having three is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. This week I am really trying to work on some things in this house and really pray for guidance. Too often I feel like I am wingin' it. I printed out some scriptures to meditate on for my parenting and James 1:5-6 is one of them. I want to choose the best plan of action with my children. I want to make sure I am disciplining exactly how God wants me to. I don't want to yell. I want to handle it God's way. The only thing I can do is ask. So this week I am going to ask boldly and I am going to BELIEVE that God is going to help me.
9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. I used to struggle with a spirit of vanity big time. Sometimes I still do. When I was twenty-five years old and engaged, I suffered from severe adult acne. After trying everything ever created for acne, the dermatologist placed me on acutane. No doubt, it was a miracle drug. Unfortunately I have some scaring on my face. Most people don't know it is there but I do. It's a huge insecurity of mine. I also have large pores. I hate pictures of myself that are in color because I feel like I can see all of my pores. There are times when I struggle with this a lot and usually it's because I am around women that are obsessed with their looks or I am spending too much time in the flesh worried about stupid stuff. If I was singing on a Sunday, I would go buy a new outfit to wear to church on Sunday. It was so ridiculous that I would not wear the same thing twice. No other word can describe it better than vanity. Some change took place in my life when we moved from Little Elm/Frisco back to the mid-cities. God got me alone and really convicted me of vanity. I still love to dress hip and trendy but the Holy Spirit instantly convicts me when it becomes a god in my life. My obsession with having new clothes and new shoes and new accessories was not healthy. Really I was just filling up my life with the wrong thing. I over compensated for what was really going on. I grew up with a Mom and a grandmother and a great grandmother that had matching handbags and shoes for every single outfit. I come from a long line of clothes/shoe loving women. I am proud of my heritage and proud that my mom taught me to look my best even when going to buy groceries. Texas women usually get made fun of for this kind of stuff but I kind of like it. My mom gives me a hard time if she sees me wearing sandals with chipped polish. :) I feel better when I get fixed up, I really do. But I know in my heart when I have crossed the line. I will continue to struggle and I will continue searching for the balance in this but reading this verse in James reminds me of what is important. All of the surface stuff will fade away. Our clothes, our shoes, our cars and our accessories will mean nothing when we get to Heaven.
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,[c] and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. My flesh is a pretty powerful source. Too often my flesh has it's way in my life. It's loud, it's dominating, it's pushy and if I am not careful, it will have it's way in my life. This morning I prayed that the Lord would show me every single time I am doing something in the flesh. I pray that I can become so aware of it that I rebuke it. I pray that any sin in my life will die so that it will not be able to give birth. Sin seems to be waiting to manifest in our lives on a daily basis.
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. Lord, please help me to be a better listener. May I learn to respond instead of react. People cannot see Jesus in me when I react. But this is an area where I see the most growth in my life.
21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. Reading this verse reminds me that I need to take inventory. There are things in my life that I KNOW I need to get rid of or not associate with. I justify it too much and even my fellow Christians will justify it. But Father I know what needs to go. I know the things in my life that do NOT match up with the woman you have called me to be. Show me, remind me of what doesn't fit so that I may make room for your blessings.
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. The only thing I can say is ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!! This one hurts! How often do I do the opposite of what I KNOW to be true. The BIBLE talks about not gossiping, have I gossiped? The Bible tells me not to worry, have I worried? So much I know I am supposed to do and I don't do it.
26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. There is an old contemporary Christian song from a band called Degarmo and Key, "Casual Christian." Well, I have a few friends that are new to Christianity and to hear them talk about what they thought of Christians before they became one is pretty sobering. And then I think of a DC Talk song that has a voice at the beginning of the song, What If I Stumble that says, "The Greatest single cause of Atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and then on by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
There you have it! I really enjoyed James, Chapter one today. I am praying that my spirit can truly soak up all the stuff in there that I need to digest. God is doing a new thing in my life once again and I am excited to see what He does with me!
Labels: reading His word daily
