James Manages to Summarize it All in One Sentence: James 1c thru 2

When you take a decade-long study of the Bible, as I have since the year 2000, (only now getting to James) certain themes loom very large indeed. Those that have been reading since the beginning, may remember how the theme of taking care of widows and orphans is huge throughout the Old Testament!

But that is not the only big theme. Morality (let's face it) is a critical desire of God. There are behaviors, and values, that must be present in the Church. We are the Body of Christ! And he was pure beyond what is humanly possible! He kept the flesh at bay, for his thirty-three some years!

Yes, it is humanly impossible for us - but possible for us, in Christ! And the sins of the flesh are many, and manifest - the entire Scriptural record is a great narrative of the things we do wrong, how serious God views our sins, why they lead to death, and how He has made it possible for us to rise above them and live forever!

It is all about self-control: Self-control, people! Control from lying, cheating, swearing, stealing, gossiping, busybodying, dividing, harming, defiling ourselves and others, giving in to passions (all of our natural appetites, from what we eat, to what we think, what we do, what we wear, what we do to the beautiful bodies God has given us, to how we express love, etc.) Self-control!! This is what it means when we talk about the sins of the flesh.

Either we are serious about controlling ourselves, or not. We either accept God's provision and plan for our lives, or not. We either go in faith, or try to force God's hand by making ourselves into our own image, instead of His.

It comes down to saying "no" so that we can learn how to say "yes." It's about aligning our steps with those of Christ, and not wavering based on what the world is telling us to do. It's patience, faith, trust, acceptance. It's pointing people towards Christ and not drawing attention to ourselves and our problems.

This is morality and purity. There is nothing wrong with it. Nothing to be ashamed of. And it is something we need to urge one another to do, and thus celebrate those times when we and others have overcome the world, through Christ.

Religion is something pure and unblemished before God the Father: looking after orphans and widows in their suffering and keeping yourself unspotted by the world.

Unspotted . . . yes, that's it. In our hearts, on our bodies, in our behavior, and in our treatment of others - let our goal be to become spotless. And let us, in our actions, make it so that others want to become spotless, too.

Note: This blog is made possible through a grant from Huron Valley Fellowship, and the kind gifts of our readers. If you would like to support The Word and the Real World, please send an email to: gordon.darr@gmail.com

Improve Your Prospects: James 1b

The Unvarnished New Testament, translated by Andy Gaus, uses the word "lucky" in place of what normally would be "blessed." Many people look awry when you tell them this. "Luck" to them, has knee-jerk connotations of playing the odds, betting, gambling. How can we say that a person with blessings is just "lucky"?

Our westernized Christian biases get in the way of seeing what is really there. Apparently, the Hebrew mind of two thousand years ago equated "luck" with "good fortune," with "well-being."

How many of us, if we won the Super Lotto, would not thank God for blessing us?

So, it really does make some sense. I have heard successful people say, for many years now, that you make yourself luckier through hard work. Nature itself rewards hard work and diligence with success and material wealth. Why should not the Lord of of Nature Himself, the author of our destinies, be recognized too, as the Maker of our luck?

But the one who leans down to look at the perfect law of freedom and stays there, who is not a forgetful listener but an active doer, that person will have good luck in whatever he does.

Did you catch something that sounds like a promise there?

Right some wrong. Love some unloved person. Fill some need. Teach some truth. Heal some wound. Feed some hungry. Clothe some naked. Father some orphan. House some widow. Befriend some alien. Serve some lonely.

There is plenty to do out there; plenty of work for God's Kingdom. No matter where you are in life, no matter your economic condition, your health, your marital status - there is nothing getting in the way of you finding some opportunity to share Christ's love.

And God has promised success. No - He has promised luck; good fortune; well-being.

Other versions use the word "happy" instead of "luck," or "blessed." Do God's work, and you will be happy.

Be an active doer. There is something right there, next to you, or in the room at this moment, that can use the Master's touch. Don't just sit there, do something!

Are You Asking for the Right Thing? Hebrews 11d thru James 1a

So often in prayer, we ask God for "easy things." First we pray for God's blessings and guidance. We pray for Him to put a wall around us to keep us from evil. And then comes the body of prayer - usually a list of medical needs, or sustenance for people going through some form of loss.

Blessing - that's easy. Who doesn't want to be blessed? And since we are people of faith, we are sure not to mind if we are not better off a week, month, or year from now.

Guidance? Well, yes, if it is generic guidance. We ask for the guidance, but that is where it ends. And if you are a believer in any kind of God, why wouldn't you want Him guiding you? It's like, well God, lead me but don't let me know about it.

Protection from evil. Definitely! Of course we do not want to face evil!

