Tag Archives: jesus

Adventures Await: Be Compassionate

James 2:1-7

My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? 
Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?

This passage points to the heart of a believer being right with God and mature in Him. Remember this immature people talk about their faith so people hear it, but that is not enough. Remember, those who believe in Jesus are called to walk out their faith like Jesus did on earth. Mature people live out their faith for others to see, hear, and experience it! The way one treats others indicates what they truly believe in their heart!

Think about people in your workplace or you meet at the coffee shop. How do you interact with them? Do you judge them before they speak by how they look? Do you strike up a conversation? Do you avoid eye contact because of assumptions you have? If we are to be Christ in our communities, we need to approach people with compassion and love.

When I was a life skills educator for teenage mothers, I got asked one day by one of the teens, “why are you different?”

My response was, “What do you mean by different.”

She responded, “You always look at us in the eyes which shows us you care and have confidence in us as a person. Also, you empower us to be better not matter how little or big of a step we can take. It is like you see that we can be like you. While others just assume the worst in us because we are pregnant or have a baby. You are compassionate and loving even when we are yelling and disregarding your authority. You are firm but caring at the same time. Your care and compassion make us not want to disappoint you.”

My response, “Well, I am honored and blessed that you see that in my actions. I try to live out what I believe. I believe we are to love others for who they are and be compassionate for where someone is at in the journey of life. We should try not assume something just by the way one acts, dresses, or looks.”

That conversation reminds me of what James’ theme of love in action. We should be do, and say what we believe. Others should notice our actions without us telling them about them. In this passage, James talks about not showing favoritism. When I brought the teenage mothers to church, I witnessed many times people avoiding the girls or all the judgmental glances. Thankfully the girls felt welcomed and loved by some because that changed the trajectory of some of those teen mom’s lives forever! One interaction with someone could change their lives forever!

The church should be a place of welcoming and love. When we first came to know Christ, we were not perfect so why do we expect that from others. The church should be a place of compassion not judgmental glances and favoritism. At the beginning of this passage that favoritism should be replaced with compassion for human beings. No one should be treated differently based on economic status, gender, sins, or race! We have the greatest gift to share with others and if we show favoritism or hate first, we will not get the chance to share the gift of love from Christ! We should desire to be do and say love to share the gift of acceptance and love that was given to us through Christ!

Think about your church, what would happen if a teenager showed up to your church either pregnant or with a child? Would they be welcomed in with love and compassion or would they be avoided and discounted? I want to challenge you to be, do, and say love and care through your compassionate actions!

Prayer:
Lord, may we have your eyes to see people as a child of God. May we have your love in our hearts to give love to others. May we have your spirit to be able to see people through your eyes in order to love them where they are at! We are called to be love and show love to God’s children, not just some of God’s children! Give us the strength and the confidence to love others where they are at! AMEN!

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Adventures Await: Be Bold

James 1: 26-27
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

This passage begins with a word used only 5 times in the whole New Testament. Religion, two of those times is in the passage. The word translated as religion means the outward practice of one’s true beliefs. For Christians, this means service to the one true God! Pure religion has nothing to do with location of worship or specific days of celebration. Pure religion comes from our hearts and is practicing what we believe. Practicing God’s words means sharing it with others through our speech, service, and separation from the world.

We are called to share what we believe! One way to do this is through our words! Throughout the book of James, the tongue is referenced multiple times. In this passage the tongue, is the avenue to one’s heart! It is the tongue that reveals what a person believes. So, if the heart is right, the speech of each of us should reveal God’s love. What we say is of great importance and knowing how to share what you believe is crucial for others to experience God’s love.

This passage also brings up service is another key part of being bold in the Lord. Once we accept Christ, we share in the Love of God. This love should give us the eyes and hearts of Christ. This means that we should see those in need, in pain, or in crisis and have a desire to love them where they are! Speech is one part but if our hearts are of Christ acts of service should follow and be a natural part of our lives. God desires for His children to be Him on earth. God does not want us to pay for others to minister for us all the time. Giving is key but should not be a substitute from our hearts serving others.

The third part of being bold from this passage is being in but not of the world. “To keep oneself being polluted by the world,” means we should keep ourselves separate from the world’s desires and actions. As children of God, we are sent into the world to share and serve to show God’s Love to the world. If we are not careful, we can become part of the world. Think about two leaders in the Old Testament Lot and Abaraham. Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, then became part of Sodom. When he became part of Sodom, Sodom moved into him, meaning God’s love became secondary. Eventually, he lost his testimony with his own family, the people of Sodom, and lost everything! Lot became part of the world while Abraham continued to be separate from the world and had a great ministry to the world. It is not necessary to compromise your beliefs and works to be part of the world but to be bold in order to be God’s love to those of the world.

