Mirror

"Therefore, get rid of all unclean thoughts, and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. But demonstrate that you are doers of the Word, not just those who passively hear, and don't change, thus deceiving themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; but once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what he looks like. But the man who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and keeps on looking, not being one who looks and then forgets, but whose actions are changed, this man will be blessed in what he does" James 1:21-25

Recently there have been reports of pastors and teachers who have fallen away from the faith. These are men who have blessed so many souls, helping them understand what the Bible teaches, and giving direction on how we should live. But much to our surprise, when faced with temptation, so many times they fall away. How is this possible? Didn't they know what they were doing was wrong? 

I believe this is what James is teaching us in this passage. There is quite a difference between knowing the Word with our mind, and receiving the Word ingrafted into our hearts. I remember the testimony of a man who was a seminary professor. He had studied the Bible all his life, and could understand the original languages in which the Bible had been written. He had all the academic degrees a man could get, but he was not born again. He knew well what the Bible said, but he only knew this academically. But through a crisis in his life, he turned his heart to the Word, and he was saved. The next time he read the Bible, he said it was as if he had never read it before. The words on the pages became like fire, and his heart was never the same. 

James compares the Word to a mirror. I believe that everything God wants us to know about Him can be found there.  However, when we look into the mirror, we may only see the surface image, when there is so much more to see. This is only a quick glance. Very easy to forget what we just read. He encourages us instead to look intently. Stay awhile. Don't rush off. Let the Word speak to our heart. That is when we are changed from "Glory to Glory" as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Having so meditated on the Word, it becomes ingrafted in our hearts, and we are no longer hearers only, but doers of the Word. 

DOOR

 "I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and our, and find pasture" John 10:7-8

Doors are access points. A locked door prevents access, but an open door permits entrance. How then is Jesus the door? I mean I could get it if He said, "I am the doorkeeper", but that is not what He said. If He were the doorkeeper, then He would be in the position of guarding against the wolf entrance while opening the door for the sheep. But again, He said, "I am the door". What does this mean?

A sheep, I have heard, is far from the most intelligent creature our Lord ever created. They really DO believe that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. As dumb as they are, however, they know the voice of their Shepherd. Many flocks could be coming back from pasture, belonging to various shepherds. At the sound of each shepherd's voice, however, they will split off into various herds. What then is Jesus telling us? There are many influences in our world, many identities we could choose. Occupation that we are engaged in. Social status, who we know. Talents we may have. When we hear these voices, do we jump to attention? 

Those in the Kingdom of God can transcend all this. They may be lawyers, rich or poor, great singers, etc. However, these are not the identities they respond to. Only the voice of their Shepherd. They go where there is an open door. They refrain when the door is shut. Thus are they guided by their Lord. 

The safe harbor

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: Not as the world gives, give I unto you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" John 14:27

Turmoil, fear, trouble and angst are everywhere. So when Jesus promises us peace, who wouldn't jump at the chance? But as the song goes, "I never promised you a rose garden, along with the sunshine, there's got to be a little rain sometime". Jesus DID promise that "in this world you WILL have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Yet as I observe many prayer requests from Christians, nearly all of them are asking for relief from a bad situation, healing of their bodies, or some financial blessing. Don't get me wrong. God can, and does, answer some of those prayers. This peace the world can understand. Don't we all want to have our suffering alleviated? 

There is another place, however, and there alone is the peace of Christ found. Daniel's friends were asked to bow down to the king's god. They said plainly that their God could deliver them out of the kings hand, BUT even if He does not, they still would not be worshipping the king's god. Why? They knew the secret. The peace of God is found in knowing Him. The storms may blow, and the tempest may arise, and it may seem like God has forgotten us. Faith, however, shows us that this is not the case. God does NOT promise deliverance from the storm, but rather that He will be WITH us through it. 

When Jesus taught us to pray, He told us to ask what God is doing, and agree with it. "Come thy Kingdom, be done thy will, on earth, as it is in Heaven". We do not NATURALLY know just what God's will is, so "give us this day our daily bread", which is primarily the revelation by which we will live. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every WORD of God" Luke 4:4. Sometimes what He is doing will seem a mystery to us, but our understanding is not required. When we have entered His rest, we know that whether or not our storm is calmed, our Faith will remain. 

"Built on the Rock, the Church must stand, even when steeples are falling, Christ builds His church in every land, bells still are chiming and calling. Calling the young and old to rest, calling the souls of those distressed, longing for life everlasting". 

"Not in a temple made with hands, God the Almighty is dwelling. High in the Heavens his temple stands, all earthly temples excelling. Yet He who in dwells in Heaven above, chooses to live with us in love, making our body His temple."

"We are God's house of living stones, built for His own habitation. He fills our hearts, His humble throne, granting us life and salvation. Yet to this place, and earthly frame, we come with THANKS to praise His Name, God gives his people the blessing"

"Through all the passing years, O Lord, grant that when Church bells are ringing, many may come to hear God's Word, where He this promise is bringing. 'I know my own, and they know me, you, not the world, My face shall see, My peace I leave with you Amen.'"

Condemnation or Conviction?

 For I know nothing against myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 5Wherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise from God. I Cor. 4:4-5

There are two voices that I can hear as a believer. One is pervasive. I really don't need to tune in to it. This voice tells me many things, but nothing good. Paul refused to listen to this voice. He says, "I know of nothing against myself". Lately, though, I have been heeding these lies. These lies tell me that I am weak, that I am not a good leader, that I have found myself in a bad situation, and that it is all my fault. Enough of this already! 

But there is another Voice, the Voice of Truth. This voice, though in my spirit, is not a voice I might automatically hear. I must listen. Jesus tells me I must receive, each day, a Word from God, which is my daily bread. This is my prayer each day. 

Wasted life?

 “‭Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, ‭I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

(Philippians 3:13-14, AV)

Sometimes I look back at my life, and I wonder what I might have accomplished.  I never really apprehended anything. My life seems to have been very small compared to what other men have done. Perhaps Paul, though certainly the most influential Christian who ever lived, was pondering the same things.

However, Paul was not wallowing in self pity, enveloped in regret. No, his eyes were on the challenges ahead of him. For Paul, hope always carried him. He was determined to finish well, and he did. 

So with us, saints. Do we realize that our sufferings,  our failures, have prepared us for a glorious future <2 Corinthians 4:16-18>? We  may be past our physical prime, but God's purposes are always ahead of us. Let us then, if we look back, do so in the eyes of faith, knowing that Jesus is tge Alpha and the Omega,  the beginning and the end. He who has called us is faithful, and He will do it. Amen. 

A new ID

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

—2 Corinthians 5:17-18 (ESV)

There are now two ways to look at our experience as disciples of Christ. There is flesh, and there is Spirit. These two are incompatible. Jesus told Nicodemus, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit" John 3:6. Paul writes in I Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. " 

The flesh, then, is the natural way of thinking. This is what we men are born with, this is how we make sense of our world. When we encounter others, we naturally make judgments as to what sort of people they are. We don't really stop to think about it. If I appear to others a certain way, they believe that is what I am. Not only do we so judge others, we thus judge ourselves to be the sum of our natural experiences. Thus, we are often trapped. We don't believe that we are REALLY a new Creation, for there is always a voice in our ear telling us that we are far from perfect. How then to reconcile our experience with the promise that if any man be in Christ, he has become a new creation? 

Well, two opposite things cannot be true. There is another way to look at life, now that we are born again. This is the way of the Spirit of Truth, which is now in us by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Our enemy agrees with our flesh, and quite perniciously reminds us of how far short we are of perfection. There is a story about a little girl named Sally. Sally loved Jesus with all her heart, and tried all her best to live a Christian life, but of course she failed. Maybe she sassed her mom, or didn't clean up her room. Of course, the devil was right there on her shoulder. "Sally, Sally, what kind of Christian are you? I don't think you are like Jesus at all. You must try harder". Well, what could she say? Could she deny that she had failed? She soon fell into despair. But then she read today's verse. So in her prayer time, she asked Jesus if it is true that she is indeed a new creation. "Yes, Sally, it is true". Well then, she asked Him, what to do when the devil stands at the door of my heart accusing me? "Sally, next time he knocks at your door, let me answer it!". I can imagine Satan's reaction when Jesus is standing there. Yes, he runs away as fast as he can. James 4:7. 

So therefore there is flesh and there is Spirit. These are two different realms. We must stop listening to flesh by trusting instead what the Word tells us about others, and about ourselves. This is the ministry of reconciliation. We may experience ourselves, and others, as far less than perfect - but that is not how we see in the Spirit. If we are challenged, we simply say, "Christ in me is the hope of glory". Amen. 

Prayer for leaders

 "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the Word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" Hebrews 13:7-8

Per Strongs, the word for remember has the sense of being mindful of, thinking about, pondering. Yes, there was a time, for most of us, when we did not know the Word of the Lord, and God used another believer to share with us the best news of all time! How often do we thank God for that person? They, by the integrity of their walk, have shown us the way that we should go. How can we honor them today?

The Jesus they shared with us is the same Jesus we now share with others. When we are out in the field, doing a blitz, or encountering people in our daily walk, we can call to mind that we are not sharing words about Christ so much as we are presenting to them the very Person of Christ. He said, "If I be lifted up from the Earth, I will draw all men unto me". When we are sharing His Word, He is right there with us. We need not think ahead of time about what we will say, for His Word indwells us, and gives our mouth utterance. 

Thus we honor those who have graced us with God's word. We remember them by doing what they did for us when we share the Lord Jesus with others.