The Community of Christians Saving One-Another

"My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." - James 5:19-20

Today, I was looking through some of my yearbooks from high-school. It brought back some memories of friends who helped me keep the Christian faith as I walked through the pleasantries and difficulties of high-school. As I now look into these peoples lives who once followed the faith, many of them have fallen away.

So let's bring these people back. Many times, we like to help people accept Jesus but then we won't help them follow Jesus. We need to remain in these peoples lives so that when they fall, there is someone there to help them get back up.

We all know these people who used to be Christians and (often times) because of a lack of Christian support behind them, they gave up on Christ all-together. Let's do our part and lift one-another up today and every day.

Here are some ways to do this.

1. Schedule to meet someone for coffee who is struggling in their faith and take that time to listen to them and encourage them.

2. Be friendly. You would be amazed how many people you cross every day that you make or break their day. Decide to make it and invest time in everyone.

3. Listen. Listening is important because it shows people that you care. Listen to someone today and forget about your own agenda.

Let's Run this Race Together

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayers of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit." - James 5:13-18

Ah, so we have come to some of my favorite scripture in James. Lets discover together what rich application is within these verses.

Isn't it so much more simple than many of us make it? If we are suffering, we should pray; if we are cheerful, we should sing praises; if we are sick, we should have church family pray over us and....anoint us with oil?

Let's first explain this anointing with oil business. Interestingly, anointing with oil back in the time of Jesus (as we like to refer to it) was a symbol of love and respect (see Jesus' anointing in Luke 7:36-40). Thus why church family would practice this during a person's time of weakness (the Greek word translated "sick" literally means "weak"); to show their support.

This scripture testifies to the power and importance of prayer, but most importantly, to the importance of union, love, and support within the body of Christ. By confessing our sins to one another, praying for one another, rejoicing together, anointing one another, we save each-other. This community of love is truly what makes this Christian life livable. Persecution, addiction, and pain is hard to go through, but together we can bare it. If we all pick up our crosses and follow Jesus, we might be surprised to find that this walk together truly is the easy yoke.

1. Start or join a group. If your not part of a church, join one (or start one!). And if you are part of a church, get more involved, start an accountability group, a ministry group, or a Bible study group. Don't like leading? Than join one that already exists!

2. Make Christian friends. If you don't have Christian friends, you are in a bad spot to be in. Sure, you can hold relationships with non-Christians, but the deep relationships that are as family need to be Christ-centered.

3. Start praying for the Christian body. We need to be praying for each-other. Seriously. In Acts, Peter is released from prison because of the Church's prayers lifted up to God (Acts 12:5-19). Find a friend in need (or anyone at anytime because we are needy people) and pray for him/her earnestly.

Blessings.

Being a Reliable Christian

"But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no' be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation." - James 5:12

Christians need to be reliable people. If we tell someone we are going to be somewhere at sometime, we need to be there. If we tell someone we are going to pay them back, we need to pay them back. A Christian's word should be reliable and trustworthy.

Granted that James also tells us that rather than telling people we will do something, we should make known to them the contingency that the in order for us to do it, the Lord must will it (James 4:13-17).

I know this isn't a whole lot but it really is a simple principle and I don't want to over-complicate things. Here are three practical ways to live reliably.

1. Don't say yes so much. Many of us, including myself, say yes to everyone because there is a certain level of guilt created when we say no. But the reality is that in order to be reliable as James says, we must say no sometimes. So get off your yes-man horse and start saying no (lovingly).

2. Mark things on a calendar. It's easy to forget about an appointment or agreement you made to someone so mark it on your calendar or put an alarm in your phone right when the agreement is made.

3. Stay focused. A lot of times we fill our lives up with things that we aren't actually passionate about simply because the opportunity provided itself. Say no to opportunities that you aren't passionate about and say yes to those you are.

Blessings.

Changing Your Character, Not Your Performance

"Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful." - James 5:7-11

Do you feel like the world around you is falling apart? Like you have no sense of direction and you have began to simply float through life uncared for and unaided?

Me too.

There are so many things to worry about in this life, aren't there? My job, my wife, my finances, but you know what I worry about the most? That what I'm doing today, right now isn't pleasing God. That I should be doing something profound, like healing people miraculously or speaking in tongues in front of a huge crowd. Sure, those things have there place, but we have forgotten something:

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

In your household, do you treat your kids, your wife, and yourself like Jesus? Do you build up with your words and not tear down? Truly, it is the little things in life that matters (or what seems to be the little things). Do you love your Christian brothers and sisters as your should or do you gossip about them in your free time?

Be patient.

Quit being anxious about if what you are doing is for God, and make what you are doing be for God. I may be washing the dishes, but how many prayers could I offer up to God in that amount of time? And perhaps I expect my wife to repay me, forget about it.

Take these steps to change your character in life to being a steadfast Christian, and quit wishing you were one. As someone told me today,

"Nothing is hard, it's just learning to do it."

So may the community of Christians together learn to live steadfastly under the rule and love of God.

1. Add some discipline into your life. Most of the time, adding discipline in one area of your life will quickly drip into others areas and create a domino effect. Wake up early to read your Bible, start exercising, or simply sit for ten or twenty minutes to "be still and know that [He] is God."

