One-a-Day Tuesday 10/20/15


number 1If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless
(James 1:26).

What, is James saying I talk too much?

Probably, yeah.

It’s frightening to stop and consider how quickly one thoughtless, angry, gossipy, selfish, sinful word can undo the good you’ve accomplished.  It rolls off the tongue so easily, and causes so much damage.

Challenge for Tuesday: Control your words.  Don’t let what you say undo what you do.

I know it’s not easy, Beloved—that’s why it’s a Challenge, not a Fluffy Rah Rah.

Have a quiet Tuesday.

One-a-Day Monday 10/19/15

number 1But 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. (James 1:25).

You can’t just glance at the Word.

You can’t skim it

or skip through it

or toy with it.

It is not a book for light reading and coffee table perusing.

It takes work and demands your respect.

My favorite novel of all time is A Tale of Two Cities.  I very rarely read it.  It’s not that I’m a masochist.  It’s simply that reading the book is a heavy investment.  It takes time and energy and a sweaty cognitive brow.

And it’s totally worth it.

How much more so the Word of God that gives freedom?

I won’t deny it—the Bible is a tough read.  Sure, there are easy parts.  The bits where he tells me I’m his friend and his son and his treasure and that he loves me and will never leave me—those I can read all day.

The parts where he points out my propensity for fearing and falling and failing…those I could just as soon skip.

Except I can’t.

If I’m ever going to be the man that he seems to think I can be, I have to do more than skim—I must stare intently.  I have to do more than read—I must do what it says.

What about you, Beloved?  Will you skim today, or will you spend the sweat to dig deep and do?

It’s a new week, Beloved—make it a worthy one.

 

One-a-Day Friday 10/16/15

number 1Anyone 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).

The mirror doesn’t lie.

Oh, you might lie to yourself about what you see in the mirror, but the glass always plays it straight.

Every wrinkle, every pimple—right there on display.

By the way, I find it most inappropriate that wrinkles have appeared on my face before the pimples have retired.  But that’s another story.

Scripture acts like a mirror for your soul.  If you read it honestly and prayerfully, it will show you who you are.

Every pimple.

Every wrinkle.

If I look in the mirror in the morning and see something disgusting hanging from my nose, and I go off to work without removing it, what do you think will happen when I walk into my classroom?

Yep…and I’ll deserve it, too.

If I look in the Word and see something disgusting hanging from my heart, and I go off into my day without removing it…

Yep…

It’s Friday, Beloved.  Start your day with a good look in the mirror.

One-a-Day Thursday 10/15/15

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

So, what do you say to that, Beloved?

I say, “Ouch!”

I say, “Guilty as charged.”

I say, “Forgive me, Lord, for getting spiritually obese.  I stuff myself with rich truth then neglect to run the race.”

I say, “Let me be a doer, and not just a hearer.”

What do you say?

It’s Thursday, Beloved.

Go do.

One-a-Day Wednesday 10/14/15

number 1My 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. (James 1:19-20).

People bug me.

I may have mentioned that before.  It’s still true.

People bug me because (present company excepted) they can be so idiotic, and they say things that are foolish and untrue and just plain dumb and I feel honor bound to point out their idiocy and so I speak out and set them straight and then sometimes I find out that what I thought they were saying isn’t what they were trying to say at all and I never let them finish their thought I just jumped to conclusions and blew up and made the whole situation awful and then I have to apologize and that bugs me.

James is of the opinion that the above scenario does not bring about righteousness.

James is probably correct.

I had a choir director once who instructed us to, “Listen louder than you sing.”  His point was that, if you can’t hear what’s going on around you, you can’t blend, you can’t make music, you can only create dissonance.  The same appears to be true about life.

It’s Wednesday, Beloved.

Listen loud.

One-a-Day Tuesday 10/13/15

number 1Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17).

He wants good things for you.

He has given good things to you.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret, Beloved.

Sometimes I doubt God.

No, I don’t doubt that he’s there, or that he’s Almighty God.  I don’t doubt the truth of the Resurrection or that he’s coming back for us one day.

It’s just that, after so many years of following him, there are still moments when, in the secret places of my heart, I doubt that he loves me.

I mean, why would he?

Look, I know that you’re way past all that nonsense, and your faith is unshakeable.  But, just for kicks, let me tell you what I do when moods of doubt take hold of me.

I count my blessings.

Yep, it sounds trite, but it works.  Stay with me here. This verse tells us that every good gift is from God, right?  And people give gifts to those they love, right?  And God is not fickle, loving one minute and hating the next—if he loves, he loves, right?

So, as I count the good things in my life, I can take each one as tangible proof of his love.

And there really are so many good things.

