Women’s Faith Converters Brutes and Cowards

For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. 1 Peter 3: 5-6

If ever a scripture could be described as counter cultural this is it. The adornment verse five is speaking of is submission to husbands that is pure and reverent. The difficulty all women have faced in making application of this passage is found at the end of verse six. It is fear. It is very important to say that this is not irrational fear. It is not neurotic, histrionic, or hormonal. No quite the contrary it is completely rational and most often based on the failure of men.

Sarah is the cited example that Peter uses, let us consider her example. Genesis chapter 20 Abraham is travelling through a dangerous territory. Instead of protecting his wife he simply hands her over to a foreign king. Abraham has her lie about their marriage so that he is not killed because of her beauty. His intent is to abandon her to that situation. It is complete cowardice on his part and it was not the first time he did it but it was the second. If God had not intervened Sarah’s fate may have lead to innumerable abuses. However, God did intervene, and that is the point. The Lord is not telling women to trust their husbands he is telling them to trust God, “do not give way to fear”

The problem for women is that the evidence of their trust in God is their submission to their husbands, and husbands often prove to be untrustworthy. A dysfunctional man comes in two basic categories both of which are bad for women. The first is to be a brute and the second is to be a coward. The brute is routinely seen in domestic violence situations, and the cowardly often fear the realities of work. Some unfortunate women have been cursed with a man that is both a brute and a coward.

Brutes and cowards are not men of God. 1 Timothy 5:8 tells us “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” and 1 Corinthians 7:15 says “But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.” My advice to women who are caught in a cycle of domestic violence is to leave. No place has the Bible said that we have to be subject to abuse in your submission to our husbands. Now domestic violence is not a Biblical reason for divorce. Only adultery is! Please listen to my wisdom for just a few sentences. Men who are batterers are but nature selfish. Selfish men are not going to go without their sexual needs being met. If the woman of God separates the brute and the coward will ultimate provide grounds for a Biblical divorce, by getting another partner.

If the situation is not dangerous, not abusive but the man wants to stay with you 1 Corinthians 7:16 says, “How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? In other words stay, submit, be Godly and let God do his work.

Believing men are called to be servants, protectors, and shepherds.
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. 1 Peter 3:7
As God dealt with Abraham through the years he would become a servant a protector and a shepherd. He would build up armies for the protection of this family. Intercede on behalf of cities and walk a life a faith that was pleasing to God. He learned some of these skills by listening to God’s instruction to him about his wife. For example, in the midst of a difficult situation regarding the dissolving of a blended family the Lord says to Abraham, “Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Genesis 21:12.
Abraham did so and God blessed both Isaac and Ishmael. All men, like Abraham, have their prayers heard or hindered based on their treatment of their wives. Women can grow in faith as they witness God’s work of transforming their husbands from brutes and cowards to men of God. Women have two choices in regards to men, become daughters of Sarah, or give way to fear.

Christmas Submission

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 1 Peter 3: 1-2

I am writing this Christmas week 2011 and we are considering the topic of submission. I thought about switching to the topic of Christmas and then realized that Christmas is all about submission. I have come to realize that they are complimentary and could not be suited better to each other. Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3 are parallel passages, part of verse 25 the Ephesians scriptures reads, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” Two principles should be considered out of his giving of himself. The first is Christ’s love and the second is Christ trust of the Father. The key to understanding submission is bound up in these two truths. They are birthed in the heart of the one who submits. We must first understand that both are voluntary, and volitional. Secondarily, we must understand that submission is the acknowledgement that we trust God.

Our Peter passage promotes a submission in wives that is dignified, strong, and beautiful, “pure and reverent” are Peter’s words. The outcome or fruit that is often born of this type of conduct is a man that comes to love God. Christ provides us his example. He comes into the world in submission yet in partnership with the Father. He “lays down” and ”picks up” his life. He does so under his own power and what he wins is a “radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish”

Submission that is forced is no submission at all. That would be oppression not submission. One definition of oppression is “the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety, etc.” This is how many feel about the topic of submission, especially in marriage and especially at Christmas. Yet Jesus did all things for the’ joy’ set before him.

It is with an attitude of joy that submission should be approached. It is servant leadership exemplified. Peter confronts the type of materialism that causes anxiety for many now as it did then.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 3: 3-4

Vanity is such a common practice that it is no longer considered a vice. It certainly has crossed the gender gap as well. Submission that is spirit driven creates inner beauty that is gentle and is of great value to God because it is so easy for him to use. A non submitted life is a life with the emergency brake on. It will move in the direction you want it to go but it will be forced and usually stinks. It creates great wear and tear and shortens the life as well.

A submitted life is one that is in the flow and rhythm of the spirit. It is not an easy life. Jesus’s submitted life lead him to the cross but it is a life that knows what is important, it prioritizes other’s needs before our own and it makes our lives a gift to others. If that is not the Spirit of Christmas nothing is.

Gandhi and Jesus Shepherds of Submission

Servants, respect and obey your masters in all things. Obey not only those who are good to you. But also obey those who are hard on you. 1 Peter 2:18 WE translation
For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,”[but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 1 Peter 2: 18-25

“Take this job and shove it” is a wonderful option for those who live in a free society. However disrespecting your boss is not a Biblical option. Verse 18 reads 'servants' in the translation I chose but in most translations the word used is slave and the command is for obedience to masters who are both kind and cruel. These scriptures plainly saying if you are in a bad situation ‘deal with it’ and to make matters worse it adds when you do so you are acting as Christ did. Why would it say that? Doesn’t God want us to be blessed? Well the answer to that question is yes, but there are times and circumstances in which our personal prosperity is a low priority within the Kingdom of God. Political, religious, racial and ethnic oppression are all common occurrences in human history. During such times men and women only have one possession. It is the one possession every human being carries with them throughout their life. It is the one commodity we each have a monopoly on. It is the soul. The Bible’s primary and exclusive concern in regards to our lives is the soul. The soul is never tested more than when it is treated unjustly. We are most Christ like when we suffer unjustly without complaint. The dignity of nonviolence often penetrates the heart of a wicked soul, but we are not promised this.

Two contrasting examples for us to consider are Gandhi’s non violence and India and the other is the atrocities suffered by the Jews of Europe in World War II. Both examples are from the same generation. There was even correspondence occurred between the two groups. Lena Mandel wrote a 1983 letter to the editor to Commentary Magazine. In it Mandel cites a Gandhi letter written to Martin Buber a Jewish philosopher living in Germany. Mandel reports that during World War II Gandhi said to Buber, “German Jews had the moral obligation to stay in Germany and, by willingly submitting to Nazi atrocities, teach mankind a moral lesson.”

