Digging Deeper

“But he gives us more grace” -James 4: 6

1) Submit yourselves to God
2) Resist the devil
3) Come near to God
4) Wash your hands
5) Purify your hearts
6) Grieve, mourn and wail
7) Change your laughter to mourning
Change your Joy to gloom
9) Humble yourselves before the Lord
10) He will lift you up

The above are practical steps for following God and becoming a Disciple of Christ Jesus. In Henry Blackaby’s book “Experiencing the Cross”, Dr. Blackaby explains why Christ had to come and suffer very publicly for the sin of mankind. Sin must be dealt with, definitely, radically, matter of factly and absolutely. Why did Jesus have to die on a cross? Because our sin is that important to God that we deal with it in a very radical way. Death of His dear Son in a very public forum, bleeding, suffering, dying for our sin and the sin of the world was the only way to radically deal with sin. Why did Jesus ask His Father to “let this cup pass from me”? My sin and yours was in the cup. Our cheating, rebellion, lying, stealing, unfaithfulness, disobedience and selfishness was all in the cup. And Jesus drank every bitter, nasty drop for you and me. Think you can just ignore the little sins you think no one knows about? Not a chance! They were all in the cup. James tells us very practically how to deal with it and now it is up to you. I’ll be praying for you.

Scripture Reading James 4: 13-17

Prayer Father, create in me a clean heart. I long for your cleansing touch in my life now and forever…….

“Submit yourselves, then to God” -James 4:7

The word submission has a very bad connotation in our society. To submit is generally a sign of weakness or inability. In the Ultimate Fighting Championships it is the complete inability to endure any more pain and the combatant “taps out” which is suppose to be a sign to the referee that they have had enough punishment. Sometimes, in the Christian life it feels that way. We feel that God is twisting our arm until we can stand no more. The Greek word here for submit literally means “to make war, strive or besiege’ against one’s self. Jesus says in Luke 9:23 that we must deny our self take up our cross and follow. This concept is a hard one for most everyone in our society today even though we are getting a taste of doing without stuff. In Jesus’ time, this was even harder because family ties were so strong and much of your livelihood was wrapped up in family. Denying one’s self to follow Christ might mean loosing your whole family, your way of life and your way to make a living. I had a friend from college, Paul Armogum, from Jamaica. Paul’s family was Buddhist. When Paul became a Christ-follower, he was dead to his family. His father even posted a sign on the porch of their home stating the date of his death so that the whole neighborhood would know. On a trip to Jamaica a couple years ago, I went to his home. His father would not speak to me, his mother would not look at me but his sister talked with me briefly and related the story. However, Paul had submitted freely to God. He had started a “different kind of church” in Anderson Indiana. Paul was discriminated against because he appeared to be a Black man(with straight hair), married to a white(red haired woman named Naomi and our church felt that this was unacceptable for a man of the cloth so Paul started “Resurrection Center” at the Y. 400 hookers, drug dealers, and misfits from every part of central Indiana. People were finding Christ when they really were not welcome elsewhere. He even related the story of baptizing a woman and a bag of cocaine floated to the top of the pool and she said “I wanted it baptized too, ‘cause I can’t beat this on my own”. Char now runs the women’s center there. Paul had found the secret of “losing to win”. (see reading for today) It is truly the secret of surrender and God honors surrender. When we learn to let go and trust God, will we truly find contentment and true happiness in Christ Jesus.

Scripture Luke 9: 23-27

Prayer Father, like the old hymn says “all to Jesus, I surrender all”, that is my prayer……..

by Rick Drake

‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.’
Leviticus 19: 16

    We can’t talk about taming the tongue without talking about gossip.

    The idea of gossiping has become so watered down that it’s become a favorite form of communication in the modern world. There are magazines, television shows, and websites dedicated to gossip. We can spread gossip by phone, text, voicemail, email, post it on myspace, facebook, xanga. It’s not only accepted, it’s expected.

    “You’re not going to believe this…”, “I heard -”, “If you repeat this, I’ll deny it…”

    Usually a conversation that starts out with one of these phrases is going to be hurtful to someone somewhere. I find it a little strange that although gossiping has become an acceptable part of our culture, no one wants to be called a “gossip”, and we throw out disclaimers such as “I’ll deny it” before we get to the juicy stuff.
It must be because deep down, we know we shouldn’t be doing it. It breaks trust and creates discord among all involved. On top of all of that, it’s usually wildly inaccurate.

    One of my daughters once wanted to know the difference between gossip and just “talking”. I told her that if she’s got to look around constantly to see who’s walking by, she’s gossiping.

    Lord, help me to resist gossip whether I’m talking or listening.

Read:1 Timothy 3:8-11

by: Jeanne Roberts

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
James 3:13-16

    To me, there are few things that are as ugly as selfishness. I have seen people driven by envy and selfishness, who take no action that has not been rooted in selfishness.

