Daily Devotional – A Look at the Book #427

A Though for today by Papa “J”

The intent of the media today is to stir up emotional outbursts of liberal ideologies that cripple the intended hearers so that the whole of society will be forced to believe that the welfare of a nation is safe by the very government that is destroying it. Apparently there is enough governmental and media wool to cover the eyes of the ignorant!

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As a military person for most of my adult life there have been many opportunities to experience changes to the norm. What I mean is this! In twenty nine years I changed duty stations fourteen times, so on an average I stood on the outside looking in at an old duty station every two years. When you leave a duty station for another, it takes only a matter of minutes to realize that you are leaving a way of life behind where friends and responsibilities were. You will move on and find new responsibilities and new friends, yet you will not forget those back at the previous station. You would think that after so many changes a person could get use to it. Or as my step-daughter would say; “get used of it!” No, I never did but I was able to adjust and that is what we all do in life. There are many bumps in the road of life, even bends in the road as Dr. David Jeremiah would say. The major concern for change is worry and the Living Word of God clearly acknowledges worry as SIN. Here are some verses of scripture that will help you overcome worry when change is at the threshold or on the horizon. Psalm 43:5; Psalm 52:22; Matthew 6:30; Philippians 4:6-7; Philippians 4:19 and 1 Peter 5:7

The Epistle of James

James 1:7 – As we continue our thoughts about faith and work, or endurance and work, I would like for us to understand that God is the One who works and wills the things in our life to His good pleasure. There is a little verse tucked away in Luke 12 that will help to remove worry which leads to doubt. Luke 12:32. God’s will or desire for you is to give you kingdom rewards. There is a faithful enduring servant and also there is the unfaithful doubting servant – Luke 12:22-40. Which one do you line up with?

James 1:8 – If there is some way for the devil to trip us up, he will find it. I know several believers who confidently have faith, saving faith! Yet they have no endurance in trials or testing. Faith and works as preached upon these days by modern pulpiteers is not a confession of faith by helping out in the church. The faith that God is looking for in you and me is the faith that endures through trials and temptations or testing. Helping out in the church is good and spiritually motivated, but enduring faith is hard to find these days because so many of us have become double minded.  

James 1:9 starts another perspective that the apostle will be covering through James 1:11 we will cover that in its context. I love to study the Word of God; over and over again I am reminded by Him that no matter how many times I read and reread His Word, He adds newness and freshness to it. My prayer is that you may find joy and purpose for living. Let God shine His Light on you and your days of darkness (doubt) will turn into days of praise. Endurance is the perfect work that the apostle is focused on in His epistle. Notice Hebrews 12:1-2

Daily Devotional – A Look at the Book #426

A Though for today by Papa “J”

The vivid example of power out of control is not an earthquake or a tsunami as both of these natural disasters have obeyed God and returned to their abode to wait for another day. But the man made disaster of nuclear meltdown has not yet obeyed the works of man who created it, nor will it any time soon! Job 38:22-30

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Some of you have heard this story before but it is well worth repeating. One night around midnight the local ambulance service that I volunteer for got a call from a nursing home that one of the their male residents was having trouble breathing. We responded with a full crew to find a man in his fifties who weighed over three hundred pounds (closer to four would be more correct). Okay, I must be polite but here is the point! He was not having difficulty breathing, but the protocol for anyone with this complaint was to be given oxygen and a hospital trip by ambulance. (Our patient knew this) When we arrived he was placed in one of the emergency rooms and he immediately asked the nurse for a coke, which he received. I had asked him a few questions about his condition on the way to the hospital and noticed that he seemed angry about something. I questioned him about his anger but he refused to talk about it. After taking the second drink from his coke, it all came to light. He commented in a rather harsh way that he had now gotten revenge over his brother, who he had asked earlier in the day by phone to bring him a coke and his brother refused. The ride to the hospital for a coke cost the tax payers $400.00. Fraud, waste and abuse are the characteristics of sin and the welfare system is a main highway for sin.

The Epistle of James

James 1:4 – The word patience here in the New King James version is the Greek word for endurance or perseverance. Now why would that be important to know? Well, I could just set on my backside and wait on the LORD, which is being patient, isn’t it? This is not the patience that God is looking for in us. Couch potato patience is not biblical. Endurance is labor intensive so biblical patience requires action in that while one is waiting patently our ongoing enduring work is being tested and perfected by the LORD. The result is maturity, or a complete faith that God desires for all of us to have.

