Study Through James - Part 7

First of all, I'm so sorry for not posting in so long! These posts do take a long time, which is why I have been putting it off. But I'm going to try to keep going through this study. =)
Today we're going to be looking at James 3:1-12.

^"1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ²We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The 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.

⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."

Okay, so let's dig in! =)
This is one of the best passages in scripture, if you ask me, because it seems to apply to everyone. I think everyone has a sharp tongue... and I know I do. I can seem all sweet and nice, but if you really know me, I'm actually quite cocky. So I definitely need this, I know.
But let's first look at verses 1-2. ^"1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ²We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." Verse 1 for a while was a little confusing to me. I didn't really understand why it was thrown into this chapter. It looked really random, so I never really paid much attention to it. But I think it is really interesting. James is saying that not many people should try to be teachers. Why? Because they are judged more strictly. Now, look at that verse, and put it in context with the rest of these verses. Basically, he is saying that we are not to jump too quickly into being teachers, since they are judged more. And through that, he is basically saying not many people are able to hold their tongue very well. If we are ever to be teachers (this includes mothers, girls), we need to learn to hold our tongue when we need to. We are judged more than normal people. And also, future mothers, take note of this: your children watch every single move you make, and listen to every single word you say. I have observed this not only with younger children, but also with myself. And so we need to learn to hold our tongue. Verse 2 is also very interesting. It says that if we are never at fault in what we say, we are perfect. This is so true. So, if you don't ever say anything wrong, will you please give me your secret? =P

On to verses 3-6: "³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The 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 makes a very important point in these verses. He uses the example of a bit in the mouth of a horse, and a rudder in a ship. Both are so incredibly small, yet the control both the horse and the ship. And also, a small spark sets off a huge forest fire. In verse 6, he explains why he mentioned these three. The tongue is a fire. Ever thought about that? Go to a mirror, stick your tongue out, and thing about the fact that it is a fire. Might make you laugh; it's making me smile thinking about it. But then seriously think about it. It's true. I can remember *so* many things I've said in the past that I wish I had never said. That little pink thing in your mouth is something set on fire by hell. It speaks out horrible things... sarcasm, taunts, teasing laughter, things such as "I hate you!"... yes, these all come out of all of us. It does put us to shame. Oh yes, we think about all the wonderful things we've done... but... just look, "Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts." Okay... so, when you throw out all the boasting of the "wonderful things" that we've done... and we're left with the things we have spoken... shameful isn't it? Yeah. It is for me.

Now, on to verses 7 and 8: "⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." These are very interesting verses. James tells us that every animal can be tamed by man. But then he says that nobody - not one soul that has ever lived, is living, or ever will live - can tame his own tongue. Now go back to that mirror, and stick your tongue out again. Now, think about the fact that it is a restless evil filled with deadly poison. Did you ever think about the fact that the girl you teased got shot full of that deadly poison? Or did it ever occur to you that the person you told you hated got hit by that restless evil? It is hard to think about, but it's true. We have all said something at one time or another that filled a person with the poison. That poison is literally painful, as Proverbs 12:18 tells us: "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 12:25 says, "An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." Proverbs 15:28 says, "The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil." So, this tells us a little bit about the tongue. We've learned it can pierce like a sword, it can weigh someone down, and it has the power of life and death. Proverbs clearly states that the saying "Sticks and bones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me" is just simply not true.

