James 2:14-19

¹⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?

1.     Writing to Christians

a.     That has been a recurring theme

2.     They are claiming to have faith but james is questioning it

3.     He is raising a difficult question

a.     Have you ever had yoru faith questioned

b.     This is a dangerous place for james to go

c.      Can’t accuse james of being shallow and easy on people

d.     There is no good way to question someone’s faith.

e.      

4.     James is questioning that they are even claiming to have faith

5.     There is no point in even talking about faith if you don’t’ have actions

6.     Faith isn’t about words.

7.     Faith only makes sense in the context of actions

8.     There are different kinds of faith

9.     Faith that is only words saves no one.

10. What is making james question them

11. Can you have lightening without thunder

12. He isnt’ saying they don’t’ have faith, he is asking what kind of faith is it. 

13. Is it enough faith to even claim.

¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

1.     Setting up an illustration

2.     Talking about Christians

a.     Family members

b.     Not just a stranger

c.      They have no clothing and food

d.     We greet and send them off with best reguards

e.     They notice they have no food or clothing

f.      They give them nothing

3.     What are they really saying

a.     Sucks beign them

b.     I know you are hungry and have no where to stay but….i don’t care

c.      Well I care but not enough to do something about it.

                                               i.     Some people have faith but not enough to do soemthign about it.

4.     This is where we bring back 1:18 quick to listen

a.     These people don’t listen very well

5.     They don’t move at the speed of love

6.     What is the point of saying love if you don’t show it

7.     Talk doesn’t’ feed or cloth people

8.     This is a very common sense that no one argues with

a.     I am sure the recepients reading are tracking

9.     Might as well say what your actions are saying

10. We like to talk more than act

11. How often are our words shallow and void

¹⁷ So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

1.     In the same way as we all agree that it’s pointless to say good reguards when you clearly don’t’ mean it, its pointless to have faith and let it do anything

2.     Faith that isn’t marked with deeds is dead and useless

3.     That is a hurting statement

a.     You have lived yoru life believeing something about yourself that you aren’t

b.     James points it out.

4.     Some of us have faith but it’s useless

5.     Do we have useless faith

6.     What’s the point in having faith if it’s personal

7.     Many people talk about how their faith is personal

8.     Faith isn’t personal.  It’s external

9.     Faith is alive. It’s meant to live and breath.

10. Faith has a purpose

a.     To live it out

b.     Not to keep it in

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

1.     There is a debate by how people live their lives

a.     Some have faith

b.     Some have works

2.     Again, he is calling people’s faith out.

3.     James is challenging people to show their faith that doesn’t’ have works

4.     James steps up and says you do that, and I will one up you and prove his faith

¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

1.     You try to prove you have faith casue you believe in God

a.     That’s how most people show they have faith.

b.     That’s just words

2.     Anyone can believe in God. 

3.     The demons believe in God. 

4.     They believe so much they shudder when thinking about him.

5.     IOW he is real to them!

James 2:1-13

James 2:1-13

As we work through the book of Jame together I would like to invite you to process this with me.  Here is how I unpack the bible.  Simply use the following to unpack each verse.  I will share mine and if you could share yours in the comments that would be great!

1. OBSERVATION (allow your mind to pick up on words and phrases.  Simply write what comes to mind.)
2. RESTATEMENT  (rewrite the verse or parts of the verse)
3. QUESTION (what questions can you ask?  Don't let this be a distraction but at the same time, dont' take things for granted that you have always thought. )

2 My dear brothers and sisters,^[a] how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?

1.     To Christians

a.     Reacurring theme

2.     Questioning their faith

3.     Faith has certain characterisctics

4.     One of them is you don’t show favortixm

5.     Why would showing favortism mean I don’t’ have faith

6.     What is so bad about favortism that it takes away my faith

7.     The faith he is talking about is Faith in the Lord Jesus

8.     Many of us need to pause here and ask ourselves if Jesus is our Lord

9.     What does it mean to have Jesus as my Lord

a.     Jesus is who I live for

² For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting^[b] dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes.