2. Get healthy. Many people today deny the fact that physical wellbeing directly effects spiritual wellbeing. Well, it does, whether you choose to believe it or not. God created the two to be deeply intertwined and until we get a handle on our physical bodies and learn to "die to them" every day, our spiritual life will be quite difficult. Eat healthy, exercise, and go on walks.

3. Start your day with some silence. We don't like to be still and be in silence because than we are faced with ourselves (and nobody wants to sit down and think of all the wrong they did and how they can improve). In fact, we prefer to crowd our lives with noise so that we don't have to examine ourselves but can continue living in sin. So start out your day by grabbing a cup of coffee (of course), your Bible, and the peace and quiet that comes with a rising sun and be focused on God, whatever that looks like for you.

Be patient.

Blessings.

Love the Poor

"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you." James 5:1-6

This is a difficult passage for me, and I think it should be the same for ninety percent of the American population. Why? Because James is specifically addressing the rich. "Come now, you rich." And, as we all know, America is incredibly rich. So perhaps this is a good time for our ears to perk up and hear what James has to say.

"Weep and howl..."

Not looking very promising...

"Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten..."

*Nonchalant Whistling*

"Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire."

Crap.

Is being rich wrong? Nope. Think of King David, I'm betting he wasn't the poorest in town, and yet God had a deep and enduring relationship with him. You don't have to be poor to have a relationship with God, and you don't have to be rich either. Why does James condemn these rich people then? Because of their greed and their fraud. Being rich is indeed a temptation, thus why Jesus says that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (of course all things are possible with God), but being rich is not a sin in itself.

What then must we do? Whether we are rich or poor, glorify God. Do this my living humbly.

1. Take some money out of your budget this month solely for either giving to a good cause or for giving more personally to someone who struggles financially or has given up altogether. Jesus did this, and we need to mirror that.

2. Think of a fun way for you and your friends to go and feed, minister, and love on the needy. Whether it is a shelter or a hospital, many people only think of doing these things and never actually do them.

3. And perhaps most importantly, QUIT JUDGING THE POOR. They are people just like you and me, you would be surprised at the friendships you can make by treating them like real human beings.

Blessings.

Scheduling Wisely

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” - James 4:13-17

Isn’t wealth a great thing? Getting to make money, spend money, and thus continues the circle of life. Or...not. Not to say that money is a bad thing, but the goal of money is a bad thing, unless the goal of money leads to a more ultimate goal, like going on a missions trip (which costs a lot of money). 

Let’s figure this out. Is there anything wrong with planning? No...and yes. The problem isn’t so much the planning as it is the dependence upon successful planning. Last time you got angry because your day didn’t go the way you had planned was due  to dependence upon successful planning. We humans think we know whats coming next and thus think we can always make successful plans, but we can’t. 

Go ahead, plan. Come up with ideas about how to be successful, make a business, invent something, start a church, start a bible study. These are all good things, but they are evil if you are depending upon successful planning, because a good percentage of the time, what you plan is going to fail. That doesn’t mean don’t plan, it means don’t depend upon the plans success. Expect that your plan may fail and be willing to accept that and move on. 

Honestly, what does it matter anyway? Your nobody special. Get over yourself and accept that you are simply waiting your turn in line to die. It’s what you do while your in line that matters. 

Get to work. 

Depend upon the Lord, not upon your plans. Here are some way to make this part of your life.

1. Don’t be too risky. While their are always exceptions to the rule, a good general guideline to live by is to not be too risky. Don’t quit your job till you have another one. Being too risk with your decisions can cause you to depend more upon the outcome of the situation than upon God’s providence. 

2. God is your Father. Remind yourself regularly that God is your father. He is in control, he has planned for what’s going on, and you aren’t in control. Get over yourself, and make God a bigger part of your life. The more you understand that God is in control and he makes everything ultimately lead to good will put into perspective the “bad” things that go wrong with your planning.

3. Be flexible. Don’t engrave your schedule in a stone, but write it on a calendar with a pencil (that has an eraser). Remember, life is an adventure, be willing to change your plans and be willing to have your plans changed. God is a good God and he will be with you. 

Don’t worry so much.

Blessings. 

How to Love God's Children

“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” - James 4:11-12

Reaffirming the truth that we need to be slow to speak, James now tells us how serious an offense it is to “speak evil” against a fellow Christian.

Let’s take a look.

From previous blog posts, we know that if you speak evil against a person, you have just indirectly spoke evil against the creator of the person because, well, he created them. Get it? (For more, check out my blog post titled “Shut it”). We know a person insults God if they insult his creation (any person), but what if we insult his children? Ouch. If someone tells me the house I built is a piece of crap (assuming I had been trained in house-building), I would take a fair amount of offense, but probably still go home that night, tuck myself into bed, complain a little to my wife, and have a nice sleep. However, if someone comes along and starts telling my child they are an idiot, that would go over much differently.

Believers are God’s children, non-Believers are not. 

Insult a believer, you have just insulted God’s child. 

