Wholy4Christ

Good News from the Mission Fields, and Some Bad.

Jun 30

Posted by Paul in Christian thought, News Worthy, Persucution and trials

I am encouraged by the news I get from the different Missions fields. The Baptist Standard tells me that Jimmy and Rosalynn Center Offering for Religious Liberty has been successful in training young women to start home Churches in Iran. In Thailand, I hear that the children that were run out of Burma are under protection from the militants who would cross over into Thailand to take the children back and use them for porters and minesweepers.

In India, the Roman Catholic Church reports that Christians are now being offered protection from Hindu militants and are allowed to start rebuilding their homes and churches. In England, doctors and health workers are demanding the right to pray for their patients.

All these things are good news yet there are still many reports of Christians under attack in these same places as well as in China, Africa and the Near and Middle East. The saddest things I hear are that the Christians are under attack in Israel and in Palestine, not by Arabs or Hezbollah, but by Ultra-conservative Jews. Muslims and Hindus are not the only ones persecuting Christian converts, Messianic Jews are also under attack. Continue to pray for these brave souls and for the Christians in Iraq, Iran and in Pakistan. With every battle won, there are still many more lost.

I am confident that the prophecy of Micah will still be fulfilled, “In the last days, the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem will become the most important place on earth. People from all over the world will come and say, ‘Come let us go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Temple of the God of Israel. There He will teach us His ways,so that we may obey Him.’” That day can not come until Christ is received as the Redeemer of the Nation of Israel, no the secular nation but the Spiritual Nation, the Nation of God.

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A Life Changing Question

Jun 18

Posted by Paul in Quotable, Uncategorized, Wholeness/Christ

Yesterday I received a email from a friend that was forwarded from prayerandprophesy.wordpress.com. It was titled, The Question that Changed My Life, by David Ryser. I want to quote from the article; “Christianity started as a fellowship; moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture’ it came to America and became an enterprise.”

Like the young student in the class, I respond with the statement that the church was to be the living body of Christ and Americans have turned it into a business and therefore, a prostitute. It has long been my complaint that The Church in America has created a “Big Business” attitude towards church membership, book sales and bean counting. But this is nothing new. In the Middle Ages, the Church of Rome and later, he Church of England also made a practice of Salvation by the Dollar. I grew up when TV evangelism was still new but Radio Evangelism was long going and the like of Rev. Ike and Beebe Patton where selling salvation like candy. And even before them, there were tent revivals that conned people out of millions of dollars with fake healings and promises of prosperity.

Many of us came to Christ because we recognized that we were sinners and unworthy of anything good. we came to believe that Jesus redeemed us and gave us worth. But somewhere along the way we started to expect Christ to become our servant rather than being the faithful spouse of Redemption. We sold ourselves out for the pleasures of the World and brought sin back into the house of the Lord, our souls. This may be the reason you are starved for the understanding of God. The Lord told Amos, “I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the LORD.” There is a true lack of the Love of Christ in our lives, as a people of God and as a nation of Truth.

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Give of Your Body, Life for Others!

Jun 17

Posted by Paul in other stuff and gripes

“Honor the LORD with your wealth and the firstfruits of all your produce, then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” I looked through out the Bible for a verse that would be appropiate with the topic I want to broach upon now. Every few weeks I donate blood to the Blood Bank and the last two times my iron was very low. My wife, who also gives blood, iron level was too low to donate. This stressed us greatly and we made plans too change our diets to include more iron rich foods and to improve our bodies.

But this reminded me that we had indicated that we would like our organs, eyes, skin and whatever to be used in case of death. A while ago, I asked a friend of mine if I could donate one of my kidneys to her because she suffers total kindey failure. I was shocked to find out that because of my age (I just turned 65) I WAS TOO OLD! I was really disapointed about this because I felt that God directed me to offer my kidney for her. But the more I thought about it, the more I upset I got that healthy people could not donate just because of their age.