In regards to his own struggle with the British Empire he stated "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." Many believe that Gandhi victory was not his but the British culture that allowed Godly shame to change their oppressive policies. Mandel adds “Gandhi’s record of passive resistance and civil disobedience should serve as a glorious monument to Western civilization at its best—because it worked. How can anyone ignore the fact that it could only have worked because Gandhi was dealing with a decent and moral society?”
What biblical examples can we look at to resolve our conflict between total submission and social and personal change? Let us consider the life of Jesus. An oppressive King issues a decree that all the children under two years of age should be killed in Bethlehem. Joseph was given instructions in a dream to escape with the Jesus to Egypt. There are times when some are called to endure and others are called to follow the spirits leading.

The instructions to Joseph allowed Jesus escaped but the mothers of Bethlehem did not receive any such instruction. The lament of the crime is such that it reaches back to the spirit of Jeremiah and cries, “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” Incomprehensible crimes stack up in human history as the bodies of Jewish souls did in Nazi concentration camps like Auschwitz, Dachau, and Belzec.

When we witness Jesus before Pilate the Bible describes him as silent in Matthew 27:12-14. His silence was total but was absent of threat, retaliation, or violence. These are the words he said to Pilate. “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” John 18. Peter words record the heart of his voice and the topic of submission, “he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

This is the bottom line of submission. Will we trust ourselves to the one who judges justly? Not because it is easy or even because we understand why atrocity and injustice occur. We do so because we know that Jesus is the shepherd of our soul, and if that were not true, most of us would be more like British or Nazi oppressors than we would be like Christ like or even Gandhian liberators.

The Wild River of Submission

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. 1 Peter 2 13-17

To speak of submission in Western Culture is to enter into the fast moving river of controversy. It is not a concept that westerns appreciate or endorse on a cultural scale. For the Christian this is a problem because submission is a concept that is central to the scriptures.

Other religions do not have this problem. Islam in particular, the word for submission in Arabic is Islam. Islam means submission. A website dedicated to Islamic evangelization says these words; “Islam and Submission are not names. They are descriptions reflecting the soul's absolute devotion and submission to God Alone. This is the First Commandment in all of God's scriptures, including the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Final Testament.” The final testament for a Moslem is the Quran.

The Islamic understanding of the Bible is that submission is the “first commandment of God’s scriptures” “If you love me you will follow my commandments” Westerns are enamored with the concept of love even though our language around love is limited. English has one word for love, Greek has three for example. However we are not as enamored with the idea of following commandments or submission.

Other cultures also find understanding and living in submission more natural than westerners. Confucius philosophy is built around appropriate codes of conduct forming social norms that are built around submission. It was believed that a just and proper society could only be maintained through submission. Stephen Prothero work Religions of the East, Paths to Enlightenment. (Recorded Books, 2005) describes the idea in Confucius thought that whatever you are called from Father to Emperor is sacred and granted by heaven and will be taken away if not stewarded properly. Romans 13:1 agrees with the basics of this concept when it says, “The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

Much of the resistance to authority comes from modern western cultures connection the Protestant reformation. This reformation exalted the role to the individual above that of King or Emperor. The Declaration of Independence is the authority we use to justify the importance of the individual above the King. Consider these words.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is not difficult to connect these words to the Genesis account of man that states we are all made in the image of God. It is what follows that has radically changed the world.

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.” Reconciling these words with the scriptures that the founding fathers honored is difficult. To say that the “authorities that exist have been established by God” and that “Governments are instituted among men” may not be mutually exclusive but they are close.

Peter tells us the “live as free people” so he is not against freedom. George Washington captures the tension that the founding father felt.
“The ways of Providence being inscrutable, and the justice of it not to be scanned by the shallow eye of humanity, nor to be counteracted by the utmost efforts of human power or wisdom, resignation, and as far as the strength of our reason and religion can carry us, a cheerful acquiescence to the Divine Will, is what we are to aim.”

George Washington believed that the revolutionary war was just based on exhaustion of efforts to reform the laws within the scope of the institutions that were established in his generation.
The early reformers felt this tension as well. John Huss before his martyrdom believed that the “Roman church was ... the spouse of Christ, and the pope the representative or vicar of God.” His conflict is captured in the quote from E.G. White, “If the authority is just and infallible as he believed it to be, how came it that he felt compelled to disobey it.”

The resolution for him, and for the founding fathers of the United States would come to be based on the authority of scriptures that’s first concept is that all men are created equal and in the image of God. Additionally that obedience to scripture is more important that obedience to authoritative institutions. In Acts 5:29 Peter when confronted with this dilemma said. “God must be obeyed rather than men.” That obedience will ultimately silence ignorant and foolish men because even in our disobedience to men and institutions we will be “doing good.”
Peter’s admonishment in the above passage is that we do not use the freedom we have as an excuse to sin. If we do so we show that we have not “devoted our soul” as the Islamic encourages us to do nor have we honored our sacred name as Confucius compelled us to do, but more importantly we have disobeyed the scripture.

I could not find the exact quote but it has been said that “if men will not be ruled by conscience they must be ruled by the sword.” I want to credit Washington but I could be wrong. This brings us full circle. Authorities are placed by God “to punish those who are doing wrong and commend those that do right. As long as the authorities are doing this in a manner that honors God the people have no right abolish it and institute another form of Government.

Citizens of the Light

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2: 9-10

I have often thought about the Church as a Kingdom rarely have I heard it described as a nation. A kingdom has been defined as a “state or people ruled over by a king or queen or …a realm or area of activity in which a particular thing is thought to dominate.” Jesus is called the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is indeed our monarch our sovereign and our ruler. That being true few modern citizens of the world are ruled by a king with a sovereign. It may be difficult for the modern man or women to relate to the concept. Peter’s term in this passage is nation. It may be easier for modern people to relate to.

A nation has been defined as a “people in a land under single government: a community of people or peoples living in a defined territory and organized under a single government or people of same ethnicity: a community of people who share a common ethnic origin, culture, historical tradition, and, frequently, language, whether or not they live together in one territory or have their own government.” The distinction between Kingdom and nation may just be the focus of attention, the Monarchy in one case the people in the other. Peter is talking to the people in this case.

Applying our definition to the passage; what is the single land that we belong to? Isn’t it “all the world” or is it heaven itself, might it be a place called light? Philippians 3:20 reads “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” 2 Corinthians 5:20a says that “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors” An ambassador is defined as “a diplomatic official of the highest rank sent by one country as its long-term representative to another.” In our case the long term representation means a life time.

When we are born again we are born again into a Kingdom and nation and therefore represent or are ambassadors of heaven until the time we are called to our homeland. Peter recognizes this truth and based on it says.
“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul” 1 Peter 2:11.

The sinful desire is foreign to the kingdom we represent. Participating in this foreign commodity separates our connection with the kingdom that sent us. It deludes the message that we were trusted to deliver which is written in 2 Corinthians 5:20b “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

Many believers are being taught that we cannot gain victory of the sinful desires and that is why we need the grace of God. That is not the teaching of the Bible. Peter words encourage just the opposite, He says,

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:12

‘The pagans’ are non believers, people from the Kingdom of sinful desires, the people we use to be. They are the people in verse ten who have not received mercy. It is mercy that determines our ‘chosen people’ status. It is light that allows us to see the ‘sinful desires’ as weapons fashioned against our very souls. As royal priest we are to intercede for those in the dark, that they two may become citizens of the light. Then the natural response is praise him who has called us out of darkness, Jesus the Righteous King.

