Lord Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise
James 4:13-17 (NIV) 13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
Boy, this one always hits home with me. I am a planner. I make lists and try to check off things I have done, and hopefully, will not miss anything important. But how many times have I jumped ahead of God and how many times have I pledged to wait, yet my impatience gets the best of me?
I pray my plans do not rise to the level of boasting but instead are just a mark of good stewardship. And I pray I will never again become so self involved that I fail to ask God’s will for my life and that I listen with my whole when He speaks.
Growing up in the South I heard a lot of colloquialisms that were based on common sense and a recognition of who God is. Plans were often finalized with the phrase “Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise.”
May we be so tuned in to God that He is the first thought as we start our days and the last thought as we end our nights. And may we remember as the psalmist said that God is the keeper of our days.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A Call to Community
James 4:7-12 (NIV) 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
The epistle of James, written by the half brother of Jesus, was composed at a time when Jews had scattered in an attempt to escape persecution and even death. There has sometimes been unfair criticism against this letter, calling it legalistic and a proponent of salvation through works as opposed to salvation through faith. Instead, James taught that works were the result of, not the means to, our salvation.
In this portion of our scripture, James begins by referring to the ceremonial washing by priests before entering the temple. We, today, recognize the spiritual significance of approaching a holy God in awe and reverence. There is no magic formula to a relationship with God, but I believe there are actions we can take that will hinder our relationship, and thus prevent us from growing in Christ. When we fail to honor God in all we say and do, it will not be long before we begin to treat others in a way that contradicts everything Jesus taught.
We are called to humility which leads to treating others with kindness rather than in judgment. I love the scripture from 2 Corinthians 5:11 (MSG) Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do.
When the love of Jesus has the first and last word in everything we do, we will recognize the holiness of God and we will help build a community of believers that can withstand any assault by the enemy.
May we join together in faith and unity, relying upon the love within which God has infused us and His Holy Word.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Resist Being Proud
James 4:1-8 (NIV) Submit Yourselves to God
1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.
James 3:17 – 4:7 (MSG) Get Serious
1-2 Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.
2-3 You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way.
4-6 You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.”
7-10 So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.
I have spent the last few days in the Epistle of James, and today I read the first eight verses in Chapter 4 in both the NIV and the Message. It is apparent that James was not concerned with bringing the sinner to Christ, but instead his focus was teaching the Christ follower to live holy.
I love the way the Message paraphrases the final verse: Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. It reminds me of a song in the ‘80’s—“Get on Your Knees and Fight Like A Man” by Petra. I made the statement earlier this week that one of the worst mistakes I ever made was ceasing to get on my knees in prayer.
Why is our prayer posture important? It conveys our attitude toward God. When we humble ourselves before a holy God we are recognizing our sinfulness before Him. Can we show our humility while sitting in a chair or lying in our bed? Of course, we can. It is all about our heart attitude.
Today, what would happen if we began relating to God as the Supreme authority in our lives? What would happen if, when we end our prayers “in Jesus’ name” we were asking only for something that Jesus would want us to have?
May we learn from today’s scripture that either God is first in our lives, or we are first. We cannot have it both ways. Choose God.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It’s the Way You Live that Counts
James 3:13-17 (MSG) 13-16 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish plotting. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.
17-18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
Yesterday after our service I downloaded “The Message” onto my Bible app. I use primarily the NRSV and the NIV study Bibles. But our pastor has used “The Message” on occasion and I found I enjoy the way it reads. 17-18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others.
I wonder how many people are lacking in Godly wisdom because they have redefined the meaning of wisdom to match the world’s understanding rather than God’s. Had you ever considered that Godly wisdom is connected to the way we treat others?
Being mean spirited, boastful, twisting the truth does not lead to, nor does it reflect, wisdom. Instead, such behavior reflects a shallowness that is not of God.
May we develop true wisdom as we grow in gentleness and mercy toward others.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Power of our Words
James 3:7-12 (NIV) 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Years ago I was a Vice President at an insurance company. In my bookshelves I had my Bible and next to it were books from an insurance course offered by the Life Office Management Association. The first course was “Principles of Life Insurance.” So, I always told people that while I successfully completed all of the courses and received the designation of FLMI, a Fellow of the Life Management Institute, to me my most important designation was being a disciple of Jesus Christ and following the principles of life found in the Bible.
When I think of discipleship and the qualities one needs as a disciple, I always think of James who breaks down so succinctly the behavior required of a Christ follower. My question today is how can we justify praising God in one breath and tearing down our fellow man in the next. I think part of the problem is that we do not recognize the power of our words.
As a child I was impacted by not just the words found in the Bible or those learned in Sunday School, but I loved poetry. My aunt bought us a volume of “Great American Poetry” and I poured over it for hours at a time. I am sharing with you today one of the poems that went straight to my heart.
Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,
Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea.
And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.
Drop a pebble in the water: in a minute you forget,
But there’s little waves a-flowing, and there’s ripples circling yet,
And those little waves a-flowing to a great big wave have grown;
You’ve disturbed a mighty river just by dropping in a stone.
Drop an unkind word, or careless: in a minute it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on.
They keep spreading, spreading, spreading from the center as they go,
And there is no way to stop them, once you’ve started them to flow.
Drop an unkind word, or careless: in a minute you forget;
But there’s little waves a-flowing, and there’s ripples circling yet,
And perhaps in some sad heart a mighty wave of tears you’ve stirred,
And disturbed a life was happy ere you dropped that unkind word.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness: just a flash and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,
Bearing hope and joy and comfort on each splashing, dashing wave
Till you wouldn’t believe the volume of the one kind word you gave.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness: in a minute you forget;
But there’s gladness still a-swelling, and there’s joy acircling yet,
And you’ve rolled a wave of comfort whose sweet music can be heard
Over miles and miles of water just by dropping one kind word.
– written by James W. Foley
May we think before we speak, and may we bless others and be a blessing to others.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 