a CONNECT lesson

Focal Passage Outline and Scripture Passages:
The Presence (John 14:15-18)
The Peace (John 14:27-31a)
The Purpose (John 15:11-16)

Background Passages:
John 14:15-31; 15:9-17

Focal Passages:
John 14:15-18, 27-31a; 15:11-16

What This Lesson Is About:
Life is better when lived in relationship with Jesus because He gives us His presence, peace, and purpose.

How This Lesson Can Impact Your Life:
This lesson will help you make the case that the Christian life is a better way of life.

Background Passage: James 3:1-18
Lesson Passage: James 3:1-18

LESSON PASSAGE OUTLINE
 1.  Speak Carefully (Jas. 3:1-2)
 2.  Speak Harmlessly (Jas. 3:3-6)
 3.  Speak Consistently (Jas. 3:7-12)
 4.  Behave Wisely (Jas. 3:13-18)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
Christians who control their tongues and conduct are able to live rightly and in peace with one another.

LIFE IMPACT
To help adults keep their speech and conduct under control

Background Passage: James 2:14-26
Lesson Passage: James 2:14-26

LESSON PASSAGE OUTLINE
 1.  Just Talking (Jas. 2:14-17)
 2.  Just “Believing” (Jas. 2:18-20)
 3.  Justifying Faith (Jas. 2:21-26)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
We give evidence of our faith in Christ by the good works we perform.

LIFE IMPACT
To help adults demonstrate their faith by their works

Background Passage: James 2:1-13
Lesson Passage: James 2:1-13
LESSON PASSAGE OUTLINE
 1.  Ignore Externals (Jas. 2:1-4)
 2.  Honor God’s People (Jas. 2:5-7)
 3.  Extend Love (Jas. 2:8-13)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
Without showing favoritism to anyone, Christians are to love everyone.

LIFE IMPACT
To help adults be impartial in their treatment of others

Background Passage: James 1:1-18
Lesson Passage: James 1:2-18

LESSON PASSAGE OUTLINE
1. To Endure Trials (Jas. 1:2-8)
2. To Put Wealth into Perspective (Jas. 1:9-11)
3. To Resist Temptations (Jas. 1:13-15)
4. To Acknowledge God’s Gifts (Jas. 1:12,16-18)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
Among His good gifts to believers, God provides wisdom to help us endure trials, resist temptations, and put wealth in its proper perspective.

LIFE IMPACT
To help adults display wisdom from God

Background Passage: Galatians 6:1-18
Lesson Passage: Galatians 6:1-18

LESSON PASSAGE
OUTLINE
1. Shoulder Burdens (Gal. 6:1-5)
2. Do Good (Gal. 6:6-10)
3. Avoid Selfish Motives (Gal. 6:11-15)
4. Seek Peace (Gal. 6:16-18)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
Believers are to meet biblical expectations of being responsible Christians.

LIFE IMPACT
To help adults do what is expected of a responsible Christian

Andrew Murray

VI.

Colossians 3: 4.–Christ who is our life.

One question that rises in every mind is this: “How can I live that life
of perfect trust in God?” Many do not know the right answer, or the full
answer. It is this: “Christ must live it in me.” That is what He became man
for; as a man to live a life of trust in God, and so to show to us how we
ought to live. When He had done that upon earth, He went to heaven, that
He might do more than show us, might give us, and live in us that life of
trust. It is as we understand what the life of Christ is and how it becomes
ours, that we shall be prepared to desire and to ask of Him that He would
live it Himself in us. When first we have seen what the life is, then we
shall understand how it is that He can actually take possession, and make
us like Himself. I want especially to direct attention to that first
question. I wish to set before you the life of Christ as He lived it, that
we may understand what it is that He has for us and that we can expect from
Him. Christ Jesus lived a life upon earth that He expects us literally to
imitate. We often say that we long to be like Christ. We study the traits
of His character, mark His footsteps, and pray for grace to be like Him,
and yet, somehow, we succeed but very little. And why? Because we are
wanting to pluck the fruit while the root is absent. If we want really to
understand what the imitation of Christ means, we must go to that which
constituted the very root of His life before God. It was a life of absolute
dependence, absolute trust, absolute surrender, and until we are one with
Him in what is the principle of His life, it is in vain to seek here or
there to copy the graces of that life.

In the Gospel story we find five great points of special importance; the
birth, the life on earth, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension.
In these we have what an old writer has called “the process of Jesus
Christ;” the process by which He became what He is to-day–our glorified
King, and our life. In all this life process we must be made like unto Him.
Look at the first. What have we to say about His birth? This: He received
His life from God. What about His life upon earth? He lived that life in
dependence upon God. About His death? He gave up His life to God. About
His resurrection? He was raised from the dead by God. And about His
ascension? He lives His life in glory with God.