And the last verses, 9-12 : "⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water." These are some of the most convicting verses in the chapter, book, and perhaps the Bible. We can praise Jesus, do so much good for Him, and yet, curse our own brother or sister in Christ. Think of someone you just can't stand. Someone you tend to talk about behind their back. Okay, have someone in mind? I do. Now, read this: "We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." That is 1 John 4:19-21. Kind of convicting? Yeah, I would agree. Think about it. You absolutely cannot love God if you don't love everyone you know. And you're thinking, "That is impossible!" But it isn't. Listen to 1 John 5:3-4, "This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith." So, in other words, God gives us the strength not only to overcome our bad parts, He gives us the ability to overcome the world! Anyway, I'm getting off track here, so lets go back to James. So, we were at the point that we love and praise God, yet curse man. Verse 10 tells us this is simply not right. Of course, we know that, but then look at the examples in verses 11 and 12. Fresh water and salt water do not flow from the same spring, and fig trees do not bear olives. Now, think about this: you plant a nice peach tree, and you're expecting peaches in a couple of years. Well, one day you look out, and instead of seeing peaches coming on, you see big red cherries! Now, that is absolutely unthinkable. But then again, we are just like that. We call ourselves Christians, praising God, doing good works, and looking just like one. These are the peaches we are expecting, and everyone expects. And then, one day, we see that girl who looks like a geek (or at least, we think so). We turn over to our friends, and start giggling and pointing. Now where on earth are those cherries coming from? They're not supposed to be there!! And yet there they are, coming straight from that peach tree. We are not to be like that. We should *always* treat *everyone* with utmost respect. And trust me, I'm not just saying this to all of you. I am horrible about talking behind someone's back. I am quite eager to say everything *bad* I can say about them, rather than looking for something good to say. So, lets try for once, when we are just about to say something not-so-nice about someone, turn around, and not say it. No matter how hard it is to not to say it.

Well, I hope y'all enjoyed the post. =) Have a great week!

In Christ alone,
~Madison

Study Through James - Part 6

Today, we will be looking at James 2:14-26.

"James 2:14-26
¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

So, there ya have it. This is an *amazing* passage of scripture; one of my favorites.

Perhaps y'all know that Martin Luther was... * cough *... not a huge fan of James. In fact, he though James should not be a part of the Bible. But that is because he misinterpreted this passage. Martin Luther was *so* big into being saved by faith (which is indeed correct!), that he thought this passage was wrong. Luther thought that this passage was saying we are saved by our works. No no no no nonononono. =P What James is saying throughout this entire passage is: We are saved through faith, but faith produces good works. Okay, I'm not gonna go into it here. Let's just jump into the scripture, and I'll explain it more there.

First, we'll look at verses 14-17. "¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
Now, this all sounds like, "Oh, okay, we're saved by our good works." Nope. That is *not* what it is saying. Read verses 15 and 16 as an example. Sure, he wished the guy well, but did he do anything? What was the point of saying what he did without doing anything? I mean, what is the point? Then, James explains in verse 17 that faith without good deeds is the same thing. What is the point of having faith if we just sit around and do nothing? Faith is dead without good works. We must have good works. I mean... what more can I say than that faith is pointless without works?
What if you just believed in Jesus. Sure, you believe in Jesus. But what if: you didn't read your Bible, you didn't pray, you didn't go to church, you didn't help the poor, you didn't tithe, you didn't do *anything* that the word of God tells us to do. What is the point? Can I express this any more plainly? =P

Next we'll look at verses 18-19: "¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."
In verse 18, this probably *really* confused Luther. I'm sure that he thought this was ridiculous, "...and I will show you my faith by what I do." He probably thought that meant, "My faith is my good deeds." Nope, that is *not* what James was saying. He was saying that through his works, he would show he had faith. Say for instance, what if we say we're a Christian, and we don't have anything to do with Christ. But then again, what if we say we are a Christian, and we obey Christ in everything, and go to church, and do tithe, and help the poor... well, that shows our faith! Through Christ, we do good works. Through our faith, we do good works. Okay... that probably doesn't make any sense, but I really hope you see what I mean.
As for verse 19... heh heh... does that make my illustration (What if you just believed in Jesus. Sure, you believe in Jesus. But what if: you didn't read your Bible, you didn't pray, you didn't go to church, you didn't help the poor, you didn't tithe, you didn't do *anything* that the word of God tells us to do) make more sense? Sure, we have faith in Christ... we believe in God.... we believe there is one God.... But note verse 19. Even demons believe that. And are demons good? Do demons have anything to do with God? No, obviously not.

Next, we'll look at verses 20-24. "²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone."
So... that should take Luther's confusion out. ;-) Abraham was considered righteous because of what he *did*. But, take note of verse 22: "²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did." See, we must have faith and good works! But also note that his faith was made complete by what he *did*. And verses 23 and 24 continue to say that deeds is what completes our faith. If we have no faith is half of the Christian life; good works is the other half. You cannot have just one or the other. Both of them must work through us. If you have one or the other, you are not living the Christian life. You must have both.

