One-a-Day Friday, 8/22/14

Posted on by August 22, 2014
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number 1The wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving… (James 3:17). 

Do you love peace?

Hold on.  Before you respond with, “Of course I do!” ask yourself a few questions.  Do you ever pick an intellectual fight?  Do you ever snipe at someone—you know, taking that little shot that makes you look smart and them foolish?  Do you ever make the oh-so-slightly-gossipy comment designed to bring down someone who irks/annoys/offends you?

If the answer to any of the above is yes…

As you know, people sometimes bug me.  When they do, I have known myself to act in the ways I just mentioned, trying to win whatever imaginary battle I’m engaged in.  When I do that, I’m not looking to bring peace—not between them and me…not between them and God.  I’m looking to win.

But I lose.  Every time.

Beloved, we stand as men and women of God in a broken and fallen world.  It is our mission to seek and save, not to search and destroy.

I’ve gotta admit, this is a tough one for me.  I get real satisfaction out of dinging someone who has hurt me.  It makes me feel strong; it makes me feel smart; it makes me feel better…

But then, it’s not supposed to be about me…is it, Beloved?

Walk in love today.  Walk in peace.

One-a-Day Wednesday, 8/20/14

Posted on by August 20, 2014
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number 1With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers, this should not be.  Can both fresh and salt water flow from the same spring?   (James 3:9-11).

We’ve all seen it.

We’ve all done it.

We know exactly what James is talking about.  It is a symptom of the identity crisis we all face.  We belong to Christ, yet the world has its grip on us.  In the midst of the struggles of life, and surrounded by the deception of our enemy, we forget who we are.

So, let me take a moment this morning to remind you…

You are a child of the King of the Universe.  You are the one he thought of before time began.  You are the one he created with his hands, his heart, his breath.  You are the one that he left his throne for.  You are the one that he died for.  You are the one that he rose for.  You are the one he will return for.  You are the one he will spend eternity with.

You are his Beloved.

And so am I.

So…let’s act like it today.  Whadday say, Beloved?

 

One-a-Day Tuesday, 8/19/14

Posted on by August 19, 2014
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number 1Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell (James 3:5-6).

When I was a kid, my grandparents took me to a party.  I don’t know what they were thinking—they must have been hard up for a babysitter.  All I know is that it was a grandparents-type party, and I was the only one in the place who was not able to discuss Victory Gardens and the genius of Ike from a first-hand perspective.

I was bored nigh unto death, and I went looking for entertainment.

I discovered a powder room, in which a candle was burning.

Hmm…

Fire needs oxygen in order to keep…being fire.  I had learned that somewhere.  My intense boredom combined with my utter lack of common sense produced a deep need for a science experiment.  The candle was of the small votive-type, burning happily at the bottom of a jar-thingy.  All I needed was something to cover the mouth of the jar and seal out the oxygen…

Toilet paper…perfect!

At least the party ceased to be boring.

We have all seen the damage that fire can cause.  Forests, homes, lives destroyed by the careless match, the unseen spark, the idiot kid with a votive candle and lack of common sense.

At the same time, fire is one of our most important tools.  Light, heat, tasty barbeque all come from that same spark.

Fire must be controlled.  Fire must be treated with respect and a healthy dollop of fear for the damage it can cause.

Of course, James isn’t really talking about fire here, is he?

Watch your sparks today, Beloved.

One-a-Day Monday 8/18/14

Posted on by August 17, 2014
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number 1As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead (James 2:26).

Talk is cheap.

In the seventh grade I had a bit of a bully problem.  Two large, beefy Neanderthal types decided that it would be fun to wreak havoc upon my person.  When they cornered me on the way home from school, they engaged in a manly chuckle while informing me of their decision to cause me great pain.

“You couldn’t and you wouldn’t,” was my snappy reply.

It was a bad reply…in so many ways.

At twelve years old, I was short, scrawny, and woefully incapable of backing up my big fat mouth.  I learned an important lesson that day—I mean, aside from the need to shed all your school gear, including the alto saxophone, including your pride, if you want to achieve maximum escape velocity.  I learned that words are validated by actions.  It doesn’t matter what you say if it’s not matched by what you do.

Is James saying that we are saved by our deeds?  Nope.  There are way too many passages of Scripture that point to our utter inability to save ourselves, that point to the grace by which we are saved.  No, no one was ever saved by their own actions, nor will anyone ever be.

But

The body, devoid of spirit, is empty and useless.

Your faith, devoid of deeds, is empty and useless.

Beloved, God did not save you just for your own sake.  His purpose for the world does not begin and end with you.  You were saved to bring him glory, in this world and the next.  That’s gonna take a little work on your part.

So, as you venture forth into your week, be on the lookout for ways, not to earn his grace, but to demonstrate it.

Not to earn his favor, but to share it.

Not to earn his peace, but to walk in it.

Not to earn his love, but to live it.

It’s Monday, Beloved.

Take action.

One-a-Day Thursday, 8/14/14

Posted on by August 14, 2014
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number 1Religion 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 1:27).

 

Every man for himself.

I’m looking out for Number One.

What’s in it for me?

That’s the attitude of the world, Beloved.  And, as you may have noticed, we live in the world.

When I was a kid, I remember that they used to issue Smog Alerts when the air pollution was particularly bad.  On those days, just breathing the air around you was enough to make your lungs hurt.  Heavy exercise could really do some damage to your innards.  The attitude of the world gets into our system, like pollution on a smoggy day.  What can we do about it?

We can use a filter.

God has given us his Word, and it makes a pretty awesome attitude filter.  Breathing through the Word turns the smog of, “Look out for yourself,” into, “Look after the weak and helpless.”

If we want to live A Life Worthy, we need to use that filter constantly, to keep the pollution out.  Kinda feels like an astronaut, wearing his spacesuit as he steps out onto the surface of an alien world.

Actually, that’s pretty accurate.  After all, this world is not out home, is it?

Breathe deep, Beloved—but use your filter.

One-a-Day Wednesday, 8/13/14

Posted on by August 13, 2014
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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 of the tongue so easily, and causes so much damage.

Challenge for Wednesday: 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 Wednesday.

One-a-Day Tuesday, 8/12/14

Posted on by August 11, 2014
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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.  I’m not 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 Tuesday, Beloved—make it a worthy one.

 

One-a-Day Monday, 8/11/14

Posted on by August 10, 2014
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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 tomorrow 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 Monday, Beloved.  Start the week with a good look in the mirror.