Talkin' Bout My Generation

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”  and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 1 Peter 2:7-8

This passage of scripture from 1 Peter is better sweet for me. It reflects the glory of knowing Jesus Christ, of the special place the believer has in his kingdom but it is also inclusive of those who do not believe and a destined to be separated from God forever.
I was born on the tail end of the “baby boom” The “boomers” are a generation full of creativity and genius both socially and technologically. It is the generation that broke the bonds of racism off of the globe. It has advanced the role of women in the workplace and increased the access of education to every class of society. It is also a generation that has been consumed with materialism and promoted sexual fulfillment to the level of global addiction.

The prophets of the baby boomers are musicians and artist. Simon and Garfunkel wrote “the words of the prophets are written on the subway wall.” This thought captures the concept that truth in this generation is accessible to all and easily found, unfortunately it is also easily ignored. When I reflect on my generation I am saddened by the fact that so few of the voices being heard are the voices of righteousness. The desire for truth and the brevity of time are heard in the songs of the generation. I am reminded of the Steely Dan song Reelin' the Years. The song begins with the lines “your everlasting summer you can see it fading fast” This everlasting summer is life it self, it passes very fast. The song continues, “you grab a piece of something that you think is going to last, you wouldn't even know a diamond if you held it in your hand the things you think are precious I can't understand.” My point is that much of my generation has confused what is precious.

Fading summers are not just for the old Steven Tyler of Aerosmith wrote Dream On when he was 23 stating “Every time when I look in the mirror, All these lines on my face getting clearer, The past is gone.” The early 70's when these songs were written was a time Americans lives would change forever. In the midst of that time, the Jesus movement was birthed. Many who had embraced the message of “all you need is love” came to understand the glory of Jesus and his truth. They could connect with the fact that Jesus was “everyday people”. They came to understand that in Jesus the yellow one could accept the black one and the black one the red one and the red one the white one.” That different strokes for different folks was related to the expression of worship and not divisions based on ethnicity or race. It grew is such a way that the most diverse institution on the planet is now the body of Christ. But those who have disobeyed the message are a mixed multitude that are stumbling into hell. Hell can be imagined away but that does not change the reality of is existence.

If I did not trust in the goodness and justice of God this thought would consume me with hatred for God. When all truth is laid before us each of us will come to understand that God did not reject men in a arbitrary or inconsistent manner. He desires that none will perish but that all will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The rejection of the loving power of God is what I believe the unpardonable sin is and the ultimate blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. We will come to know that rejection for the evil that it is and understand the mercy of God when he delays his wrath. I was once you of the disobedient but now I am part of a chosen people. God's grace taught me the difference between what was precious and what was useless, He created a bridge for me over troubled waters so that one day I can be gratefully dead.

Building a Spiritual House

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2 4-5


The purposes of the Kingdome of God are not simply that we would be random individuals but that each life would be connected to another. Jesus in this passage is called a living stone. Luke the author of the book of Acts tells us that “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” A Wikipedia reference states a cornerstone “is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.” The work of Christ in Salvation stands alone, but his work in the Kingdom of God and the preaching of the Gospel sets the context for building his church. Jesus says to Peter, “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Many teach that it is the confession of Peter that is this rock. I believe this teaching is wrong based on the primacy given to Peter in the scriptures as an individual. Other create a perpetual line of Peter connected to the church of Rome that I also believe is in error. Peter is one of the most important stones in the church but he is just a stone. Jesus sets the reference point for the remaining stones that will be his church. That is you and eye. When the scriptures call Jesus the head of the church the metaphor is similar. Jesus is the head. He does not claim to be the feet. Romans 10:15 tells us blessed are the feet of those that bring the Gospel. Jesus can be all things to all men because he is God. His method is however is to co-labor with the people of God.

Jesus was also rejected. We who labor in the word and works of God should anticipate that we will be rejected as well. Mathew 10:25 reads, “It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household”! Matthew is telling us how the members of the house will be treated Peter is telling us how to build the house. This is not literal language use the is the house Joshua was building when he said “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

The Lord knows that rejection is difficult for us, so he incentivizes the process by letting us know that we are a “holy priest hood” To be a priest is to be in a privileged position. It is not an ordained office but is and office we enter into when we believe. It is an office we begin to operate in when we star to serve others. A spiritual house is a place of safety. There are many individuals who come to church not because they have believed and are part of the house but because they have found safety and comfort and love. This more than ok, it is the evidence that a church is healthy. It is drawing those who are seeking comfort to the only true source of comfort, Jesus the savior, the cornerstone of every life. Peter tells us that such a lifestyle is a sacrifice. But it is the type of sacrifice that allows us to know his good pleasing and perfect will as expressed in Romans 12.

Now Love

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” 1 Peter 1: 22-25

The outcome to obedience to the truth found in scriptures is Love. Peter describes this as a “now” moment. Have you had a now moment? Have you had a moment in which love for all men has consumed your heart? If you have to qualify this statement you do not have scriptural love. If your love is only directed toward those that love you, you have not had a ‘now’ moment. Luke 6:32 reads, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them”
The loss of the ability to love was not one of the consequences of the fall. It has been retained in the human family and is the greatest evidence that we are made in the image of God. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" Plato said, “At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.” Mohandas Gandhi, “Where there is love there is life. “ Confucius said, “To love a thing means wanting it to live.” Plato and Gandhi and Confucius were not Christians. However, they all knew something about the fallen nature of man, Confucius understanding is reflected in his proverb, “It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.”

Plato, Gandhi, and Confucius did a hard thing. They reflected and grew in ‘now’ love. Confucius also claimed that to truly understand anything you have to do it. These men were not “born again of imperishable seed through the enduring word of God” but came to their knowledge of Love through the examination of the conscience and their observance of the nature of life and men. How much more shall we who have the indwelling to the Holy Spirit in our live in ‘sincere’ and ‘now’.

Peter uses action verbs to describe the process of being able to ‘sincerely love’. He speaks of purifying and obeying the truth. The truth of love is not relativistic but it is universal. The scriptures tell us that observers of our conduct will know that we are Christians “by our love” Gandhi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Gandhi saw a disconnection between the teaching of Christ and the lives of those who claimed his name. There was no ‘love connection’ in his observation.

GK Chesterton a Christian apologist, and author from the early 20th century said "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." Part of the reason for this is confronted by Peter quote on the brevity of life. “All people are like grass” That is why we need “now” love. We cannot put this issue aside for one more day. We must determine to follow the course of love immediately and without delay. We must throw off every hindrance to it. Many of us our living like we have an eternity of tomorrows. Mosses us admonishes us to number our days. They are short, but the “word of God endures forever” and so does our Love if it is lived out in a Christ like manner.