And lastly, we will look at verses 25-26: "²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
Yeah, Rahab the prostitute was considered righteous. Isn't that slightly interesting? ;-) And last of all: verse 26 has one of my favorite examples. The body is dead without the spirit. I'm sure everyone who is reading this has been to a funeral (I guess). When you see a dead person, don't they always look different? I think they do. But that is because their spirit is gone. Life has left that body. Faith without works is like a body without life in it. Just remember that. We all should. We all need to.

I hope all of you enjoyed the post!! =)

In Christ alone,
~Madison

Study Through James - Part 5

So, we are now at part 5 in our study! =)

Today we will be looking at James 2:1-13.

"¹My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. ²Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. ³If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," ⁴have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? ⁶But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? ⁷Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

⁸If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself,"^a]">[a] you are doing right. ⁹But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹For he who said, "Do not commit adultery,"^b]">[b] also said, "Do not murder."^c]">[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

¹²Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!"

Okay, first we will look at the first paragraph: "¹My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. ²Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. ³If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," ⁴have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?"
Now, you may think: "But I don't do that! I'm totally fine! I give to the poor. I don't need to be told to do more!"
Oh yes we do. And I say *we*, including myself. ;-)
As an example: A poor man, dirty and filthy, walks up to, and begins talking to you. You don't want to talk to them right? Yeah, I know for myself I tend to stay away from people like that.
But what if George Bush came up to and started talking to you. You would show him more respect wouldn't you? Okay, yes, despite the fact he is president. ;-) I mean, you would tend to show him more honor and respect wouldn't you?
Do you see the similarity between that and the verses? Yeah. I know. We don't want to admit it. But honestly, what is the difference? Okay, sure, George Bush is in a higher rank. But they are both human. Underneath that dirt, that poor guy is just like George Bush. They are both human!

Let's look at the next paragraph: " ⁵Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? ⁶But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? ⁷Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?"
Wow... humbling... very. God says that those people we slander, those people we shove aside: *THOSE* are the people He has promised would inherit the kingdom of heaven. Heh heh... I think verse 6 has a bit of humor to it. Maybe you don't see it that way... but I sure do: "Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?" Yup. Take that as food for thought. ;-) And even more so, verse 7, "Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of Him to whom you belong?" Yeah. Does that sound like the kind of person we should be honoring?

Next paragraph: " ⁸If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. ⁹But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker."
Love your neighbor as yourself. Ever thought about that? Oh, sure, we've heard it a million times. But have we ever tried to follow it? I know I'm not that great about it. Verses 9-11 are... wow. Yeah. It says that even if we somewhat slander the poor, we are a lawbreaker. In verse 10, it says that if we stumble even over one thing, we are guilty of commiting every sin. We are as bad as people as people who commit adultery. As bad as those who murder. Yeah. Does that put things in perspective?

Next paragraph: "¹²Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!""
Hmm... so... can I look dumb for once? I'm gonna say I don't know. =P You can ponder this over, and tell me what you think it means.

Thanks for reading!!

In Christ alone,

~Madison

Study Through James - Part 4

Hello everyone! Sorry for not doing a post on here in a while. I've been meaning to do another post on here for a while, but I just never got to it.
Anyway, here is the passage we are looking at today:
James 1:19-27:
¹⁹My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ²¹Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But 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.

²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion 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.