Medical needs of others, and prayers for those that are suffering. Yes, of course! Give me a long list of names of other people that are suffering, and I will do my duty and pray for them. It will all be in God's hands now. Either He heals them or He doesn't. But at least I have prayed!

So if any of you lack guidance, ask God, who gives to all freely without begrudging, and you shall receive it.

The the thing that God longs for us to ask for - is for Him to guide us!!

I would suggest that, if you are not in something that is clearly building God's kingdom, that you are not letting Him guide you. If it does not take you out of your comfort zone, then you have not come to understand what God wants for you. If you are just going through the motions, paying bills, going to work, doing the chores, without a thought crossing your mind that God may have intended your talents for something more, then chances are you have not asked God for guidance . . . really.

Go ahead - ask God to guide you. Tell Him you are ready for a change. Tell Him you want to build His kingdom in measurable, concrete, timely, and effective ways. Yes, tell Him this.

And then seek those around you that are doing God's will, or that want to do His will. Now encourage and pray for them. Make their path easier, not more burdensome.

Have this attitude, and see if God is not, truly, good on His promise to guide you.

Mother Sarah's Amazing Faith: Hebrews 11b thru 11c

Sarah, mother of Isaac, grandmother of Jacob, is our ancestral mother. We all come together in her.

Even if you are not a blood descendant of Sarah, she is, in Christ, your ancestor. Sarah is our mother.

We normally do not think of her in that way. We do not stop to reflect that, when Christ returns, the dead are raised, and eternal life is bestowed on all the faithful, that we will meet together at some great family reunion, and at the head of the table reserved for the parents will sit our grandmother, Sarah. Go ahead and call her "Grandma", if you want!

His (Abraham's) faith gave Sarah in her barrenness the power to be impregnated by seed when past the prime of adulthood, because he had faith in the One who made the promise.

Yes, it's true that Sarah mocked God when she was told that she would have a child. She was, after all, human, and little old ladies do not have babies, especially in the pre-in vitro age!

But there had to have been some element of faith in Sarah, as well as Abraham. And even though Abraham understood, sadly, the discouragement and demoralizing effect of a mocking wife (it's a wonder he ever accomplished anything!), still we must conclude that Sarah had enough faith to be counted worthy to be the grandmother of us all!

I cannot contemplate God so blessing this great woman, unless her basic pattern was to live in gentleness and acceptance, even though she entered old age without ever having given birth.

What can we learn from Sarah? I believe we can learn much, and it would be good to study and comment on her great qualities.

How about, for starters: accepting God's will for whether or not she ever bore children? How about choosing to be happy with or without children - in whatever state God has planted you?

Please reader - I am not making a judgment on any person living in these times of medical miracles. But let us never lose sight of these simple qualities of faith that were easier to come by, when it was humanly impossible for people to reverse apparent infertility! Faith is faith! And it cannot be expressed without hardship or disappointment.

Thank you, Grandma Sarah. Because you accepted God's will, His Kingdom could be planted, and today our family is millions strong!

Are You Ready, Really?: Hebrews 10c thru 11a

World events are spiraling about. At times it all seems random. At others, like it is part of a grand Master Plan. At its root it is frightening. Jesus Christ seems to be the one most polarizing figure in History. From within the U.S. and without, His enemies - all those that do not believe in him - can come into great accord in the objective of wiping him, and his followers, from off the pages of History.

We talk a good game. We know that courage is a good quality. We admire those that have it. We can voice our connection to Paul, Peter, Noah, King David. We say that we are followers of Christ.

What happens when our professions of faith cause us to lose a job? What if our friendships, or family relations, suffer?

I was once told, by an elder in the Church, that I needed to cool it on my blogging. He said - "This could hurt you in getting a teaching job."

What? WHAT??

And you suffered for those who were in jail and accepted the impounding of your possessions with joy, knowing that you had a better and more lasting fortune elsewhere.

I would love to have a new car. A big house would be great. If only I could attract the most beautiful women with my affluence and wealth! Taking trips to any pleasure spot in the world, whenever I want, would be great!!

But, what is the cost of all of this? How much must I hide my faith in Christ?

Oh yes, I could say, "But let me gain my wealth first, and then think of how effective I will be in building God's kingdom!"

Friend, I tried that approach for twenty years. The outcome was not only spiritual failure, but professional, worldly failure, as well.

I took that fork in the road, and instead of worldly success, I gained professional decline, financial reverses, medical and dental bills, divorce, and even a lack of respect from among those in family and church that once admired me.

It doesn't work. You will fail if you try to get it both ways.

What are your talents? What can you do to build God's kingdom? I beg of you, change course right now and do it.

And please be willing to give up all your worldly possessions! They are worthless, and you are going to lose them anyway! True riches are only to be found in Christ.