Chosen In Love and Made a Family

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:20-21

In the vastness of eternity God chose to create the world. Other things existed at that time. Angels have a point in history when they were created. Ezekiel 28 describes Lucifer in heaven and says of him “on the day you were created”. For a man to presume he knows all of God’s purposes in creation is foolishness. However we know some. We know that creation is an expression of his love. “God is Love” We know that creation is an expression of his character. Psalm 19:1 reads “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.” Meditating on and in creation is divine in its own right. It would have, should have, but never could have been sufficient for men to know God. But our love was not His love. Love can only be expressed freely and men freely chose not to love God. That is what sin is. It is a choice to not love God. Yet, while we were sinners Christ Jesus died for us.

Ephesians 1:4 read, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” God did not just redeem us but he made us part of his family. This could only happen through Jesus Christ the creator who entered the world as a man. “All things were made by him and for him.” Yet it pleased him to make us part of his family. The creator became a child and the Emanuel, or God with us. It was not an afterthought for God. He knew we would fail in our love for Him. “When we are faithless, he is faithful” How the divine mind of the trinity conceived of man causes a psalm to ring through my spirit, “what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him.” The novel Shack, captures the nature of God’s relationship in the Godhead and with man very well. I would recommend it to my readers.

Jesus becoming a man was not sufficient to redeem us. Then we would have only had an example to follow. Jesus, being scourged with a whip was not sufficient to redeem us. It only provided healing for our infirmities. Jesus dying on the cross was sufficient to redeem us but it only granted us forgiveness of sins. The wage was paid, but the victory was not won until he rose again. When Jesus rose from the dead, we took on the form of a man for all of eternity. He was forever identified with his creation and we became his brothers or sisters.

The Father’s lost family was found. Adam is described as the son of God. “Seth (was) the son of Adam, the son of God.” Luke 3:37. John 1:10-13 says of Jesus, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Peter says it is through him that we believe. God does all the work, we simply have to believe. John 6:29. “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

The scripture that exalts the incarnation of Jesus and sings loudest for me is found in Philippians chapter 2. Verses 6-10

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

If you believe this then your faith and hope is in God your Father. If you don’t have faith in God, then talk to your brother Jesus. He will reveal the Father to you. He will do this for you with many undisputable proofs in a way that only you can appreciate. You will grow to Love him and carry his character within you. You will become part of my family too and then we can share the Love of the Father together.

Police Protection for The Soul

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1: 13-15

Peter is expressing a desire for us to be in a healthy state of hypervigilance. Unhealthy hypervigilance is defined as an “abnormally increased arousal, responsiveness to stimuli, and screening of the environment for threats; it is often associated with delusional or paranoid states.” However there are times and situations when it is approximate to be “alert and fully sober. Dr. Kevin M. Gilmartin, Ph.D. is a researcher for the FBI states that law enforcement officers have an “elevated attentiveness or hypervigilant perceptual style...merely by assuming his occupational role.” 1

As Christians we need to be in an alert attentive perceptual style because we have an enemy that desires to “kill, steal, and destroy” our lives. We are law enforcement officers who enforce the Kingdom of God's mandate. We are not always successful in doing this in the environments in which we live and work however we are commanded to do it in regards to our own souls.

As I was meditating on the above passage two other scriptures came to mind. The first is “forgetting what is behind I press forward to the high calling in Christ Jesus” the other is “be excellent at what is good and innocent of evil” Paul is the writer of both. If we occupy our minds with going forward with God we know longer live in the sins we lived in when we were ignorant.

“Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.”

The Lord knows the environments and generation in which he has set us, “live out your time” He says. He also assures us that we are judged as individuals and fairly. He encourages us to have an outsiders perspective, “as foreigners” Real foreigners stand out. Their wardrobe is distinctive, the scent of their food and perfumes is distinctive, sometimes even the way they walk, certainly the way they talk. Now Peter is not concerned here about clothes, food, or perfumes but the manner of our lives. “Be Holy as God is Holy” That means set apart, pure, sacred, perfect, among other things.

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,  but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” 1 Peter 1: 18-19

Peter contrast the blood of Jesus with the Judaic culture of the Old Testament. As beautiful and as holy as that way of life was, rich holidays that prophetically speak about the coming messiah, full of shadows of the truth to be revealed, yet Peter describes it as “empty”.

All things become empty when they are weighed against the Creator of all things coming into the world as a child and living as a servant to his creation. Especially when his expressed purpose was to endure the punishment set forth for those he created. How awesome is Our God!!!!

“He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” 1 Peter 1:20-21

http://emotionalsurvival.com/hypervigilance.htm

Heavenly Heart Burn

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1: 8-9

Here in lies our faith, the belief in the invisible God. I have written extensively on how we can know God through creation, and conscience. I have even extended that concept to include God being present in our cultural memory and in the codification of our legal systems, but in the end he is invisible. Before Jesus ascension into heaven he met with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, they were supernaturally kept from recognizing the Lord, but then he broke bread with them and suddenly disappeared. Their response was to say “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24.

In my mind I like to replace the word disappear with the idea that he became invisible. When something disappears the implication can be that it is no longer there. When a ship disappears from our sight it is because it is no longer in the range to be seen, but when Jesus disappeared we remained present. “Lo I am with you always” is his promise. It was true for the disciples then and it is true for us now.
For those who are devoted we can add “we love him” and “believe in him” and we are “filled with joy” that words cannot express. Living and walking if faith is a glorious experience. I lament that so few human being discover this kind of faith. It is completely subjective and personal. Peter will deal with the apologetic and objective arguments for the faith in the very next verse but in this verse he is just writing from the heart. He is remembering that road to Emmaus, he is remembering the angles that said to him and others “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

Peter knows that his soul is saved; he knows that the Jesus that is invisible to him is sitting at the right hand of the father and is also omnipresent in every way. He knows Jesus still speaks to him, still responds to his prayers, still delivers him from temptation, and would comfort him through his future martyrdom. He also knows that he was the promised messiah and in an effort to convince others to love God with their hearts he also appeals to their minds and rationality.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. 1 Peter 1” 10-12

Even angles long to study the time of his coming. The prophets wrote with us in mind. Jesus opened the scriptures on that road in order for their hearts to burn. The prophets and Jesus were considering future generations. Many today search with the greatest of care trying to identify the time of his coming. I pray that they do so with a heart that longs for his presence. 2 Timothy 4:8 tells us there is a special crown for simply “longing for his appearing.” However, you do not get this crown because your theology was right about the end times. No you get it because “your heart burns” as you wait to see him.