The best way to be bold is to have speech, service, and separation of the world. The unified with God’s love will be a power Satan cannot tear down! The best way to be a witness of God’s love is the be pure in heart. All of our actions and words come from our hearts! Continue to seek the Lord with all your heart in order to be bold for the Lord!

Prayer: Psalm 51:10-12
Lord, create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. AMEN.

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Adventures Await: Be Active

James 1: 22-25
Do no merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do.

The passage starts with listening just like our adventures with the Lord should start with us listening to Him. Adventures are amazing. But if we do not listen, we will not know what He is saying. We will not know where He is guiding us! Listening is the key to success in a relationship, especially with the Lord our God!

The second piece of the puzzle is knowing the Scriptures. This passage points the Scripture three times. Twice with “the word” and once with the “perfect law.” The perfect law and the Word are one in the same and point to the moral and ethical teachings of the New Testament and Old Testament. The Old Testament law is brought to completion through Jesus Christ. When we know the law we know Christ and his expectations. One cannot just read the word to know it. To truly know them, one must act on them and experience them. To understand, is for the Word to be the guide of your life.

My dog and I do a lot of hiking and sometimes we need a map and GPS tracker to know where we are. Now a days, there is an amazing app that does both of those. I fully rely on this app when I am on a trail. It ensures that we are going the correct way. Trails can be very confusing especially when there are animal trails that look like trails. This can make it more difficult to discern which way to go. As you can see in the adventure Freckles and I were on in the photo the trail was very difficult to see. It was a extremely difficult trail to navigate through but we made it thanks to the app and Freckles nose! Like the trail in the photo, trails are not always marked well. However, this app always directs me to the right place. When I am on the trail, this app is my personal guide.

This is comparable to the Word of God in our lives. In this passage, it talks about listening and doing the Word of God in our lives go hand-in-hand. You can’t listen to the Word and not be convicted to act on it. Christ is in our hearts and minds. He should be guiding us to do what the Word of God says. We cannot simply read the word and check the box. Spending time with the Lord requires more than that. We must read the word and apply it to our lives in some manner! Christ will guide our hearts and minds if we allow him to do so! We should desire to listen and act on the Word of God. We do not want to be known as someone who forgets their own reflection in the mirror.

I challenge each of us to take a look at our hearts and souls. Ask yourself how do I need to listen with intent or act in purpose?

Prayer:
Lord, take away the distractions. Help me focus on your Word. Show me the call to action. Help me hear what you are meaning to say and not the interpretation I place on your words. Help me to seek you first in order to implement what you say in my life! To do this, help me to listen with my heart, mind, and ears. Help me to draw closer to you through your Word. In turn, others will see you in my words, actions, and love. AMEN!

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Adventures Await: Listen

James 1: 19-21
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, because the human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent.

There is nothing better than being on the trail! Being in the midst of God’s creation and taking in all the attributes of nature is by far where I meet the Lord the most. I have always loved exploring since I was a young girl. I remember being at the Badlands in South Dakota and saw every rock formation as an exploration. I wanted to climb every rock I could! Not much has changed from the young girl excited to climb and explore at the Badlands! When I am on the trail, I think: “adventure awaits!” What is around the corner or on the next switchback there may be a view! Let’s go!

I always start hiking at a quick pace, but now that I have a hiking buddy or more, they remind me to pause! One of those hiking buddies is my friend’s dog Cooper. Coopers is always up for an adventure! While on the trail, he loves to find a rock to climb up on to see the view. I think it is because he is small and wants to see better. Cooper and I took a fall morning hike one morning. We of course were cruising along and then Cooper found a rock to climb onto. At this moment he reminded me to pause! We sat on that rock together and looked out over the valley together. Of course, it was time in silence with some Cooper kisses. However, this moment reminded me to slow down and listen! In this moment, the Lord was telling me He is present and my provider. He was there in my loss, is present in my transition, and will be there in the next season!

Adventures are amazing, but if we go too quick, we may miss the best moments! Slowness can refocus our minds and take in the memories we experience on the trail! This is similar to our relationship with the Lord, His Word, and friendships. James talks about being quick only in one aspect of a relationship, to listen and slow to speak, in other words listen first! Listening is a key factor in being with the Lord and hearing Him through His word. Listening, Shema, is before the greatest commandment. Deuteronomy 6:4-6. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” The Lord was telling Israel to pause and listen to the one true God, Yahweh! Listening is crucial in any relationship!

Our adventure with the Lord starts with us Listening to Him. Adventures are amazing, but if we do not listen, we will not know what He is saying or where He is guiding us! Listening is the key to success in a relationship, especially with the Lord our God!

Lord,
Our adventure awaits together for the next season in life, however let us see you in the past, present, and how you will be there in the future. Remind us to listen to you and be slow to speak. In other words, you call us to listen with both our ears and speak with one mouth! May we continue to hear you and your voice in our lives through your Word and our relationship with you. AMEN!

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