First, He received His life from God. And why is it of consequence that we
should look to that? Because Christ Jesus had in that the starling-point of
His whole life. He said: “The Father sent me;” “The Father hath given the
Son all things;” “The Father hath given the Son to have life in Himself.”
Christ received it as His own life, just as God has His life in Himself.
And yet, all the time it was a life given and received. “Because the Father
almighty has given this life unto me, the Son of man on earth, I can count
upon God to maintain it and to carry me through all.” And that is the first
lesson we need. We need often to meditate on it, and to pray, and to
think, and to wait before God, until our hearts open to the wonderful
consciousness that the everlasting God has a divine life within us which
can not exist but through Him. I believe God has given His life, it roots
in Him. I shall feel it must be maintained by Him. We often think that God
has given us a life which is now our own, a spiritual life, and that we
are to take charge; and then we complain that we can not keep it right.
No wonder. We must learn to live, learn to live as Jesus did. I have
a God-given treasure in this earthen vessel. I have the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. I have the life of
God’s Son within me given me by God Himself, and it can only be maintained
by God Himself as I live in fellowship with Him. What does the Apostle Paul
teach us in Romans VI.; there where he has just told us that we must reckon
ourselves dead unto sin, and alive unto God in Christ Jesus? He goes on at
once to say: “Therefore yield, present yourselves unto God, as those that
are alive from the dead.” How often a Christian hears solemn words about
his being alive to God, and his having to reckon himself dead indeed
to sin, and alive to God in Christ! He does not know what to do; he
immediately casts about: “How can I keep it, this death and this life?”
Listen to what Paul says. The moment that you reckon yourself dead to sin
and alive to God, go with that life to God Himself, and present yourself as
alive from the dead, and say to God: “Lord, Thou hast given me this life.
Thou alone canst keep it. I bring it to Thee. I cannot understand all.
I hardly know what I have got, but I come to God to perfect what He has
begun.” To live like Christ, I must be conscious every moment that my life
has come from God, and He alone can maintain it.

Then, secondly, how did Christ live out His life during the thirty-three
years in which He walked here upon earth? He lived it in dependence on God.
You know how continually He says: “The Son can do nothing of Himself. The
words that I speak, I speak not of Myself.” He waited unceasingly for the
teaching, and the commands, and the guidance of the Father. He prayed for
power from the Father. Whatever He did, He did in the name of the Father.
He, the Son of God, felt the need of much prayer, of persevering prayer, of
bringing down from heaven and maintaining the life of fellowship with God
in prayer. We hear a great deal about trusting God. Most blessed! And we
may say: “Ah, that is what I want,” and we may forget what is the very
secret of all,–that God, in Christ, must work all in us. I not only need
God as an object of trust, but I must have Christ within as the power
to trust; He must live His own life of trust in me. Look at it in that
wonderful story of Paul, the Apostle, the beloved servant of God. He is in
danger of self-confidence, and God in heaven sends that terrible trial in
Asia to bring him down, lest he trust in himself and not in the living God.
God watched over his servant that he should be kept trusting. Remember that
other story about the thorn in the flesh, in 2 Corinthians XII., and think
what that means. He was in danger of exalting himself, and the blessed
Master came to humble him, and to teach him: “I keep thee weak, that thou
mayest learn to trust not in thyself, but in Me.” If we are to enter into
the rest of faith, and to abide there; if we are to live the life of
victory in the land of Canaan, it must begin here. We must be broken down
from all self-confidence and learn like Christ to depend absolutely and
unceasingly upon God. There is a greater work to be done in that than we
perhaps know. We must be broken down, and the habit of our souls must be
unceasingly: “I am nothing; God is all. I cannot walk before God as I
should for one hour, unless God keep the life He has given me.” What a
blessed solution God gives then to all our questions and our difficulties,
when He says: “My child, Christ has gone through it all for thee. Christ
hath wrought out a new nature that can trust God; and Christ the Living One
in heaven will live in thee, and enable thee to live that life of trust.”
That is why Paul said: “Such confidence have we toward God, through
Christ.” What does that mean? Does it only mean through Christ as the
mediator, or intercessor? Verily, no. It means much more; through Christ
living in and enabling us to trust God as He trusted Him.

Then comes, thirdly, the death of Christ. What does that teach us of
Christ’s relation to the Father? It opens up to us one of the deepest
and most solemn lessons of Christ life, one which the Church of Christ
understands all too little. We know what the death of Christ means as an
atonement, and we never can emphasize too much that blessed substitution
and bloodshedding, by which redemption was won for us. But let us remember,
that is only half the meaning of His death. The other half is this: just as
much as Christ was my substitute, who died for me, just so much He is
my head, in whom, and with whom, I die; and just as He lives for me, to
intercede, He lives in me, to carry out and to perfect His life. And if I
want to know what that life is which He will live in me, I must look at His
death. By His death He proved that He possessed life only to hold it,
and to spend it, for God. To the very uttermost; without the shadow of a
moment’s exception, He lived for God,–every moment, everywhere, He held
life only for His God. And so, if one wants to live a life of perfect
trust, there must be the perfect surrender of his life, and his will, even
unto the very death. He must be willing to go all lengths with Jesus, even
to Calvary. When a boy twelve years of age Jesus said: “Wist ye not that I
must be about my Father’s business?” and again when He came to Jordan to be
baptized: “It becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” So on through
all His life, He ever said: “It is my meat and drink to do the will of my
Father. I come not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me.”
“Lo, I am come to do Thy will, O God.” And in the agony of Gethsemane, His
words were: “Not my will, but Thine, be done.”