Genuine Faith

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,  who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: 1 Peter 1:1-2
   
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

The humility of the Apostles as compared to the magnification of our own offices always strikes me when I begin to read a new epistle. Peter was Peter, he was also an apostle of Jesus Christ. The office that matter to Peter was not Pope but Messiah and he never confused the two. He knew he was Peter and he knew Jesus was Messiah. He identifies his audience and then sets his eyes on the sovereignty of God and the obedience required of men. Peter viewed that obedience as applying from new birth to death. In regards to where sovereignty ends and free will begins this is a mystery that belongs to God. When preaching the scriptures magnify sovereignty when God does and do the same with free will and you will not injure the scriptures or your brother.
My concern in writing is the sanctification of the body of Christ that comes from obedience to the commands contained in his word. Grace and peace can not be found apart from obedience and you can not obey unless you are at peace and surrender to his grace. That surrender is like a marriage vow, it applies until death do you part. Many scriptures read and “he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,  1 Peter 1: 3-4

The modern church is very concerned about how to apply the scriptures to their lives and rightly so. One of the best study Bibles on the market is called the “Life Application Bible, but no saint of God will live life correctly in this life until he is overwhelmed by the thought of the next life. What we really need is a “Death Application Bible.” My parents would be married 69 years today. My mother is 90 in a few short weeks. They did not have a marriage made in heaven but they knew heaven would evaluate their marriage. Their answer to the question of divorce was simple. “We made a vow, until death do we part” Those words reflect and understanding that heaven records our words and our lives. It reflects and understanding that we are building treasure in heaven that “never perishes, spoils or fades”. It is built on the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ that practically effects our live by demonstrating the temporary nature of death. If we know that death is temporary and life is eternal we will live in that truth. Knowing what is true and living like it is true is what sanctification is!

 “who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” 1 Peter 1: 5:6

The evangelical church spends a great deal of time and energy thinking and writing about the “last time” My theology around this issue as a child was simplified with the words. “Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.” Nobody knows the day of his coming. There are circumstances that we can observe and consider but we simply need to know he is coming. When I am confident of that truth it will carry me through many sufferings and trials. For my parents who lived out their adolescents in the depression, their twenties in the midst of war, their thirties in the recovery of the wounds from that war, trial was a constant.

The trials you experience may be very different from the ones that my parents experienced. Some of you are reading these messages in poor and isolated places. A real faith can carry you through anything. The scriptures answer our trial not in words but with a person. Jesus the Messiah , Peter's Jesus, Paul's Jesus and your Jesus too if you believe. Paul wrote in Romans 8: 34-36 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:   “For your sake we face death all day long;    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” The Apostles lived life with the reality of death on their minds. This is not morbid. It is the simple acknowledgment of what is true. We would be wise to follow their example.

The reasons we face trial is set out in the next verse. “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  1 Peter 1:7

Whatever generation you study, whatever geography you may find yourself placed in remember that the Lord is refining you. His desire is that you will come to know that you have a purpose and he wants you to live out that purpose in faith. This is a reality we as believers need to understand. The Lord does not need to prove your faith to him, he knows the level of your faith. He is proven the genuineness of our faith to us. When we believe God through one trail the next becomes easier. We then are able to lead others through trails. 2 Corinthians 1: 2-4 contains this incredible words.  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” If we experience the comfort of God in one trail it says that we can provide comfort to others in any trial.

“no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.' 1 Corinthians 10:13 For many the escape is martyrdom, but for most of us it will be living Godly in our closest relationships with our wife and our children. My parents did. We would be wise to consider the ancient path they followed and live life like we are dieing.

Confession for a Healthy Community

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16

James begins and ends his letter on a community note and he is a realist. He knows most people don’t sing when they are in trouble. Although we have seen Apostles and saints who do, instead he tells us to pray in bad times and sing in good times. When we are sick he admonishes us to seek the elders pray for us.

Chuck Swindoll is the most prudent teacher on healing that I have heard. In regards to this verse he points out the anointing with oil was one of the best medical practices of the day and that medical practice should run parallel to praying. The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were written by a physician. Most medications have their root in plant life and all use chemical compounds that are mixed using ingredients that are found in creation. The greatest healing manifestation in our ministry was a woman with brain cancer who was given two weeks to live. She was also HIV positive. Ten years later she is alive and well and doing terrific. The place that we prayed for her was not an altar but a sick bed in the hospital.

James however does not only focus on the physical attributes of sickness but the spiritual. He makes a clear connection between sin and sickness with one very important qualifier, the word “if” in other words not all sickness has a route in sin but some does. The solution is confession. Some churches are criticized for practicing a formal confession. The route of the practice is found in this verse. Two points that I want to make in regards to the practice. One is positive the other negative. First the positive

Confession is difficult, and churches have gossips. The idea of having a structure in which individuals can confess their sins to a trusted shepherd is wise and admirable. However, the idea of a mediator between individuals and God I believe is a dangerous one. “There is one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus.” There is no New Testament necessity of an ordained priesthood. It is a best a carryover from Judaism, at worst an incorporation of paganism. All believers are priest. I priest is best understood as someone who intercedes for others to God, as opposed to a prophet who speaks to the people through the man or women of God.

It is important to point out that Matthew 18:18 gives binding and losing powers to elders in the church, but this is in the context of church discipline not individual confession. In fact church discipline is exercised in the absence of confession. The healing that confession releases is spiritual, physical and psychological. The fruit of it is righteous and powerful saints, James uses Elijah as an example, and he says of him, he “was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”

Paul’s example in 1 Corinthians 11 has great import for our discussion. In the context of communion he states that “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.” He then tells us why in verse twenty-nine, “For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep,” The sleep he is speaking about is not a siesta but death. “If we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment.” He tells us, another words “confess your faults one to another that you may be healed.”

The Lord is not looking for a reason to make us sick but well. The consequences of un-repented sin are suffering and death. The power of Elijah’s prayer is not isolated to his power as a prayer but is proportional to Israel’s lack of repentance in that generation.

God is looking for powerful prayers in our generation that can bring forth revival in our time. That cannot occur outside the context of personal and corporate confession. Such confession is to be managed subtly and wisely with strong leaders how bind and loose in the context of church discipline. The consequence will be a healthy and holy church that restores its members to wholeness. James concludes his letter and I conclude this blog with the thought that we are saving lives and souls. Verses 19 & 20 read.