Not only that, but “the one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law.” Why? If I am a cross-country runner (which I’m not) and you insult my ability to run even though I just won a race, you have not insulted me, because clearly I’m good at running, but rather the system by which cross-country participants are judged. You haven’t insulted the person, but the system. Christians who speak against other Christians because of their own pride or insecurities have not judged the person, but the system that God created. 

So, you wanna insult a fellow Christian? You don’t? Oh, because you realized that it’s the same as insulting God’s children and the system by which he chooses to raise his children up? Yeah.

Good news? Their is a lawgiver and judge. 

Bad news? It isn’t you.

How do you cut the crap and quit insulting and hating on Christians so that your own self-esteem is boosted? Here are some ideas.

1. Attend church regularly. If you don’t attend church, you won’t even have the opportunity to get to be in a Christian community so dive in. 

2. Find security in God, not in works. God is gracious, accept your insecurities, admit them, and work away from them. God accepts you as you are, so accept yourself as you are. Accept your failings, work on them with God, but don’t convince yourself that your salvation and worth is based upon how much you do for God. It’s based upon grace.

3. And once again, shut up. Quit talking so much. If you don’t talk, you can’t insult Christians. So shut your mouth, think, and maybe once you have a nice thought, you can speak again.

Later.

God, or the World?

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” - James 4:1-10

Well, we know from the previous verses in James how to effectively be more peaceable people, but do we know what causes our fights and quarrels? Most the time, we fight cause we feel like it, and that’s all that really matters, right? Wrong. Why do we fight with others? Because our passions are at war within us. Oh, you wanna feel better about yourself? Gossiping about others isn’t the way to accomplish that. You want what rich people have? Stealing isn’t the way to accomplish that. Well, I suppose it’s one way, but James doesn’t suggest it. Oh, and by the way, why aren’t you receiving what you ask for in your prayers? Because your selfish. Because you want to spend what you ask for on your own selfish passions. Have fun whore. 

“What did he just say?”

I said have fun whore. 

What do I mean? Check out what James says: “You adulterous people!” Literally he is calling people like this a whore. Quit saying you believe in God and living for your own selfish passions. Quit asking for worldly things and falling in love with worldly items. You say you love God, but you secretly have a relationship with the world. The bad news? God knows. The good news? Draw close to God and he will draw close to you. 

You better change. If you expect that you can come to the end of your life and offer God some worldly bribe to let you into heaven, your dead wrong. If this is your plan, you better expect hell. However, if you are willing to dedicate yourself to God, repent from the worldly love you once had and humble yourself that the Lord may exalt you, your situation will be significantly more enjoyable. How do you turn from your love for worldly things? Here are some ideas:

1. Get rid of it. You addicted to sex? Get rid of it. Video games? Get rid of it. It will be a difficult path but the reward will be well worth it. Try having an accountability partner who helps you out of the difficulty of getting over your addictions.

2. Your gonna die. Yeah, thats right, your gonna die. Everyone is, so start believing it. Quit being in denial that you will live on this planet forever and start preparing for the life after this one. With the right perspective on life, you might begin to spend your time a little bit wiser. 

3. Practice Discipline. Get rid of a bad habit and start a good habit. For example, I got rid of a video game I was playing way too much and started writing these blog posts everyday. The more time spent with God, the better. 

Wise? Learn Peace.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” - James 3:13-18

I ask the same question. “Who is wise and understanding among you?” Are you wise? Do you have wisdom and understanding that allows you to discern between hate and love, heresy and truth, God and Satan? You do? Great! Now quit showing off. Rather, by your good conduct and morals, show your wisdom with humility. 

If you have been given a gift to understanding the word of God and applying it to your life appropriately (wisdom), then rejoice in that, use it, and bless other Christians with it. But the moment you have allowed pride to get its grasp on that wisdom, you can wave goodbye to any wisdom you previously had, because now it has been cluttered with “earthly, unspiritual, demonic” motives. And wherever those motives exist, “there will be disorder and every vile practice.” 

Literally, if you don’t handle your wisdom correctly, every kind of disorder and vile practice will be present. From pride to idolatry, to gluttony, hate, lust, gossip, adultery, and anything else awful you can think up. Why? Because the moment you are prideful about yourself, your gonna think your entitled to women, stuff, and happiness. Hello sin. Goodbye wisdom. 

What about those people who don’t have that kind of God-given wisdom? For you, I have the same thing to say, don’t act like you do because of insecurity or pride. If your not skilled at something, admit it to yourself, or your gonna lead Christians astray, which is not gonna make the Big Man happy. 

What’s the point? Why does this all matter? Everyone today is looking for peace, from the terrorists (though it seems like an oxymoron) to the Atheists. Everyone wants one thing on this earth (at least most people): peace. And in this passage of scripture, James tells us how to achieve it. How? By being “pure, peacable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” For those who make peace shall sow righteousness. 

How do we become peacemakers today? Study these qualities and one day at a time, adopt them into your lifestyle:

1. Purity

2. Peacefulness 

3. Gentleness

4. Openness to reason

5. Fullness of mercy

6. Fullness of good fruits

7. Impartialness

8. Sincerity 

Master these and you have become a peacemaker. 

