James. Part 3

 "5If 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.  6But 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.  7For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;  8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways".                                 James 1:5-8  NKJV 

Here, James talks about having wisdom. He insists that we ask God and receive it without doubting. He explains that it is attained by faith so, there has to be no doubting at all. Doubt, he indicates, is like the waves of the tide of the sea, rushing in and then back out again. A person such as this will, by their own actions, disqualify themselves from receiving anything from God because, one moment they believe and the next, begin to doubt - 'God can do this but, I bet He won't do it for me", type of thing. Avoid this mentality; it gets you nowhere. It will accomplish nothing except frustration. God wants you faith-filled and in order for this to happen, you must be wise.

Wisdom, especially spiritual wisdom is not just about knowing what's good for you, but applying this knowledge into your everyday life. When you can do this, good judgement and knowledge follow. Therefore, what is the difference between wisdom and knowledge? It is about what is true, right and lasting. Knowledge is information gained through experience, reasoning or acquaintance. To give an example, I quote from 

www.got questions.org:  'Knowledge is knowing how to use a gun, wisdom is knowing when to use it and when to keep it holstered.' Knowledge can exist without wisdom but, not the other way around. A person can be knowledgeable without being wise. 

Another name for this is having 'Head knowledge' but not 'Heart knowledge'. When you study your bible from cover to cover, watch every Christian channel on TV and go to churches all over your area, it can be very helpful. However, it is only giving you 'Head knowledge' if, you leave the Holy Spirit out of this. To involve Him in your studies will lead to head and heart knowledge, which is vital to your spiritual growth.

James would say to you,'You don't know it all; you've a long way to go but, I will help you if you are willing.' This is why he wrote the epistle and why God endorsed it. The information contained within the book of James is a blue print of the way God wants you to be. Put it alongside all the rest of the bible and you have a wealth of knowledge that you need to allow God to convert into wisdom.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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James Part 2

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."                                                                       James 1:4  NKJV 

The aim of testing us, is for us to reach maturity. It is a method God uses to purge us of all impurity. We need to cooperate with God however, so that He can build our character. To resist Him is counter-productive because, He will have His way in the end and, we will still have to go through all of this. To submit means He can complete His work in us. His aim is to make us mature and complete.

We may feel this is not easy at the time of testing. We may go through the most dreadful of times and it would be so easy to say, 'Enough, I've had all I can take of this'. You may then walk away. The thing is, once you have tasted how good Jesus is (Psalm 34:8), you can't resist Him for long. You may walk away but, sooner or later you'll return because of the effect He has on you and, the way you realise that life without Him in it, is no life at all. See Luke 15 and The Prodigal Son.

No testing is comfortable to live through but, as we stand fast under the pressure of the situation, it may be possible to turn these adversities into opportunities that will change the situation.

Think about this for a moment. We can feel that trials are abysmal but really, they are there to mould us into shape. As we look at it this way, we can take the negativity of it all and turn it into a positive. To do this, we need to nurture our faith and fix our eyes on Jesus:

'Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame and, has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God'. 

                                                                                   Hebrews 12:1-2

Jesus completed this and, He will help us to complete our trials too. He will help us change adversity into opportunity as, we seek His help - without complaining.

It is not a one-off either, trials will continue to come but, after a time we begin to realise that, with Jesus we can endure this and have the victory.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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About James Part 1

"Consider it a great joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 3 because you know the testing of your faith produces endurance"  

                                                    James 1:2:3   Christian Standard Bible  (CSB)

It is considered that James was the brother of Jesus, He had not been a follower during Jesus' ministry and lifetime but came to believe, following the resurrection. He was a leader in the Jerusalem church and this epistle, was more than likely written to the Jewish Christians.

Tony Evans speaking of him writes: 

'James is the 'in your face, no-holds barred apostle' James says in essence, "If you are going to be a Christian, be a real one."  Tony Evans Study Bible, Holman Publishers CSB

It's true, James did not mince his words; he said it as it was and, if people didn't like it, it didn't bother him because, he had the Lord's work to do. Here he is encouraging people to be joyful whatever they may be going through. God uses trials to sound us out and develop us spiritually. His aim in using this method is to grow us more like Jesus.