Then again, I thought perhaps God want’s me to reach out to those who are younger than me and let them know that I gift of yourself for a friend or a stranger is exactly what Jesus would have done. As far as my organs, skin and eyes are concerned, I am past my prime, I have out lived my usefulness. But to the many young, healthy and vigorous people, this is your time! To find out how you can help the many people who need kidneys, platlets, bone marrow, plasma or skin tissue, contact: www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org
or research the web for the nearest organization that you can assist.

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Getting Older is a Blessing.

Jun 14

Posted by Paul in Psalm thoughts

I cry out to God Most High,
to God Who fulfills His Purpose for me.
…..
My heart is steadfast, O God
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
Psalm 57:2,7

Today I am older! June 15 is my birthday and I made it through another year. and today at church, I sang praises to my Father in Heaven that we have survived another year. But most importantly, I praise Him for the blessings of the spirit He has provided me. I lost friends this year, many did not live this year out and I miss them. some were blessings and comfort to me in my struggles and to some, I offered comfort and God’s wisdom in their struggles.

the man who offered me a spiritual place of rest passed to glory and was followed by his sweet wife to soon afterwards. My sweet friend Wendy who struggled with cancer, was taken up just a short while ago. And in between, other dear friends left the world as well. Yet in the midst of it all, God’s Grace and Glory shown the light of Happiness and Peace. And I am still here!

Like David, while he hid in the caves, praised God as he was protected form Saul, in the midst of the turmoil of my soul, I found that God not only protects me from my “enemies”‘ He provided answers to my inquiries. God has indeed made a sad and troubled soul find reason to praise and to make merry in the sight of the LORD! There are many reasons to find fault, but the one reason to rejoice is stronger than any of them. The reason for merriment is the fact that throughout the trials and turmoil of not only my life but the lives of all my family, God has provided.

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I have learned this past year that I am selfish, vain and overly proud. I have placed to much importance on who I am rather than on who God has made me. I learned that forgiveness is the true form of love, that mercy is for all just as Christ has offered mercy to me. I have learned to listen to God as the Word teaches me how to live.

But most importantly, I learned that of all the pains and suffering I have gone through in my life, they are nothing to the pains ans suffering others have gone through in just the last year. And those sufferings are nothing to the torment Jesus went through in just one day for our souls. This Year I was humbled before the LORD and nobody made that more abundantly clear than my dear friend Wendy, God bless her sweet soul!

So here I am, now sixty-six years old and still a “child” when it comes to knowing God. And as I go through another year in the life of a disciple, I will watch over the words I say, the Spirit of what is held in my heart and the Testimony of the Spirit that I am guided to share that I will seek god’s truth and the Wisdom of Christ in all I say. The passage from Luke 21:34-36. “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day comes upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

In the year to come, I will hold onto the words of Isaiah 26:3-5, You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. “Trust in the LORD forever. for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock. For He humbled the inhabitants of the height, the loft city.” May I never seem lofty or value my insights more than what they are, Words from God to direct my life towards a more perfect life, one that I still have not obtained nor will ever without His Guidance.

I close with saying, “Happy Birthday to me!” but still wish that they never end for I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO LEARN BEFORE I WILL DEEM MYSELF ACCEPTABLE TO THE SERVICE OF THE LORD!

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Isaiah 58:5-11 True Fasting is Hard Work

Jun 9

Posted by Paul in Christian thought

Isaiah 58:5,
Is such a fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the LORD?

READ ISAIAH 58:6-11
Thus begins the lesson from God on what is really an acceptable fast to the LORD. It is not these things, they have little meaning to God. What does it matter to Him if we starve ourselves for a day and make gestures of false piety? While fasting in such a manner as a exercise in sacrifice and preparation of Meditation and prayer is of a benefit for us, it does not show God any blessing or importance to our servant-hood. While abstinence is a worthy exercise in personal discipline, its spiritual value is questionable.