Shut it

“So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.” - James 3:5-12

Ah yes, the tongue. We all know of its’ power to bless and to destroy. We know of its’ ability to curse, to love, to hate. We understand that the tongue is a “world of unrighteousness.” Don’t we? I mean, just the other day, I restrained from yelling at my wife because she called me at a bad time; and instead of telling my boss he is a jerk to his face, I just whispered it to myself so that his feelings wouldn’t get hurt. 

Get it?

The taming of the tongue isn’t actually at all about the tongue, but about the heart, the tongue is merely the exit point for all the hatred and love built up in the heart. That is why the tongue “boasts of great things;” because it is the medium by which our greatest passions are expressed. 

This member of our body can “set ablaze a great fire.” A fire of love, or a fire of hate, a fire of gossip, or a fire of honesty, a fire of destruction, or a fire of instruction. Human beings cannot tame the tongue, but God can and with the aid of the Holy Spirit, it is a realistic endeavor. 

But how do we tame the tongue? How do we actually control our mouth? Here are some ideas. 

1. Think before you speak. “Duh,” you say, “that’s an easy one.” But how often do you actually think about how what your about to say is going to effect the person your saying it to? Shut up and think.  

2. Don’t speak while your angry. Though this can sometimes end up leading to more anger on the opposing side, sometimes the wisest thing to do during a heated fight is to shut your mouth and try to process everything so that you aren’t simply reacting.

3. Practice saying nice things. While this seems like an easy one, it can actually be surprisingly difficult to say nice things to people. However, if you work on constantly encouraging others, you will find that your attitude is better and therefore your tongue is less evil.

Why is it so important to tame the tongue? Because with it “we bless God,” but we also “curse man” who is made in the image of God. Do you realize that James is telling us that it is just as bad to curse man as it is to curse God? Why? Because man is created in the image of God, by the very breath of God. If a man builds me a house and I look at it and call it a piece of crap, I have not insulted the house, but the house-builder. When we gossip, hate, insult, degrade, or hurt any human being with our words, we have just cursed the maker of the universe. How does that make you feel? 

Learn to tame your tongue. Day by day, learn more and more about how to overcome this sinful burden, and eventually you will turn this tool into a vessel for blessing rather than cursing. 

Tame Your Tongue

"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things."  - James 3:1-5


Every Christian wishes they could stop sinning; wishes their life wasn't cluttered with imperfections and mistakes. Unfortunately, we Christians should expect that life for us is going to remain sinful. Though, through the power and sanctification God offers, our sin nature will be lessened, it will not go away in this lifetime. However, in this passage, James tells us how we can tame our sinful nature; how we can began to put an end to the evil thoughts and actions that rule many of our lives. The key, James says, is taming the tongue. 

James starts this passage by pointing out that not many people should be teachers of the gospel because we all stumble in many ways. The main problem being that teachers are leaders, leaders are looked up to, and if a leader is not able to control his mouth, neither will his followers, bringing greater judgement upon himself. Though we all stumble in many ways, James says the source of all stumbling comes from not being able to bridle the tongue. Evil thoughts are indeed a sin, but if we learn to not talk about those evil thoughts, its amazing how easily those evil thoughts go away. If I am angry with my brother but choose not to express it with my mouth, the anger fades immediately. James is trying to get the point across that if a person perfectly controls his mouth, than he will perfectly control his whole body. So though we will not be able to perfectly control our mouth, if we can control our mouth to some measure, to the same measure we will control our whole body. Just as a ship is driven by a small rudder and a horse is controlled by a bit in its mouth, we are ultimately controlled by our mouths. We are to be "slow to anger" (James 1:19), and this is done by the taming of the tongue. 

Control your mouths friends and think before you speak. If you can do this, your faith will grow. 

Do you remember what happened when Peter was quick to speak? Three times, he denies Christ. Once, he is condemned by Jesus for what he does. Peter's tongue got him into a lot of trouble before he learned to control it, but once he learned to control it, it was a powerful weapon against evil. Though the tongue can bring much evil, it can also bless much. It is a beautiful thing if tamed but a horrible thing if left to its sinful nature. Control your tongue, don't let your tongue control you. 

Stepping out in Faith

"You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." - James 2:24-26

Rahab, a prostitute, was a woman who didn't have much. She would most likely have been quite poor. Not only that, but she was a terrible sinner. In the book of Joshua, the Israelites desire to view the promised land, Jericho, before they enter it. Sending spies to go and view the land, the spies lodge at this harlots house. The King of Jericho, upon finding out that there are spies in their land who are staying with Rahab, sends word to Rahab telling her to give them the men who are staying lodged at her home. Rahab, by this point, has hid the men, and she responds to the officials at her door by saying she doesn't know who the men were and they left some time ago. The officials then leave and go looking for the spies. Rahab hurries up to the roof where she hid the spies and tells them,
Don't like reading? Listen to this post at: 

https://soundcloud.com/oursimplefaith/stepping-out-in-faith


“I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 

The spies told her that they would deal kindly with her and her family as she asked. This story being referenced by James is a powerful story of a sinful woman who turned to God and trusted not in people, but in God. It is the story of a woman who risked everything because she was sure of the truth the Israelites believed. Why was she sure? Because she had heard of the great deeds of God and believed them. Rahab knew very well that the body apart from the spirit is dead. That is why she stepped out in faith, she knew that God would destroy them and so she chose the correct side in order that God might spare her life when destroying the rest of Jericho. 