1.     The set up.  James is about to draw us all in and show us why favortism and faith in Jesus doesn’t’ make sense

2.     Rich dude vs poor dude

³ If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well,

1.     Rich dude given the good seat

2.     Poor dude has two options

a.     Stand or sit on floor

⁴ doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

1.     Favoritism is discrimination

2.     We usually only connect discrimination with race and gender.

3.     This is about our evil desires

4.     The answer to questions in vs 2 is it shows we are guided by evil desires

5.     What are our evil desires?

a.     When talking about a rich vs poor and we choose the rich it begins to show our

                                               i.     Using people

                                              ii.     The way we see people and their worth

                                            iii.     How we value people

6.     What other examples would be inline with this

a.     Good looking people

b.     Athletic people

James 1:19-21

As we work through the book of Jame together I would like to invite you to process this with me.  Here is how I unpack the bible.  Simply use the following to unpack each verse.  I will share mine and if you could share yours in the comments that would be great!

1. OBSERVATION (allow your mind to pick up on words and phrases.  Simply write what comes to mind.)
2. RESTATEMENT  (rewrite the verse or parts of the verse)
3. QUESTION (what questions can you ask?  Don't let this be a distraction but at the same time, dont' take things for granted that you have always thought. )

 :19--My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

1. is this connected with the previous verses or a new conversation
2. writing to Christians
3. this is good for non believers but it's directly written to believers
4. there is an intentional path process information
5. What is happening that he has decided to teach this
6. interesting that anger is the emotion he puts in there. 
7. Why not other emotions?
8. Is anger the emotion that causes us to disconnect from God the most
9. Is anger bigger than we give it credit for.
10. when we are quick to listen, slow to speak, doesn't mean we won't be angry but we wont' be angry as quickly.  
11. Does our anger come from being slow to listen and quick to speak
12. often times we follow our heart and the tension in our bodies.  This verse goes against our human natural response.  
13. As humans we are morel likely to be slow to listen and quick to speak.  It makes us feel better.
14. some people may not speak outside their own thoughts but I would imagine those that talk in their heads should listen as well.
15. The only people that get angry are not those that speak out loud.
16. what's wrong with anger?  :20 says it leads us to not be what God desires

:20--because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires

1. God desires righteousness
2. Anger gets in the way
3. James is concerned about people producing righteousness
4. am I righteousness
5. does anger get in the way of my righteousness
6. am i angry

:21-Therefore, get rid of all moral filth  and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

1. what is considered moral filth
2. therefore or because of what was just said
3. Because God desires righteousness we need to get rid of moral filth
4. how do i get rid of the moral filth
5. accept God's word humbly will rid me of moral filth
6. most people say to separate yourself form the moral fifth.  That may be true, but James says to not just move away from something but move to something.
7. Just stopping may be what keeps me from doing things but God calls me to be righteous.
8. God's standard is higher for me than just not participating in bad things
9. Move towards God word.
10. Approach God's word  with humility
11. Humility sets our minds and hearts in the right place to accept God's wisdom.  Refer to :5 where God says he gives wisdom to those who ask.
12. If we approach God's word humbly asking that means we aren't telling God and seeing if he agrees.

 God Nugget:  God is righteous

 Philippians 4:2-9

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! ⁵ Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ⁹ Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Can you see God despite the circumstances and events that are stressing/worrying you?

Can you see God in the relationships that are stressing/worrying?

Paul tells us that when we look for God in all our events, circumstances and relationships he will control our hearts and minds and the result of that is a peace that goes beyond all understanding. Often times we look for God's help in those times and rightly so but we never stop to SEE God and all his gifts.  We spend our time working on a plan to deal with life or just simply being frustrated.  We do not look for God.  God is found in the things that are true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, admirable,  excellent ,and worthy of praise.  

Despite your work situation what is your Phil 4 Thoughts?

Despite your relationship with your spouse, parents what are your Phil 4 Thoughts?

Post your Phil thoughts in the midst of circumstances, events and relationships that are stressing you.

Pray continually

Prayer is more than a good morning to God, a thank you for the food, and a good night before you go to bed. It's about being in rhythm with God. The bible says that our spirit talks to God's spirit when we are mindful of God. Prayer is about being mindful of God (who his is, what he has done, what he can do). Below are many different kinds of prayers that were prayed in the bible. Let these be some of your thoughts on the day.