“My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”

The Fear of Riches

‘Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. James 5: 1-6

Blogging through the book of James has been my task of late. If you are a consistent reader I am sure that you have figured that out. If you go through the bible or a book of the bible as we are doing you are going to come across some passages that make you uncomfortable. This passage made me uncomfortable, not because of its isolation but because of its consistent theme throughout the New Testament. 1 Timothy 6.9 reads, “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction,” Jesus said “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Luke 1:53 “He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” A young man with great possessions was trouble because Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Many of you reading this will say well I am not rich so this does not apply to me. “In the United States, in 1999, a family of four was considered “poor” if their income was $16 813/ year. If you put that figure into the Global Rich List, you’ll find that that puts poor Americans among the wealthiest 9% of the entire world.” I don’t consider myself rich either but I am, I wear 3 gold rings of various quality, I have 5 coats, 2 weeks of changes of dress clothes, 10 different types of footwear, I have three cars and I own my own home. I shop wisely, but the reality is I have great possessions, and I am “living on the earth in luxury” I have written and stated many times that I am a prosperity preacher. I certainly make the case for preaching a prosperity message. Simply read the book of proverbs, but if I am going to follow the example of my master I must consider what my master did and 2 Corinthians 8:9 make that very clear “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Please understand that he is talking about spiritual wealth not material wealth. Colossians 2:2 provides us direction in this case, “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ”

Verse 6 of James 5 tells us “the innocent one” Jesus, is not opposing the rich, but he wants to remove the stumbling block of riches to our faith. Most financial break thru meetings are based on a desire for personal wealth. Timothy calls this desire a “temptation” a “trap” that is causes “foolish and harmful desires that lead to ruin and destruction.” This is not something that I want. So what is the solution, James condemns hoarding, Jesus said he who has two coats should give one to the person who does not. He admonishes the wealthy to have fair business practices, “the laborer is worthy of his hire” Is it necessary for banks to charge 40 dollars for a charge card violation? To foreclose on homes that has been faithfully paid on for years? Is it necessary for us the run up our charge cards in such a way that we are beholding to such institutions for years. The interest paid out to such institutions could build schools and roads, dig wells, and support the Gospel throughout the planet.

Park Street Baptist Church of Boston was one of the first churches to send missionaries to Hawaii in 1819. Jim Michener describes the austerity of the early missionaries in his novel Hawaii. He reports a good Christian home could be identified at the time by the wear of its paint. There was a correlation between paint chips on the ground and monies dedicated to missionary endeavors. I am not suggesting that we have to wear clothes that are falling apart and live in homes that need paint jobs. I am reiterating James warning that if we done prioritize our giving based on the needs of the world around us we are going to be held accountable to the wealth that God has entrusted to our care.

Luke 16:11 reads, “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” Jesus is no fan of laziness; we see this in the parable of the ten talents. The poor man’s rebuke is “So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest” The response to give the talent to the faithful wealthy. “So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.”

Then we are given a material and spiritual principle that we should all keep in mind. “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”

Murder the Messenger or Eat Humble Pie

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4 1-3

James tone changes in his letter from writing to believers to addressing a general audience. Remembering that this letter was written to the 12 Tribes of Israel who were scattered abroad it may have circulated to believing and non-believing Jews. The only other alternative that can be arrived at is that murder was a practice of the early church. A conclusion that I am not willing to embrace based on the conduct of the early church. What is shocking is the correlation between those that do evil and how they believe it is God’s will. Jesus addresses the growth of such people in John chapter 16; 2 he says, “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.” Paul certainly believed this when he was arrested Christians and consenting to their death as he did with Steven.

We see another example can be found in John 12: 9-11 Many people had gathered together to see Jesus and others wanted to see Lazarus “whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.” Instead of allowing the miracle to soften their hearts it hardened their hearts and their response was to become murderous.

You might say “so what, that was then this is now” In the west at least we have grown past killing people over religious issues. James is not focused on murder but sin. Remember he is the one that wrote “if you have sinned in one point of the law you have sinned in all of the law.” When he confronts the issue he is not gentle or subtle. He writes, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” David Guzik a commentator for the Blueletterbible.org states, “The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit has a jealous yearning for our friendship with God.”

Seeing the works of God are not difficult. A man raised from the dead, blind eyes being opened are all strong evidence of God working in the world. Testimonies abound in every generation about the goodness of God. For those who are hard hearted, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” His favor is empowering. When we submit to God we are empowered to resist the devil. A resisted devil is a fleeing devil. Free from distraction we can “draw near to God and he will draw near to us.”

However, before you get too excited about drawing near to God remember that he is a Holy God. When Isaiah drew near to God he said. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” Isaiah 6:5. James understanding this truth writes, “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.”

It is true that Jesus said to his disciples I no longer call you servants but friends but he said that to men who dedicated their entire lives to his service. We often act as if one text message to Jesus gives us access to the Holy of Holies.

In Isaiah case a “seraphim flew to him with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched his mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” James declared “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

To be lifted up is to see life beyond this world, beyond ambition, beyond pleasure. It is to make our Lord Jesus Christ the central relationship in our lives. No relationship is genuine unless the parties really know who they are, in my case it means the God who created heaven and earth, who became a man and walked out his life in real time condescends to speak to me on a daily bases. If that does not humble you, nothing will.

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Wise Mouths

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.  Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James 3: 9-12

I grew up in a home in which taking the Lord's name in vain and going to church every Sunday were both standard practice. I never could reconcile these contradictory practices. In retrospect their presence is truly related to ignorance to the word of God.

Praise at its root is thanksgiving to God. When we truly grow in maturity we are able to thank God for simple being himself. When we praise God just because he is God we appreciate where we are in the world and how our God given character traits are being used. Salt water and fresh water are not made distinctive in this verse because one as bad and the other as good. No salt water is prefect for the ocean creatures that dwell in it as fresh water is for the creature that dwell in ponds and lakes and rivers. James is not condemning the church for not praising God but cursing human beings. That usually happens when fig tree people want olive tree people to be figs and vice versa.

When this occurs bitterness, anger, and cursing follow. Humility recognizes that “A man has to know his limitations” Olive trees can not bear figs and certain kinds of people need to be in certain kinds of environments to succeed.

James 3:13 reads  “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” James is trying to tell us that Christian wisdom should be found both among fig tree people and olive tree people. If we are operating in the Spirit we will discern the types of people who we evangelize. Do we care enough about the soul in front of us to send them to a church that may suit their personality better than our church does or do “we harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts”?. Is our ambition to grow our church kingdom or the kingdom of God?

God has in most instances placed me a city away from the churches that I pastor. That means that most of the people that I lead to Christ live a great distance from my church. It provides me the opportunity to connect people with “fig tree pastors” and “olive tree pastors” Even when that was not the case I would try to connect people to where they belong.

Chapter 3: 15-16 of James describes a wisdom that was found among the believers he was addressing. He described it as follows, “Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” If we had the wise among us envy and self ambition would be confronted as James is modeling in his letter. It would flow from the wise among us who live a good life as seen through their deeds. James says such wisdom “comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” then he adds that it creates “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

How do you know when ambition is selfish and when it is Godly? Well in the end you can not always be sure. “let the wheat and tares grow up together” Jesus said. There are things to look for such as who does the message glorify. If it an individual or a church more than Jesus we should take note, and “know those that labor among us.” The traits the James list are basic manners “consideration” “submission” and basic fairness.

The message of the Gospel is not complicated, let us be wise and apply it in the simplicity in which it is given to us.