If we are to be physically alive, our spirit must have a body, without the body, we are not physically alive. We may have personality and emotion, but without a body to express these characteristics, we cannot really be a full person. The same is true with faith. We may have faith, but if this faith is not being expressed through works externally, than we can not really have a complete faith. In order to be spiritually alive, we must have faith, and show that faith through our actions. Rahab's faith came before her works. The only reason she hid the spies was because she believed that God did exist and did have the power to destroy her if she fought against him.

If we really believe what we say we believe about God, are we willing to risk it all? Are we willing to risk our lives and trust in God alone? Are we willing to leap out in faith and put our life at the mercy of God? Only once we have done and are willing to do this will we once again have a living faith. A faith that refreshes us every day because we are bold to live for God. A faith that is willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of Christ. The most refreshing thing you can do for your faith is step out in faith. 

Caught by the Hands of a Gracious God

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“Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’ --and he was called a friend of God.” - James 2:20-23

Once again, we return to our study of the second chapter of James. The passages we are dealing with at this point are some of the most disputed and difficult chapters of the Bible. Romans is often held up against James because Romans seems to argue that salvation is through faith, whereas James seems to argue that salvation is through works. It is my hope that we can reconcile these books together, as we are told that scripture can not contradict itself. 

The passage of scripture that James quotes here is Genesis 15:6. Interestingly, this is the same passage that is quoted by Paul in Romans 4:5 to seemingly argue the exact opposite of what James is arguing. Romans 4:3-5 says,

“For what does scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”

Here are two different people, James and Paul, arguing seemingly different points with the exact same piece of Old Testament Scripture. Either one of them doesn’t understand the Old Testament Scriptures well, because the Old Testament scriptures can only mean one thing, or they are arguing different but reconcilable points using the same piece of scripture. I would like to propose the latter. 

Lets take the piece of scripture in Romans. In this piece of scripture, Paul is talking about how one gets salvation, whether it is through works, or through faith in Christ. Paul argues correctly that salvation is earned through faith in Christ. Now in James, James is arguing for something quite different from that of Paul. James is arguing for what makes the faith needed for salvation a living, real, and worthwhile faith. Paul is arguing that faith is needed for salvation, James is arguing that works are the representation of one’s saving faith. 

In the passage of Genesis 15:6, Abraham has already faithfully offered his son, Isaac, up on the altar. The part that is being quoted by Paul and James is after all the works have taken place and Abraham believes that God will bless him for what his works showed. Where Genesis 15:6 says, “Abraham believed God,” it is assumed that the believing it is talking about is Abraham’s belief in God revealed through his willingness to offer his son as a sacrifice. But the belief this verse is actually talking about is quite different from that. After Abraham has faithfully offered Isaac up and after God has faithfully provided a Lamb to take the place of Isaac, God promises to bless Abraham and to make his descendants as many as the stars of the sky. At this point, the scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” The belief this scripture is talking about is Abraham’s belief in God’s promise to bless Abraham and his descendants. 

Why does all of this matter? Because it has greatly to do with the point James is trying to make. James says, “you see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.” My question for you is this; would Abraham have been able to believe in God’s promised blessing if he had not offered up his son? Of course not. Had he disobeyed God, there would have been no way for Abraham to believe in a promised blessing that came because he obeyed God. The point is this, often times works have to come before we can truly believe. Sure, I can believe that water will quench my thirst, but if I never try it, how am I to believe? I can believe a computer works, but if I have never seen one function, do I really believe? Would not using a computer perhaps enhance my faith that the computer really does work? Jumping out in faith and trusting God actually enhances our faith. This is what Abraham did, not knowing what was going to happen, he took a knife to his son, faithfully obeying God, and when God provided for him, he was reassured of the promise that God will bless and protect his children. 

Do you desire greater faith? Do you desire to be more trusting in God? It might sound like an oxymoron, but the first step is trusting God. If you never allow God to catch you, why would you trust that he actually will? Once you have stepped out in faith and God has caught you, write that time down, do not forget it. And once your faith has began to fade and you have become content, remind yourself of when God caught you and let him do it again. 

Michael and Jesus

Michael looked down through the one-way window. Knowing that the humans below were incapable of seeing him, he glanced down in awe as a man may glance at a woman, trying to take in every intricate detail of her figure. Lost not so much in the beauty of the humans, but in the relationship they had with God.

Being the Archangel, messages were often relayed through Michael and he loved doing the assignments because it gave his existence purpose. Though Michael was never fully aware of the purpose of these messages, he was a messenger of God and simply said what God told him to say. He was fully pleased to be working for his Master.