   ”For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”
I like the word ‘disorder’ in this verse. Chaos, confusion, mess. When we have envy and selfishness in our hearts, we work to serve ourselves rather than others. This is surely of the devil, as it works to the opposite of our mission as Christ followers. Not only are we thinking of ourselves before others, we are also placing a higher value on earthly things than on God.

    Those same people that I’ve known who were driven by selfishness, working to obtain earthly things – - no matter how hard they worked, no matter how much effort was spent , they were never fulfilled. They always saw someone else who appeared better off. And so the bitterness would grow, and the cycle would continue.

    Thankfully, those days are far behind me. I have found that there is nothing as fulfilling as sharing my gifts and my testimony with someone who needs them.

Read: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

by: Jeanne Roberts

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
James 3:9-12

    I’m reminded of the Casting Crowns song, “The Altar and the Door” after reading these verses.

“Jesus I’m trying so hard
to stop trying so hard
Just let you be who you are
Lord, who you are in me

Oh Lord, I try-
Like so many times before,
But my eyes -
Are dry before I leave the floor.

Oh Lord, I try-
But Jesus, how can I be sure
I will not lose my follow through
between the altar and the door?”

    I know personally, I struggle with this duplicity. During service, or when I’m praying, or when I’m reading my Bible ,whenever I’m “with” God, my heart is full of praise and gratitude and humility.
But so often it all evaporates when something happens that isn’t ‘fair’, or gets in my way. Too often I have exploded with curses or at least very unkind thoughts.

    When this happens, I’m overcome with remorse because this is not what I want in my heart. As the song says, I’m trying so hard, to stop trying so hard. It’s definitely a conscious decision we have to make – the decision to nurture and cultivate the praise in our hearts, so that it eventually becomes natural to keep praises on our tongues, no matter the situation.

    Lord, thank You for allowing me another chance to work on my shortcomings, so that I may become an ambassador for Your love.

Read: Proverbs 13:3

by: Jeanne Roberts

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
James 37-8

Just think of all of the powerful species that man has tamed, from all over the world. All kinds of creatures with teeth, horns, venom; creatures that could easily get the point across that no, we cannot be tamed, so leave us alone or we’ll eat you..

Even the family dog.  It’s kind of a wonder that we have been able to make them a part of the family, a companion, a playmate.

All of this taming and domesticating that humans have done since the beginning, yet we have no power to control our tongues.  It just doesn’t seem to make sense.

I think the difference is, man is sinful. Animals have no capacity for evil. Well, I’m pretty sure that animals lack the capacity for evil. Last summer, as my dog systematically chewed up every single landscape light in my back yard and managed a doggy-smirk at me while doing so, I could have been swayed to believe that animals – at least dogs – my dogs – are evil…

Back to the point…

The sin nature is what makes taming the tongue so difficult. It’s our sin nature that makes us want to lash out verbally, or makes us vulnerable to gossip, or makes us boast in ourselves.

…a restless evil, full of deadly poison. When I first read that part of the verse, I thought it seemed a little harsh, a little dramatic. As I thought about it though, I realized that was the perfect description. How many times have we heard people say that they couldn’t keep their mouth shut or had to bite their tongue. I’d say that’s pretty restless alright! The deadly poison carried by the restless evil can harm or kill relationships with friends, family, especially our personal relationship with God.

Lord, thank you for these verses this week. Help me remember that though taming my tongue is a bigger task than taming a wild animal, You are with me.

Read: Matthew 12:31-37

by: Jeanne Roberts

“Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” -James 3:4-6

Our speech is powerful. James compares the damage our tongues can do with the damage done by a forest fire. Destruction. Damage that takes years to overcome, if it can be overcome at all. Even then, the scars can still remain.

Often we don’t realize what an impact we make with our words. An offhand remark can easily make someone’s day or ruin it.

I try to speak thoughtfully to others. I try to keep my tone appropriate and avoid using unnecessarily harsh words. Sometimes, it just doesn’t work. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a sense of humor that’s just a bit… um… “off-center”. (My husband prefers the term “weird”.) Sometimes, I’ll say something in jest and find out later that I’ve upset someone.

Unfortunately, there have been times that I’ve been fully aware of the damage I’ve done with my words. There have been times that I’ve selected words with the most barbed edges to sling during an argument or labored over letters that, when finished, seemed to be written in venom.

I can remember specifically a letter I’d written to my brother 15 years ago. I can’t remember what we were fighting over. I was in my early-20’s, and my brothers were 10, 15, and 20 years older than me. The four of us never got along at the same time. There were always alliances made and broken among us.
It was like the show “Survivor” without the exotic locations.
I’d been a word-nerd since I’d learned to read, so whichever brother(s) I was battling at the time could expect to receive a letter with teeth at some point. This particular letter that I’d written to my middle brother was about 16 pages long, front and back. It was mean and cruel. Each page was angrier than the last.
At the time, I felt fully justified. We didn’t speak for nearly ten years, and for much of that time, we literally lived a block away from each other.
Because of my words, and my refusal to steer my rudder toward calmer waters, I’d lost ten years that I can’t get back, no matter how sorry I am.