Untamed Preacher Tongues

“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” James 3

James 3: 1-2 connects the teaching of the Gospel with the taming of the tongue. He reinforces the accountability that God set on teaching and then he goes on to tell us our common imperfection in teaching and the consequences that can follow in later verses of his epistle. However, there is also an implied promise, the purer our verbal teaching, the purer our lives. This is what he means when he says that a teacher can keep their whole body in check.

When I teach systematic theology I try to teach each systematic doctrinal position equally without my own dogmatism. I tell my students that if their brother's position on a debatable issue can be supported from the Bible then their obligation as a Christian is the love their brother or sister who has the opposing position. I do this because all teachers and denominations, “stumble in many ways” However we should work toward perfect doctrine and theology. Theology is what you think doctrine is what you do. One always flows from the other.

I also try to force my students to seek the scriptures for themselves in order to determine their position and debatable issues. The result is an interesting mix of believers who challenge each other academically and love the word of God, each other, and the Lord himself.

James 3:5 “The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

There seems to be both a symbolic and literal application of this passage. As we make application of of the word “body” and apply it to the body of Christ, we can historically document “a world of evil among the Body of Christ” He begins his conversation about this “world of evil” as it relates to individual teachers however.

Preaching is a powerful medium and can be a bit of an intoxicant. It is easy to drift into teachings that is “puffed up by our vain imaginations” It is easy to preach the power of his resurrection without the fellowship of his suffering. The other error of an untamed preacher tongue is to not speak the word of the Lord for that day, it is like despising prophecy. The preacher wants to tickle ears without the Spirit of God being attached to the word. When these errors continue to occur preaching becomes more of a sensual experience than a spiritual experience. Richard Gazowski, said many years ago, “lust and the Holy Ghost can feel very similar” I think he was right and I think course that “corrupts the whole body, and sets the whole course of one's life on fire” is the consequence of untamed preacher tongues that refuse to preach the “whole counsel of God”. Paul could say to his congregation “I have not withheld anything from you but preached publicly and from house to house.” Acts 20:20. When he did this he kept himself strong. It would be interesting to study the correlation between pastors falling into sensual sin and their commitment to preach the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Divine revelation is also not a substitute for communicating all that God desire to communicate. Jesus said to Peter “flesh and blood have not revealed this to you but my father in heaven” and “get behind me Satan you do not have in mind the things of God” within minutes of each other. Peter wanted a Kingdom but not a crucifixion.

Let us keep our “whole body in check” by preaching the “whole counsel of God” and let the fires that burn in our lives by the fires of revival.

Spirit Lead Good Works

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

When I think about James teaching about works I am pulled in two directions. The first direction is my personal walk with the Lord and my responsibility to be charitable. This application seems as simple as adding a potato to the soup or throwing some sheets and blankets on the sofa. It has been a source of pleasure for me to see a number of people pass through the bedrooms of my home and the chairs at our kitchen table. The second direction is what I will call the Institutional Body of Christ. Is it each local churches responsibility to make charity part of their mission? Is it a para-church responsibility? Is it driven by denominations that are specialist in this area such as the Salvation Army? Where is the tension between the responsibility to feed the church spiritually through the teaching of the Word of God and the charitable works to those in our flock?

Paul makes a distinction between the good works done for those in the church and those outside the church in Galatians 6:10 “as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” All people are included but Paul is interlocking charitable role and pastoral role when he talks about taking care of the “family of believers”

Acts 6:1 describes a controversy that presented itself in the early church, “the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.” The consequence of this controversy was that the first deacons of the church were assigned the task of taking care of widows in the church who needed food.

The Schaffer Institute tracked church growth among 1,103 churches for 15 years, the churches surveyed and tracked include reports from 23 denominations. Consistently it was found that “These Churches were marked with solid Bible teaching and treated each other and outsiders with good hospitality.” Good hospitality and charitable works are not always correlated but it does give you a sense of how God blesses both word and deed.

Does the charity we are called to include work within the systems the world has provided such as hospitals, prisons, and social service agencies or has the Body of Christ abdicated its role to the world in these areas as many believe? God has always honored institutions beyond religious bodies. His greatest servants were often in government, and sometimes in pagan governments. Joseph and Daniel immediately come to mind. They provide us great examples of the role of word and deed. Joseph was called to prepare for a famine in the midst of years of prosperity in order that life might be saved. Daniel provided solutions to kings who would have otherwise oppressed their people except for the word of God that Daniel spoke.

One of the greatest examples of institutional church preparation for good works can be found in Acts 11. Agabus a New Testament prophet “stood up and indicated by the Spirit that a great famine was about to come over the whole inhabited earth (which took place in the time of Claudius). So from the disciples, according to their ability to give, each one of them determined to send financial aid for support to the brothers who lived in Judea, which they also did, sending the aid to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.” Let us make sure that we know what happened here. A Spirit lead man reported to the church leaders that a famine was going to happen and an offering was taken to meet the needs of those suffering before the event happened. Let us also recognize that each gave according to their ability, and leaders could be trusted to carry the funds without a question of ethical conflict. Ephesians 2:10 that reads “for we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Freewill can cause us the miss the completion of those good works, but they are prepared distinctively for each individual generation and time. We can discern these good works if we are prayerful.

We as believers need to connect our Spirit lead lives to the good works that we do, both individually and institutionally. When we do this we will not question what our individual and institutional good works are thy will flow naturally from the throne of God and we will accomplish our purpose on earth.

Mercy’s Perfection

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.”Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Love and partiality are mutually exclusive. In an earlier passage in the book of James it says, “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.” When you take care of the widow and the orphan it demonstrates more than love for neighbor. You communicate to the widow, “I will love you as I love my mother”, and to the orphanage “I will love you as my own child.” It is the ultimate impartiality. Through Christ we become children of the living God. The father does not make a distinction between his love for us and his love for Jesus. It is impartial John 1: 12-13 read “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.“

All of the law is a tutorial in love. When we fail to keep the law we fail in our love walk. The sin itself does not matter. “If you have sinned in one point of the law you have sinned in all of the law. In the 2007 movie Kite Runner the Father, named Baba, wants to teach his son about righteousness. He says these words. “There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft... When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.”

In regards to sin, all are convicted guilty, in regards to righteousness all have been made holy through Christ, because the father has not been partial but has allowed mercy to triumph over judgment. We have the same opportunity in our lives. We can allow mercy to triumph over judgment, our ability to do so is clearer as we keep the law more perfectly. With each passing victory over sin we grow more and more aware of just how far we are from keeping it perfectly. The scripture from 1 Corinthians 10:13 grows in clarity within our hearts. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” Susan Murphy one of the ministers of our organization stressed the ‘commonness” of sin. The devil doesn’t have new tricks; there is nothing new under the sun. The same old three sins trip us up. “lust of the eye, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.” Therefore even as we grow in practical holiness we are humble to the perfection of our savior.

