New Beginnings

The message of Jesus is about new beginnings. It begins belief and gets put into action with repentance, which literally means to turn around and go in the opposite direction. So what must we believe in order to start the journey?

We must believe God exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. We must believe that we are sinners, that we can never be good enough to earn God’s favor. We must believe that this sin problem was solved when Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead. We must believe that Jesus is going to return and bring a new heaven and earth.

We don’t need to believe many of the particulars that denominations get hung up over. The manner of baptism is not essential to salvation. The exact nature of communion, the particular diet we choose to eat, the types of music we sing or don’t sing in worship, the clothes we wear, the presence or absence of fermented beverages, the version of Scripture we read. These and so many others are not essential to salvation.

So I would like to spend the first part of this year focusing on some of the essentials and what they mean to our lives today. If they are important, why are they important? And then, since they are important, how should my life be different when I believe them.

You see, it is not enough to believe something, that something must change the way we live. James says “faith without works is dead.” If our trust in Jesus does not result in a change in behavior and attitude, then we must question our faith, either the fact of our faith or the object of our faith.

If you look at the results of research, people in the church in the United States don’t look that different from the population as a whole. In fact, we look almost identical! Our sins match theirs. As a group, our faith has not impacted our lives very much. That does not mean that you as an individual have not been changed by your faith in Jesus, but we as a whole have not.

Day 192

Suffering and sick saints

James 5

Key Verses: 4, 9, 12, 16, 20

Wealth can be a wonderful thing. It can also be a curse. James nails the wealthy recipients of this letter on one particular area. They were not compensating their workers sufficiently. The wealthy have a responsibility to share their wealth. This is not a government program that redistributes our wealth. This is a voluntary Christian act where we recognize that what we have is from God, and we need to be responsible stewards of the wealth. This includes taking care of those who helped us gain our wealth. We don’t own our wealth, God does.

It can be hard to remain patient over many years. We want results now, don’t we! We want the answer to that prayer for a spouse, a child, an illness, to be answered. Sometimes we hurt we want the answer so much. The readers of James’ letter were getting impatient for Jesus second coming. They wanted their suffering to end. Their expectation had been that Jesus would return in their lifetimes. But this was not to be. We are still waiting.

When we get impatient, we often get short with each other, discharging our frustration with some outside event on those closest to us. Don’t do it. We are encouraged to follow the example of the Old Testament prophets. They endured suffering and waited for God to fulfill His promises. God has fulfilled His promises. He will continue to do so. We need to do the same.

Our promises don’t need to be “Cross my heart and hope to die” kind of promises. As a Jesus-follower, our word needs to be solid. We need to be able to just say “Yes” or “No” and then follow through. There is something to be said about those cultures that run on a handshake. We used to be able to count on someone’s word. Now the lawyers have gotten involved because people wanted to back out of the agreements they made. We look for wiggle room. Keep your word.

Jesus-followers need to be able to come together without barriers between us. All of us sharing in each other’s lives, bearing each other’s burdens, caring for the needs that are present. We can live with a clean slate.

Prayer is a powerful tool. When we pray what God directs us to pray, we can be sure things will happen. God prompted and Elijah prayed and it happened: no rain. God prompted again, and it rained. We can do something more powerful than this. We can help a sinner turn from their destructive path and be restored. We can be part of an eternal event.

Day 191

Keeping calm in conflicts 

James 4

Key Verses: 3, 7, 11, 14, 17

Prayer requests can be tricky things. It can be hard to know the motives behind the request, even with our own requests. We pray for finances, but we are unwilling to be disciplined in our spending. We pray for our health, but we live our life with no thought to the consequences. What are our motives when we ask in prayer?

It is hard to be truly humble. It is easy to think we arrived where we are by our own energy and determination. But notice James’ sharp language. He says those who have a close connection to this world are committing adultery against God (God being their true spouse). God wants our total commitment. No weekend worshippers will do. This is a spiritual battle, not an earthly one. The spiritual forces of Satan are involved, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

If we resist Satan’s wooing and move toward the Lord, or should I say rush headlong to the Lord, then God is able to lift us up. But too often we put ourselves in God’s place. James’ example of speaking against a fellow believer shows how seriously we need to submit to the Lord and resist the devil. When we put someone else down with an insult or pointed remark, we are judging them. We are lifting ourselves up. Only God can lift us up.

