COUNT IT JOY
James 1:2 -4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
CALL TO YOUR FATHER
James 1:5 - If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.
MEET THE CHALLENGE HEAD-ON
James 1:12 Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.
LET GO OF THE FIGHT DEEP INSIDE
James 3:13 - Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts.
Quick to Listen. Slow to speak. Slow to anger.
James 4:1-2 Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.
"Save your soul from a wasted life by listening to Me, by using your tongue to celebrate Me and advance My Plan and by expressing anger only when whatever offends you is offensive to Me." 66 LL
"When your faith leads to a consuming desire to love Me and others at any cost, when your faith is accompanied by a consistent pattern of good works, your life in this world will not be wasted, and your life in the next world will be uniquely blessed." 66 LL
James: I need to read this book every day. What conviction!
ReplyDelete"It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts." James 3:13
"In simple humility, let our gardender, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life," James 3:21
Sounds so poetic, yet so hard. The Sugeon's scalpel hurts.
My first response to tests and challenges: Run!
Too often, my talk exceeds my walk.
I'm thinking of what I'll say next instead of really listening.
Righteous anger? No. Probably didn't get my way.
I'm so thankful for the grace God offers me - when I humble myself.
"Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet." James 4:10
Deborah, I know you are weary. Thank you for "staying the course."
Your love for the LORD is so evident in your comments.
May our God "satiate [fill to the full] your soul with abundance, satisfy it with His goodness, and replenish it when sorrowful. (from Jeremiah 31:14,25) (And you do NOT write too much!)
Annette, Psalm 94:19 "The minute I said, "I'm slipping, I'm falling," your love, God, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, you calmed me down and cheered me up." MSG
May His word be a healing balm for you, Lauren and your family as we pray for God's healing touch for Lauren.
Bev, so glad Britt is responding to medication and praying he'll continue to get better. Just so wanting you to have a special Christmas with your family.
Jesus, our Immanuel, thank you that you are a very present Presence, God with us, this day!
Forever Grateful
So much to be grateful for. Thank you for your prayers, Deborah, Forever Grateful, Bev. I can't wait to see Lauren tomorrow and get her business taken care of. He is a healing balm to us, our very present Help.
ReplyDeleteI'll be studying James in a few weeks and this whets my appetite to put these wise words to work in my life. So much room to grow!! James sure tells it like it is. Beautiful promises, too.
Every Good Gift
James 1:16-18 ~ So, my very dear friends, don't get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.
"If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help." James 1:5.
ReplyDeleteHelp, Father, I sure don't know what I'm doing!
"Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate." James 1:12
Father, I can't see this right now but I believe. Help my unbelief!
"There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures." James 1:18
Father, I don't feel worthy to be called the crown of all your creatures. Right now, I feel like a barren woman...and everyone else is wildly fertile! I'm bowing low, humbly, trusting You to be faithful and true even when I "feel" so barren. Help me to sing even when I don't feel like singing. Help me to be strong even when I feel so weak. Help me to use my tongue wisely and to be kind. I want to be patient, just like a farmer, and let the rain do it's work. I am a slave to You, God, and to Master Jesus.
Theses words from James are just what I need to hear. Sometimes I want people to be taken to the woodshed that have hurt me. Today, I've been to the woodshed. Don't stop, God. I want to do whatever it takes to finish well.
Precious Pearls, thank you for your prayers today. I have felt them. I'm sticking with God. May each one of us come to the stable, bringing gifts to the Holy Babe.
May we offer Him gifts as valuable as gold,
as sweet-smelling as frankincense,
and as cleansed and set apart as myrrh.
All given from our hearts.
May His Word landscape all our hearts. Praying for all you of you in the midst of pressing needs.
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