James 1:5 – Do you lack wisdom, I know that I do and find myself continually asking God for more. I love this verse of scripture because it plainly tells me that God pours out wisdom to all who ask in faith. Can you not see from this passage that faith is not some whimsical wish? Faith has as much need for endurance as patience does and God works both of these attributes together for good to those who love Him according to His purpose, get hold of Romans 8:25-30 and see the parallel.

James 1:6 – Patience requires a solid foundation and I simply mean that doubt has no role to play here. Ever run into someone who says they have faith, but always requires a life jacket to carry in a storm. So it is with many religious people who place their faith in an object of idolatry or some false teacher. These folks are tossed about like drunken sailors on an angry sea. They have no biblical faith, thus their endurance has no biblical foundation. Simply put these are unstable souls on the verge of being shipwrecked.

Daily Devotional – A Look at the Book #425

A Though for today by Papa “J”

With a stick a child draws a line in the dirt and says to his playmate. &ldquoon’t cross this line, if you do you will be out!” Faith without works is dead. “For God so loved the world that He said; “whosoever crosses this line shall be in” Ever crossed that line before? It is impossible to know Jesus and the cross without faith. Hebrews 11:6

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In November 1976 I went aboard my first submarine, the USS Kamehameha SSBN-642. A mere thirty-five years ago. So long ago that the only thing that sticks in my mind at the moment is a very long wooden spear. The spear hung on the forward passageway wall; it had once belonged to King Kamehameha! This Hawaiian king was a warrior and so was this submarine. In the cold war it kept the United States of America safe from our enemies by the real threat of nuclear war. Also, by the same method our enemies kept their countries safe. Sailors on the American subs often heard the words; “Alert One” most always these were just drills to keep us ready to launch the missiles, but once in a while the person on the speaking end of the microphone would say that this was not a drill and to “spin up” all missiles. What to get a lump in your throat? In those days for the submarine sailor on a “boomer” those simple words was enough for the lump and the weak knees that followed. The reactions after these spoken words were no longer routine. Belief in our Country’s freedom and faith in our Captain took over. Faith without works is dead. Today this country has no faith in God and if you listen you can hear the agonal breaths of a dying nation. This thought brings heavy sobs to this old guy. Notice if you will – Isaiah 5:1-7

The Epistle of James

James 1:1 – James is writing to his countrymen, in his opening words he identifies them as having been disbursed abroad. Since the book is written around 60 AD, James is not talking to his country in general but to a specific group of Jewish men and women. He is talking to the Christian-Jew after the first persecution of the church. Now there is a lot that can be said about this dispersion but for the sake of time I intend to move on. Maybe as we go we can come back to this subject.

James 1:2 – This servant of God felt a pastoral responsibility to these scattered sheep and this is why we have his epistle. What do you think? Do you ever consider that one day someone will be writing to the scattered believers of the United States of America? Where will we go? Some will stay in the land, some will go. As you well know there will be trials and testing in all of this. Tough times have the ability to bring out the best in us, so James is saying to these people; don’t waste the trial or the test since there is real joy from the results of faith in God. Faith without works is dead.

James 1:3 – I become so excited about faith and works that I can hardly wait to see what God will do and the reason is, is that I like the feeling of “joy” in my heart. I do not like the trial or the test but when all is accomplished and faith is still focused on the LORD, the joy is inexpressible. There is nothing I know of to explain what happened, except the grace of God that blessed the moment of trial and promotes the moment of joy. It is simply unexplainable! 1 Peter 1:3-12, especially verse 8.

Daily Devotional – A Look at the Book #424

A Though for today by Papa “J”

"Sinner! Did you just call me a SINNER?” “Yes I did!” Ever told a lie, ever stole a nickel? Ever had an abortion, or maybe performed one? All this begins with disobedience to parents. Plain and simple there is no other word that describes our daily activities. Romans 1:18-32 (see verse 30 if you do not want to read the whole section).

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Once on a short term missionary trip to Ukraine the LORD allowed me to meet a pastor who served in the Russian Navy on submarines during the cold war. Is not God Awesome? He could not speak English, but his son Alexander could and as Pastor Sergei and I spoke it became apparent the he and I had served in the same waters of the North Atlantic at the same times. We spoke of national encounters with each other and the things we would do to avoid detection and other war games that kept the submarines and sailors busy during those encounters. In defense of our countries our paths crossed and in the defense of the Gospel of Jesus Christ our paths came together. Just thinking about this causes my heart to be overwhelmed with the joy of the LORD that HE would allow the two of us to meet and exchange war stories and to know that our labors of life in those days were not totally in vain. We went to Ukraine to help the church finalize their building project. Putting up ceilings and other finishing touches, we were even there for their first service in the new church. What I am saying here is simply this. That if you call upon the LORD, He will show you great and mighty things that only He knows. Jeremiah 33:3, so my challenge to you is this. Don’t imprison yourself to the routine of life. Let God lead you to opportunities that overwhelm your heart. Jeremiah 33:1-3.