So, let us begin:
In verse 19, it says we are to be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to become angry. I think this is super true. Think about it, if you speak the second something comes into your mouth, is it likely to be good or bad? You should always "think before you speak". It is just a good idea. Also, we are supposed to be quick to listen. This is also good. Listen to people when they have something to say. Just do it. It is always good to listen to someone... to help them. Think about it: this is how God acts. He always listens to our problems. Key word there: *listens*. Also, it says we are to be slow to anger, vs 20, "for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." So, let us always hold our tongue when we want to speak... especially if we're not sure if it sounds good or not. Always think for a bit. I know that before, sometimes I had to wait a few hours or day to reply to an e-mail or something of the sort, so I don't totally blow up. It gives me time to think about what I should say. This is always the safest way to go.
In verse 21, it says that we should get rid of all moral filth. In this case, James was talking about anger, and the filth that we can have in our words. Also, he says to *humbly* accept the word given to us. That means, when you read something in the Bible, don't say, "Oh, of course I'm not sinful. I'm better than most. I'm good. I don't need this." No no no no no no no no no. =P We are supposed to *humbly accept* the word. Also, it says, "Humbly accept the word planted in you, *which can save you*." So, this word is obviously important. If we believe what it says, we are saved. =)
Next, it goes on to the word itself... how to read it and learn from it.
In verse 22, it tells us not to merely listen to the word. Now, honestly think: how many times do you actually try to apply what you learned in the Bible? I know I'm not terribly good about that. Although I do have one idea I tried: read a series of verses, and read about a verse a day. Focus on that verse that day, and try to follow it fully. But verse 22 cannot get much clearer... if any clearer. =P "Do what it says." I mean... that is pretty straightforward. Do what the Bible says. Just *do* it. That is our command. That is what we should do.
In verses 23-25 tells us how to not read the Bible, and also, how to do it. Read these verses again. We need to repeat these verses, so we make sure we get the fullness of them. We'll start in verse 22.

" ²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But 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."
This is a very good analogy. If we just hear or read God's word, and then immediately forget it, then what is the point? I mean... it is just... useless. But, in verse 25, it says the man who looks intently on the prefect law, *AND CONTINUES* to do so, and *NOT* forgetting what he has heard, then he will be blessed. Pretty cool, isn't it? =) But we have to read and study and learn, and most importantly, remember what we have read and learned.
In verses 26-27, we are told what religion is not, and what religion is.
" ²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion 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."
Remember, in verse 19, it says to be slow to become angry. In verse 26, it says basically the same thing: keep a tight rein on the tongue. It says if we don't, that we have deceived ourselves. So... remember that tongue.
James says that the religion God sees as PURE religion, is this: "To look after orphans and widows, and keep ourselves from being influenced by the world." So, always take care of orphans and widows. This can be done in many ways. Think about it: Tithing at church, giving to a charity, going to a nursing home to see widows; there are many ways to do this. Also, I think the influenced by the world thing is *super* important. Think about it. I've been to many churches, and you see some pretty darn weird stuff. You see women who have obviously never thought about modesty in their lives. You see odd stuff being taught from the pulpit. And when you see "Christians" out in public, listen to what they talk about, and how they act. Pretty weird, isn't it? We should be influencing the world, not the world be influencing us. That is our goal. We are to change the world for Christ. But if the world is changing us, how can we do that? This is a very important point.

Anyway, that is all for today. =) I hope you enjoyed the post!

In Christ alone,
~Madison

Study Through James - Part 3

Well... you may have noticed that I spiced this blog up a bit. ;-) I thought it needed... some sprucing up. Anyway, how do you like the background? I tried to make it simple so nobody would be distracted from the word of God, yet add a nice touch to make this blog look more inviting. =)
Also, I have added a couple of things to my sidebar: a Bible passage of the month, and a poll.
Anyway, on to our study of James:
Today we will be looking at James 1:13-18. (by the way, do you get the feeling we're going to be studying James for a while? =P )
James 1:13-18:
13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

16Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

So... this is an interesting passage of scripture. Verses 13-15 are really interesting to me. When we are tempted, we should not say that God is tempting us. God *cannot* tempt us. The reason? God has nothing to do with evil. Now, there is a point I want to make: God *can* test us. But test and tempt are two totally different things.
The definition of test, according to Webster's 1828 dictionary is:
That with which any thing is compared for proof of its genuineness; a standard.
Now the definition of tempt is:
To incite or solicit to an evil act; to entice to something wrong by presenting arguments that are plausible or convincing, or by the offer of some pleasure or apparent advantage as the inducement.
Do you see a little bit of a difference between the two? ;-)
God does not*tempt* us, by means of enticing us with evil things, which Satan and his demons do. God, rather, *tests* us. When He tests us, He is finding out if we are genuine. He is refining us into pure gold when He tests us.
But at the same time, although God does not tempt us Himself, He allows Satan and his demons to tempt. Also in this way, God refines us. This is an example of God allowing Satan to tempt us:
Job 1:8-12

⁸ Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

⁹ "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. ¹⁰ "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

¹² The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

God allowed Satan to go and tempt Job.

