Thought of the Day: Shifting

"But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great." Luke 6:49

There is no shiftier ground upon which to build our lives than that of people's opinion and approval, and yet so many of us (especially me) do it daily.  Rather, our foundation is to be built on Jesus, our "perfect gift from above, coming fown from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." James 1:17

God has no variation or shifting shadow resulting from change.  His approval of us is based only on his approval of his son, Jesus, and He is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

God is no regarder of persons (Acts 10:34), so why should I fear what any man can do to me (Psalm 118:1-9)?

Haikus and Humble Hermeneutics: James, Chapter 5

I have. SO MUCH. to learn. No sooner had I finished writing my prayer for humility instead of selfishness after finishing James 4 than I walked away from the computer and realized I had offended my husband, and been very selfish with my time. I had intended to spend some time relaxing with my husband after putting the children to bed, but instead I became very self-centeredly distracted at the computer for 3 hours. (I am notoriously bad at time management, and then there's the neglect of realizing how much time actually elapses while I'm preoccupied with something.  This is not a new problem for me, but I don't have time to discuss it here. :) ) With that said, let me assure you that I in no way think I have mastered any of these instructions of Scripture just because I have turned them into haikus. And yet, I know that meditating on Scripture is never time wasted.  So here is my confession that I much too easily can turn even a "good thing" into a selfish pursuit, any time that it is done at the expense of, and lack of concern for, others.
  
Moving right along, I would hate to finish this letter of James with any encouragement of any kind of works-based righteousness (the idea that we can be justified before God because of anything we can do).  From reading through James and balancing it with the rest of Scripture, I believe that our works, similar to baptism, are meant to be an outward evidence to others of an inward commitment to God.  Our works are vitally necessary in showing our faith to others (James 2:18-19), but it is our faith in the promise of God, fulfilled in Jesus, that will justify us.  Please consider this from Galatians 3:2-22:

"Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now going to be made complete by the flesh [human effort]? ...For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written: Everyone who does not continue doing everything written in the book of the law is cursed. Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith. ...Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed [Jesus] to whom the promise was made would come. ...Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly be by the law. But the Scripture has imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe."

So then, the law was given to us because of our sin, to show us the inadequacy of all our works before God, pointing us to dependence on faith in the promise of Jesus.  We can do no good thing to make us righteous before God.  All of us have fallen short, and we will not be justified before God apart from faith in His mediator with us--Jesus. We can be assured of this from Romans 3:10-31:

“'None is righteous, no, not one; ...no one does good, not even one.' ...For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.  ...Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law."

Yes, we uphold the Law because Jesus upholds the Law:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  ...Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17-20)

So while I readily admit that I have a long way to go in obedience to the commands of Jesus, I also freely admit my dependence on Christ and His Spirit within me for a righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees (they were the ones esteemed as righteous in that day for holding to the letter of the Law, yet they were condemned by Jesus for having only external (works-based) righteousness; see Matthew 23:27-28).  I am so gratefully reminded throughout the old and new testaments that only Jesus the Messiah was able to, and did, perfectly fulfill the Law (FULFILL it, not just appear to be externally righteous).  And, Jesus' work on the cross is the only work that has true eternal significance. In heaven, millions of angels, elders, and creatures sing of Jesus' work for all eternity (Revelation 5:7-14). His work is utterly amazing, causing the elders of heaven to fall down in worship. Mine is not worthy to fall in the same sentence. My works will always fall short, either in action or motivation (see the rest of Matthew 5), but the fruit of the Spirit will always result in obedience to Jesus (1 Peter 1:1-2).
 
Again, Lord, please let me not be found to be just a hearer of your word, but rather a doer of it. Let it work in and affect every part of my life, to the glory of your name.  Amen.

The last chapter of James...