Some one says: “I do indeed desire to live the life of perfect trust;
I desire to let Christ live it in me; I am longing to come to such an
apprehension of Christ as shall give me the certainty that Christ will
forever abide in me; I want to come to the full assurance that Christ, my
Joshua, will keep me in the land of victory.” What is needful for that? My
answer is: “Take care that you do not take a false Christ, an imaginary
Christ, a half Christ.” And what is the full Christ? The full Christ is the
man who said, “I give up everything to the death that God may be glorified.
I have not a thought; I have not a wish; I would not live a moment except
for the glory of God.” You say at once, “What Christian can ever attain
that?” Do not ask that question, but ask, “Has Christ attained it and does
Christ promise to live in me?” Accept Him in His fullness and leave Him to
teach you how far He can bring you and what He can work in you. Make no
conditions or stipulations about failure, but cast yourself upon, abandon
yourself to this Christ who lived that life of utter surrender to God that
He might prepare a new nature which He could impart to you and in which He
might make you like Himself. Then you will be in the path by which He can
lead you on to blessed experience and possession of what He can do for you.
Christ Jesus came into the world with a commandment from the Father that He
should lay down His life, and He lived with that one thought in His bosom
His whole life long. And the one thought that ought to be in the heart
of every believer is this: “I am in the death with Christ; absolutely,
unchangeably given up to wait upon God, that God may work out His purpose
and glory in me from moment to moment.” Few attain the victory and the
enjoyment and the full experience at once. But this you can do: Take the
right attitude and as you look to Jesus and what He was, say: “Father, Thou
hast made me a partaker of the divine nature, a partaker of Christ. It
is in the life of Christ given up to Thee to the death, in His power and
indwelling, in His likeness, that I desire to live out my life before
Thee.” Death is a solemn thing, an awful thing. In the Garden it cost
Christ great agony to die that death; and no wonder it is not easy to us.
But we willingly consent when we have learned the secret; in death alone
the life of God will come; in death there is blessedness unspeakable. It
was this made Paul so willing to bear the sentence of death in himself;
he knew the God who quickeneth the dead. The sentence of death is on
everything that is of nature. But are we willing to accept it, do we
cherish it? and are we not rather trying to escape the sentence or to
forget it? We do not believe fully that the sentence of death is on us.
Whatever is of nature must die. Ask God to make you willing to believe with
your heart that to die with Christ is the only way to live in Him. You ask,
“But must it then be dying every day?” Yes, beloved; Jesus lived every day
in the prospect of the cross, and we, in the power of His victorious life,
being made conformable to His death, must rejoice every day in going down
with Him into death. Take an illustration. Take an oak of some hundred
years’ growth. How was that oak born? In a grave. The acorn was planted in
the ground, a grave was made for it that the acorn might die. It died and
disappeared; it cast roots downward, and it cast shoots upward, and now
that tree has been standing a hundred years. Where is it standing? In its
grave; all the time in the very grave where the acorn died; it has stood
there stretching its roots deeper and deeper into that earth in which its
grave was made, and yet, all the time, though it stood in the very grave
where it had died, it has been growing higher, and stronger, and broader,
and more beautiful. And all the fruit it ever bore, and all the foliage
that adorned it year by year, it owed to that grave in which its roots are
cast and kept. Even so Christ owes everything to His death and His grave.
And we, too, owe everything to that grave of Jesus. Oh! let us live every
day rooted in the death of Jesus. Be not afraid, but say: “To my own will I
will die; to human wisdom, and human strength, and to the world I will die;
for it is in the grave of my Lord that His life has its beginning, and its
strength and its glory.”

This brings us to our next thought. First, Christ received life from the
Father; second, Christ lived it in dependence on the Father; third, Christ
gave it up in death to the Father; and now, fourth, Christ received it
again raised by the Father, by the power of the glory of the Father. Oh,
the deep meaning of the resurrection of Christ! What did Christ do when He
died? He went down into the darkness and absolute helplessness of death. He
gave up a life that was without sin; a life that was God-given; a life that
was beautiful and precious; and He said, “I will give it into the hands
of my Father if He asks it;” and He did it; and He was there in the grave
waiting on God to do His will; and because He honored God to the uttermost
in His helplessness, God lifted Him up to the very uttermost of glory and
power. Christ lost nothing by giving up His life in death to the Father.
And so, if you want the glory and the life of God to come upon you, it is
in the grave of utter helplessness that that life of glory will be born.
Jesus was raised from the dead, and that resurrection power, by the grace
of God, can and will work in us. Let no one expect to live a right life
until he lives a full resurrection life in the power of Jesus. Let me state
in a different way what this resurrection means.

Christ had a perfect life, given by God. The Father said: “Will you give up
that life to me? Will you part with it at my command?” And He parted with
it, but God gave it back to Him in a second life ten thousand times more
glorious than that earthly life. So God will do to every one of us who
willingly consents to part with his life. Have you ever understood it?
Jesus was born twice. The first time He was born in Bethlehem. That was a
birth into a life of weakness. But the second time, He was born from the
grave; He is the “first-born from the dead.” Because He gave up the life
that He had by His first birth, God gave him the life of the second birth,
in the glory of heaven and the throne of God. Christians, that is exactly
what we need to do. A man may be an earnest Christian; a man may be a
successful worker; he may be a Christian that has had a measure of growth
and advance; but if he has not entered this fullness of blessing, then he
needs to come to a second and deeper experience of God’s saving power; he
needs, just as God brought him out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, to come
to a point where God brings him through Jordan into Canaan. Beloved, we
have been baptized into the death of Christ. It is as we say: “I have had
a very blessed life, and I have had many blessed experiences, and God has
done many things for me; but I am conscious there is something wrong still;
I am conscious that this life of rest and victory is not really mine.”
Before Christ got His life of rest and victory on the throne, He had to die
and give up all. Do you it, too, and you shall with Him share His victory
and glory. It is as we follow Jesus in His death, that His resurrection,
power and joy will be ours.