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God wants us to be a people of action and compassion. This is why He is telling the people of Israel, those in captivity in Babylon to quit being self serving fools and restore righteousness with in their community. We like to think that the Israelites were kept captive and treated as slaves in Babylon but the truth is that most were treated fairly and allowed to live unmolested within the Empire. Historical records have proven that they were merchants, money changers, bankers and even had become land owners and even had slaves of their own. They had become complacent in their situation and many never returned to Israel even when they were given the chance. In the midst of this, Isaiah comes and tells them that the ritual fasts that they have been doing are just a wasted effort and do not please God at all. He relates to them what is a true fast.

The first thing is to free the oppressed. Isaiah 58:6 “Is not this the fast I choose; to loose the bond of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free? But who are wicked, the Babylonians? The Children of Israel? Perhaps it is both. While we would think that it is the captors, Isaiah is talking to the Israelites. They are the ones who have been giving God lip service and empty rituals. They were slave owners and landlords who took advantage of weaker and susceptible people. Years later, when God has paved the way for the return to Israel, Nehemiah tells the people, “So I said the thing you are doing is not good. Ought you not walk in the fear of Our God to prevent the taunts of out enemies? More over, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest…..We will restore these and require nothing from them. (Nehemiah 5:9-11).“The problem of usury is still around today and many who call themselves Christians, are the very ones imposing unfair interest and high fees.

Isaiah goes on saying (Isaiah 58:7), “Is it (a fast) not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh (your kinsmen)? A true fast is not just doing without, it is to give of yourself for others. A fast is to do without food so that someone else may eat. It is to wearing worn out clothing so that you may give your best clothes to someone who has no clothing. It is to open your door to strangers and share your home with them who have no place to live. It is to make yourself available to relatives even when you do not want to. It is to do all these things as an act of Love toward God and as a sacrifice for Him. Ezekiel 18:5-9, reads, “If a man is righteous and does what is just and right-….does not oppress anyone….gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, does not… withhold his hand from injustice…walks in My statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully- he is righteous: he will surely live, declares the LORD.” By the fast of righteousness, the fast of committing to others what is yours, we honor God. The fasts of man just to do without, to go hungry for a day or even for a month has little meaning if we still have the food in our pantries. Doing without has less merit if we do not use those resources to aid others. This is the meaning of fasting: to do without and to give to others what is ours. Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:35, “I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me.” Jesus was telling us that to have charity for others in His Name is to fast, to do without, in honor of God. It is clear that fast does not mean to go hungry, it means to give up of yourself for God. It is the emptying of ourselves for the welfare of others, to serve God in sacrifice for all.

I need to add here that Christ fasted, He did without to cleanse His body and to prepare Himself to the ministry that the Father had prepared Him for. I am not saying that to fast is wrong, I am saying to fast to show others your “purity” is a false fast and God will reject it as He did the postures of the Pharisees and the rich.

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.” Heb. 13:2. True fasting is showing the hospitality of Christ to your fellowman, isn’t this what Christ showed us? When Jesus came down from Heaven and humbles Himself to become a man so that He could sacrifice Himself for our sins, He gave us Himself as a True Fast. God showed us the humility of the fast by giving all of Himself for us. When we do these things, Isaiah says, our light will break forth like the dawn, The LORD will hear our prayers, He will say, “Here I Am.” If we stop pointing fingers at others and blaming them for our sins, if we feed and care for the needy, then we will be the true Light unto the World. (Isaiah 58:8-10) God longs for our souls, He desires that we have a right heart and He is hungry to feed us righteousness. We need to fast, to empty ourselves of unrighteousness and grasp His Grace with both hands. As Christ Jesus fasted for us, let us fast for righteousness. For Our Lord and Our Savior wants to restore us who were called outcasts. He will heal our spiritual wounds and restore our health (Jer. 30:7). Yet we are to fast in our unclean hearts and purge unrighteousness from our hearts so that we can be fed the grace of the Father, the Living bread and Water that is Jesus.