Verse 1
Come now, you rich, weep
And howl for the miseries
Coming upon you

2-3
Your wealth is ruined
And your clothes are moth-eaten,
Your gold corroded

3
Their corrosion will
Testify against you and
Eat your flesh like fire

3 (continued)
It is in the last
Days that you have stored up and
Hoarded your treasure!

4
Look! The pay that you
Withheld from the workers who
Reaped your fields cries out

4 (continued)
The outcry of the
Harvesters has reached the ears
Of the Lord of Hosts

5
You have lives on earth
In luxury and led a
Self-indulgent life

5-6
You have fattened your
Hearts in the day of slaughter,
And you have condemned

6
You have murdered the
Innocent, righteous man, who
Did not resist you

7
Therefore, be patient,
Brothers, as you wait for the
Coming of the Lord

7 (continued)
See how the farmer
Waits for the earth to yield its
Valuable crop

7 (continued)
He is patient with
It until it receives the
Fall and spring rains

8
You, too, be patient,
Strengthen your hearts, for the Lord's
Coming is at hand

9
Don't grumble against
One another, brothers, that
You may not be judged

9-10
Look! The judge stands at
The door! Follow the prophets
As an example:

10
They were patient in
Suffering as they spoke in
The name of the Lord

11
We count as blessed those
Who have endured. You have heard
Of Job's endurance

11 (continued)
And you have seen the
Outcome of the Lord's dealings
With him in the end:

11 (continued)
The Lord is very
Full of pity, compassion,
And tender mercy

12
Above all, do not swear
Oaths by heaven, by earth, or
By anything else

12 (continued)
Let your "yes" mean yes
And your "no" mean no, so you
Will not be condemned

13
If any of you
Are in trouble, pray; if you
Are happy, sing psalms

14
Is any one of
You sick? He should call for the
Elders of the church

14 (continued)
Let them pray for him,
Anointing him with oil in
The name of the Lord

15
And the prayer offered
In faith will heal and restore
The one who is sick

15 (continued)
The Lord will raise him
Up, and if he has sinned, he
Will be forgiven

16
Confess your sins to
Each other and pray for one
Another; be healed

16 (continued)
The effectual
Fervent prayer of a righteous
Man has great power

17
Elijah was a
Man like us, subject to like
Passions as we are

17 (continued)
He prayed that it would
Not rain, and it did not for
Three and a half years

18
Then he prayed again,
And heaven gave rain, and the
Earth produced its crops

19
If any among
You wanders from the truth and
Someone turns him back,

20
Let him know that he
Who turns a sinner from the
Error of his way

20 (continued)
Will save him from death
And will cover over a 
Multitude of sins

Haikus and Humble Hermeneutics: James, Chapter 4

A Survey of Scriptural Humility

Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 18:12
Before destruction a man's heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 22:4
The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.

Zephaniah 2:3
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.

 

Ephesians 4:1-3
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Philippians 2:3

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Colossians 3:12

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

1 Peter 5:5-9a

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him and be firm in the faith.
(This passage in 1 Peter contains verses almost identical to this chapter of James, verses 7 and 10.)

----------------------------------

So then we see that humility comes before honor, and goes alongside meekness, patience, forgiveness, and bearing with one another in love.  Lord, help me to seek humility instead of everything I pursue in my selfishness and lack of regard for you.  I know this runs contrary to the natural ways of my own desires, so help me draw near to you.  Amen.

Note: Please read through this chapter of James in your own Bible along with the haikus that follow.  They serve only as meditations on what is contained in the Scriptures themselves.

Verse 1
What causes fighting
Among you?  Evil desires
At war within you?

