Thoughts from James

Good day, internet junkies!

My wonderful and brilliant husband is off on a men's retreat with our church this weekend. I've been having lots of girl fun, but tomorrow I have things to get done. It's definitely been a thinking weekend - in good ways. It seems like I've been up against a lot of problem solving lately. I usually have a "fabulous" way to solve the problem, but it's not usually the best way and it's NEVER the Godly way. I must pursue His way of fixing things.

Take, for instance, our house. We never thought we could own a house - not at this time in our lives. We started praying about it and BOOM God drops the opportunity, the means, and the house right in our laps. AMAZING!! We moved in the end of January.

Four months later the house floods with 4 feet of water and everything in the basement (a second living area) is ruined. People we know and some we hadn't met yet came to help muck it all out. God lead me to a means to fund a permanent construction solution. Then, not two months after it was all finished, the rains came. If our house had NOT been flooded and fixed it WOULD be flooding now. When it flooded in May we had dry weather after the rain and could get it dried out and torn apart. NOT NOW, no way. The water just keeps coming.

I give thanks and am amazed at GOD's timing. Would I want Him to allow the house to flood? Of course not! Would it have been better if it had not flooded and was flooding now? Awful, just horrible. Who's way is better? Mine or God's?? Not mine, that is for sure!

Here is an excerpt from the Nelson Study Bible (props to Dr. Derickson for working on this one!) that talks about the book of James, my personal favorite.

"From fixing a car to wallpapering a bedroom, "how-to" books explain how things are done, with helpful pointers and colorful illustrations. The Epistle of James is the "how-to" book of the Christian life. It is one of the most practical books in the New Testament because it offers instruction and exhortation to Christians who are experiencing problems, as all of us do.

As if the trials themselves were not bad enough, James points out the dangers that come with them. Besides the obvious pitfall of failing to place our TRUST in the Lord and thus not enduring, James speaks of prejudice, improper speech, judging one another, leaving God out of our plans, and even bitterness. Like the author of a "how-to" book, James explains in a few words the responsibilities of a Christian, while supplying apt illustrations from real-life categories . . . " (emphasis mine)

I love reading the book of James because I can so relate to the issues in it. Here is a general outline of what he covers:

Responding to Trials
Responding to Temptations
Being Swift to Hear
Being Slow to Speak
Being Slow to Wrath

Those who know me realize that I don't respond well to trials or temptations, I don't listen, I jump right in with comments, and I can get angry pretty quickly! Do I need to read this book?? OH YES, my friends, oh yes.

The first few sentences of the book are my favorite.

"James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." James 1:1-8

Count it all joy?!? Can James be serious? Yes, he is. When my faith is tested, or my world is rocked, it creates a situation in which I can choose patience or despair. Do I lack wisdom? You bet I do! Thank goodness I can ask God, who gives LIBERALLY. He doesn't tell me how to get out of the trial but how I can learn from the trial. What does "with no doubting" mean? Doubting in this sense means 'to be divided in one's mind' or 'to debate.' It points to a divided allegiance. If I am not putting God first and not trusting that He can handle everything then I am wishy-washy, with no conviction either way.

I love this book! It convicts me to the core and it is straight forward and honest.

me