And then comes our last point. The fifth step in His wondrous path was: He
was lifted up to be forever with the Father. Because He humbled Himself,
therefore God highly exalted Him. Wherein cometh the beauty and the
blessedness of that exaltation of Jesus? For Himself perfect fellowship
with the Father; for others participation in the power of God’s
omnipotence. Yes, that was the fruit of His death. Scripture promises not
only that God will, in the resurrection life, give us joy, and peace that
passeth all understanding, victory over sin, and rest in God, but He will
baptize us with the Holy Ghost; or, in other words, will fill us with the
Holy Ghost. Jesus was lifted to the throne of heaven, that He might there
receive from the Father the Spirit in His new, divine manifestation, to be
poured out in His fullness. And as we come to the resurrection life, the
life in the faith of Him who is one with us, and sits upon the throne–as
we come to that, we too may be partakers of the fellowship with Christ
Jesus as He ever dwells in God’s presence, and the Holy Spirit will fill
us, to work in us, and out of us in a way that we have never yet known.

Jesus got this divine life by depending absolutely upon the Father all His
life long, depending upon Him even down into death. Jesus got that life
in the full glory of the Spirit to be poured out, by giving Himself up in
obedience and surrender to God alone, and leaving God even in the grave to
work out His mighty power; and that very Christ will live out His life in
you and me. Oh, the mystery! Oh, the glory! And oh, the Divine certainty.
Jesus Christ means to live out that life in you and me. What think you,
ought we not to humble ourselves before God? Have we been Christians so
many years, and realized so little what we are? I am a vessel set apart,
cleansed, emptied, consecrated; just standing, waiting every moment for
God, in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, to work out in me as much of the
holiness and the life of His Son as pleases Him. And until the Church of
Christ comes to go down into the grave of humiliation, and confession, and
shame; until the Church of Christ comes to lay itself in the very dust
before God, and to wait upon God to do something new, and something
wonderful, something supernatural, in lifting it up, it will remain
feeble in all its efforts to overcome the world. Within the Church what
lukewarmness, what worldliness, what disobedience, what sin! How can we
ever fight this battle, or meet these difficulties? The answer is: Christ,
the risen One, the crowned One, the almighty One, must come, and live in
the individual members. But we can not expect this except as we die with
Him. I referred to the tree grown so high and beautiful, with its roots
every day for a hundred years in the grave in which the acorn died.
Children of God, we must go down deeper into the grave of Jesus. We must
cultivate the sense of impotence, and dependence, and nothingness, until
our souls walk before God every day in a deep and holy trembling. God keep
us from being anything. God teach us to wait on Him, that He may work in us
all He wrought in His Son, till Christ Jesus may live out His life in us!
For this may God help us!

1John 2:5-6.

2:5. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
2:6. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
–NKJ

How do people know that we are Christians? There is a well known hymn, and bible verse that declares that, “They will know we are Christians by our love.” It’s true, people should know us by our love above anything else. People can still know in other ways, both for the things we passively, and actively do.

The opening phrase, “But whoever keeps His word,” sounds like it might be an activity, a thing for Christians to do. I’ll get to that more in a moment. To keep comes from the word to safeguard. Now what does that mean? If I had any valuable item, a Rolls Royce, a gold and diamond piece of jewelry, fancy dress clothes, I would do well to use them and show them off. I probably wouldn’t dress in a tuxedo to do the daily chores. I would safely guard it and store it away. If I had a Rolls Royce, I would gladly cruise around in comfort in it, but I wouldn’t park it on the street, along the curb. It would be safely tucked away, and locked in a garage when I wasn’t driving it.

The words, commands, and teachings of Jesus are valuable treasures. We should spend time in prayer, reading the Bible, and so forth. We don’t do those things continuously through the day. It isn’t practical. But those valuable things should never be compromised. Keep them safely locked away in the vault of your heart and mind. Don’t let them become compromised.

Safeguarding is a passive thing we can do. It may not make others fully recognize that we are Christians, but it will show in the integrity of our actions as we go about the daily grind of life.

This verse is saying that the person who safeguards the words of Jesus. To this very same person, God will be allegiant to. God will be loyal and true to do something.

“The love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” The love, agape love, of God is perfect in that very same person. To be perfect is to be complete, finished, accomplished, consumated, fulfilled, get the idea? God’s character will come spilling out into how we live our lives. That is the undeniable sign that the person who claims to be a Christian, and safeguards the commands, and words of Jesus is genuine.

There is a common saying among Christian circles that says to spread the Gospel using all means available, and when all else fails to use words.

To drive the point home, John includes the statement that “to walk just as He walked.” Besides keeping those valuable words safe, pull them out and use them once in a while. Practice the very same things that Jesus did.

Often, in our world today, Christians get a bad rap as being pushy, or judgmental. People are put off when we come around spouting a litany of sins, and pointing out faults, reasons, and the logic of why Christ is the answer. There is a time for that, but it comes across as being negative. First show a passive, loving friendship, because you really should be concerned for that person, just as
God is. Let the action and the words come once there is a connection of friendship.

If people don’t know exactly what you are at first, they’ll know that something is different.
Be a gentle spirit, safeguard the morality taught by Jesus, and let God work before you jump in and share.

James 5:12.

 5:12.  But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes,” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.

Swearing an Oath

Just what is swearing? Using certain words really isn’t so much swearing as it is using vulgar language, which the Bible also speaks about. To curse is to say bad things, or to wish bad things towards someone. The first commandment, to take the Lords name in vain is a form of swearing. James says to let a simple ‘yes’ or a simple ‘no’ be all that we need to respond with.

So with that in mind, to swear is like an added garantee. As if we have the authority to ensure that we won’t fail in some way, or that we won’t do it all the way. Or that in our added words a job will be done better.

When you stop to really consider this, there really is no better answer than to just say, ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Ready to get confused by double talk? I hope this won’t be to much overload, but it was fun to write.