2
You desire and do
Not have; you kill and covet
But cannot obtain

2 (continued)
You quarrel and fight
But you do not have because
You do not ask God

3
And when you ask,
You do not receive because you
Ask with wrong motives

3 (continued)
You only ask so
That you may spend what you get
On your own desires

4
Adulterers!  Don't
You know friendship with the world
Is hatred of God?

4 (continued)
Whoever wants to
Be the world's friend becomes an
Enemy of God

5
Or do you think that
The Scripture means nothing and
Speaks without reason?

5 (continued)
For it says that the
Spirit God caused to live in
Us yearns jealously

6
But He gives more grace:
"God resists the proud, but gives
Grace to the humble"

7
So submit yourselves
To God; resist the devil
And he'll flee from you

8
Come near to God and
He will come near to you; wash
Your hands, you sinners

8 (continued)
And purify your
Hearts, you double-minded and
Half-hearted people

9
Grieve, mourn, and wail; change
Your laughter to mourning and
Your joy to sorrow

10
Humble yourselves in
The presence of the Lord and
He will lift you up

11
Do not slander or
Criticize or speak evil
Against each other

11 (continued)
If you speak against
And judge each other, you do
The same of the law

11 (continued)
When you judge the law
You do not keep it, but sit
In judgment on it

12
There is only one
Lawgiver and Judge, He who
Can save and destroy

12 (continued)
Who are you to sit
In judgment on your neighbor
And your fellow man?

13
Come now, you who say,
"Today or tomorrow we
Will go to a town,"

13 (continued)
"We will spend a year
There and engage in business
And make a profit."

14
You do not even
Know what tomorrow will bring.
For what is your life?

14 (continued)
You are like smoke that
Appears for a little while
And then vanishes

15
Instead, you should say,
"If the Lord wills, we will live
And do this or that."

16
As it is, you boast
In your arrogance; all such
Boasting is evil

17
Whoever knows what
Is right but fails to do it,
To him it is sin

Haikus and Humble Hermeneutics: James, Chapter 3

I have been barraged today, I tell you, barraged.  So guess what?  You're about to be as well. :) 

With all this thinking about the message of James, I realize how quickly I could misunderstand its application before reading it as much as after.  In the introduction of James chapter 1, I was thinking of Matthew 25:45, "Then He will answer them, 'I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.'"  Today I have been barraged with a different nuance of Jesus' instructions, in Matthew 10:42: "And whoever gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple--I assure you: He will never lose his reward!"  As I was contemplating that two-sided coin, three songs stood out to me on the radio this morning while driving between the kids' school and patients' homes: "Do Everything" by Steven Curtis Chapman, "The Proof of Your Love" by For King and Country, and "Hold Us Together" by Matt Maher.  Here is a sampling: 

From "Do Everything": 
"Little stuff
Big stuff
In between stuff
God sees it all the same
While I may not know you 
I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?
Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long
As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
Tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And everything you do"

From "The Proof of Your Love":
"If I sing but don't have love 
I waste my breath with every song
I bring an empty voice, a hollow noise
If I speak with a silver tongue 
Convince a crowd but don't have love
I leave a bitter taste with every word I say

So let my life be the proof, 
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
If I give 
To a needy soul but don't have love then who is poor?
It seems all the poverty is found in me"

And from "Hold Us Together": 
"And love will hold us together
Make us a shelter to weather the storm
And I'll be my brother's keeper
So the whole world would know that we're not alone" 

All of these songs, specifically "The Proof of Your Love", brought 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 to mind, which speaks of both good theology and works as meaningless without overflowing love from Jesus: "If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing."  So what good is all this attempt at understanding and knowledge unless I have acts of love to show it to my brother? 

Then, I come home for a short break before picking up kids at school again, and read this from Day 12 of Chapter 4 from the book 7 by Jen Hatmaker:
     "He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Mic. 6:8)
     "Without the noise and static, I'm learning about that walk humbly part.  Frankly, justice and mercy are my first languages; I'm a doer.  Acting justly satisfies the deep part of me that so wants a happier, safer, kinder earth.  I feel productive with a task, a list, a project, a mission.  I like the word "act" in this verse.  (Gotta be honest, I've been trying to earn my salvation for some time.)

