A Life Worthy

Tag: James

  • One-a-Day Monday 8/18/14

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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.

     

  • One-a-Day Friday, 8/8/14

    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.”

    What do you say?

    It’s Friday, Beloved.

    Go do.

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 8/7/14

    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 1:9-20).

    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 seems to think 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 Thursday, Beloved.

    Listen loud.

  • One-a-Day Wednesday, 8/6/14

    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.

    Oh, 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?

    Now, 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.

    Yes, it sounds trite, but I’m telling you 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 Wednesday, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Friday, 8/1/14

    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.  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 pretty limited.  I can’t even imagine what it must be like for God, who has given us Scripture, and experience, and the Holy Spirit, when we receive his wisdom and respond, “Gee, I don’t know…”

    I know 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…?

    It’s Friday, Beloved.  Walk in wisdom this weekend.

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 7/31/14

    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.

    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 Thursday, Beloved