To say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is like the binary numbering system. It is either a 1 or a 0. There is no inbetween. There is no number value higher, or lower. Just 1 or 0.

If you ask me for a 1, and I give you a 1, that’s all that needs to happen. There is no need for me to elaborate on how great the number 1 is. Or how much better my 1 is than somebody else’s 1. 1 is 1, and all 1′s are the same. For me to offer any better number is silly, because the only number is1. There is no 1 that is more grand, or more glorious than a different 1. In fact everything inbetween the first sentence of this paragraph, and the last sentence in this paragraph is useless because they don’t make a 1 any better or worse than any other 1. Oops, does that make that swearing? Sorry. To have anything less than 1 is not 1 at all. It’s 0.

To go against this principle leads to judgement. By this it means God’s judgement. Other men could probably care less what your swear was, only that you did a thing, or not. Go ahead and try to justify yourself to who ever you want, to, me, to yourself, to others, it doesn’t matter. But when you are in that moment of facing God the truth, and shame of it will be known. Be honest for your own sake, not what somebody else may think.

James 4:13-17.

 4:13.  Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;
 4:14.  whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
 4:15.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
 4:16.  But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
 4:17.  Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Make Plans, Enjoy Life.

Life requires planning. To not have a plan is to bounce from moment to moment, reacting to circumstances of our environment, to the demands of others around us. We are at the mercy and under the control of whatever god, or Satan, throws our way.

When we do make a plan, make it so that we include God in it. Even if it is only to acknowledge, as James says, “If the Lord wills, we’ll live and do this or that.”

To borrow a phrase, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Planning gives a sense of accomplishment. We can take a measure of pride in our success. Sometimes it’s easy to forget to include God, or recognize the way he worked to bles the outcome. We can get too busy patting ourselves on the back and glowing in the results of the event.

Think about this common, everyday chore. It’s breakfast and I want to have pancakes. I make a plan by rounding up all the ingredients, the pan and utensils. I carry out the plan by mixing the ingredients, frying the batter up on the stove top, and stacking the finished product on my plate at the breakfast table. Add the finishing touch of a healthy supply of syrup, and yum. Now I can boast in my pride in my accomplishment. But where’s God in all this? Is it a bad thing that I can do this simple task?

Well, it leads to taking things for granted. God is in the picture in that, because of his previous blessings, I can be blessed this morning with a full belly of nourshment.

God has blessed me in the past with just having the groceries on my shelf. I didn’t have to raise the wheat, or grind it into flour. And that egg, not likely that I’d ever be able to make or grow one of those. At one time in my past, I didn’t own a working stove. It’s kind of difficult to do any cooking without one. Even the process of making fire to cook is a chore when you don’t have a match, or some other source to make a spark off of. God has blessed me with good enough health and motor skills to do the physical work of mixing and cooking, and even eating. Because of that relative good health, I have been able to work at a job to ern money to purchase the tools and ingredients.

It’s not a matter of God not being in each little thing that we do. We should  learn to give credit where it is due to him. Not that I’m saying to spend every waking moment of the day thanking God for things. “Thank you God, for my socks, thank you god for  toothpicks, thanks God for plastic wrap,” you get the idea. That would be a little silly, an interesting exersize, but silly. In early bible history it claims that the people always had their thoughts on evil things. The result was the flood. Wiping out the evil ways and starting fresh. Often as we make various plans, big and small, throughout the day, take those idle moments in between to think about God.

Our life is short enough as it is. Life is fragile, and can be gone in amoment. The thing to do is to enjoy each new day as it comes. Take time to notice the blessings that God has given us. Take time to smell the roses, play with the kids, enjoy watching the squirrels playing on the back lawn. Just as with life itself, those moments are leeting. Flowers grow fast and wither even faster once you pick them. Kids seem like they will be an annoyance, and in your hair for ever. There comes a day when your house is full of teenagers, or empty, and all you have left is the echos and memories of those little kids who used to live here, long ago. Those little animals in the yard are wild, and can’t be owned. They run away when you come close, but they can still be enjoyed from a distance.

Such things are like the icing on the cake of God’s creation. The little flourish in the design, the fringe along the edge, the artistic touch of life.

James 4:5-10.

 4:5.  Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
 4:6.  But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
 4:7.  Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
 4:8.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
 4:9.  Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
 4:10.  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Cure for Jealous Pride.

Human nature makes us all jealous and prideful. We want the things that others have, but we can’t have for ourselves. It is said that the average person considers themselves to be above average. No matter how typical we really are, our pride elevates our own estimation of ourselves.

Pride can stand in the way of any of our best Christian virtues. Earlier in this writing of James, he talks about having wisdom, but when pride sets in, it causes problems in the way we share that wisom. We may be a little snobby, or tactless, which drives wedges and puts distance in relationships.

God gives grace, his mercies are new each day. Consider these statements:
<ul><li> God gives grace to the humble.
<li> God resists the proud.
<li> Satan flees the humble.
</ul>

It isn’t explicitly written, but if Satan flees from the humble, it might be also extended to say that Satan is attracted to pride.

God tends to give grace in abundance, and lift people up higher when they come to him in humility. A prideful person has the attitude of, ‘Look what I can do, look what I did, I don’t need anybody to help me.’ Notice all those ‘I’ statements?

There are plenty of accomplishments that we can do on our own. Plenty of people become rich, lead huge corporations, preside over nations, all without being Christian or godly in any way. The bible talks about a city called Jericho that was such a place. It had strong walls, fortified, the lands around it were lush and productive. The people who lived there built it all up on their own, without God. It would take a massive army and the great loss of life to fight to take it over.

