Scripture
– James 1 NKJV
James,
a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To
the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.
My
brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the
testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect
work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you
lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without
reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no
doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the
wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Let
the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation,
because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun
risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its
beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his
pursuits.
Blessed
is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will
receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be
tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when
he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth
death.
Do
not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no
variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word
of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
So
then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow
to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with
meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
But
be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone
is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural
face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets
what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues
in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be
blessed in what he does.
If
anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but
deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled
religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in
their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Bob’s
thoughts:
We
had some confusion today on worship but understood it was His plan.
We tried a second time to visit a church nearby, with enough time in between attempts to forget that no one was home. Looking in the windows it appears to still be in use, so we’ll check with other nearby churches.
We drove
past a few neighboring churches before finding this one, which we were certain
we had not visited before. It was about 10 a.m. and the sign indicated an 11 a.m.
start time. We talked for a while and decided to go for a coffee and wait.
But on
our way past, we heard singing and, deciding the 11 a.m. signboard must be in
error, went in for worship. We didn’t know we were attending Sunday School, not
worship, until it was over.
The
building is a small chapel with painted white panel walls and a high arched
ceiling. The natural wood beams framed the room well. I noticed a cross leaning
against the rear chancel wall. I saw no signage but found the restrooms
downstairs.
Hanging
on the chancel wall was a large painting on velvet of a cross spanning a chasm showing
the way to cross over to God. This is the only velvet painting I’ve seen
bearing a Christian message; I hope it’s one they heed.
We
were sitting in the best seats for cross ventilation, with doors open on either
side, but probably the poorest for audio for the same reason. Consequently I
missed a lot before the youth pastor picked up a hand microphone.
The pastor had an opening prayer and offered a report on his wife’s hospitalization: she had a very high sugar reading and some other problems I didn’t catch. At the hospital, there was a point where it was announced her sugar was at 700 and they praised the Lord (her numbers were coming down).
I was
reminded of a time when I was in the sanctuary praying for the pastor search
committee of what was then our church. The daughter of a member had been ill
and they had been searching for answers for some time. The mom came in exclaiming
with joy that it was whooping cough, not normally joyful news, but they had an answer
and it was treatable.
The
pastor had to leave to minister to his wife and I knew then that was why God
had us there. I followed him out and reassured him to pray boldly for complete healing
for his wife, not just the nice church prayers we use but with the power of
Christ Jesus that is ours. Whatever the problem, to pray that errant cells or
demonic presence be gone from her body and she experience complete healing.
The
youth pastor delivered a message dealing with the rich coming to Christ, that
God has no problem with wealth but what you do with your wealth. I have never
had anyone who was having financial problems that I convinced to tithe come
back to me and complain. This was true for individuals and churches, God will
bless you.
Jan’s
thoughts:
It
took us some time and exploring to locate the church God wanted us to attend
today. We arrived by accident some time into what we thought was the worship
service…only afterward did we learn it was not worship but Sunday school.
This
is definitely a small country church with the atmosphere of a large extended
family, and they operate on a fluid schedule.
We
entered because we heard a hymn as we walked past, and we found seats during a
prayer. The pastor spoke about his wife, who we gathered had been dangerously
ill and in the hospital most of the past week. After a brief prayer, he turned
over the microphone to the Youth Director, Tim Winkle.
They
were in the first chapter, working their way through the book of James. Tim
explained that the problem was not that the recipients of James’ letter were
rich, but that they were hoarding their wealth and not using it to bless
others.
He
stated that when we have less, we need to view it as an opportunity to glorify
God and His faithfulness. That even temptation can be viewed as a blessing if
we keep in mind that those who are faithful in temptation are promised crowns
in heaven. Of course, as he also pointed out, when we are presented with these
crowns, we will acknowledge that they belong to Jesus because we will know we
are not responsible for getting through our trials and temptations ourselves.
We
were greeted afterward by several folks who invited us to return next week if
we don’t come back this evening. We do plan to return one Sunday to hear the
pastor preach.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray in the power of Christ’s name Your healing touch to the pastor’s wife
and Your continued guidance for Your Church. Amen.
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