WORK HARD...

"Work hard!" I said to my son as he was headed to the gym to work on his shot. 

Then I saw this... 

OK - Got it! I'm off to the gym for leg day!

For now...

D

HANG ON... STAY WITH ME... JUST A LITTLE LONGER...

The prayer of a righteous person has great power...     -- James 5:16

Prayer is much like exercise. Both are things we tend to talk a lot about. The execution however, the doing, usually lags behind.

There is no way to dodge an uncomfortable truth: we practice what we believe. Everything else is just talk.

None of us needs a shovel full of guilt heaped upon us. And that is not my intention. So before you tune out let me just say, hang on... stay with me ... just a little longer... 

We have good intentions. There are things we want to be more diligent about in our lives. The doing has just lagged behind. Maybe, like exercise, we've tried to pray. And I'm not just talking about canned prayers over meals; but really pray. After all, the true purpose of prayer is to know God (see THE POINT OF PRAYER; April 27). We begin strong, but are easily distracted or discouraged. Why? Because we expect immediate results. We want instant gratification. And with prayer (like exercise), we miss the point.

The victory is in the doing. 

The power is in the practice. 

And in the doing of prayer, we have a personal trainer - the Holy Spirit - who says, "Hang on... stay with me... just a little longer..." 

The results won't come. 

The results are!

You are righteous! Not because of you, but because of the One who calls you His! And according to James, because you are righteous, your prayer has great power!

So: 

Hang on... stay with me ... just a little longer... 

God, more importantly than practicing what I preach, help me to pray what I preach.

For now...

D

No one prays alone, no one suffers alone, no

THE POINT OF PRAYER

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. -- James 4:8

God is never far away. 

(From a theological perspective, it would be impossible after all, since he is by nature omnipresent.) 

There are times however, when we feel God is absent, or at least distant. Sometimes in our struggles or fear we do not sense his presence. At times of darkness or loneliness we are unaware of his nearness.

Three truths:

#1 We cannot hide from God's presence. 

David wrote:

Where shall I go from your Spirit? 

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

-- Psalm 137:7-10

#2 We learn to seek God most when his presence is felt the least. 

We don't seek out what is right in front of us. We take it for granted. But when something we need seems lost (picture your keys, wallet or phone), we seek. We search - until we find. We are to seek this God who is present, yet is at times hard to find; this God who is near, yet seems distant. Because in the seeking he is quietly building a character of perseverance and hope within us (see Romans 5:1-5). 

#3 The point of prayer is not to tell God stuff he is unaware of, or to ask him for things we need or want (and all of these are fine - but not the point). The point of prayer is to get to know God. 

James writes:

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions... But God gives more grace. Therefore it (the scripture) says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God... Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

-- James 4:3-8 (selected)

God is never far away.

Humbly draw near to him. He is closer than you think. 

God, I will draw near.

For now...

D

WISDOM

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 
-- James 3:17


We make choices every day, moment by moment. And each of our choices individually - and even more so, cumulatively - affect both our lives and those of the people around us. These choices are based on our perspective... our judgement... our wisdom.

The Apostle Paul writes that we are to ...have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ (Philippians 2:5). He adds that as believers, ...we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Therefore...

• our perspective - what we (choose to) see...
• our judgement - how we think and discern...
• our wisdom -  the understanding upon which we base our perspective and judgement...

...Are to be shaped and molded by Christ himself. 

As 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is a description of Godly love, so James 3:17 is a description of Godly wisdom. (And isn't it odd how closely these resemble each other... and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23?)

Godly wisdom is not the norm of our times. Look again at the description...

pure... peaceable... gentle... reasonable... merciful... 

producing good fruit... impartial... sincere...

One need only to watch 15 minutes of television to see these qualities are in short supply; and worse, that they are not valued. 

However, these qualities - this wisdom - is attractive and compelling. It is especially so to those who are hurting, to those who are worn-out by life, to those who understand their need for something deeper and more meaningful. To them, this wisdom, this love, this fruit is a promise of peace and rest. It is also a challenge to purpose and greater destiny. 

Let our choices be truly based on the wisdom from above. It is promised to those who seek. 

God, let my choices be yours.

For now...

D

Excuses are like...

Saw this on the gym wall this morning.

One problem... It should say:

"Let YESTERDAY be the last day.."

Now I need to make those words real!

For now...
D

THE MERCY OF FAITH

Mercy triumphs over judgement.
-- James 2:13

James famously lays out an argument for true faith in the second chapter his letter. Faith, he says must do. It must produce. True faith - living faith always does. Faith that does nothing is dead faith. It is not faith. It is anti-faith.

True faith does. 

Remember for a moment that in the original writings there were no chapter designations, there were no breaks with subheadings (and for that matter, there was no punctuation!). Read verse 13 again and immediately move into verse 14. 

One of the products of true faith is mercy. A mercy that is powerful and triumphs over judgement. Faith is the bridge of relationship to the One who has loved us, and loves us. And it is in this relationship with the lover of our souls that we truly understand mercy. God is merciful to those who seek mercy. He is merciful to those desperate for mercy. And we receive his mercy by faith.

And the full circle:

Those who most need mercy... 

those who long for mercy... 

are those who receive mercy.

And they who have received mercy...

Extend mercy.

And in doing so...

Live their faith!

God, be merciful to me; and give me faith to be merciful.

For now...

D

LACKING NOTHING...

And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.     -- James 1:4

Happiness and joy are related. But they are distant cousins. One is a result, the other a cause. One is a feeling, the other a choice. One is emotion, the other a state of heart.

The root of the word happiness - hap - was an ancient word basically meaning luck, or fortune. One of the "cousins" we get from the word is happenstance. The idea is that at times (and on some) luck smiles and fortunes are good. At other times (and on others), a frown. The result is that the person being smiled or frowned upon is happy, or not, according to forces completely beyond his control. Therefore, at its origin happy was most closely akin to lucky. 

I am going to make two contradictory statements, but hopefully we can reconcile them. 

• Statement 1: Unlike happiness, joy is not conditional. In other words, it is not based on circumstances.

• Statement 2: Joy is conditional. Struggling with the contradiction? Stay with me. Joy is conditional in the sense that it is based on the condition of our heart. And it is based on our perspective. 

Happenstances, by definition, happen; many within our control, most beyond. Joy however, is within our control. And joy is not based on outward circumstances or conditions (i.e. happenstances). 

Jesus said this about a joyful perspective:
Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these other things will be added to you. -- Matthew 6:33
To this Paul added that we are to run the race of life and faith by, ...fixing our eyes on Jesus. 
This is the JOY PERSPECTIVE. 

Jesus said about a joyful heart:
"Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" -- John 7:38
This is the JOYFUL HEART. 

So back to James chapter one. Joy perseveres through all circumstances; through the roller-coaster emotions of happiness and grief. Joy overcomes because it is subject only to our perspective - our focus on Christ;  and our heart - his presence within us. 

I once heard a preacher say:

No Jesus... No joy

Know Jesus... Know joy.

(Not bad)

God, I choose joy.

For now...
D