Even the planning of our future here on earth can slip over into pride. Anything that runs independent of the Lord in our lives needs to be brought back into submission. This does not mean we don’t plan. It does mean that our plans are constantly placed on God’s altar, and we are ready to drop them all at a moment’s notice to obey.

When keeping our plans means departing from God’s plans, then we are off track in our lives. Big and small, all plans are open to God’s cancelation. It is much better when we listen in to God’s plans and adopt them as our own. Then we know that they won’t change. That is submitting to God.

Day 190

Restraining the unbridled tongue 

James 3

Key Verses: 1, 8, 10, 16

Teachers, whether they are public school teachers or Bible teachers, have an awesome responsibility. James writes specifically about Bible teachers, saying that they will be judged for their teaching activities. Because we deal with eternity, we must be very careful what and how we teach. Our lives need to match our message to an even greater degree because other people are watching and modeling us. Teachers have an increased portion of the responsibility that we all carry. We are all responsible for what we say.

I am amazed at all the people who go to fitness centers and yet our society is getting more obese every day. Our advertising displays an anorexic image of who we think we want to be, and all the while we can’t control what we eat. And that lack of control is nothing compared to our inability to speak consistently in a way that honors the Lord. We snap at our spouse and kids. We demand and let our emotions run wild. It is easier to tame the wildfires in the West than our tongues.

James’ challenge to us is this: it is not possible to praise God with a mouth that is out of control! Our praise is contaminated by the words spoken at other times that reflect poorly on God’s character and our own. We need to let Christ have control of our tongue as well as our feet and hands. We must learn to control what we speak. The words we speak and the attitude conveyed mold generations to come.

When a leader has something other than the exaltation of Christ in their heart, the direction of their lives and the lives of those who follow them get off course. When we are in it for ourselves, God is not at work in what we do. He might use us, but it will be in spite of us. We will be vessels, but not ones of honor.

We are teachers to our children. We own them good lessons, both with our words and with our lives.

Today, monitor what and how you say things. Try to take an honest listen to your speech. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to light what you have hidden from your own ears and heart. Then, take the time to reflect and repent. Then seek His strength to make the needed changes. Self must die so that Christ can live.

Day 189

Obedience that accompanies faith 

James 2

Key Verses: 1, 8, 13, 17, 23, 26

Showing favorites is another way of saying prejudice with actions attached. John points out that prejudice based on wealth is an easy target. We see it being played out in the political arena every day. Taxing the rich, paying their fair share, opportunity for all to rise. These are all words expressing prejudice based on wealth.

But the solution is not for the government to redistribute wealth. John states it simply, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Being Christ-like is the answer. But we live in a post-Christian society. We can’t expect non-believers to act the way we ourselves are not willing to act. If we lived this out, people would be drawn to Jesus. “They will know we are Christians by our love.”

But too often we are not willing to love this way. We judge by looking at someone and choosing not to give to them in their hour of need because they fit a certain profile. We think we deserve the wealth and they don’t because ______. You can fill in the blank with any number of things. It is still showing favoritism.

Biblical faith is a faith that is alive and active in our lives. It matches our words with deeds. Faith always moves us to action. Faith that just sits in the chairs on Sunday is dead faith. Faith that changes us on the inside, changes us on the outside as well. That is the way it has always been.

John gives us the example of Abraham. If it is true of Abraham, then it must be true for us. Abraham had the knife raised to sacrifice his son. At that point, even though he had had faith in his heart before, God showed him the ram caught in the thicket. When we put our inner faith into action, then we have Biblical faith.

Rahab the prostitute is an example of faith in action. She put her own life at risk to obey God. Faith isn’t always comfortable or safe. Sometimes our faith put into action will put us at the crosshairs of someone’s aim. In those moments God promises to preserve our eternity, not our life. Some die.

We are talking about the kind of faith here. If someone says they have faith in Christ, but their lives are not moving, questions arise about the quality of faith. Biblical faith always moves us forward, outward, reaching toward God and others. We can’t stagnate and continue to say we have faith. Faith must be growing, changing us and challenging us to do something about the plight of others.