Calling to Jesus, Michael said, “Master, I have heard that you will be traveling to the home of the humans, why? Is that not the job of us, your messengers?”
Jesus responded, “This message is not yours to spread.”
“Why not, Master?”
“It is far too precious of a message to be carried by an angel?”
“And what is the message? If you will please tell.”
“It is a message of redemption. For my children.”
A glimpse of confusion in Michael’s eyes as he submissively asked, “What is ‘children’?” “It has not been decided for you to understand, for the way of the humans is unknown to
you and it has been hidden.”
“My master, this redemption you talk of; what is it redemption from?”

Jesus solemnly looked down to where Michael had been glancing a moment ago at the humans, and replied, “from the way they have hated me for all these years.”
“Hated you master? As my brother did a long time ago?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to redeem Lucifer as well as the humans Master?”
“No, for your brother was chosen as a dishonorable vessel, not an honorable one. But my
children, the humans, have been chosen to be vessels for my glory.”
The two paused as Michael took in everything that his Master was telling him. Out of the
pause, Michael sighed and said, “I can not claim to understand everything that you are saying Master, but I trust that what you are saying is good. I desire to understand how you relate to these humans you call ‘children,’ but if I am not meant to know, than I trust it is far better that I never know.”
Jesus replied, “Michael, allow your curiosity of my creation to drive you to a place of awe and wonder, for that is your purpose: to be in awe of not so much who the humans are to me, but of who I am to the humans.”
“Master, I desire to glorify you. But if I wonder and do not understand, how does that glorify you?”
“Because,” replied Christ, “it is not in understanding that you glorify me, but in wondering.” 

Don't Maintain a Useless Faith

"But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?" - James 2:18-20

You can sense the accumulation of James' frustration coming out in these verses. These verses carry directly off of the verses I talked about in my last blog post. In the last blog post, we talked about how James is exhorting Christians to transform their dead faith to a living faith. Well, I think a similar thing is happening in these verses, and perhaps it would have been wiser to only write one blog posts about these two sets of verses, but because of my depravity, that is not the case.

I have often, accidentally read these verse thinking that "you have faith" to "by my works" is all being spoken by some imaginary character. If this was the case, which it isn't, it would suggest that the person is wagering with another Christian to see who can show their faith better; the person with works, or the person with faith. Now that I've told you what isn't happening, maybe I can try and enlighten you a bit.

Notice that the only part in quotes is "you have faith and I have works." That means that the person James is talking about is a person who disagrees with what James just said in the last verses. This is a person who is trying to say, "James, it's fine. Don't overreact. Everyone's different. Some people have faith while others have works." The person saying this can be paralleled with an atheist who, when I say, "become a Christian, for the kingdom of God is coming," will reply, "don't worry, you believe in God, I believe in science. Everything will be fine." It is a reply of ignorance, of laziness, and merely writing down the response further frustrates James.

James responds to this lazy tolerance by saying, "show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder." James is crying at the top of his lungs, with sarcasm and frustration that faith and works are inseparable. Not only are the two inseparable, but one without the other is completely useless. While faith without works is useless, just so is works without faith useless. The word "useless" used here means "careless, lazy, idle." It is a faith that does nothing. James even goes to the point of saying that a faith that doesn't merit works is just as useless as the faith of demons. If that doesn't convict you, I don't know what will.

If I believe that my mountain-bike will hold me up as I go over rocks and dirt, but I never test to see whether that is true, people are going to question whether I really believe that. If I go around telling people that I have the best bike in the world, and they say, "really, have you ridden it?" and I say "no," why would they believe what I'm saying? In the same way, if a Christian has faith and tells people he or she has faith but never shows that faith through self-sacrifice, patience, understanding, love, kindness, gentleness, and steadfastness, why would someone think that's actually what you believe? People doubt Christians today because they say they have faith, but they don't show it. Any belief, if not accompanied by action, is useless, especially when the belief has the very goal of convincing others that the belief is true. The Christian belief is meant to convince others of it's truth through the acting out of the the belief. The Christian who doesn't do this has missed the point and should expect to be unsatisfied in their relationship with God.

Transforming Your Faith From Dead to Living

      "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself." - James 2:14-17 (NASB)

In the last post, we talked about how James is calling us to live in a holy way before God, not because this earns our salvation, but because it's the only reasonable response to the salvation we have been given. Keep in mind, that during these passages, James' focus is on urging believers, because of the love of Christ, to serve Christ. 

The first thing that we must notice about this difficult passage in James is the statement "What use is it." In other translations, it may say, "what does it profit." This is the first and most important key to understanding what this passage is really talking about. However, I myself haven't fully decided what I believe about this passage so I want to present the two interpretations that I know of and hopefully you will be able to discern better than me. 

The first and most popular interpretation of these verses is that James, by the words, "can that faith save him," is asking a rhetorical question to which the answer is no. Not only that, but this position would say that the question James is asking is a question of salvation; a question relating to a persons final destination: heaven or hell. However, this position does not go as far to say that salvation is through works, but merely that right actions, repentance of sin, and good works, are evidence of one's salvation. The basic idea is that when one becomes a believer, the Holy Spirit is given to that person and from that point on, it is not possible for that person to act the same as they did when they were an unbeliever; the Holy Spirit is faithful to change that person. If no change has occurred, than they must not have the Holy Spirit, which means they must not actually be saved. This is the first position and the principle here is that the Christian needs to examine his/her self to make sure he/she is really in the faith. 