One of the Most Difficult Passages in Scripture: Hebrews 10b

This verse from Hebrews used to terrify me:

Remember, if we knowingly choose wrong after gaining knowledge of the truth, we cannot offer sacrifice for our sins . . . we can only expect a fearful judgment and the heat of the fire waiting to consume the forces of opposition.

It sounds like, once you become a Christian, you had better be perfect from now on, or you will be doomed forever. And of course, I had not become perfect, so when I acted hatefully to someone else, or messed up and used bad language, or lied . . . it would be all over, for good.

So what then does it mean?

Well, the entire passage is about the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Christ on the cross, which forever washed away the sins of the faithful, of those that would receive his immeasurable gift. With such a perfect atonement, covering every sin of every sinner that ever sinned, how can it be made null and void, and imperfect, through this one pronouncement tucked away in the middle of a great discourse on grace? Are we forgiven completely and totally, or not?

It is talking about the vanity of thinking you can sin, and then do something to earn forgiveness . . . and then sin again and ask forgiveness through some act, in a never ending cycle. Let me say it again, a different way: you're forgiven! You are justified (made just and holy) through the blood of Christ! It's over!

The verse is also reminding us that we are going to die, anyway . . . the penalty of our original sin still holds. No matter what you do, you are going to die. And in the final day, God will indeed burn everything up! You can do wrong . . . and even if you are among the saved, you are going to feel the heat of judgment fire, like all the rest of us! You cannot stave it, or hold it off. You cannot pretend it will not happen; you cannot ignore God's judgment, through acts of sacrifice.

I believe that the writer of Hebrews is telling us to stop being so legalistic! If you live according to the law (do wrong) after having knowledge of the truth (God loves you, and you are saved), then you are still under the law! You will still be punished through death (we all will anyway). So why even try?

* You are saved. Christ will raise you up to eternal life on the last day, and,

* The world is still under the law (although you may be under grace), and we must all face death, for we have sinned.

Stop living as though you are under the law! The law is the law and it condemns us!

Live under grace and be free. Accept God's precious gift in Christ and live!

Make Disciplers: Hebrews 7b thru 10a

Yes, that's right. I wrote "disciplers." There is an "r" at the end of the word. Christ did call upon us to make disciples. But the Apostle Paul later on says to "teach those who can teach others."

We are not saved by our deeds. Yet, in the New Testament Era, the Church Age of History, the followers of Christ are required to become active people. It is important to understand the difference between "works" and "activity." And the writer of Hebrews spells it out expertly.

The old world, and the old covenant of the Old Testament, was under the Curse. We would work and toil, without rest, because our first parents disobeyed God. We had an Eden, where God cared for us, and walked with us. But we chose our own path. We walked away from Him, and pridefully assumed we could make it.

But the curse upon us was more a prediction than a punishment. On our own, yes, we would have to work. And work is exactly what we did, and do to this day! Just open your ears and hear all the complaints about how tired people are, how little sleep, how boring their jobs, how unappreciated their efforts!

Think about it. The curse was actually a prediction that came true. It was not at all the summary pronouncement of a little God with hurt feelings!

But God promised us rest from our labors. And we do rest, today. Even the hardest-working Christian can feel rested, with the right attitude. We do what we do, because we want to do God's will and spread the Gospel to new places and people. Is that "work"? Well, maybe, but if you're a faithful Christian it will not feel like "work"!

There is the "work" of the Old Testament, and the "actions" of the New.

So he's abolishing the old standard [of offerings and sacrifices] and establishing the new standard of doing God's will, the same will through which we have been made holy by the body of Jesus Christ, offered once and for all.

The Old Testament, the Old Covenant, involved a lot of work and sacrifice. We lived as though we were under the curse, and we were. Many today still live that way - those that have not learned fully to trust Christ. They betray their lack of faith, even with their language - they will use the word "work" a lot. Perhaps they are worriers, doubters, discouragers.

But in the New Testament, or New Covenant, we have the sacrifice done once and for all, finished and completed by Christ upon the Cross. The work is done. Are you reading this? The job is done. Jesus finished it!

So instead of works and sacrifices, we are called upon to do God's will. Before, we worked and toiled to build our houses and put food on our tables. But now, in Christ, we trust God to take care of all that, and we focus on His will, which is forever and always to build His kingdom of people and not of land and buildings.

The Dexter United Methodist Church is currently in a theme that addresses this. We are to be "disciplers." Make disciples, but also make disciples that can in turn make disciples.

It is not work at all. But it is active and essential. It requires lots of energy, maybe a lack of sleep, lots of study and prayer. But it is not work. We have entered into Christ's rest. Making disciplers is all there is left to do, in God's great plan.

Please join me at the Dexter United Methodist Church Monday, October 5th, at 1:00pm, for a time of open prayer. We will meet in the Atrium and go from there.