     "But God is teaching me walk humbly--daily, simply, quietly.  It's in the walking humbly that God trains me for acting justly and loving mercy.  Being aware of God's presence is a powerful catalyst for courage later.  Acting on the latter without the former is just charity, not worship.  Plenty of people enact justice without devotion to Jesus.  There is no salvation in that, no devotion.  That well of mercy will run dry without replenishment, without supernatural motivation.

     "If more of us took the 'walk humbly with your God' part seriously, we might become agents of justice and mercy without even meaning to."

I have had this book since Christmas, but it is no mistake that I read this page, on this day, while reading through James.  And while I honestly think I fall much more on the other end of the spectrum from Jen Hatmaker in her scenario, that last line stood out to me: "If more of us took the 'walk humbly with your God' part seriously, we might become agents of justice and mercy without even meaning to." 

So this is my hope: that in any haiku writing, and in any attempt to "walk humbly with your God" through meditating more on God's Word, I will actually see more of my God.  Then His nature, character, and love will be found more and more characteristic of my life, so that I will become a doer of His Word, and sometimes without even realizing it.  Let it be so, Lord, let it be. 

Verse 1

Brothers, not many
Of you should presume to be
Teachers in the church

1-2
We who teach will be
Judged more strictly, and we all
Make many mistakes

2
If anyone does
Not stumble in what he says,
He's a perfect man

2 (continued)
This perfect, mature
Man could control himself in
Every other way

3
We put bits into
The mouths of horses so they
Will submit to us

3 (continued)
Then we can guide their
Whole bodies and have control
Over all they do

4
And consider ships:
They are so large that it takes
Strong winds to drive them

4 (continued)
Yet they are guided
By small rudders wherever
The pilot desires

5
So too, the tongue is
A small part of the body,
But it boasts great things

5 (continued)
Consider how great
A forest is set on fire
By a little flame

6
And the tongue is a
Flame of fire, the very world
Of iniquity

6 (continued)
Placed among the parts
Of our bodies, it corrupts
The entire body

6 (continued)
It sets the course of
Life on fire, and is itself
Set on fire by hell

7
Every sea creature,
Reptile, bird, or animal
Has been tamed by man

8
But no man can tame
The tongue, a restless evil
And full of poison

9
With it we bless God
And then curse men, who have been
Made in God's likeness

10
From the same mouth come
Blessing and cursing, but it
Should not be like this

11
Does a spring send out
Sweet and bitter water from
The same opening?

12
A fig tree cannot
Produce olives, nor can a
Grapevine produce figs

12 (continued)
In the same way, a
Pool of salt water cannot
Produce fresh water

13
Who among you has
Wisdom and understanding?
Prove it by good works

13 (continued)
An honorable
Life is lived with the meekness
That comes from wisdom

14
But do not harbor
Bitter jealousy, selfish
Ambition, and strife

14 (continued)
In your hearts you are
Arrogant, in your boasting
You slander the truth

15
Such wisdom does no
Come down from above; it is
Earthly, demonic

16
For where envy and
Strife exist, there's chaos and
Every evil thing

17
But the wisdom that
Comes from above is first of
All pure, peaceable,

17 (continued)
Gentle, submissive,
Full of mercy and good fruits,
Impartial, sincere

18
And a harvest of
Righteousness is sown in peace
By those who make peace

Haikus and Humble Hermeneutics: James, Chapter 2

"The occasion of writing the Epistle [of James] appears to have been the abuse made of the doctrine of free grace by professing Christians, — a subject referred to also by Paul in Romans 6, and in his other Epistles. Abounding grace is at one time despised and rejected; at another time it is turned into licentiousness: these are evils which have ever prevailed in the Church.  The Pharisee is too proud to receive grace; the Antinomian* pretends to receive and magnify grace, that he may gratify the inclinations of his sinful nature.  It was against the Antinomian that James write his Epistle."