It was defeated and destroyed by a humble people, who acted in a humble way. Through the most unlikely of actions, blowing on horns,

Are you kidding? Horns? Not weapons, or strength? I’m sure that scientist could explain it away as some kind of sound vibration that hit a resonate note to make the walls to crumble, or explain it as a earthquake, or some combination of fluke natural occurances. How ever you want to rationalize it, God was in control of those seemingly unrelated events of nature. He alone caused the timing to occur at that exact moment to make the walls fall.

God uses the humble person, the weak person, to be a channel for his power to work in huge ways.

In the last part of this passage there is an odd statement. Let laughter be turned to mourning. Does that mean that God wants to take away all our fun?

All that means is that the things that we once found pleasure in, namely physical pleasures, pride in our own accomplishments, we should be ashamed. Especially actions that serve sinful behavior, but even any so-called virtuous things. If we are good little Boy Scouts, and do our good turn daily, but it is done out of self pride, it is a vain thing. It serves to build up our ego. Do the good deed, but do it for God. Pride tends to put God off, and bring Satan on.

Wat’s the cure to our jealous pride? Mourn over the things we do with an atitude of pride. It’s the humble act that will draw us near to God, he will lift us up. We are put back on our feet and know more joy than we ever could have on our own.

James 4:1-3.

4:1.  Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
 4:2.  You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
 4:3.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Covetting Causes Conflict.

Now there’s a concept to stop and think about. Have you ever wondered where a war begins? What is it that causes any conflict, from the tiniest disagreement with someone to a full blown war. James associates the covetting and murder. This talking to Christians and their treatment to other Christians, but it could also apply to the world at large.

Sometimes we see that some other church member has something. Maybe a new dress, maybe a fancy new study bible, maybe they are doing well teaching that new Sunday School class, maybe they have anicer car, or just seem to be a little to smug or something. Whether they are better or not, only God knows for sure. Our perception causes to desire that we want to be that way, to have that thing. So a cold shoulder is turned, a snippy statement is made, maybe a word or two of gossip is planted. In short we start acting like little kids, bickering over who did what to who, and who started it.

I remember during more than one long trip to grandma’s house in the back of our station wagon. My brother and I would be bickering. Even as huge as that station wagon back seat was, and as small as we were, you just need another inch of space. “Mon! He’s touching me! He’s on my side of the seat! Make him stop! You started it. Did not. did so.” Repeat those last two until mom goes nuts and does something about it.

All I wanted was just a little more space. Or to be left alone in my own space. That’s all I wanted, but couldn’t have it. I let covetting and lust for what I couldn’t have fester until it broke out in a small scale war. By the time mom stepped in, it usually ended in hurt feelings… well, hurt bottoms.

It might have been avoided. James says that we don’t have because we didn’t ask. While traveling , space in a car is limited, but in our station wagon, we did have a third seat in the cargo area. I could have asked, and mom might have let me hop over the seat to let me have my own space. If I never asked for it, I would probably not receive it.

Sometimes the thing we ask for just isn’t in God’s plan for us. It might be an entirely good thing, but just not one that best uses our tallents. I once heard a bible teacher tell of how he had dreams of being an evangelist on par with Billy Graham, bringing the gospel message to large numbers of people around the world. A good and noble thing to hope for. For this teacher, it just wasn’t happening that way. He came to the point of asking God, being told no, and accepted that God doesn’t want him to be a global evangelist. He was able to focus all his energies into being the best bible teacher that he could be.

Bottom line. Rather than letting jealousy, conflict, and ill feelings towards others over things we don’t have ruin our lives. Ask it from God, that’s all it takes. He will give it. If God doesn’t give it to you, it’s time to do some self evaluation. Do we want this because of our own pride? Accept what God has granted to you and put your natural tallents to work in it.

James 2:25-26.
 2:25.  Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
 2:26.  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Faith for Everybody

The concept of faith and works goes together as seemlessly as body and soul. The word used for soul is sometimes translated as spirit. It’s the word ‘pneuma’, the word where we get the English word ‘pneumatic.’ A body that has no spirit, or breath is a dead body. Compared to actions, the tangible thing that people can see, and touch, are dead actions when there is no faith in them.

The special thing here about the example of Rahab is that to have a living faith takes no special requirement on our part. Anybody can have a living faith. In fact, everybody should live that way.

Before, we had been given the example of Abraham, the father of the Israelite people, and religion as we know it from the Bible. A very upright and holy man. Of course he lives by faith.

On the other end of the scale, Rahab has everything against her. Women were considered lesser humans than men. She was the enemy that the Israelites were to conquer. Her profession was far from noble. It was,and still is, one of the furthest from all things churchy and religious. She was an outsider.

Despite all her shortcomings and humble station in life, Rahab recognized God at work. She acted on faith and helped the men who came into the town to scout it out.

In practicing a living faith, it doesn’t take any prequalifications, nobody needs to go through a preapproval process. It starts with a belief, and actions that are inspired by that belief. Those actions also become the proof to anybody who sees them what we believe.

James 2:21-24.
 2:21.  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
 2:22.  Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
 2:23.  And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
 2:24.  You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

Justified in Faith

First, what does justified mean? It sounds like it’s one of those religious word, but we justify things all the time. It’s similar to some accounting words like reconcile, or to balance. To justify means to make things come out correctly, so things even up.

For an example, on my computer’s word processor there is a function called ‘justify.’ When lines are typed, each has different words, and a different amount of characters, so each line ends at a different length. To make the righthand margin come out as straight as the left, extra spaces are inserted to stretch out the line and make it come out right.

