Saturday, July 9, 2016

The Book of James: Putting Faith to Work! (Chapter 1:21-27)



Hello Friends!

Welcome back to our Monday morning Daily Devotions summer series titledThe Book of James: Putting Faith to Work!

The Book of James: Putting Faith to Work!

This week we will continue our reading of verses 21-27 in completion of chapter 1 as we consider Belief that Behaves…

The genuineness of a person’s “religion” is not determined by their own opinion, it's determined by God’s opinion! Although a person may “think” themselves to be quite “religious” as such, they are not the one who makes that decision. God says we are genuinely “religious” in the truest sense based upon His Word when our “lives” are marked by “obedience” and “love” for Him and others. Incidentally, the true “believer” will also strive to “keep oneself unspotted from the world” by Biblical “faith” in Jesus Christ, by the “grace” of God the Father, through the in-filling “power” of the Holy Spirit – Thank you Lord!

Belief the Behaves!

James continues to challenge his readers with more tests of true “faith” as he further instructs the “brethren” entrusted into his pastoral care and nurturing:

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls James 1:21

Another way we must “receive” the Word of God is with a “pure” life. However, we cannot do so until we are ready to “lay aside” the influences of our “flesh” and the satanic “world” system around us. The evil of the world’s “filthiness” and “wickedness” will hinder the “righteousness” of God from being produced in our lives. Why? Because they do not please Him! Therefore, James instructs us to “lay aside” our “sins.” A key word James uses here is "receive” because it is how one responds to God as they “receive with meekness” His “implanted word” into their submitted heart. It is the Word of God that alone is “able to save your souls” from damnation. If you are a true “believer” there is a receptivity to the “truth” of God in “your” life – We must submit to the Word of God!

A SIMPLE ILLUSTRATION: As radio listeners diligently set their dials for clear broadcast reception, “we” are “tuned into” to the “frequency” of God and His Word properly when it comes through clearly. Why? Because that's where we've decided to set the “spiritual” dial of our heart. When we “desire” God’s “truth” and want to “obey” His Word by the power of the Holy Spirit, our “souls” are blessed – Amen!

Next James further captures the core of the issue of “obedience” to God’s Word:

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was James 1:22-24

One way to define a true “believer” is one who is a “doer” of God’s “word” and “walks” in the “way” of the Lord. They subscribe their life to the Word of God and “desire” to pattern their lives after Him. On the other hand, “unbelievers” are not “doers” of God's Word. They simply “observe” themselves and then “goes away” to “immediately” avoid it at all costs. The point is this: If you don't do something on the spot when you see what needs to be changed in your life, you'll get busy and you'll forget that anything needs to be done at all. Therefore, we must deal with our “sinimmediately! In other words, if we're simply a “hearer” of God’s Word only, we are dangerously close to “deceiving” ourselves... About what?Our salvation!

If we try to construct a religious house built upon anything else but “obedience” to the Word of God, the effort is folly. In fact, James’ half-brother, “Savior” and “Lord” Jesus Christ asked this straight-to-the-point question:

And why do you call Me Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say – Luke 6:46

It is a mark of an authentic, true and genuine “believer” living in the ONLY saving “faith” of Jesus Christ. This is the Christian that has a deep “desire” to “obey” God’s “word” by being more than just a “hearer” – The proper response is to be a doer!

But” now in stark contrast, James addresses the true “believer” in Jesus Christ: 

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does James 1:25

Here’s the contrast! This Greek word for “looks” is “parakupto” and literally means to bend down to examine something with great care and precision. This is the “believer” who thoroughly searches out everything and implies a true humbling of oneself. It is a looking intently with great “desire” and effort at the “perfect law of liberty” and wanting to “discern” what is revealed in God’s Word. James encourages the “doer of the work” in that “this one will be blessed in what he does.” Why? Because the true blessing is in the actual doingObedience to the Lord!

Next we move away from the analogy to the actual situation. Here we find that apparently in the fellowship to which James wrote, there was a BIG problem! There were many “religious” people misusing their “tongue” for “useless” pursuits:

If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless James 1:26

There seems to have been several would-be “religious” teachers who were “deceivers” of the “brethren” and their “religion” was “useless” to God and man. The point here is a false subjective mental belief or opinion of which is implied by the word "thinks." This phrase could be translated as "has the opinion of himself that he's religious.” After all, “Out of the abundance of the mouth, the heart speaks” and corrupt, unholy speech betrays a corrupt, unholy heart. In other words – Your lips will reveal what is truly in your heart!

THEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS: The Greek word for “religious” here is “threskos” and is a very interesting word. It is an adjective of which is used only here in the New Testament. The noun form is used in verses 26 and 27 and refers to external ceremonial worship. Incidentally, the Greek word “eusebeia” means “godliness“ referring to the “heart” and the Greek word “mataios” means “accomplishing nothing” and is “useless” for anything! Therefore, if somebody “thinks” himself to be liturgically “religious” in the sense that he's carrying out a sort of pompous and pious parade but does not care to “bridle his tongue,” he actually “deceives his own heart” and his “religion is useless” both externally and internallyHe is a totally deceived hypocrite!

Therefore, even though the “religiousritual might be evangelical in nature and even though the ceremony might be Biblical, it is actually futile pagan idolatry unless one’s “heart“ is right with the Lord! It's the “hearing” and “doing” with the right “heart” and “motives” that truly matters to God. Therefore, it is a complete “deception” to “think” that if we simply read our Bible, go to church, pray, give money, sing songs… That's enough… REALLY?

IMPORTANT QUESTION: How do you know if what you are “doing” is right before the Lord? Check your “tongue” and speech. Why? Because if any man “thinks he is religious” and doesn't “bridle” his own “tongue,” his profession of “faith” is a shamDeceptive and useless!

