Tag Archives: James

Testing

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I still have the dream sometimes where I am late for a test that I hadn’t studied for. And it always seems to be a calculus test.  I hated calculus. Anyway, in my dream I’ve always forgotten to study and I am running late and I just know that I’m going to fail this test and it’s going to be awful.

I hate that dream.

I will wake up, thankful each time that it’s just a dream.

What a terrible feeling to have forgotten that you have a test!  What a terrible feeling of impending doom. It’s a helpless feeling, one that just grips the whole of your soul.

Well, in life, we are going to have tests. And the bad thing is that they may make that calculus test look easy.  These test may be hard. They may involve sleepless night.  Tears.  Pain.  Hurt.  Doubt.  These test could be the things that try our faith and leave us shaken.

And in James, it says we should thank God for these tests.

Huh?

Yep.  James says to thank God for tests.  Listen to James 1:

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

These tests we face will grow our faith. They will grow our strength. They will grow our trust. They will grow our dependence on God.

When you face a test, a real, a tough test, you can’t face it on your own.  You’re not strong enough.  You’re not able.   You can’t do it.

But, through God, you can. Through Christ, you can do all things. Through Christ, nothing is impossible. Through Christ, you can do it.

Through Christ, you can have joy in the tests. Through Christ, you can have joy.   Through Christ, we can endure. Through Christ, we can grow.

Through Christ, we can not only take these tests. We can triumph over them.

Today, and in the future, you will have tests coming. What will you do? What will we do? Will we count it joy?  Will we use this to grow? Will we let this grow us closer to God?

We can count these tests as joy. When we turn to God in the midst of the trials, they will grow us.

May we grow closer to God today and each day.

Don’t Say That!

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I heard someone say once, “if you have to say – I really shouldn’t stay this. . . then, you really shouldn’t say it!”

Our mouths have a way of getting us in trouble, don’t they?  When I was a kid, most of the whoopings I got where for my smart mouth. I’d have something that I just had to say, that I knew I shouldn’t say, but I just couldn’t help myself.

So I’d say it. And I’d get in trouble.  Like I knew I was going to. But, I just couldn’t help myself!

We all find it hard to control our mouth. I’ve joked that as I’ve been in ministry longer, I’ve got callous in my tongue from learning to bite it when I wanted to say something I didn’t need to.

But, we can rejoice, that we aren’t the first folks to ever deal with this problem.  Listen to what James writes today in James 3:

People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

James reminds us that many have tried to tame the tongue, but it is a restless evil.  It’s so hard to hold it. It’s so hard not to strike back out of anger. It’s so hard not to respond to a cruel word.  It’s so hard to not respond tit for tat.  We just don’t know if we can.

On our own, we can’t. Through our own strength, through our own might, through our own power, we won’t be able to.  We just can’t do it.

But, through the power of God, we can.  Through His strength we can.  All things are possible through Him.

So, today, when you want to say it, whatever it is, stop. Slow down. And pray.  Ask for strength.  Ask for control. Ask for guidance.

God has given us our tongue to praise Him.  Not to tear others down.

Today, how will you use it?  Will you use it for good?  Or for evil?  We have a great power and a great responsibility.  Through God’s grace, may we use it right.

 

Not Be So

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I’ve heard it said that the Bible doesn’t need to be defended or argued about.

It just needs to be listened to and applied to our lives.

Each morning I try to listen to what God is saying through different text that I read, and I’m always amazed at the emails and responses I receive from these reflections.

Today is one of the days, when one of these text say so much, I think there’s very little I can add to it. Listen to what James says today:

7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

What are we saying today?

Not just with our lips, but with our lives?

What are we saying?  Are we using our tongues to build up?  To praise God?  To bless?

Or are we using our tongues to tear down?  To hurt?  To cause pain?  To mock? To harm?

What are we saying today?

So often, we say things and literally the moment the words leave our mouth, we wish we could pull them back in.

We can’t though.  What’s done is done, what’s said is said.

So, we must be careful.  With the same mouth flows both praises to God and hurt to others.

This must not be so.

What are you saying today?   How are you speaking today?

May you, may I, may each of us honor God with our tongues today.  May we used our tongues to life up, not to tear down.  To bless, not to curse. To give glory to God and help each other.

Not to bring harm.