Throughout each day of our lives, we do things that falls short of God’s laws and expectations. The real justification is when we make changes to our behavior to meet God’s standard. Instead we often consider ourselves to be right and try to justify our world around us.

In Abraham’s example. The intended outcome of God was not to sacrifice his son, but instead it was just a test. Without knowing God’s intent, he could have tried to justify reasons to not offer his son. He was old, his wife was old, God had told him already that this son was to be his true heir, and not his other son Ishmael. Surely God doesn’t want me to sacrifice him. It would have been so easy to just not do anything, and ignore thise strange request that God made. Abraham didn’t know why God asked for such a thing, but he had faith and trusted God that if this was what he wanted, God would work it out.

Of course, God didn’t intend for Isaac to be killed, but he knew that Abraham was a man who needed things of faith to be demonstrated, acted out. God led Abraham through the motions that would make his faith solid for him.

James makes the claim that the works justified Abraham. If there is anything difficult about this passage it isn’t that a faith without works is dead, it’s the idea that works justifies. Action is the thing that makes faith complete. Imagine if Abraham decided to act without his being called by God to do so. It would be the same act, but for what purpose? He would have just been a guy who was out to kill off his only heir.

Faith comes first. Without faith, works don’t matter. It should be more precisely said that the works, that are done as a result of our faith, is what justifies us to God.

To wrap up: God has a standard for us to meet. We fall short. To be made right or justified, to God’s standards, we need Jesus. Believe in God. There are things he wants for us to do, ways to live our lives. Now that you have faith, take actions based on what belief in Jesus teaches.

James 2:19-20.
 2:19.  You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble!
 2:20.  But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

The Secret of Faith

The thing that should be obvious is that our world, the universe, and everything in it has physical qualities. God is spirit. There is a spiritual realm that we are unable to perceive. We can’t see it, hear it, touch it, smell it, or taste it. Some people refuse to believe it is there, but that is one purpose of the bible. To put into writing, the things that we only get hints at in observing our natural world.

For some reason, people find it easier to believe in devils and emons than in God. James makes this claim that even the demons know and believe God exists. They believe and tremble. So to believe there is a god, the God, then that’s a good start.

Look at the words here in this phrase, “do you want to know,” The word “want’ is one that means to desire something. What is the thing that is desired? Not actions, not faith, but knowledge. The audience that James is speaking to just could not understand the concept of how faith is proved by actions.

Maybe it’s because God is a spirit being, and we can’t see him, that people think of matters of faith as being some sort of mental excersize. Faith is more than a mental state, or thought process. It begins there, but as faith grows, it should overflow into the way we live our lives.

Don’t be fooled. The secret is, there is no secret. God really does exist, and the bible is the true source where we can get to know all about him. Read about his promises. Put it to the test and live according to the laws we are to live by.

Having a faith with actions is more than just a good way to reach other people and have them join the kingdom of God. Living out faith is the way we can have an abundant life here on earth. God’s desire is for his people to thrive. The promise is complete when we live in the way he intends for us to live. We can know and experience a little slice of heaven on earth when we do.

James 2:14-16
 2:14.  What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
 2:15.  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
 2:16.  and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

A Functioning Faith

Faith is nothing if it isn’t put into practice. I can sit and think about faith, and patience, and mercy. I can even talk about their merits, and use logical reasoning to describe how they could be implemented. Actions speak louder than words. If I really believe in faith, there comes a time to live it.

Do you claim to believe, or be something? Do you live it?

To shift gears just a little, James askes, “Can faith save him?” Well, yes, on an individual basis, that’s all it takes, to believe that Jesus died for sins, and accept that gift. Faith alone can save our soul. I think what James is talking about is in our efforts to reach others, In ministring to them, or to convince them to join the kingdom of Christ. People will more likely be convinced if hey can see actual evidence, and benefit in how we liveour lives.

He uses the example of a hungry, needy person. Telling them to have faith and sending them on their way is counterproductive. Now they are hungry, and insulted. They will go away empty handed, with an empty soul, and with the knowledge of how we really practice our hollow faith. They’ll know it, but we probably will remain clueless.

It wouldn’t do to see a person out in a lake, drowning, and have a lifeguard on the beach. A lifeguard who has all the equipment, and training it takes to rescue him, and have that lifeguard stand there and shout out swimming instructions. Or lecture him on his foolishness for being in that mess. Or describe to him how he is going to row a boat out and toss him a line.

Faith demands action. The actions are the result, and proof of our faith. Action is the substance, the application and practice of those religious concepts that get talked about so much. Jesus preached and taught, but he also demonstrated his talk by healing people. Tending to physical needs.

When someone is in need, and God has caused them to cross your path, and you know that you have what they need to help them. Act first, then ask questions later. Tend to the need at hand, the words will come later.

James 2:13
 2:13.  For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Mercy or Judgement

Judgment is good. It is the ability we use to tell if something meets a certain standard. Go to the grocery store and watch people buying fresh produce. You’ll see all kinds of judgement as people pick out just the right apple, or watermellon, or head of lettuce. The idea is to find the one that is freshest, looks best, and will taste good, and not be spoiled or rotten. It’s only smart and healthy to be discerning over food.

God has a specific standard that we each need to meet. When we don’t, he passes us over and we can’t be part of his shopping cart. God is in the place to judge. He knows both the inside and outside of our lives. We only know what is on the outside of those around us. We don’t have any authority to judge. We have a clue, because of the things written in the Bible. If judgement exists, let it be between God, and each individual.