Position two, the position that I slightly favor over position one, holds that, when James says, "can that faith save him," he isn't talking about salvation in terms of heaven or hell, but instead in terms of saving from unrighteousness, bondage to sin, and in general, things that make it difficult to build a relationship with God. This position rests highly upon the statement "what use is it," or "what does it profit." From the very beginning, James' focus isn't on faith that sends a person to heaven or to hell, but on the usefulness of one's faith; the profitability of one's faith. This position would argue that James isn't saying that "dead" faith isn't saving faith, but more-so that "dead" faith is unprofitable and useless for the body of Christ. Have you ever wondered why James never comes and says "this kind of faith will send you to hell" or anything along those lines? He seems to beat around the bush with this idea of a "dead" faith sending someone to hell; to the extant that it seems this isn't actually his point. 

Either way, there is a principle to take from these verses and to apply to our lives. And I believe its this: One's faith must be living in order to grow in relationship with Christ. What does living faith look like? Well think about these verses. James says that a dead faith is a faith that doesn't help people in there need, so a living faith must have something to do with loving people and helping people when they are in need. Think about it this way. People grow differently in different relationships. For example, you are going to grow in relationship with your boss differently than you are going to grow in relationship with your best friend. Both relationships can grow, but they must be treated differently in order to grow. So the question is, what kind of relationship are man and God in and what is our role in that relationship. Man is in a servant-master, creature-creator, child-father, wife-husband relationship with God. In all of these relationships, the lower-status person (us) is in submission to the higher-status person (God). Therefore, in order to grow in relationship with God, we must firstly submit our lives to him, and secondly do as he says. You want to grow in relationship with God? You want to transform your relationship from a dead faith to a living faith? Tell someone about Christ, feed the poor, love the lonely. This is what living faith looks like. 

Set Free by the Law of Liberty

"If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,'
you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." - James 2:8-13

We are now going to conclude the section of James titled "The sin of partiality" in many Bibles. This entire thirteen-verse section emphasizes the importance of loving everyone equally and not basing one's love for others on material possessions.

It's important to remember at this point that "the law" refers to the Mosaic law given to Moses in Exodus. This is what the Jewish people of the time were resting their salvation upon: works of the law, sacrifices, and donations; rather than on grace. If they were resting their salvation upon themselves, than they have contributed to their own saving and God doesn't get all the credit; that proposes a serious problem. The Bible tells us that "salvation is by grace alone through faith, which is a gift of God so that no man may boast." Clearly, God is meant to get the glory in this plan, but if man is doing something, than he gets some of the glory too.

However, the problem James was addressing was actually the issue of laziness rather than legalism. The Jews James wrote to were lazy in their faith because they once had to work for it, but now that they heard that salvation was through grace alone, they began to not worry about what they were doing. After-all, their works couldn't save them, so why work? This is the problem James is addressing.

He starts off by telling the Jewish Christians that if they really fulfill the law given by God to Moses, they are doing well. In fact, they are doing so well, they don't need grace. If they can accomplish the commandments given by God without any fault, they are perfect and can stand before God (without considering the doctrine of original sin). However, James continues, if you break one of the commandments, you are accountable for all of them. What? Why are we not only accountable for the one rule we broke? Because the problem isn't ultimately with the breaking of a rule, but the severing of a relationship. James says, "For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.'" James is hitting on the point that the big problem with breaking one rule isn't in the mere breaking of a rule, but the separation from God that is a consequence of that broken rule. That is the real issue; a fallen man cannot stand before a perfect God.

What are we to do? James has told us that if we break a law, we are "transgressors of the law," and if we are "transgressors of the law," we cannot stand before God. Now that James has done a thorough job of explaining man's depravity, he goes on to tell of the great hope in Christ. He says, "so speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty." James now transitions from the "law," to the "law of liberty," or the "law of freedom." A saved child of God is no longer bound by the Mosaic law, but he is free'd by the law of liberty; the law which was given through Christ: the law of love. This is the law, that because we are free, draws us to serve God more, even though we are free. It is the law which binds us to that which free's us.

Lastly, judgement of the "law," not the "law of liberty" is without mercy to those who show no mercy. In other words, if you trust in the "law" rather than the "law of liberty," you must be merciful if you expect mercy; or you must do good to expect good. A lot like Karma. But with the "law of liberty in place," mercy trumps judgement. Those who trust in the blood of Christ are under a merciful law while those who have not are under a law they can't live up to.

Why does any of this matter? James is telling his readers these greats truths of the "law of liberty" to lead them to loving and serving without partiality. He is not trying to condemn them, but he is using the gospel of love in an attempt to light a desire in their souls to serve Christ. We cannot be prompted to serve God by a desire to acquire salvation, for such serving is not truly directed towards God, but ourselves. A Christian is only prompted to serve God and love God by the truth that we have been set free from sin by the blood of Christ. I urge you to allow this truth to change you. Meditate on it, savor it, enjoy it, love it, and proclaim it. This is the truth that sets us free.