“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hands against your poor brother.” (Deuteronomy 15:7) Our fast is to be the open and helping hand, the graciousness of a willing and giving heart. In this way we are rewarded with blessing from on High. In the fast of giving ourselves, we are weaned of unrighteousness and welcome the heavenly manna of Christ’s grace. By the fast of Isaiah, we are cleansed of selfishness and are able to grow in God’s mercy, to fed not only the bodies of the needy but also their souls and their spirits.

So pour yourselves out for the hungry, the meek and the downtrodden and satisfy the desire of the afflicted and the Light of Jesus will shine from you. You will be a well watered garden, a field filled with blessed fruit, of holy grain. You will be filled with the Spirit of the Living God. And as God restored Israel to the people, He will restore your soul and your heart with joy and peace. From the words of Jesus, (John 4:14) “…Everyone who drinks of the water that I will give will never thirst again.” Let your fast be the hunger for the Word and the Way of the Lord. Empty yourselves for His righteousness and seek the servant’s life. Put away the things of man and the desires of the world, that is a just fast. Give yourselves to the Father by your willingness to freely give of the things of the world to serve the needs of His People.

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Religious Laws in Azerbaijan: Are they an attack on Christians?

Jun 6

Posted by Paul in Persucution and trials, Polical Theology

There is concerns that the new Religion Reform Laws of the small Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan are really an attack on the freedoms of the minority Christian religions of the country. While religious freedom is guaranteed in the Constitution of the nation, the new laws give the government more control over who can worship and where they can meet. I carefully read the press release of Forum 18, a religious watchdog group, and found little evidence that the new laws were designed to attack Christians but where targeting radial militant Muslims and “State Religions” of foreign groups.

The History of the conflicts between the Russian Orthodox and the Armenian Orthodox people give rise to caution in this fledgling democracy. Its location in southeastern Europe and the closeness to the oil fields in the Caspian Sea make for a very nervous Government. The fact that the pipe lines from the Caspian Sea go through their country and into Georgia and Turkey keeps them on their toes. But perhaps the most dangerous threat comes from Iran and its oppressive form of Islam and the possible spread of radical, militant and inhumane cell groups like the ones that raked havoc in its neighbor, Afghanistan.

Ninety-three percent of its residents are Islamic and have lived in peace with its Christian neighbors. Combined, the Armenian and Russian Christians only represent five percent of the population. The other two percent are a mix of Hare Krishna, Evangelical Christians and Atheists. The new laws will affect mostly those Islamics who want to start cults or religious cells that do not promote religious tolerance. Even though Shi’ite Muslims are the majority, they are not of the same mindset as those in Iran.

While we need to be aware of the temptation to exploit others by the new laws, we should take into consideration that they are trying to protect their people from terrorists who use religion to promote hate and violence. They suffered under the cloak of the USSR for decades and resent foreign entanglements and the intrusion of others into their way of peaceful coexistence. They would no more welcome a repressive Religious Regime than they would welcome the return of Communism. Pray that they seek the Wisdom of God and the sensibility of International Law when enacting the new laws. Pray that they find that the true believers of God seek only to live within the peace of God and desire never to bring harm to others. Pray that the doors of Spiritual Freedom are opened to those who bring the Message of Peace into the land.

What I want to stress here is these laws make it impossible for terror groups like the Al Qaeda and the Taliban form forming cells in Azerbaijan. And that is a very good thing! What the government of Azerbaijan needs to do is to act with tolerance and gentleness when dealing with the over enthusiastic Evangelists. Let them examine the intent of these missionaries and the heart of the message. And I applaud Forum 18 for keeping us informed of what is happening in these small Republics across Europe and Western Asia.

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My Running Battle with DSL

Jun 4

Posted by Paul in other stuff and gripes

For the last six months I have been arguing with my DSL provider, the Computer Work Shop and the billing department about the speed of my service. I have been paying for 3Mb speed and getting .75Mb service. In fact, in the end I bought new computers for my wife and myself and instead of getting the faster speed I requested again and again, the speed dropped to .52Mb. In my latest inquiry, I found that I HAVE NEVER received the service that I have paid for.