The ship and rudder analogy in Verse 4 makes me think of the “Titanic”. Instead of avoiding disaster by making adjustments in their coarse, the captain chose pride. Surely the iceburg wasn’t part of the initial plan. Its existance was something that could not be predicted while they were setting their coarse. However, when it became clear that he should adjust his plans, submit to the presence and the strength of the iceburg, he refused.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in that position (no, not captain of a ship carrying Leonardo DiCaprio…). I can see things changing in front of me, but my own pride keeps me from adjusting my rudder: my words. Each time I’ve chosen pride, a relationship suffers the same fate of the Titanic.

Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times I’ve used my words thoughtlessly or maliciously. Help me to communicate in a way that raises people up, and brings you Glory.

Read: Psalm 5

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  James 2:18

    You may be the only Jesus some people will ever see.

    At work or at play, we make an impression on those around us. We don’t ever have to know their names yet we influence them one way or other.

    The cashier you were short with yesterday saw the Cross you wore and wondered why you were no different from the rest. The friend in need you never cared for, wondered where God was in the dark valley they walked. The man in the booth behind you at McDonald’s wants to have the peace you were describing in your conversation to your child. On and on we go.

    Faith without works is dead! We affect others with our actions or non- actions, and yes, actions do speak louder than words!

    We can make ourselves sound good but the truth can be seen. Co-workers can hear you talk about your faith yet never experience it. You hear the woman four cubicles down miscarried and think about giving her a card, but figure nah, I don’t really know her, and lose a divine moment for God. It doesn’t matter how small the moment, God can use it, all we need to do is DO IT!!

Let’s recap this week.

1.) You have what it takes

2.) Your service plays a role in God being praised

3.) There are no excuses

4.) Without works, we are like dead men walking

5.) The deeds of faith are simple, it’s love in action, all you need, Just do It

Read Scripture:  James 2

    Father God, keep me sensitive to divine moments and help me put actions to my faith!

by: Becky Hutzel

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.   James 2:26

    I remember when my older brother passed away I was sixteen. Seeing him there in the casket I thought, “he looks asleep.” But no matter how much I wanted him to wake up he couldn’t because the part of him that made him alive just wasn’t there.

    James describes our faith as being dead if there are no deeds to go with it.

    We live as long as our spirit is in residence, when it leaves all that’s left is an empty decaying shell. It is the same with our faith. We say we are Christ followers yet we reject the work of the Christian for the things of this world and walk around as dead men.

    How many times have we heard of someone in need yet we do nothing to help? Or there’s a workday at church and we figure others will do it. Where is our first love? Is it truly in Christ or is it divided between Him and the things of this world?

    Working for Christ doesn’t take a Master’s, simple everyday Christ driven actions does it. It is His love offered in thousands of small significant ways.

    To say we have faith yet, not have the good deeds to go with it, is like my brother opening his eyes without his spirit being present. Good deeds are life to our faith. Without those deeds we are quite simply dead men walking.

Read Scripture:  James 2:14-26

    Heavenly Father may my faith truly live as I do the good work you have for me.

by: Becky Hutzel

I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling.                       1 Corinthians 2:3

    Does it amaze you how many excuses a child can come up with for not doing chores? Why wouldn’t they be good at excuses? They learn it from us adults. We have lists of reasons why we can’t do good works.

    The race is on, the game is on, my child has dance, my child has band, I put in a long day at work, I’m shy, I’m not good enough, I’m too rich, I’m to poor, I don’t know how, I have medical problems and on and on.

    We can’t be a Christ follower and leave the work up to others. Scripture clearly states we were saved for good works Christ planned in advance for us. We cannot say we love the Lord yet do nothing.

    My health is a continual struggle but not an excuse. There is always something that can be done no matter what we are facing. If we love God, our faith will result in actions.

    When we stand before Him, no list of excuses will exonerate us from doing nothing!!

    Paul wrote that he served not as a strong confident man worthy of the job but as a weak Christ dependant man.

    All God needs is a willing child to make a life changing difference for His Kingdom.

    Remember this isn’t about your story, it is about fulfilling your place in His story.

    Are you willing to give it all? As a dear brother did. His body’s so riddled with cancer he can barely walk, yet He said yes to Jesus and went to China on a mission trip. His words, “Jesus can have all of me till I go home”. Now that is truly showing faith through deeds.

Are you living it?

Read Scripture: James 2:14-26

    Father God here is all of me. Help me fulfill Your purpose and plan for my life as I live out my faith through Christ honoring deeds.

by: Becky Hutzel