Paul’s prayers
Pray with thanksgiving Phil. 4:6
Prayed that he could visit the Romans--Romans 1:10
Prayed his hearts desire for Israel to be saved--Romans 10:1
Was Faithful in prayer --Romans 12:12
Prayer as a matter of connecting with each other and God. --1 cor. 7:5
Prayers are connected to our hearts--2 cor 9:14
Prayer is about hearts and thoughts--Eph 1:16--Phil 1:3--1 thes 1:2
Pray for the message to be spread--2 thes 3:1
Prayed for believers to have more love and knowledge and depth of insight--Phil 1:9
Prayer is about peace. Phil 4:7

Day 30 -- Wait....there is more after the fat lady sings

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 (New Living Translation)

New Bodies
1 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. 6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body

Mike's Thoughts:
There is a tension I have. I think it's a healthy tension but none the less, it’s a tension. If I really believed there was more to this life than what I see, and that heaven is real and a better place, then why do I want to be here so badly? Why would being dead be the worst thing in the world? We all go through it. When a baby dies we are sad, but if that baby is in heaven and is healthy, isn't that better? If a person is sick and may die, isn't that better? I know we are sad because of the loss, but at the same time there usually isn't any rejoicing that the person is in a better place. Do we ever find ourselves wanting to be in heaven? I wonder if we get the part where Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to give us confidence to know that there is more to this life. I hear non believers say "there has to be more to life than this". According to this scripture the Holy spirit is speaking to them. They didn't come up with that thought. I think that it is too easy to think about heaven and so we ignore the holy spirit and trust our natural instincts to be sad and fearful. I want to encourage you to not trust your "natural" instinct to be sad and to spend time reflecting on what heaven is and what it will be like. I want us to be more heaven minded than earthly minded. I know it's a tension but let it be a tension and not give up on how real Heaven is.

Prayer:
Thanks that we have a hope that is a guarantee. A guarantee that we can be in heaven with you one day. Thanks that you have given us the holy spirit that communicates to us that we have something bigger out there. Thanks that we have something to look forward to. Thanks that we can trust you with our eternity. --amen

Mike's Notes:
1. Our bodies and this earth are temporary.
2. God is making us new ones.
3. Not only will we not have physical pain in heaven, we won't have emotional pain as well.
4. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee that there is more.
5. If we don't look forward to heaven maybe we don't feel, trust, listen, or even believe in the holy spirit.
6. We will all face Christ to be judged.

Day 29 --Love is another four letter word for Life

1 John 3:11-24 (New Living Translation)

Love One Another
11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

14 If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

Mike's Thoughts:
There are two moments in this passage where I just stopped reading and thought, "WOW, that is powerful.” 1. When God says if you hate your brother or sister you are a murderer. 2. When God says if you don't show compassion for your brother or sister then God's love isn't in you. Honestly, when I first think about those two moments, I try to justify that fact that the passage is not literally saying what it appears to say. It seems harsh. I also try to justify how that isn’t me. My fear is that it may be me. Even though I may not hate my brother, God didn’t set the standard to just not hate, he set the standard to live on the other side of the pendulum. To give to our brothers and sisters out of what God has given to me. If we want connection with God we have to make a connection with our brothers and sisters. BTW, if you are don't have siblings you are in luck because he is talking about all of those who you call Christians, and not just those with whom you go to church.

Prayer:
God, Thanks that you defined love. Thanks that you didn't just define it in a book, but you defined in the life of Jesus. Thanks that you let me be a recipient of that love. Help me to live that love out by loving others around me. Help me to see the standard you are calling me to. Help me to see the opportunities to love other people.

Mike's Notes:
1. The message has not changed. Love one another.
2. If you hate your brother, it's as good as murder. Wow, that is powerful.
3. God has come to give us new life. If we don't love our brother we can't have that new life.
4. God has called us to a higher standard than to just not hate our brother. He has called us to love him. Jesus has given us a snapshot of what that means. He gave up his life for us.
5. The higher standard is the opposite of hate - It's love. That is seen by compassion for our fellow brothers. If you have the ability to help a brother out and you don't, then God's love isn't in you. Wow, that is powerful.