-from "The Translator's Preface" of Commentaries on the Catholic Epistles by John Calvin, translated and edited by the Rev. John Owen, found at www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom45.ii.html

*Definition of "Anitnomianism", from www.thefreedictionary.com: "The doctrine or belief that the Gospel frees Christians from required obedience to any law, whether scriptural, civil, or moral"

I think that believers in Christ who profess the Gospel can subtly, but very easily, fall into the detrimental thinking of both the Pharisee and the Antinomian.  We need the instructions and exhortations of both Paul and James (they both speak from the Spirit after all!).  Those of us of the Reformation like to cling tightly to our sound doctrine and theology, and that it should be, but if our (my) faith is only a voiced or written theology, not a lived-out application overflowing from the grace given so freely to me, according to James 2:14, "Can such faith save a man?"  Paul and James are not opposed in their theology, but I'm afraid that in all my self-justifications and unconsciously narrow application of Scripture, I have made them so.

In case you were wondering, James 2:23 AND Romans 4:3 reference the same account of Abraham's credited righteousness from Genesis 15:6, and at first glance, they would seem to apply the example very differently.  However, with further reading (and reading of ALL of Scripture), you can see how they are both messengers of the same Gospel.  The simplest way I can explain it is that Paul forbids a reliance on works of the law as a means of salvation (that's Jesus' job, a job for which only he qualifies), and James forbids the calling of a belief in God "faith" if it does not affect how you live out your life in relationship with God and others: "You believe that there is one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that--and shudder." (James 2:19)

Essentially, your works cannot save you, but neither can a faith that has no works as its result.

I do not want this to be true of my life: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may  have life." (John 5:39-40).  Lord, let me not be one who pores over your words without seeing You in them, for it is You who give them life.  Let any knowledge or undrstanding given to me result in deeper love for You, and for my neighbor.  Amen.

Verse 1
As believers in
Our glorious Lord, show no
Favoritism

2
Surprise a man comes
Into your meeting wearing
Gold rings and fine clothes

2 (continued)
And there also comes
A poor man who is dressed in
Dirty, shabby clothes

3
If you give special
Attention to the man who
Is wearing fine clothes,

3 (continued)
But you say to the
Poor man, "Stand over there," or
"Sit down at my feet,"

4
Then among yourselves
You've made false distinctions and
Judged with evil thoughts

5
Listen, has not God
Chosen the poor of this world
To be rich in faith?

5 (continued)
They will inherit
The kingdom God has promised
To those who love Him

6
But you dishonor
The poor.  Don't the rich oppress
You, drag you to court?

7
Are they not the ones
Who slander Jesus Christ, whose
Noble name you bear?

8
Nevertheless, you
Are doing the right thing if
You obey the law

8 (continued)
In accordance with
The Scripture, "You must love your
Neighbor as yourself."

9
But if you favor
Some people over others,
You're committing sin

9 (continued)
The law convicts you
As violators in your
Disobedience

10
Whoever keeps the
Whole law but fails in one point
Is guilty of all

11
For the same God said,
"Don't commit adultery,"
And, "Do not murder"

11 (continued)
If you don't commit
Adultery but murderm
You're a lawbreaker

12
So speak and act as
Those who will be judged by the
Law that sets you free

13
For judgment will be
Merciless to the one who
Has shown no mercy

14
What good does it do
If someone claims to have faith
But does not have works?

14-15
Can that faith save him?
If a brother is naked
And lacks daily food,

16
What good is it to
Say, "Go in peace, be warmed and
Filled," but give nothing?

17
In the same way faith,
By itself and without works,
Is dead and useless

18
But someone may well
Argue, "Some people have faith;
Others have good works."

18 (continued)
But I say, "Show me
Your faith without works, and I'll
Show my faith by works"

19
You believe that God
Is one.  Good!  The demons, too,
Believe and shudder

20
Foolish man!  Do you
Have to be shown that faith with
No works is useless?

21
Was not Abraham
Justified by works when he
Offered up his son?

22
You see that faith was
Active with his works, and by
Works faith perfected

23
Abraham was called
The friend of God, and Scripture
Was fulfilled that says,

23 (continued)
"Abraham believed
God, and it was credited
Him as righteousness."