The Epistle of James

I am reminded of another experience some thirty years ago. I was talking with a friend about John the Baptizer and was making a comment from the gospel of John 1:19-28. Both of us having been born again about the same time, but my friend did not know that John the Baptizer and John the apostle were two different people. I did not handle the moment well and my friend became embarrassed and critical at my lack of showing love, so what he lacked in biblical knowledge, I lacked in spiritual application.

Faith without works is DEAD! I am certain that the man James had a lot of opportunity to learn this truth. We certainly are right to think that James did not come up with this truth until after he became saved by the grace of God. But since he was a Jew who was brought up by a godly father and mother he like his brothers and sisters had plenty of opportunity to work the work of a faithful Jew in those days.

These siblings had a strange brother within their mist who they could not understand. Their religion blocked them from fully knowing Him. Notice John 7:1-9. The brothers of Jesus were named James and Jude and here in the gospel of John they show their critical disbelief and lack of discernment. But do not allow yourself to stop at this point. James and Jude have epistles of truth about their half-Brother Jesus. We will study the epistle of James. Of the New Testament writings, James is the earliest. Faith does not override works, faith produces works that are worthy of reward.

Daily Devotional – A Look at the Book #422

A Though for today by Papa “J”

Timing, it is all about timing! The baseball at 95 miles per hour, over the middle of the plate and slightly in, the keen eyes of the batter, the swing and crack, another home run for your favorite team. Games are great and the innocence of fun is trustworthy, but the one who waits on the LORD, knows that His timing is always perfect. Psalm 13:1-6

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I am reminded of a fictional story I once heard. Let’s see how it goes! A gangster visited the pastor of a church because the gangster’s brother had died. He wanted the church to perform the services and he wanted the pastor to do the eulogy. The gangster also promised the pastor a large sum of money if he would tell the people who came to the funeral service that his brother was a saint. Now both brothers were notorious in the town as ruthless criminals, so the pastor balked at the thought of calling this dead man a saint. The pastor thought some more, the church could us the funds. “Okay”, the pastor said; “I’ll do it if you stand next to me while I give the eulogy”. So when it came time for the eulogy, the pastor began. “The man in the coffin before us today was one of the most ruthless men who ever lived in this community. He was a thief, a murderer, a swindler, he cheated on his wife and family on a regular basis, he also served time in jail for crimes against the state and he was not a very likeable person. Yes he was a ruthless man, despicable on all counts but compared to his brother standing next to me; he was a saint”.

How many of us would want to pat the pastor on the back and say, “Good job you sure killed to birds with one stone there.” Actually the pastor is as guilty as the crook next to him. God does not need the crooks money, nor does the pastor need to lie to the people within earshot. Yet in churches all across this land, what is fiction is deemed trustworthy by men who hide themselves in sheep’s clothing while they willingly fleece God’s flock.

In the epistle of Jude, this half brother of Jesus and brother of James, starts out his epistle with concerns for the gospel which he calls our common salvation. I believe his intent was to write about the mercy that God provided “once” for all. But God reminded Jude of another matter, the problem of apostasy that was running rampant within the churches. What is apostasy? You remember the guy, Jim Jones? It was said about him that in the beginning of his ministry efforts that he was a good preacher, but as time went on, he departed from the truth. Apostasy is real when those who know the truth depart from it. Notice what Jude says this departure is. It is depraved and doomed and he gives examples of; “Cain and Korah” if you read their accounts in Genesis it is hard to see the difference that God sees to call for their condemnation. Greed is apostasy. This then is the weakness of men and women who hold the truth of God in unrighteousness. Romans 1:18.

The Spiritual condition of the universal church of God today is weak with famine. Yes there is a need, but it is not a need of money. Our need is to depart from apostasy and return to the Living Word of God. God loves us (Malachi 1:2-5), but our offerings are polluted (Malachi 2:6-15). Our pastors and priests are corrupt (Malachi 2:1-9) These are full of treachery and Infidelity (Malachi 2:10-17) The messenger has come, yet we’ve not changed, we still rob God and the congregation still complains. (Malachi 3:1-18) Jesus is coming again. Are we really ready for His return? (Malachi 4:1-6). Even so come LORD Jesus (Revelation 22:21). Lots of reading today.