Finally, James notes that a proper reaction to and reception of the Word of God also means a willingness to apply it without selfishness:

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world James 1:27

True “religion” demonstrates God’s Love and compassion. “Pure” is the word for clean and “undefiled” is the word for unstained. They're synonyms with each other and points out that this is the purest kind of “worship” and “religion.” Again, it is not about what we do on the outside that matters, it's what comes out of our “heart” from the inside! Furthermore, look what James says here: “Pure” and “undefiled” before Whom? Here “God and the Father” is speaking of His Sovereignty as “God” and His Love as “Father.” This is God's standard as He evaluates and judges our “works” based upon His divine decision and not on the basis of our outward activity aloneVery important!

This word for "to visit" is a wonderful word. It means much more than simply saying "Hello" to someone. It has a sense of care built into it and includes the idea of bringing love and pity to someone in need through genuine nurturing support and service. James chooses “orphans and widows” because they are a segment of the population within the “church” that demonstrates the greatest need for compassion with the least ability to reciprocate. Throughout the entire Bible – God has always been concerned with the fatherless and widows!

James finishes his thoughts in this passage as he encourages his readers to continually strive to “keep oneself unspotted from the world” and its evil influence. The Greek word for “world” here is “Kosmos” of which refers to the filthy demonic system of ideologies, beliefs, lifestyles and worldviews of Satan’s ungodly cultural influence.

THE WORD OF GOD IS CLEAR! Anyone who is a friend of the “world” is the enemy of God! The two are incompatible.

The Apostle John aptly applies this same truth in saying if you “love the “world,” you don'tlove” the “Father”:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him – 1 John 2:15-16

Straight to the point! If you're a “friend” of the “world” then you're an enemy of God. In other words – There's no place for compromise!

In closing:

Having been “born again” by the shed blood of “Jesus Christ” and baptized by the “Holy Spirit of God” confirmed through the “Word of God” we become its pupils and our heart's “desire” is to listen to it, learn from it and respond to it in the same way a baby “desires” milk. After all, you do not have to teach a baby to like milk or to drink milk. Why? Because it naturally wants to eat as soon as it arrives into the world – By God’s design!

The same is true of a “believer” transformed by the “Word of God” as he “grows up” with a spiritual appetite toward the “things” of God. For the true “Christian,” this appetite is there in a growing way and is indicative of the “new birth” in Jesus Christ. However, if this appetite is not there in a growing way it is most likely indicative of the absence of the “new birth” in Jesus Christ – An eternally serious spiritual matter!

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s continued study of The Book of James: Putting Faith to Work!

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings!
Shane <><

Friday, July 8, 2016

Pray

1 Peter 5:7

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Today, I’m going to be very brief.  I’m going to encourage you to cast your cares on him and ask you to lift up each other in prayer.  I’d like for us to pray for one another, whether you know one another or not.  If you have a prayer request, the devotion team, along with many readers of this group, are glad to pray for you or even with you. 


What can I do to pray for you today?

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Minds, Hearts, and Mouths

If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.  But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.  For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.  James 3:13-17

The other day, I was figuratively thrown under the bus.  In a discussion, I had said something that was the truth as I knew it only to have someone else give an entirely different version of it.  Furthermore, they said that not only was I naïve about it but also too nice to recognize that it even existed.  Having heard this, there was a part of me that wanted to go into a demeaning tirade toward that person.  However, I stopped and paused to reflect for a moment.  What stopped me?  When everything in my body wanted to just ‘light them up like a Christmas tree,’ why did I hold my tongue?  My only explanation was that this must be what wisdom is about.  When everything in you wants to rage out of control saying the angriest, cursed, and vehemently horrible things that you feel inside, something within says, “Wait.  No not yet. Just wait.  There is a better way to respond to this.”  It is that something within that gives you an opportunity to where you might actually help that person instead of destroy them.  In this case, I would later sit down with that person to discuss when the right time to bring something up is.

 God wants for us to walk with wisdom in our journey of faith by tempering down that which we might often say or do.  Everyone growing up should remember the saying ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.’  Those who truly believe that obviously had not read too much of the 3rd chapter of James, which says, “People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish,  but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.” (James 3:7-8) While actions definitely speak louder than words, our words do matter.  If I cannot use the restraint that comes from wisdom to control what I say, then I run the risk of offending and/or hurting others, which is not what God would intent.  This is not to say to be dishonest as verse 14 clearly states we should not be.  However as verse 17 also states, the truth should be peace loving, gentle, full of mercy, and the fruits of good deeds.  It’s knowing who to call ‘jerk’ and who to ask, “Do you think it was the best way to handle that?”  If we are following and growing in Christ, we gain the wisdom to distinguish between the two.


Gaining wisdom from God is a vital step of our growth toward being a true follower of Christ.  Today’s verses speak of wisdom that is an inspiration toward doing the right things.  When our words are in lock and step with our good deeds, others, both believers and non-believers, benefit as they stand to see the glory of God from within us. Thus, a controlled response followed with actions from one’s humble heart will always be reflective of true wisdom from God.  What greater wisdom can you gain from measuring your responses?  Will you commit to ensure your words match your actions?  My prayer is that we are inspired to act with God’s true wisdom in our minds, hearts, and mouths.  Amen.

Monday, July 4, 2016

Tues Devo: Freedom

Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (NASB)

Hello,
As we have just celebrated our independence day here in the USA, this verse was on my mind. Specifically, the first portion. How often do we affiliate our relationship with God to the things we should or should not do? But that is not what it is about. It is about freedom! Our relationship is about the freedom from sin and its accompanying results. How often do we forget that we are free from sin?

This freedom is a wonderful thing! I hope you take some time today to think about your freedom in Christ – you have it as a believer, as you living in it?