24
You see that a man
Is justified by works and
Not by faith alone

25
And in the same way,
Rahab the prostitute was
Justified by works

25 (continued)
She gave lodging to
The messengers and sent them
Off another way

26
As the body with
No spirit is dead, so faith
Without works is dead

Haikus and Humble Hermeneutics: James, Chapter 1

I must admit that this book of James has completely "wrecked shop on my heart" (thank you for that apt phrase, recent Matt Chandler sermon).  Along with many other followers of Christ who desire to have sound theology, along with a recent small group study of Galatians where faith alone, not works, is consistently emphasized as the foundation for salvation, this book at first rereading was a little off-putting.  There are more times lately where I feel as though I've never really read the Bible, for all my 26 years of professed Christianity.  Pair that with the fact that my well-meaning sister-in-law gave me the book 7 by Jen Hatmaker for Christmas, and I am a mess.

I so enjoy using my linear-leaning mind to arrange the word of God into 17 syllables groupings, in an attempt to break the routine into which my mind usually falls when reading the Bible.  All of this has given me a newfound appreciation for Scripture meditation.  But if I'm honest, I just don't know where to start when it comes to doing and works.  Allow me to list my meager attempts: I have donated some handmade rag quilts and burp cloths to the local pregnancy assistance center, but obviously this doesn't even scratch the surface of what James is trying to get across.  I've also recently begun to buy groceries for our local food bank in grocery store runs for our own family, but again, this leaves me feeling completely empty-handed when it comes to good works as evidence of my wholehearted love for Jesus and his people.  It truly is pitiful, I know, but it's just where I am.  (This is the point where any of you that have read this blog more than once can start leaving comments--specifically how you and/or your family serve your community, and show our Savior's love to "the least of these.")  So, while I continue to pray about how all this will flesh out for me and my family, here is the first chapter of James, in haiku format.

Note, if you have not read this blog before, what follows is an amalgamation of many different English translations of the Bible, arranged so as to fit into 17 syllable stanzas at a time.  There is more to the living, breathing Word of God than what can be found here alone though, so I beg you to read through each chapter with me in your own Bible.  My prayerful aim in this whole endeavor is that this unusual formatting of Scripture into haikus will jar our brains in a way that will help us hear what the word says, instead of doing what I normally do: spacing out and even skipping over familiar verses as soon as I recognize them.  (I mean, have I never really understood James 1:23 before or what?!)  Instead, I pray for myself, and for you, that we will be "one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, not having become a forgetful hearer, but an effectual doer, for this man will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:25)  I also pray that the Holy Spirit of God will speak right into your life, wherever you are, through this chapter of James, covering over any errors I have made.  Praise God for this practical epistle!

Verse 1
A servant of God
And of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the scattered tribes

2
Consider it a
Great joy whenever you face
Various trials

3
Because you know that
The testing of your faith will
Produce endurance

4
And endurance must
Do its full work that you may
Be perfect, complete

4-5
Then you'll lack nothing;
But if any of you lacks
Wisdom, let him ask

5 (continued)
For God gives to all
Generously, and He'll not
Rebuke for asking

6
One must ask in faith
And not doubt, for the doubter
Is tossed by the wind

7
Such a man should not
Expect that he will receive
Anything from God

8
He is a double-
Minded man, unstable in
All he undertakes

9
But the brother of
Humble means should rejoice in
His exaltation

10
The rich man should boast
In his having been humbled;
He will fade away

11
The sun rises with
Scorching heat; the grass withers,
Beauty perishes

11 (continued)
So too the rich man
Will fade away in the midst
Of all his pursuits

