Heart – Page 8 – Three Minute Bible

March 27, 2020March 28, 2020

James 4: 11c-12 – Courtroom of Life

When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

In today’s passage, James provides three important points about the law and judging. Please remember that the “law” is what Jesus summarized in Matthew 22: 37-40:

Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

March 22, 2020March 22, 2020

James 4: 8b — Cleansed

Close up picture of hands being washed in a sink.

Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Way back in chapter 1, verses 6 – 7, James writes about the double-minded person. He says a person who doubts is “double-minded.”

The Greek for “double-minded” is interesting. The word is, “dipsychos.” The prefix, “di-“ means two, or double. To say one is “double-minded” is a very literal way of saying a person has divided interests. More than that, James suggests the division is spiritually debilitating.

As I look back on my life, it seems to me that I have always suffered from some form of dipsychos. This world is very convincing. It claims to be the only thing that matters. It clammers for my attention every day. Yet the clues God has given us to His presence are very real. They have tugged at me my whole life.

March 14, 2020March 14, 2020

James 4: 2b-3 — Water

You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

What is it you really need? Do you know? Needs are things we sometimes take for granted. For example, we need water but we don’t always want water. But take away your favorite beverages and plain water starts to look pretty good. Imagine you no longer have access to coffee or tea, sodas or fruit juice, or any other of the hundreds of possibilities. Now water looks great!

Here in the Northwest, we have a seemingly unlimited supply of water. But suppose you find yourself stranded in the middle of Eastern Oregon, miles from any town. Now you need water.

What else do we need, but sometimes lose sight of in the midst of all our daily distractions?

March 3, 2020March 3, 2020

Anger’s Harbor – Leviticus 19: 15

Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

How do we tell the difference between anger that has been harbored in someone’s heart and anger that is served up fresh each day?

Rich raised this question in response to yesterday’s post, “Hyperopia.” He posits a person who harbors “anger, revenge, [and/or] bad feelings toward someone in our family or inner circle.”

What does it mean to “harbor” something? A boat in a harbor has a place to stay protected from outside forces. The idea of harboring a feeling suggests that the person wants to keep the angry feeling alive. This kind of person nurtures a grudge and as Rich points out stews their bad feelings with thoughts of revenge.

February 23, 2020May 21, 2021

Psalm Sunday – Heart Exam

The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.

— Psalm 11: 4

I like this verse from Psalm 11 because it reminds us that God is watching. More than that, more than being just a casual observer of the human race, God examines us.

In Luke 12:7 Jesus tells us that God has numbered the “very hairs of your head.” (I realize that for some of us, that may not seem like much of a challenge.) Think about the detail that represents. Then think about the fact that God operates at the molecular level. Psalm 139:13 tells us that God knits us together in our mother’s womb.

What else does God see?