When I start counting, I invariably come around to counting the people I love.  That’s when I stop.  See, when I consider all the hearts I hold in mine, and I think that each of them is a sign of God’s love for me, my doubts stutter and go silent.

Anyway, that’s probably just me.  But, as you go through your day, take a moment or two or twenty and think about the great gifts that are yours.

Then think about the great Giver.

And know that you are loved.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

One-a-Day Monday 10/12/15

number 1…the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wildflower (James 1:10).

Who do you think you are?

Wealth, power, worldly position—they mean nothing before the cross of Christ.

And that’s OK.

Actually, it’s better than OK.

When I recognize how small and insignificant I really am it drives me back to the Cross.

Which is right where I need to be.

Go back and read verse 9 alongside verse 10 and you get the big picture.  Of yourself you have nothing, you are nothing, no matter what the world sees.

In him…everything.  No matter what the world sees.

And that, Beloved, is the beauty of it.

You are his.  Walk in pride today.

One-a-Day Friday 10/9/15

number 1The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position (James 1:9).

Who do you think you are?

Do you think you’re kind of a nuthinburger, with a dead-end job, an empty bank account, a lonely heart, and little to offer the world?

Interesting.  I know that feeling.  May I even suggest that, in the eyes of the world, it may be fairly accurate?

In the eyes of the world.

But, since when do we care about the eyes of the world, Beloved?

Let me remind you of something.  If you belong to Christ, then you are a child of the Lord of Everything.  You are royalty of the highest order.

Your job? King’s Ambassador.

Your wealth?  The riches of Heaven.

Your heart? Loved to distraction by the Author of Love, the one who thought up the very idea of you, the one who knows everything there is to know about you, the one who died so that you can be together forever.

Your gift to the world?  The message of that love.

Who do you think you are?

Who do you know you are?

Stand tall, Beloved.

One-a-Day Thursday 10/8/15

number 1But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed about by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does (James 1:6-8).

Is he God, or isn’t he?

Is Jesus Lord of your life, or is he not?

If he is, then why do you hesitate?

From time to time, people ask me for advice.  

I know…it’s crazy.  But every once in awhile…

When they do, I bathe their situation in prayer, line it up against Scripture, apply good old common sense, and give them an answer that I believe comes from wisdom.

Sometimes they follow that advice…great.

Sometimes they thank me, verbally embrace the soundness of my advice, and go off and do the opposite…and their situation falls apart.

Drives me crazy.

Now, I’m just Michael, and my wisdom is severely limited.  I can’t even imagine what it must be like for God, who has given us Scripture, and experience, and the Holy Spirit, to see us receive his wisdom and respond, “Gee, I don’t know…”

I realize that some situations are complicated, and there doesn’t seem to be a clear answer.  God knows that too, and I don’t think he faults us for times of genuine confusion.

But

More often than not, the answer is simple enough; it just isn’t the answer we want.  So our emotions come charging in to cloud the issue, and everything becomes more convoluted and complicated than it needs to be.

Have you asked for wisdom, Beloved?  Have you gone to Scripture, gone to prayer, gone to godly mentors?

Have you received an answer?

Well, then…?

Happy Thursday, Beloved.  Walk in wisdom.

One-a-Day Wednesday 10/7/15

number 1If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).

What does wisdom look like?

This is a dangerous passage, because many people read it and think that God is going to give them some sort of tingly feeling, an ooh-aah-oh-aha! moment, and suddenly they will know what they need to do.

And God can do that.

On occasion, he does.

More often than not, however, wisdom is the result of less mystical things, like study of the Scripture, or listening to the advice of those who have demonstrated wisdom in their own lives, or learning from our mistakes.

Sometimes God uses those trials we’ve been talking about to build wisdom.

Wisdom is a gift, but unlike your salvation, wisdom is a gift you earn.  If you’re waiting for that mystical flash from Heaven, you may find yourself waiting for a long time.  Worse, you may be tempted to absolute foolishness because it feels like God is telling you something.

I have a friend who wanted to write a worship song.  He decided to let God give him the song, by letting his Bible fall open and writing about whatever verse was first on the page.  His bible fell open to Leviticus.

And he gave the world that immortal song And the Eunuch Shall Not Enter the Temple.

Kinda catchy…but, no.

I’m not saying that God doesn’t speak through feelings sometimes. What I am saying is that, if that feeling of yours doesn’t match up with Scripture…it ain’t from God.

You need wisdom.  Ask for it.  But then don’t just sit back, close your eyes, and wait for it.  Work for it.  Dig for it—in Scripture, in experience, in your brothers and sisters in Christ.  It’s there, and it’s for you.

Just put your gloves on and get to work.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved