We have begun a series on the New Testament book of James. As I began studying for this series I found a striking similarity between the type of wisdom found in James and the Old Testament book of Proverbs (written by Solomon - -the wisest man to ever live).
It is believed that James was Jesus' oldest brother. So, he had a lifetime to learn from Jesus himself; through His teaching and His actions. I think this gives James a distinct advantage over many of the other early church leaders.
In the first week we looked at the first 8 verses of chapter one and found at least three profound words of wisdom -- perseverance is a sign of maturity and path to abundance (v 1-4), we can ask God for wisdom and He gives it -- even if the reason we need wisdom is because of our own foolish mistakes (v 5) and that when we ask from God we need to avoid being double minded (v 6-8). When we are truly in faith we must act like we actually believe it.
Then in the second week we looked at the rest of Chapter 1. We looked at learning top place our trust in God and not our riches. Those riches can be monetary but they can also be our own skills and abilities. Money, talent and abilities are not bad things in and of themselves. But we have to remember that they are all just tools. Our trust is in God and His perfect plan for us.
This led us to verse 17 where we are told to remember that all truly good things come from God and that we are God's first fruits -- His best. After He made all of creation, He made us and made us the best. Despite what the world tries to say -- we are not equal with all the animals. We are greater than and have dominion over all the rest of creation.
Finally we talkd about the idea of getting rid of the filth and humbly accepting God's plan for us (v 21). It takes humility to accept that God knows what is best for us. We need to learn that the world will fill us with filth and self-righteousness that tells us we are "all that". But we will be so much more than that if we humbly accept God's will for us which is way bigger than anything we could even imagine.
Next week we will begin to look at James Chapter 2.
Friday, July 17, 2009
The Life of Joseph C'td - Sat PM & Sun AM
We have continued on in the study of the life of Joseph. We looked at how his inner drive to do what was right afected his outcome in life.
After being sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph really had no motivation in life to do any more than would keep his slave driver from killing him. Yet Joseph personified the ideal of working "not unto men, but as unto the Lord." he did not work hard and with excellence strictly to impress his master. He did so in order to reflect well his true Master.
So often Christians fall into a trap of doing as the world does, whether in school or in the workplace. We do just enough to get by and, hopefully, stay out of trouble.
Potiphar, his boss, noticed that whatever he touched prospered and that his own business was prospering because of Joseph. A lot of Christians like to talk about how the company they work for is blessed because they are there, and that is partly true. However, it takes more than you being a Christian to bring blessing to the company you work for. It takes working hard every day as though it is unto the Lord like Joseph did. Most of us stop short of that part.
Many Christians even spend their employer's time (read: money) reading the Word or witnessing to co-workers. Then they wonder why they get passed over for promotions or get laid off. They chalk it up to being persecuted for their beliefs. But Joseph shows us that it is important to work hard because it pleases God and that true promotion comes from God. Jesus tells in the book of Luke that if we want Him to trust us with bigger things of our own we must be a good steward of others' business.
Maybe your boss will never notice your hard work, but when you do it as unto the Lord (and not that boss), God will see that you are promoted -- even if it seems like there is no way and even if it means moving you somewhere else.
We also saw that, while we'd like to believe that choosing to do the right thing will have an immediate payoff, sometimes we have to just keep on doing the right thing before we see the results.
Joseph was being hit on by his boss' wife. She wanted him really badly. Joseph was doing the right thing. He knew she was an attractive woman who wanted him and that he was a young, good-looking guy. That could prove to be a dangerous combination. So he was careful not to allow himself to be alone in his boss' house with her. Eventually she figures out his ruse and sends all the staff away when she knew he would coming to the palace to work. She makes one more attempt to seduce him.
Joseph resisted the temptation -- not because of a religious law -- but because it would be an offense to his God. We can rationalize why we will keep away from a particular sin. But eventually we can find a way to rationalize committing that sin. But, when you make the commitment to not sin because it would offend God it gets rid of the gray areas of sin. Either it is right or it is wrong. Joseph knew that betraying the trust of his master would reflect poorly upon the God he served.
it is often said that we may be the only Gospel some people ever see. The biggest complaint the world has about Christians is that they are hypocrates. This is an age-old problem. Joseph was faced with the same issue. If he betrayd his master by committing adultery with his wife, then the God of Joseph would be no better than the gods of Egypt or any others that anyone else worshipped.
Then Joseph did what we should do when faced with sin and temptation -- run! Now, it didn't work out for him right away. He ends up being thrown in prison because the rejected woman accused him of rape.
Now the jail that Joseph was put in was not like ours. There was no specific sentence. You get sent to jail and no one ever sees you again. Yet, Joseph still chooses to work as unto the Lord. He probably figured he could sulk about his situation and the unfairness of it all. He could have even blamed God for it. But what god would it do? What difference would it make? Instead he figured he may as well make the best of it.
He gets put in charge of the prison's operations. Eventually he interprets a couple dreams and, even though it took another two years, all the had work and integrity pays off. he is release from prison and made second in command of the greatest empire of the day.
All of us would like the end result that Joseph found, but we must also be willing to do the work that it took to obtain that prize.
This next week we will look at the Godly wisdom of Joseph as a ruler and how it prospered him and, ultimately the entire Israelite people generations later.
After being sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph really had no motivation in life to do any more than would keep his slave driver from killing him. Yet Joseph personified the ideal of working "not unto men, but as unto the Lord." he did not work hard and with excellence strictly to impress his master. He did so in order to reflect well his true Master.
So often Christians fall into a trap of doing as the world does, whether in school or in the workplace. We do just enough to get by and, hopefully, stay out of trouble.
Potiphar, his boss, noticed that whatever he touched prospered and that his own business was prospering because of Joseph. A lot of Christians like to talk about how the company they work for is blessed because they are there, and that is partly true. However, it takes more than you being a Christian to bring blessing to the company you work for. It takes working hard every day as though it is unto the Lord like Joseph did. Most of us stop short of that part.
Many Christians even spend their employer's time (read: money) reading the Word or witnessing to co-workers. Then they wonder why they get passed over for promotions or get laid off. They chalk it up to being persecuted for their beliefs. But Joseph shows us that it is important to work hard because it pleases God and that true promotion comes from God. Jesus tells in the book of Luke that if we want Him to trust us with bigger things of our own we must be a good steward of others' business.
Maybe your boss will never notice your hard work, but when you do it as unto the Lord (and not that boss), God will see that you are promoted -- even if it seems like there is no way and even if it means moving you somewhere else.
We also saw that, while we'd like to believe that choosing to do the right thing will have an immediate payoff, sometimes we have to just keep on doing the right thing before we see the results.
Joseph was being hit on by his boss' wife. She wanted him really badly. Joseph was doing the right thing. He knew she was an attractive woman who wanted him and that he was a young, good-looking guy. That could prove to be a dangerous combination. So he was careful not to allow himself to be alone in his boss' house with her. Eventually she figures out his ruse and sends all the staff away when she knew he would coming to the palace to work. She makes one more attempt to seduce him.
Joseph resisted the temptation -- not because of a religious law -- but because it would be an offense to his God. We can rationalize why we will keep away from a particular sin. But eventually we can find a way to rationalize committing that sin. But, when you make the commitment to not sin because it would offend God it gets rid of the gray areas of sin. Either it is right or it is wrong. Joseph knew that betraying the trust of his master would reflect poorly upon the God he served.
it is often said that we may be the only Gospel some people ever see. The biggest complaint the world has about Christians is that they are hypocrates. This is an age-old problem. Joseph was faced with the same issue. If he betrayd his master by committing adultery with his wife, then the God of Joseph would be no better than the gods of Egypt or any others that anyone else worshipped.
Then Joseph did what we should do when faced with sin and temptation -- run! Now, it didn't work out for him right away. He ends up being thrown in prison because the rejected woman accused him of rape.
Now the jail that Joseph was put in was not like ours. There was no specific sentence. You get sent to jail and no one ever sees you again. Yet, Joseph still chooses to work as unto the Lord. He probably figured he could sulk about his situation and the unfairness of it all. He could have even blamed God for it. But what god would it do? What difference would it make? Instead he figured he may as well make the best of it.
He gets put in charge of the prison's operations. Eventually he interprets a couple dreams and, even though it took another two years, all the had work and integrity pays off. he is release from prison and made second in command of the greatest empire of the day.
All of us would like the end result that Joseph found, but we must also be willing to do the work that it took to obtain that prize.
This next week we will look at the Godly wisdom of Joseph as a ruler and how it prospered him and, ultimately the entire Israelite people generations later.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Independence Day - Wed PM
This week we spent some time looking at the lives of a few of our founding fathers. We read a biography of Benjamin Franklin from an 1848 textbook. We found that Franklin was a man of big dreams and even bigger drive to succeed. He was never satisfied to do nothing, but was a life-long learner who was always looking to invent something new. He was also very well-known for his high level of integrity and strong work ethic. In fact, whenever he found himself in a difficult time in his life, it was those characteristics that helped him rise to the top again.
We also viewed a video about Frankin and Benjamin Rush (another signer of the Declaration). It is interesting to look at the lies of these men as well as many of our other founders who designed this nation to be built on Godly principles. They had a God-inspired vision of freedom and prosperity that has shaped this nation over the last 233 years since the signing of that Declaration.
We also viewed a video about Frankin and Benjamin Rush (another signer of the Declaration). It is interesting to look at the lies of these men as well as many of our other founders who designed this nation to be built on Godly principles. They had a God-inspired vision of freedom and prosperity that has shaped this nation over the last 233 years since the signing of that Declaration.
The Life of Joseph - Sat PM & Sun AM
We have begun a series studying the life of Joseph.
There is so much we can learn by studying how Joseph reacted to everything that happened to him in his life. Last week we looked at how Joseph had a dream. He shared this dream with his family who did not understand or appreciate his dream. Sometimes this will be true in our lives. Maybe it is family and maybe it friend.
Even Jesus was unable to minister in His own home town because they all knew Him as a child. They remember him running around in diapers, so how could He know anything.
The thing is, if you truly have a dream that has come from God, it will be BIG... really big. Those people who know you and have not heard from God like you have will see your dream as too big for you.
When others are presented with your dream they have two choices. Either they can recognize that the dream is bigger than you, know it is from God and be inspired. If God would do that for you He would do it for them. Unfortunately most people make the second choice. That is to tear down your dream. It may not be a conscious reasoning, but it is because they are threatened by you making something of yourself. After all they are just as unworthy of the dream in their heart as you are of the one in yours (without the blood of Christ, anyway). If you persevere and make it to your destiny, it makes them look bad because they could have done the same thng, but didn't.
So this last week we encouraged everyone to hold on to the dreams that you have in your heart and to not tear down someone else's dream just because you think it is too big. God dreams always are.
next week we'll begin to look at Joseph as a slave -- how he dealt with adversity when it lookd like his dream was dead.
There is so much we can learn by studying how Joseph reacted to everything that happened to him in his life. Last week we looked at how Joseph had a dream. He shared this dream with his family who did not understand or appreciate his dream. Sometimes this will be true in our lives. Maybe it is family and maybe it friend.
Even Jesus was unable to minister in His own home town because they all knew Him as a child. They remember him running around in diapers, so how could He know anything.
The thing is, if you truly have a dream that has come from God, it will be BIG... really big. Those people who know you and have not heard from God like you have will see your dream as too big for you.
When others are presented with your dream they have two choices. Either they can recognize that the dream is bigger than you, know it is from God and be inspired. If God would do that for you He would do it for them. Unfortunately most people make the second choice. That is to tear down your dream. It may not be a conscious reasoning, but it is because they are threatened by you making something of yourself. After all they are just as unworthy of the dream in their heart as you are of the one in yours (without the blood of Christ, anyway). If you persevere and make it to your destiny, it makes them look bad because they could have done the same thng, but didn't.
So this last week we encouraged everyone to hold on to the dreams that you have in your heart and to not tear down someone else's dream just because you think it is too big. God dreams always are.
next week we'll begin to look at Joseph as a slave -- how he dealt with adversity when it lookd like his dream was dead.
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