The problem has risen to the level that I am ready to complain to the Dreaded Media about the lack of service and satisfaction from my provider. ALMOST but not quite. Just this morning we found out that the problem may simply be that the provider does not talk to itself and the local office never was told that we were being billed for the higher service so they never started it. How dumb is that?

It is not the fact that I NEED the high speed as much as it is the point that I have been paying for something that I never received. It is not that I once asked for the slow speed and later upgraded, I always wanted the higher speed. It is like going to a restaurant and asking for a steak dinner and getting a hamburger patty. Now that we have found the source of our problems, maybe we can get satisfaction (and speed) and we can be compensated for the lousy service we have put up with for the last four years.

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Lessons from Christ: Dealing with Temptation and Duty. (Luke 17:1-10)

May 27

Posted by Paul in Christian thought, Wholeness/Christ

Thoughts on Luke 17:1-10
While reading Scriptures the other day, I was struck with the reality that Jesus spoke of Temptation and Forgiveness as a joint aspect of Christian walk. Not to say that we are to welcome temptation but that we will be faced with it and many times we will fall victim to it. And because this is an inevitable fact, we should also be disciples of Forgiveness. And we should not look upon the ministry of works as something that sets us apart from others or seek praise for being “good Christians.”

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!” (Luke 17:1 ESV) The NLT reads “How terrible it will be for who does the tempting.” This warning is twofold. Woe to Satan and woe to each of us who leads others into sin. While we like to blame Satan for all our troubles, it is as likely as not that fellow Christians are the cause of our sinning. When Christians lead others into sin by justifying or by condoning wrong actions or thought, Jesus says it is better for them to be thrown into the deep dark sea rather than face His judgement. When we, by our actions, display a sinful attitude and tell others that we are doing “God’s will”, we cause grief to the Holy Spirit and mock Christ. How disingenuous it must be for Christ to see us tempt others into wrong behavior while professing righteousness. This was the chief complaint against the Jewish leaders.

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Yet as quickly as He condemns these people, He pursues a forgiving heart toward them. Even as He was dying on the cross, He pleads with the Father in Heaven to forgive them. His command to us is to do likewise; forgive them if they repent and seek to be reconciled with you. Jesus says to rebuke them in their wrongness and if they hear the charges against them and change from the evil of their ways, forgive them. If they recant wrong teachings and seek out the truth of the Word, if the repent of sins and the mistakes of the past or they simply say, “I was wrong in how I was living,” then we are to forgive. And if they slip back into the bad habits, we are to forgive again. It is the motto of Alcohol Anonymous to take it one day at a time. If you fall today, then today starts a new beginning.

Jesus says in these verses to forgive seven times if they sin seven times, in other words, never fail to forgive. In another place he tells Peter to forgive seven times seventy. Just as there is no end in God’s forgiveness, there should be no end in ours. God put only one condition on forgiveness and it is a three fold condition; you are to acknowledge that you’re a sinner, repent of your sinful ways and resolve to never repeat the sins. And even the strongest of us will still weaken. Paul told of his struggle to live a holy and blameless live. He tells us that as hard as he might, every time he strives for goodness, evil is revealed in him. If Paul, who was close to God, still struggled with sin, how much more do we struggle? If we recognize that we still fail to be obedient to God, how much more we should be willing to forgive others.

And as God revealed His Love by Grace, it is by His Grace that sin is revealed in us. It is by the Grace of Jesus and the workings of the Holy Spirit that we can see, that because we are weak and fail daily, we are to die daily to Christ. With this knowledge, we should be able to recognize that as Christ forgives us, we are to forgive others. When we acknowledge our wrongs, we can see the reasoning in forgiving the wrongs of others.

Because of the sins that hide or harm , we often use Luke 17:2 to relate to harming children but to Jesus we are all His Little Ones. So whatever rules, decrees or even our inaction causes harm to any member of the body of Christ Believers, they offend God greatly. I am not talking about differences of opinion or interpretations of Scripture, we will always have those, but instead I am relating to using Scriptures to promote sin as some have done. Paul tells us that God will have a harsher punishment for those who use faith to deceive. Jesus says that they will be treated as weeds among the wheat or goats in the flocks of sheep. Yet even these can be changed. As Christ granted us mercy by His sacrifice, let us grant grace to others; Grace in correction and Grace in forgiveness.