12
Blessed is the man
Who perseveres in trial
He will stand the test

12 (continued)
He will receive the
Crown of life that God promised
To those who love Him

13
When undergoing
A trial, no one should say,
"God is tempting me"

13 (continued)
For God cannot be
Tempted by evil, and He
Himself tempts no one

14
But every man is
Tempted when he is enticed
By his own desires

15
Desire conceived gives
Birth to sin, and sin fully
Grown gives birth to death

16-17
Do not be deceived;
Every good and perfect gift
Comes down from above

17 (continued)
From God the Father
Of lights there is no change or
Shadow of turning

18
In the exercise
Of His will He gave us life
Through the word of truth

18 (continued)
So that we might be
A kind of first fruits among
All He created

19
Know this: Everyone
Must be quick to hear, slow to
Speak, slow to anger

20
For human anger
Does not produce the righteous
Life that God desires

21
So rid yourselves of
All moral filthiness and
Rampant wickedness

22
Humbly receive the
Word planted in you, which is
Able to save you

22 (continued)
Be doers of the
Word, and not merely hearers
Deceiving yourselves

23
For if anyone
Is a hearer of the word
And not a doer,

23 (continued)
He is like a man
Who looks intently at his
Face in a mirror

24
And after looking,
He goes away and at once
Forgets what he's like

25
Look intently at
The perfect law of freedom
And abide by it

25 (continued)
Be no hearer who
Forgets, but a doer who
Acts, blessed in his work

26
A man should not think
Himself religious and yet
Not control his tongue

26 (continued)
This man fools himself,
And deceives his own heart; this
Religion is vain

27
Pure and undefiled
Religion before our God
And Father is this:

27 (continued)
To visit orphans
And distressed widows, keeping
Unstained by the world

Thought of the Day: Unsearchable

As I hold my head with a pounding headache this morning, I begin to laugh.  Not my normal response, mind you, and certainly not when under the weather, but it just occurred to me that all I have at my human disposal for comprehending the one infinite and eternal God is a wrinkled organ housed in a fragile orb that I can hold in the width of my hand.  It's comical, really.

This quickly led me to a brief survey of the use of the word "unsearchable" in the ESV (copied and pasted from biblegateway.com):

Job 26:14:
"Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,
    and how small a whisper do we hear of him!
    But the thunder of his power who can understand?"

And from Job 36:
²² Behold, God is exalted in his power;
    who is a teacher like him?
²³ Who has prescribed for him his way,
    or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’? 
²⁴ “Remember to extol his work,
    of which men have sung.
²⁵ All mankind has looked on it;
    man beholds it from afar.
²⁶ Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
    the number of his years is unsearchable.


Or Psalm 145:1-3:

1 I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
² Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.
³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and his greatness is unsearchable.

From Isaiah 40:28:
"Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable."

Then there's the end of Romans 11:
³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
³⁵ “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”

³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

And finally, for now, the words of Paul in Ephesians 3:
⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, ¹⁰ so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Did you catch that last one?  The eternal purpose of God was that through Christ Jesus our Lord, the church (that's us who believe in and completely depend on Jesus for access to relationship with God) would make the manifold wisdom of God known to the rulers and authorities in heaven?!  Now that's crazy to me.  And yet, we've come full circle.  What's completely incomprehensible to me is somehow made comprehensible by God through Jesus, and not just to us finite humans, but to the rulers of heaven, too.  Simply amazing.

Praise God for condescending to my level of understanding through the Holy Spirit and the work of Jesus so that I can grasp anything of him at all. Without Jesus being both "The Author and Perfecter of our faith" I would truly have no chance at all of fitting such a great God into my infinitesimally small box of human logic or reasoning. Again, laughable.

Thank you God for loving me in a way that allows me to understand any measure of you. Even that much is cause for me to stand (and simultaneously crumble to the floor) in awe of the glory that is You. Amen.