Despite God’s judgement, he is also merciful. His mercy extends to all of us. None of us deserve it. When the opportunity to judge, or show mercy arises, choose mercy. Behavior that goes against God’s standards don’t have to be encouraged, or condoned. If it really bothers you, speak to the other person as a friend and show mercy and kindness. That’s the attribute of God that we need to reflect.

When in doubt, always be merciful.

James 1:25-26

 1:26.  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.
 1:27.  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.

Be Truly Religious.

There’s a story about a traveling salesman who went to a small town. He wanted to have his hair cut, so he could look his best before meeting with his clients the next day. There were two barbers in town and the man sets out to visit their shops before deciding. It was near the close of the day and neither had customers to ask for advice on which was the better barber. The shops weren’t very far apart, so he decides to just take a quick glance in each of their windows. He would have time in the morning to get his hair trimmed and be on his way.

The first barber had a neat and tidy appearance. His shop was well equipped, the floor swept, magazines neatly placed on the table in the waiting area. His mirror and barber tools were all spic and span. Everything certainly seemed orderly and professional looking. Walking the few steps up the block, he glanced in the second barber shop. The barber looked a little rumpled. There was hair clippings all over the floor that he was now sweeping. His place was well enough equipped, but his sink was in need of cleaning, mirrors were a little smudged, the magazines were all in disarray. And his hair cut. Not only was it a little long, it looked as if it hadn’t been cut very well, and was a bit lopsided.

Which barber would you choose? Would it surprise you to know the salesman chose to visit the second, sloppy barber?

Think about it. Both claimed to be a barber. Both were well equipped as far as their barbaer tools went. Generally, people don’t cut their own hair, they have to go to someone else if they want it done well. With only two barbers in town, The neat and tidy barber must have had to go to the sloppy barber to have his hair cut so well. The other’s was sloppy and lopsided. The neat barber was able to keep his shop so clean because he didn’t have many customers, and he had time to keep things clean. The sloppy looking barber was kept so busy, he hardly had time to keep up with housekeping.

Both barbers claimed to be barbers. One clearly did the job well. aybe his shop didn’t look it, but you go to a barber for a good hair cut, not necessarily because he has a flashy environment. The other barber claimed to know his trade, and maybe he did. From the indications of each other’s hair, it was clear who actually put his trade into practice.

In that same way, if we are to claim the title of being religious, or a Christian, but don’t put the things we learn into practice, we don’t show any faith, or confidence in that title. It is very obvious to those who are near us, and even a stranger won’t be fooled for long.

There’s more to it, but one of the age old sign of a religious person is to care for the orphan and widowed. To live a life to a higher standard than the usual morality and ethics of the world, those that our society, lives by. Even non religious people know that certain behaviors are wrong. Theft, murder, treating others fairly, plus any number of civic laws. In following Biblicl laws we should follow those, but walk a higher path. Our actions should prove out our claims.

Hebrews 2:14
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

–NKJ

Let’s look at each phrase in this verse:

Inasmuch then as the children… Children. A word that means children of toddler age. No longer entirely dependant, they can manage to walk around on their own. They are learning to talk but don’t know all the words yet. They can feed themselves, but someone else has to provide the food and cook for them. They are over zealous about the word “No.” They are curious, inquisitive, nosy, even sneaky. More often than not, it seems, the sneaky behavior is more fun to the child than the good behavior. When they get hurt, they are prone to come running for a quick fix from mommy or daddy’s love.

… have partaken … Partaken, fellowship. The children have socialized together, sharing ideas, playing nice on the playground of life. Playing and sharing the joy of new games that they know about. Even sharing their sneaky little tricks, with much delight to the kids, and great frustration to the parents, with all the others on the playground.

… of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, … Flesh and blood. Real tangible, bodily form. Jesus likewise shared.
God wanted to communicate, he wanted to have a relationship with the people he created. God is a spirit, and people are flesh. God created a human body, Jesus, and through him was able to communicate and relate to his created people. Through Jesus he could speakthe the same language, on the same level as his little toddlers. Jesus shared all the playground secrets with the other kids, encouraging them to play the good games. He refused to take part in the sneaky little tricks that went against the rules. Some of the kids might not even have known those tricks were against the rules. Others did know and felt bad, and stopped, but others didn’t.

Jesus was able to interact with people. He lived where they did, and felt what they felt. Just like the other toddlers, he liked the good things in life, milk and cookies, and playing the fun games. He knew there is more to living though. Jesus knew it and wanted to lead the others in the right way to go.

… that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
Things take a serious turn here. Jesus can’t stay and play forever. In the nursery school of life, there is a time when the kids must go home. There’s a door to pass through to get to mom and dad on the other side. Guess what, it’s locked. Somebody played a mean trick on the kids. The devil seems to hold the power of sin and death, the locked door that keeps us from going home. The real nasty part of the trick is that the devil didn’t actually lock the door of sin, he convinced the kids to lock it themselves. The devil just holds the keys and won’t give them back to the kids.

However, Jesus is the son of the guy who owns the school. Not only that Jesus is the son of the man who runs the whole city. He has his own key. In reality his key is his own death.

Jesus had to leave life here early, but he holds the door open for all the kids. He was the first to break through it, and with him standing there holding the door open, the devl can’t do anything about trying to lock it again. Now, the devil can try to send kids to some other place, or tell them the door is still locked, when it isn’t. Some kids will believe those lies. Don’t be one of them.

Amazingly, Jesus now holds all the keys of each of our toddlers in this story. All that is needed is to believe he holds our key, and ask him for it. Ask him for your key so you can go home. Don’t believe the lies that the door is locked, or that some other door will take you home.