Jesus says “increase your Faith!” and then he continues with a statement of being a servant. These verses (Luke 17:7-10) expand on the forgiveness and the hazards of temptation. Because we have the tendency to puff ourselves up as “Good Christians” when we do things in our church or our community. Because we are all sinners down deep, we face temptation and tend to be judgemental, we elevate ourselves and cast disparity on others. Jesus asks us to think of ourselves as slaves or employees of God. If our bosses ask us to do a job, and it is within our means, we do it. We don’t deserve extra praise. When we go to work and do what is expected of us, we shouldn’t expect extra praise or bonuses. So it is with the works of Christ given to us.

Even if we do accomplish great things, it is because it is expected of us by Christ. We are doing nothing more than is asked of us by God. Think on this: God asks of us nothing more than we are able to do. God owes us nothing because without God, we are nothing. We owe Him everything, in of ourselves, we are unworthy of any blessing. We are told in the Word of God, that much is required of those to whom much is given. In the same way, we who are called to be servants of Christ, are required to live wiser, act fully in the Word and to accomplish all tasks God sets before us. He will never ask us to do more than we are able to do. In the same way, as servants, we are to not seek praise for doing what God has asked us to do. At the end of the day, when we are called before Christ in judgment, we should be able to say to the LORD, “We have simply done our duty.” (Luke 17:10)

We are to regard all the works of our hands and our hearts as doing what was required of us, as a privilege to serve Our Master. We are to look at the efforts we have taken as unworthy of praise because we are simply doing what is asked of us and nothing more. The obedience of God’s Will is nothing to seek praise for but a humble acknowledgement of being a servant of the Most High. No honor on earth is meaningful when God is the cause of our service.

The message of Jesus is to admonish us not to dwell into spiritual pride nor to exalt ourselves nor working with expectations of recognition, self esteem and gloating but to humble ourselves with love and say, “As you wish,” to Christ. Remember that Jesus humbled Himself to become a mere man so as to die for our recompense, to reconcile us to the Father. He humbled Himself to die so that we may live eternally with the Father. When we can grasp that in total acceptance, we are forced to accept that we are nothing but what God designs us to be. It becomes a duty of Love to serve Him, that in itself is the only reward we should desire. Our worth is in the fact that we can do our duty for Him not in the works themselves, but in the grace that we are able to do them.

The failing is when we say, “Look at what I did for God.” It usually means, “Look what I did for me.” It is hard not to do that, yet we are to share what God does in our lives and what we are doing to share His Goodness and Love. We are called to talk about the greatness of God’s works in our lives and how we are changed by Him. But we are not to become proud and haughty. The effort is, in our minds and our souls, to give God the Glory for what he has enabled us to do. We are to speak with Christ’s voice, not our own. We are called to be His hands on earth, serving others in His place. We are doing the duty of the Household of God as He willed it. Not so others may boast of us or because we seek stature in the House of the Lord, but because it is our duty to God and to Mankind to do right before the Lord. And we are to do all things so that they bring pleasure to God for we were created for His pleasure.

So live modestly, speak humbly and with the softness of the Harmony of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And always carry in your heart that which is of the Grace of God. Remember that we are in ourselves unworthy of anything yet by the grace that God has showered us with, we are able to work for Him and with His Purpose. Do what God requires of you because you are unworthy of His Blessings. Do what God expects of you and do not think that you can surprise God by doing more. If you are doing more, it is because God demands it of you. Live in peace with your fellow workers, for they also are servants of God. Do not think that because you can do more, you are more blessed or favored in His eyes. Our wages are the same, we will be blessed in Heaven. Each according to the gifts given. We are rewarded not by how many gifts given but by how they are used. Each has a task given by God, some greater tasks, some lesser tasks. Each will be called into account according to how the have preformed the tasks asked of them. If one who is given many tasks performs few, his service will be revoked, but he who has a few tasks and performs them well, he will be blessed. To each of us is given a vocation of service to Christ, let us adhere to our duty and perform them to the best of our abilities, never settling for less than all we can give. So that in the end we can say truthfully, “We have simply done our duty.”