Verse 15 of James 1 is also very interesting. James is trying to show how sin works. Although he gives an unbelievably fast, upbeat pace. Read verse 15 again: "Then, after [evil] desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
So... first, evil desire is conceived. We have an evil desire. We have a sinful nature. We, as humans, naturally have evil desires. These evil desires, if we are not careful and do not ask God to help us, conceive into sin. These evil desires are temptations... "little" things that tempt us, and make us want to leave Christ. Things that sure do *look* enticing. Oh sure, they look fine. They look respectable. Surely that wouldn't be wrong! Well... check the Bible. Often, if we think things are fine, we should check the Bible and make sure. Is it really? Well, if we don't ask God to help us, and if we don't pay attention, and we fall into the trap of those little enticing things, well, then you've got yourself into sin. And let me tell you something: once you fall into sin, it takes a heap of a lot of trouble to get out of it. Because once you do something once, it immediately gets easier to do it again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And soon, as verse 15 says, "...when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." We really have to watch ourselves when we are tempted.

And again, let us review verses 16-18. "16Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created."
This is pretty flat out and plain. All good gifts are from above. I think this can count as two things: Gifts as in gifts that we are given; example: the gift of playing the piano, the gift of being able to draw, etc. Also, this can mean gifts as in things He gives us physically: food, clothing, homes, etc. I don't know the original Greek word, so I don't know what these "gifts" are implying. What does everyone else think?
I love the term "heavenly lights". Rather random, but I just really like that. Also notice, "...who does not change like shifting shadows." In other words, God doesn't change. He is holy and perfect, and He never, ever changes. He is forever the same: holy, just, perfect, and merciful.
In verse 18, we see the term "birth". I love this quote: "Those who are born twice die once, and those who are born once die twice." In other words: Those who are born physically, and then born again through Christ only die physically; and those who are only born physically die once physically, and die a second time in the second death in hell. Anyway, God has picked us out (isn't that an amazing thought?) to be His children, that we might live with Him forever. That we might be "firstfruits".

So... I hope you enjoyed the post!! =) Sorry if I was long and drawn out. =P

In Christ alone,

~Madison

Study through James - Part 2

Hello everyone! This is the second part of our study through James.
We will be looking at James 1:9-12. This is what it says:
"9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossoms falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him."
So... this is an interesting passage. Verses 9-11 talk about the value of earthly things. In verse 9, James says that a brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. Did you just read that right? Yes, you did. Think of a child in a third-world country, that has no idea when his next meal will be, and yet he trusts in God!! Now, that is a person in high position. He is in high regard in God's eyes because he has faith in God, and trusts Him. But, as for the man who only worries about money... well, that is not a good place to be. James says that this man will wither away. Now, first of all, this is not saying that just because you have more money that you're bad. This means that whoever follows after money more than God will fall away. This brings to mind a few verses: Matthew 6:19-21: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where the moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." I think this is what James is saying, basically. Also, think of the parable of the man who all he did was store up in barns. He only thought about earthly things.
Now, I know, all of us are good little Christians, and we NEVER do things like that. ;-) Yeah. Think about it. I know, it is hard, but think about it. Don't you sometimes, or even often, think more about earthly objects rather than heavenly things? Are we working to earn earthly things or heavenly things? This is a very easy trap to fall into. We want to look as good as the Jones', so we worry about earthly objects. Truedette? Foshizzle. :D (sorry, inside joke... my bro and my old pastor. :P lol)
Verse 12 I think is talking a little bit more about storing things up in heaven. If we stand through the trials for Christ, we will have a crown one day. And this isn't any 'ol gold, earthly crown. This is the crown of eternal life. Which is the best crown of all!!

