Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1: 7
There is a theme that runs through Scripture and underlies every great piece of human literature as well: Good Guys vs Bad Guys. In Proverbs, this eternal battle is often characterized as a conflict between the “wise” and the “fool.” (See our discussion under the post, “The Big Picture.”)
Continue reading “Wisdom Wednesday – Happy New Year!”
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
Today we jump back into James, chapter 1. James has been instructing us about trials and testing. He then mentions the importance of believing in God if we want to receive anything from Him. Almost instantly he starts putting the “rich” in their place, and then he explains the difference between being tempted by our own desire and being tested by God. At this point, he takes a breath and says, “Don’t be deceived…”
Continue reading “Blindness – James 1: 16”
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Whose Rules?
Yesterday, Psalm Sunday’s post generated some interesting discussion on what it means to be wicked and righteous. From God’s point of view, we are all unrighteous in a practical sense.
What I mean by that is that a practical righteousness would be sufficient to allow a person into heaven without any help from God. In effect, such a person would be as good as God himself. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time measured their righteousness by their compliance with the laws of Moses. Unbeknownst to them, there was a little flaw in their measurement system. Because they wrote most of the rules, they were a bit blind to how well they fulfilled them.
Imagine that you want to play baseball. You make the rules so that the pitcher can only pitch balls to you that you can hit. Then you demand that the umpire is a member of your team. Better yet, the umpire has to be a relative and a member of your team. When you hit the ball nobody on the other team is allowed to touch it until you have made it safely to home plate. Sound like a fun game? It is if you are on the right team.
Continue reading “Affirmation Monday – Romans 5: 8”
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
The Big Picture
As I read this passage, the Pharisees of Jesus’ day come to mind. They seemed to think of themselves as righteous. They certainly acted like they thought they were God’s gift to humanity. Yet, what they did in conspiring against Jesus was very wicked.
Among all the righteous men who have ever lived, Jesus is by far the most righteous of all. Being without sin, he defines what it means to be righteous. It might be unfair to compare these people to this verse, but it might also open the door to understanding something about God’s perspective.
Continue reading “Psalm Sunday – Psalm 1: 4-6”
…but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Inside each of us is a monster. In this passage, James gives the monster a name. He calls it, Desire. This particular monster has a twin, whose name is Desire, too. This other desire is good. The Good Desire longs to be with Jesus and do his will. The Bad Desire… Well, Bad Desire is one that leads us away from God’s will.
The monster named Desire is hard to recognize because it is so adept at changing size and shape. Look around inside your head and your heart. Are you burning with desire? Is there something you want more than anything else? Is it a good desire or a bad desire? When we are content, Desire shrinks down into the shadows. Desire hides, but it never leaves.
Continue reading “A Monster Named Desire – James 1: 14-15”
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone…
Let us be clear on this point: Tempting and testing are two different things.
Testing is a processed used to measure or strengthen. (e.g. – I took a test to see if I qualified for a job I wanted. See James 1: 12)
Tempting is an attempt to entice a person to do what they know is wrong. (e.g. – A coworker tried to tell me it is okay to steal supplies from work.)
God is okay with testing people. Testing has a wide range of uses in the Bible. God is not okay with people doing what they know is wrong.
James is clear on this point and we need to be, too.
Continue reading “Tempting or Testing? – James 1: 13”
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Why do we receive the crown of life? Is it something that we earn? Is it something that we can earn?
James’ letter stands out as unique in the New Testament. James presents a “no-nonsense” approach to believing in Jesus. But remember, James himself is unique.
No other New Testament writer grew up with Jesus in the same family. No other writer knew Jesus as a child. No other writer gave Jesus such a hard time when he was alive – before his resurrection. James carries a special perspective on Jesus and a special kind of guilt for his past behavior.
Continue reading “Trials – James 1: 12”
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.
Genesis 3: 15
The Perfect Gift
Today’s “Wisdom Wednesday” text is not from the traditional wisdom literature in the Bible. Instead, we are looking at the wisdom of God in action.
Today we celebrate the birth of our Savior. The reason we need a savior is that Adam and Eve could not resist the wiles of Satan. Having sinned, they became spiritually dead, separated from God. At the same time, they were able to see something they had been protected from while they were alive in God. They could now see evil. The tragedy was (and is) that people do not always recognize evil for what it is.
Continue reading “Wisdom Wednesday – Merry Christmas!”
But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
James’ letter is a lot like Santa’s List. Most of us have heard about Santa Clause, and how, like God, he knows if we have been “naughty” or “nice.” The modern legend of Santa goes back to a real-life believer in God, a man whom we know as Saint Nicholas.
Like St. Nick, James is concerned about how people behave toward each other and whether or not having material possessions is clouding their judgment. Why would this be a problem for the early church?
Continue reading “Santa’s List – James 1: 10-11”
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
The Greatest Gift
Today is Monday, December 23rd. We are only hours away from the commemoration of the greatest affirmation of God’s love ever given; the birth of his son, Jesus. Every year at this time we are reminded of an amazing fact. About two thousand years ago a poor, young Jewish girl, engaged but not married, became pregnant and gave birth to a boy child. Her betrothed accepted the mother and child as his own and before the child was born took them with him to Bethlehem to be counted in the census. The child would grow to become a man, and the man would become famous throughout the land as a healer and a teacher. He was someone who might be the long-promised Messiah.
Continue reading “Affirmation Monday – John 3: 17”