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Some Proverbs From James

May 20

Posted by Paul in Christian thought, Wholeness/Christ

James 4:1-17 On who is wise and who is foolish. Fighting sin in the Church.

The whole of James 4 is a lesson on Christian Proverbs and a seething rebuke of the attitudes of the Church that have crept into the body of believers. He starts out with the question, “Who causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?” (James 4:1) It is the passions of the world. The desires of “self” turn us away from grace. James states that the passions of the human self are at war with the Spiritual self. It is foolishness to think that God wants us to bicker and quarrel with each other. Wisdom is to think of the other before ourselves and to consider each other’s views, circumstance and life when worshiping Christ.

James 4:2 continues with. “You desire so you murder. You covet what you can not obtain.” So what do you do? You plot against each other. Rick Warren, in Forty Days of Love, relates how we are told to care for one another fifty-eight times in the New Testament. While I have not looked them all up, I am sure that he is right. How can we care for each other if we covet or are angry because others have what we do not? How can we love Christ if we plot against one another?

James 4:3 relates that if we pray without the Spirit of God, asking for the worldly things so as to reap material or social gain, we do not receive any blessings. We must be of a pure heart, not a selfish one. James 4:4-5 equate these desires as adultery. Loving the World while claiming to Love God is being double minded, worshiping the things of the world while proclaiming to worship God. You can’t do both. He says, “Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself to be an enemy of God.”(James 4:4) Yet James tells us that the Holy Spirit jealously yearns for our hearts and that is why God dwells within us. To seek after the things of the world and to seek to cause damage to others, grieves the Spirit within us.

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James 4:6 quotes Proverbs 3:34 from the Greek, “The LORD mocks the mockers but he shows favor to the humble.” He could have added the next verse as well, Prov. 3:35, “The wise inherit honor, but fools are put to shame!” God gives Grace to those who abide in kindness. As you show love toward one another, He blesses you with more and more grace. He tells us to submit to God in His will. We are to resist the wiles of Satan and devote ourselves to being caring and obedient. If we do this and are persistent in it, the devil will flee.

James 4:8,9 may have been read as this: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts. You double minded, be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.” He seems to be talking to those who as Christians have reclaimed the ways of the flesh and in their sins, rejected the teachings of Jesus to Love one another as Christ loved them. James 4:10 admonishes them to humble themselves, to submit to God’s holy ways and to return from the wickedness that plagues the church. Be humble and let God exalt you. Do not seek glory or fame or position for yourselves but let the Spirit of God within the body of elders do it. We are to lament our wrong doings, rely on God to lift us up and be pure and blameless before the body of believers and Christ who is the head of the Church.

James 4:11-12 speaks of slander, judgement and spiritual lawlessness. We are told to not judge each other, not to quibble about the Law. God is the Judge of our hearts and the Lawgiver. When we challenge the Law of God and condone or excuse sin or when we create “new sins” we are saying that we are better than God in interrupting the Law of Christ and His Heavenly Father. When we set ourselves up as judge and jury over others in the church, without a clear spiritual understanding of the purpose of scripture, we question God. There is only One Lawgiver, and that is God. There is only one Judge and that is Jesus. Only Jesus can save or condemn, Who are we to set a standard or requirements as did the Pharisees? Do we set standards that are unlivable? Are we questioning the faith of other by standards that we set for ourselves? Do we judge others by their clothing or by their status in the community? Do we judge others by their past and not their present or future heart? Jesus didn’t, so why should we?

James speaks against the planning of the future rather than trusting in God to provide.

R.E.S.T. in the Lord