Now, I have one other thing to share with all of you, that I thought you might like to hear. :) The church we have been going to is doing a study through 1 John. This week we looked at the rest of chapter one and a bit of chapter two. But the pastor, Mr. Peter, was talking about a trap we all fall into. He used this example: Perhaps you have heard of the Slough of Despond from Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan. This is where our conscience is weighing us down. All we think about is how sinful we are. Mr. Peter was saying how in a way, we think that if we think about this, somehow it will push us closer to Christ. But rather, it weighs us down, bogs us down, and we don't get anywhere in life. He used an interesting example for this: On Saturday, he had a job he had been putting off for months. There was a bunch of insulation under his house that he had to clean out. He had 18 garbage bags of insulation he had cleaned out. Well, he had to get under a crawl space under his house, and in some places, it was very, very narrow. Anyway, when he had all his bags of insulation, he thought he didn't want to pull them out one at a time, so what he did, is he got a rope, and he tied 12 bags of garbage to his ankle, while he crawled along in this tight space. This is like the Slough of Despond, when we wallow in our sins, seeming to refuse to acknowledge that we are forgiven! We have bags and more bags of garbage tied to our ankles, like chains, and they hold us back. They keep us moving slow, and they hold us back. In the Slough of Despond (or under the crawl space of your house, whichever ;-), we should get a knife, and cut off all of those bags. We should look towards the light, and find the hidden steps. We should keep our eyes on Christ. (as a note, Mr. Peter was not saying that we should not examine ourselves, and he made it very clear that we should. But at the same time, we should not just dwell on the fact that we are sooo sinful, as Christ as ransomed us)
Anyway, I just thought all of you would enjoy that. :)
Hope you enjoyed the post!! :)

In Christ alone,
~Madison

Study through James - Part 1

Well, I am throughly ashamed of myself. I haven't posted on this blog in 4 months. *gasp* I'm really sorry I haven't done anything with this blog. I would keep thinking, "I need to do a post on my other blogs besides my main one." But I never got to it. So, sorry for keeping all of you waiting. :P

Today I will be starting a study on James today. James is probably my favorite book in the Bible. Especially since I relate really well with the "controlling your tongue" chapter. ;-)
Anyway, today we will be looking at James 1:1-8. I will be using an NIV Bible:
"1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

Now, this is one of those "easier said than done" things. We can say, "Oh, yes, we must be joyful when we go through trials!" But when one actually comes, we tend to not have joy. We tend to worry, and not have trust. Say for instance, if someone starts ridiculing you about being a Christian, are you likely to say, "I am JOYFUL that you're ridiculing me!! Thank you so much for ridiculing me, because it helps build my perseverance!" :P Yes, so it isn't easy to be joyful in times of trials. But, I have found that times of trials build us up. They carry us closer to God, and like it says in verse 3, it builds perseverance. It helps us be prepared for the next trial. It just builds us up spiritually.
Also, it is interesting to note that trials are necessary in a Christian life. Verse 4 says, "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." *emphasis added* So, we see that if we are going to be mature and have a complete Christian life, that we must have trials. And note that it says "MUST", not "should" or "can". For a Christian life to be complete and mature, we must have trials to build up our perseverance. For example: Think of an older man or lady that you know from your church. Someone who has lived a long time. When you see them, what do you think? There is a couple of men I used to know, Mr. Roy and Mr. Ike. When I saw them, all I could think about is how joyful they looked! They were always happy, and you could also just look at them and say: they have Christ in them. You could see it on their face. But why is this? They have gone through trials. This gives them the look on their face: the look that they are mature in Christ. But that is because they have gone through trials. I just think that is really interesting. Sorry for rambling. :P I dunno if that made any sense at all.
In verse 5, James says that if any of us lack wisdom, that we should ask God for it. If you have read Pilgrim's Progress, perhaps you remember when Christiana is thinking on how often, we must ask God for something if we want it. Think about it: in real life, if you want something, you don't just sit around wishing you had it. You have to ask for it. Also, this verse reminds me of the "Ask, Seek, Knock" passage in Matthew 7. God will give us what we need, but we must ask Him.
Also, verse 6 is very interesting. James says we must trust God will give us what we asked for. His example is when we don't trust, is a wave that gets tossed about on the sea. Also, he warns in verses 7 and 8 that if we don't trust God, we should not expect to receive anything we ask of Him. In other words, to receive anything from God, we must have faith in God!! That is the foundation of Christianity is faith. If we don't have faith, then we cannot be Christians. So we must have faith in God that He will give us what we ask for.

Well, I dunno if any of that post made any sense at all, but I tried my best. :D
Thanks for reading!

In Christ alone,
~Madison