excuses, excuses.
“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.”
Excuses… I’m practically an expert at giving excuses. I found all sorts of reasons when I was younger why I waited until the day before my 12 page paper was due to ask my parents for help at 10pm or why I didn’t see the stop sign in front of me and got in a wreck with an off duty policeman and a car full of lawyers (I wish I was making that up). But now that I’m older and far more mature (well…maybe just older), my excuses are much deeper and well, more dangerous. There are many reasons why I didn’t have my quiet time or why I “need” those new shoes at target… or maybe even why I didn’t do what I knew God was calling me to do.
I love how immediately following verse 12, “blessed is the man who preservers under trial…,” james goes straight into temptation. It’s almost like he encourages us to endure the trials (and even adds that we will be blessed if we do) and then immediately addresses what excuses we may use when we are undergoing those trials.
Here, james is using his “when” language…again. Remember verse 2 (“consider it pure joy my brothers WHEN you encounter various trials”)? Now, in verse 13, james says, “let no one say WHEN he is being tempted…” there is no question as to whether or not we will be tempted… it’s just a matter of when. And when we are tempted, and give in… there are no excuses… because God does not tempt us. God tests us, but he never tempts us. Rather, when we are tempted and fall, it’s because of our own lust…or desire. And then to make it even more convicting he lays out the consequences of our lusts… death. Our lust brings about sin and sin brings about death. (Side note: james is talking about a life of lust leading to sin and not the life long struggle Christians have with sin.)
Then, immediately following this james adds “do not be deceived.” Lots of things deceive me. I feel like I am surround by lies that make me think I don’t need to do what I know is the right thing to do. I guess I need to be more aware of what lies I’m believing, the lusts i am chasing after... Because it’s those very lies and desires that start whispering excuses to me.
and how encouraging is it that james closes this section with, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” God doesn’t change. I change, excuses change, and my desires change…. But God never changes. When tempted, when lies fill my head, I must remember the everlasting power of God’s truth and consistency. See it’s truths like “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Hebrew 13:5)” and “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (1 Corithinans 10:13)” help me when I desperately long to makes excuses and believe the lies.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
james 1:9-12
to boast or not to boast.
“Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him (nlt).”
Boast: (n) a source of pride.
At first, this section seemed random to me. it appeared a little out of place considering that we just talked about having joy and trusting God in our trials. And now James shifts the topic to “boasting.” That’s odd.
He states (according to the new living translation) that the poor can boast that God has honored them and the rich can boast that God has humbled them… this is interesting to me. James is encouraging the poor and humbling the rich…. But isn’t this what both groups need to hear? Don’t the poor need to know that they can boast in the Lord and that he has honored them even when the world doesn’t? And don’t the rich need to be reminded that that it was God who gave them their riches and as quickly as the flower blooms and dies is how quickly our life, and our stuff, will pass?
I guess it doesn’t really matter whether we have money or don’t have money, at the end of the day our life is as quick and short as a flower in the field (Now that’s humbling). Look at what the Lord says about boasting in Jeremiah 9:23,24:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,
declares the LORD.”
Like I said, at first this section didn’t seem to fit … but now I see how it fits perfectly. I used to boast about doing youth ministry as my career. it was where I found my security and identity. When I felt led to step down from youth ministry I was confronted with the reality of how terribly wrong i was. I had been boasting in something that didn’t last. i had found my identity in something that was meant to be a gift. I realize now that despite my career or service in the ministry, I have something far more dependable that I can boast in. my spelling…. Just kidding. But really, that I know the God who exercises “kindness, justice, and righteousness on the earth.” that’s something to boast about.
“Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him (nlt).”
Boast: (n) a source of pride.
At first, this section seemed random to me. it appeared a little out of place considering that we just talked about having joy and trusting God in our trials. And now James shifts the topic to “boasting.” That’s odd.
He states (according to the new living translation) that the poor can boast that God has honored them and the rich can boast that God has humbled them… this is interesting to me. James is encouraging the poor and humbling the rich…. But isn’t this what both groups need to hear? Don’t the poor need to know that they can boast in the Lord and that he has honored them even when the world doesn’t? And don’t the rich need to be reminded that that it was God who gave them their riches and as quickly as the flower blooms and dies is how quickly our life, and our stuff, will pass?
I guess it doesn’t really matter whether we have money or don’t have money, at the end of the day our life is as quick and short as a flower in the field (Now that’s humbling). Look at what the Lord says about boasting in Jeremiah 9:23,24:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,
declares the LORD.”
Like I said, at first this section didn’t seem to fit … but now I see how it fits perfectly. I used to boast about doing youth ministry as my career. it was where I found my security and identity. When I felt led to step down from youth ministry I was confronted with the reality of how terribly wrong i was. I had been boasting in something that didn’t last. i had found my identity in something that was meant to be a gift. I realize now that despite my career or service in the ministry, I have something far more dependable that I can boast in. my spelling…. Just kidding. But really, that I know the God who exercises “kindness, justice, and righteousness on the earth.” that’s something to boast about.
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