Let us remember that our faith, is the target that all of the evil one's arrows are shot at. If the devil can get us to quit, he will be happy. This is why James tells us to consider all trials as pure joy. God is training us to overcome these trials so that we can attain victory. 

Charles Spurgeon writes:

'Faith is vital to salvation as the heart is to the body. Therefore, the javelins of the enemy are mainly aimed at this essential grace. Your faith is perculiary obnoxious to Satan and to the world.'    The Charles Spurgeon Study Bible. Holman Publishers. CSB

This tells us the importance of seeing trials as joy. God is pleased as we make our stands of faith, whereas Satan is angry and will continue to bombard us with whatever he can. 

What are you dealing with at present? Is your faith being tested? If so, continue to stand and do what Satan hates more than anything - praise and worshipping God. Put some Christian music on and drown out the monotonous claims of the devil. Praise stops Satan in his tracks. When we praise, we are declaring that Jesus is still on the throne and it reminds Satan that his time is limited.

Ponder this for a moment, counting all our trials as joy bewilders the devil; he can't figure out how we can do this. So, exercise your faith and begin to praise.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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People will rise against you

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgement, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me, says the LORD"              Isaiah 54:17   NKJV 

People will rise against you from time to time, especially if you are in any leadership role, Christian or Secular. It goes with the territory. Whether it is because of jealousy or envy, there is always someone who will stir up a storm over something or other. One only has to see politicians criticising their opposition, to get the idea. This can be quite hurtful to be on the receiving end of such gossip or criticism. The problem with gossip is that, by the time it has down its rounds, it is received as the truth. This can be quite concerning.

God's Word here, addresses such times, 'No weapon formed against you shall prosper and, every tongue which rises against you in judgement, you shall condemn.' There are two important words here that you need to be aware of:

WEAPON 

Just by the name itself, one can easily identify where this is from - your enemy, Satan. He manipulates people to make a stand against you and the darts begin to fire. Now darts hurt, and this is his intention. He wants to stop you from achieving your goal and, he will if you allow him to. God has provided you with armour to protect you from such times (Please read Ephesians 6:10-18). It is important to know that when these darts begin to attack, you have a defence - the Shield of Faith with which you can quench these fiery darts.

TONGUE

The tongue is full of deadly poison at such times, so when the devil encourages a person to speak out evil against you, you can use the Shield of Faith to deflect the darts. You do this by refuting or condemning what is being said. There is no need to take revenge or even defend yourself; you just condemn the words and God takes care of the rest. It is your heritage. You belong to Jesus and, if you allow Him, He will avenge on your behalf. You don't need to take any action yourself (Romans 12:17-21).

Remember, it is the devil who manipulates the person that is attacking you. Know your enemy and deal with him in the name of Jesus. Use the Sword of the Spirit - the Word of God. 'Resist the devil and he shall flee from you' James 4:7.

Above all, continue to stand in the Mighty presence of Jesus.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Do you know where you are going?

"For the LORD knows the way of the the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish".                                                                               Psalm 1:6 NKJV 

God knows everything about us - what we're thinking, planning and putting into practice. He also knows where we are going - our destination. Do you?

If you were planning to go to London by train, you wouldn't get on a train going towards Lands End. This would be foolish and counter-productive. Yet people miss their destination through a variety of reasons. A man from the Somerset area back in the 80's, attended a Christian Crusade with friends and, when asked if He knew Jesus as his Lord, replied, 'No I don't, I have a lot of living to do firstly, then I'll think about it.' That very day he was knocked down and killed by a lorry, just outside of the church. Scary stuff; but he had a choice of destination and he chose the wrong way.

We cannot gamble with our salvation. God is not into gambling, He is into the truth and we should always be wise in choosing our way forward. Sometimes our choices can be wrong, rather like the man who was killed.

Do you know where you are going when you die? Have you chosen the direction you want to go? There is a choice, right up until the time you are ready to die. Some leave it until then as they believe it is a personal thing and it can be decided in those last few moments of life. That may be true because, we don't know what happens in this last few seconds. However, it's cutting it fine; what if there is no opportunity to decide? It is one mighty gamble, one in which, those who don't know Jesus need to ponder seriously.

Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages us to, 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.' Notice carefully the, 'lean not on your own understanding'. You only know so much, God knows everything. This is why when we ask Him; we know, 'He shall direct our paths'.

We can either spend eternity with Jesus and all we love and know are believers, or we can spend eternity without Jesus and all we know and love. This cannot be watered down. You need to be at your destination with Jesus, otherwise you will be in terrible torment in hell.

Do you know where you are going? The choice is yours and you can say this prayer, if you choose Jesus:

Lord Jesus, please come into my life and forgive my sin. I want to live for You from this day on. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name. Amen.

If you said this prayer, you know where you are going!

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Nothing left to give?

"So the LORD said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' He said, 'A rod.'  3 And He said, 'Cast it down on the ground', so he cast it on the ground and it became a serpent and Moses fled.'                                                                  Exodus 4:2-3  NKJV

Many times in our lives we feel, tired, worn out, depressed and disillusioned. We have nothing left to give; we've given all we've got and there has been no change. Note the phrase I used, 'we've given all we've got.' That may well be true. When this happens, it's time to give it all to Jesus; He has far more power than we could ever realise.

When we are worn out and frustrated because we are getting nowhere, it is time to re-evaluate your motives and intentions. Is God in this? If He is, am I doing it right? If you feel that you are doing it right then it's time to wait on the Lord for some answers:

'But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.'

                                                                                                    Isaiah 40:31

If you realise that you have taken a wrong turn, then it is ok. We are all prone to making mistakes. Tell God you're sorry and try another way that He indicates. Alternatively, if you feel you are doing things right, then allow God to guide you. In Exodus 4, Moses was questioning God about what to say; what to do and demonstrating his insecurity. God said to him, 'What is that in your hand? Sometimes the most obvious things are missed when we are stressed out. What is the most regular thing a Christian will have in their hand? Answer, a bible of course. As long as you have the bible in your hand, you are holding a sword; and as long as there is breath in your body, you have the breath of God - The Holy Spirit. With these pieces of armour, you will always have something to give.

Waiting for God to work can be frustrating for the impatient. To the patient it is a time to build themselves up in God's Word and to allow Him to prepare them for what lies ahead. Therefore, when you feel that your have nothing left to give, sharpen your sword and exercise your strength in God's glory and favour. Then you will be ready when He says, 'Go'

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Oak Tree People

He shall be like a tree, planted by the rivers of water, that bring forth its fruit in its season, whose leaves also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper" 

                                                                                                Psalm 1:3   NKJV 

You will have good days and bad days, these are common to everyone. We can call them seasons because we have to go through them until we reach our next season. Never forget, that blessed people are prone to negative experiences too. Leaves do wither from time to time but, for Christians, the negative things don't cause you to wither and die.

A tree planted by rivers of water is not easily swayed. There may be spells of dryness but, they are sound because they have a regular source of life from the river. We too as Christians, have regular access to this river of life because of Jesus. We may go through dry times where we are thirsty for life, encouragement and hope but, when this happens we need to reach out to our everyday source of life  - Jesus.

We are trees of righteousness (Isaiah 61:3). When we are firmly rooted in good ground and watered through our source of life, we become like oaks of righteousness that are sturdy and able to withstand the tests of time - the hardships and the seasonal troubles. We will endure the storms of life because, we are Oak Tree People!

We need to be observant; we will bear fruit but is that fruit good or bad? You will know that you are bearing good fruit when you are a blessing to others; this is the sign. When we begin to bear bad fruit, nothing really happens and people may avoid us. When we are firmly rooted in Jesus, whatever may come our way, we are able to endure. Yes, we may suffer but, we remain standing like the oak tree because, we have a continuous source from the river of life. You may have a rough time but, Oak Tree People remain standing; trials may come and they may maim us but, we bounce back and carry on standing.

Notice this, our leaves may wither as time goes by. However, this is excellent because when they wither and fall, they are replaced in the next season with fresh ones. Dead trees finish with dead leaves; trees of life continue to produce new, fresh one's ready to face the new season with fresh fruit. And if that's you, you are in Jesus and are an Oak Tree Person!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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