Unprejudiced Love

“Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?” - James 2:5-7

At this point in this epistle, James is exhorting believing Christians to not show favoritism, particularly towards the rich rather than the poor. This was a serious problem in James’ time. We notice at the beginning of the book that James mentions the “twelve tribes of the dispersion.” This was referring to Jewish Christians who had spread out because of the constant persecution they were facing. However, once the Christians split, disagreements amongst the split sections were notorious. Hostility between the churches of the dispersion and amongst new believers trying to enter the church were growing.  

People didn’t want to accept new people entering the church for fear of persecution from inside the church, and they didn’t want to associate with other churches of the dispersion because of disagreements concerning theology and religious practice. It actually became somewhat common for subtle competitions to arise between the different churches. Wealth was one of these competitions. 

As a result of all of this, Christians were especially friendly to rich people trying to enter the church because of the possibility of further wealth within their church. The opposite was true when a poor person would come into their church; not much care or love was shown to these people because they were seen as being more of a burden on the church than anything else. James lovingly corrects the churches of the dispersion, encouraging them to not show partiality towards rich people, but to treat rich and poor people equally. In order to drive his point home, he points out that the rich are the very people persecuting the church: “Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?” Furthermore, he explains to the church that the rich people are the “ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called.” That is, Jesus’ name. 

Many of the people in the first churches were actually poor themselves and they were beginning to reject other poor people. In essence, they had forgotten who they were. They were once poor and once lost; they just had Christ in their life now. The poor man had found wealth in Christ, but the churches which James is writing to had forgotten that their wealth in Christ was only truly wealth if resting upon Christ. And Christ loved the poor; poor in spirit, poor in ability, poor in wealth, poor in love. That is not to say that Christ didn’t love the rich as well, but the rich didn’t love him (obviously thats a generalization that doesn’t always hold true). The rich were able to find wealth in something else: their possessions. But the poor had no wealth, and only found wealth in Christ, and they clung to that truth. 

Christians today need to remove prejudices from their views

 of people. A person is a person and their is nothing more to it. You were lost, they are lost; you were poor, they are poor; you were ill-tempered, they are ill-tempered. How dare we Christians judge others for what we were once guilty of ourselves? Should we not show abundant grace, similar to that which Christ presented to us through his death? If we cannot learn to love those who wish to become part of the body of Christ, or those who already are, how will we ever love those who want no part in our religion? Christ told us to love our enemies but I truly believe this is impossible without first learning to love our brother and sisters. One cannot love your enemies without first loving your family. May we be disciplined, encouraged, and content to love whoever God should bring to us, and may we treat them with unprejudiced, undying love. 

Measuring Up

"My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, 'You sit here in a good place,' while you say to the poor man, 'You stand over there,' or, 'Sit down at my feet,' have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" - James 2:1-4

I apologize for not having written a post in a while. High-school to college has been quite the under-taking, but God's wisdom has guided me safely through this step in life. Let's continue our study in James.

It is important to recognize the correlation religious leaders of the day saw between financial success and holiness if we are to understand this passage. For example, think back to Job for a moment. Job was successful in almost every possible way, including financials. When God allowed the devil to remove his success from him, what do his friends do? Read one of their responses:

"Is not your evil abundant? There is no end to your iniquities. For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing and stripped the naked of their clothing. You have given no water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry. The man with power possessed the land, and the favored man lived in it. You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless were crushed. Therefore snares are all around you, and sudden terror overwhelms you, or darkness, so that you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you." - Job 22:5-11

They blame the tragedies occurring in Job's life on his own sin. They say that the poverty, the death, the illness, the meekness, is God's wrath being poured out upon Job because of his many sins. A quick glance at the beginning of the book of Job tells the reader this is not the case:

"And the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?'" Job 1:8

It wasn't only the Jews of Job's day who held to this strict idea that successful people were blessed by God and unsuccessfulness meant you were cursed by God, it was also the Jews of Jesus' day. This is why, as we read through the gospels, we see Jesus putting such a large emphasis on "blessed are the poor," or, "the poor shall inherit the kingdom of heaven." Financial success, to the Jews, was the equivalent of a salvation receipt; it meant you were actually saved.

We see, in this passage in James, James exhorting Christians to not distinguish between rich and poor, but to treat everyone with love. Many Jews would have thought this absurd; to treat someone "cursed by God" with love. Many Jews would have treated poor people exactly how James is telling them not to:

"while you say to the poor man, 'You stand over there,' or, 'Sit down at my feet.'"

Why did Jewish religious leaders treat poor people this way? Because if they tell them to sit down at their feat, that secures their own superiority. It's not so much just to be mean, or because the religious leaders thought that God looked at the poor as less (although they did), but it was more-so their belief that if they have someone sitting at their feet in submission to them, God must be looking at them proud of their position of superiority they have secured. It's not a problem of hate, it's a problem of pride.

And we struggle with it today.

Do you measure yourself up to other people? Do you look at others and say, "well, at least I'm better than them?" Do you feel most spiritual when others around you are less spiritual? These are all indicators that you are too focused on yourself, and not focused enough on Christ. The point is this:

Compare yourself to others and you'll forget you need a savior. Compare yourself to Christ and you won't lack the savior you need.