John Mcarthur has rightly pointed out that Jesus experienced every temptation known to man to its absolute highest level yet he did not sin. He could call down a legion and murder his adversaries, he could manipulate through words of wisdom, such as the one he shared with the women at the well. He could be prideful at his command over the elements when he calmed the storm and walked on the water. Each temptation was ever present and he was never provided a way of escape as we are. As he suffered the agony of temptation he learned that the wages of sin are death. He paid that price in mercy not judgment. He did not fall even in one point of the law and therefore is free to judge rightly because he is impartial. Shall we drink of the same cup as our master, lets us resist the devil that he may flee from us, and let we who are spiritual restore those who have failed, meekly acknowledging our own imperfect keeping of the law.

A Faith Shake

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Modern individuals are fond of saying “I never talk religion or politics”. I guess that leaves sports and explains why games are so important to the modern world. The problem with that approach to living and discourse is that politics and religion deal with reality. Games are by definition “make believe” test of character. Politics and religion deal directly with the way that we treat people and resources. James 2 1-4 are as applicable today as they were when James wrote them.

The verses drive questions that church people may not want to answer honestly. Does my church favor those who dress nice and shun those who are poorly attired? Your church might not have a problem with blue jeans but does it discriminate between those that have and those that don’t? I consider myself a prosperity preacher, I believe that God is in the blessing business. I believe that he wants to bless the poor, so these scriptures are especially challenging. When I discriminate the Bible says I demonstrate evil thoughts.

I commute by bus. It is a city line so “all types’ get on the bus. It has been my experience that it is rarely a man in a business suit, like me, who says, God Bless to the bus driver. It is usually some disheveled person who is a bit too dirty and a bit too loud. (I am doing the judges with evil thoughts thing) verse 5 addresses this directly

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor.

I don’t think that I have ever heard a message from this passage. This verse puts most of us to shame. We are not rich in faith we are in fact poor in faith. We are especially poor in faith when we use what little faith we have to prosper in this life. When Jesus speaks about a kingdom promised to those who love him you can apply it to this life it you want to but you are foolish if you do. “You have received your reward”

Matthew 6:19-21 reads “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Prosperity is not stuff. Prosperity is faith, and sometimes when we grow in faith we get more stuff. However sometimes when we prosper it is to prepare us for bad times. Believers today and believers in James time both applied this truth badly. It has been a very long time since I have had a bill collector call me, “Praise the Lord” but I remember them as being unkind, rude, and demeaning. James is writing to believers in the passage when he says, “is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Then he refers to unbelievers, many who filled the power positions then as they do now and asked, “Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?’The bill collector then as now does not care that you made a purchase “by faith” when in fact was made “in the flesh”

It would be better if we had lent the money to the poor without expecting anything in return. “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”. Matthew 6 2-4

I challenge you to go the Biblegateway.com and type in the word lend and see what the Bible has to say about this issue. One passage that is familiar reads, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”

The giving done in secret may be what that brother or sister needs to prosper. It may be a new set of cloths or a job or some other material thing. However, when Jesus says that you will always have the poor among you I believe he is referring in part to those that do not have the capacity to meet their own needs. Paul writing to the Thessalonians says “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.”

The unruly might be us those of us that fail to see beyond our own needs. The feebleminded, the weak may not get better and therefore we should be patient and kind for it could be us and not them.

I road the bus today and had a long conversation with a man who was born blind. He was on the way into the city to make sure that those who are disabled have access to the bus line. There is one neighborhood that I believe the bus line needs to serve. We spoke about it and he promised to advocate for them. He has never seen that neighborhood and unless the Lord grants him sight he never will but he advocated for those in need. The least we can do is shake every visitors hand that comes into our church the same way.

Ears of Faith

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

The old proverb holds true in regards to this scripture. God gave us one mouth and two ears because he wanted us the listen twice as much as we talk. James 1:19 however is dealing with more than words. The subject is anger not communication. The implication of the passage is that if we will listen instead of talking we will avoid the type of angry that leads to sin.

Ralph Nichols spent his life trying to improve the way that people listen. He said, "The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them." He believed that listening could be taught. The scriptures frame listening as a command. When a Christian listens, all of their being should be involved. What I mean by this is that all of our mind, spirit and soul should be engaged in each human encounter. We have to listen for affect. The field of psychology defines affect as, “observable behavior that represents the expression of a subjectively experienced feeling state (emotion). Common examples of affect are sadness, fear, joy, and anger.” Another term that we could apply to listening is empathy. Empathy is “understanding of another's feelings: the ability to identify with and understand somebody else's feelings or difficulties.”

We are less likely to become angry with another person if we can enter their world and see things from their perspective. It does not mean you have to agree with their perspective. It also means that you do not have to convince them of your perspective. Understanding follows listening as faith follows believing. Let’s consider verse James 1:20

because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 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.

If I humbly accept the word that has been planted in me, I will trust God. I will trust him to grant the other person the wisdom that I am very sure that I already possess. If I grow in humility and obey the command to listen I may find that God is teaching me through the other person’s words. If I apply faith to that moment. The evidence of this faith is following the command to listen. To do otherwise rejects the word of God. It leads to evil because I have determined to communicate through the flesh and not through the spirit.

When we are slow to speak we allow the Holy Spirit to fill our mouth with words of wisdom and knowledge that benefit us and the hearer. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. You will not have the word of God if you disobey his command and talk too much.

Nehemiah chapter two provides us a wonderful example of listening with empathy and spiritually. King Artaxerxes was a man that could listen empathically despite his high position. His body guard and cup bearer Nehemiah was sad and depressed. The King cared for his servant and askef Nehemiah his problem. The scriptures tell us that Nehemiah was afraid, but he was also slow to speak. Before he opened his mouth he prayed. He listened, and then God spoke through him. The words that he spoke flowed through him and lead to the restoration of the Nation of Israel. The King asked specific questions and listened. He granted his servant favor. Each man spoke when he should and each man listened when he should, then God will was manifested. Lao Tzu said, A Chinese philosopher not far removed in time from Nehemiah said "Silence is a source of great strength."

That strength is powerful enough to overcome anger and leads to the righteous life that God desires. James 1:22.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

If we want to be free from fleshly responses that lead to anger and unrighteousness we need the freedom that only the word of God can give us. We need to stare at it, “look intently” as verse twenty-five says.

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

The other consequence that results from our obedience to listening is self awareness. When you listen you remember who you are, empathy and spiritual awareness often flow from our own experience. We don’t exasperate our teenagers because we remember when we were teenagers. We are more patient with those that are stressed because we remember when we were stressed. We are gentle and spiritual with those that sin, because staring intently at the law that brings liberty reminds us that we are vulnerable to personal failure and sin as well.

God is Faithful to His Word

God is Good

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

The modern liturgy of the street and church hall begins with “God is Good” and the response “All the Time” and together we say “and All the time God is Good” Never have words been more true. However we usually say it thinking the “God is Good because God has been Good to Me” while that may be true if we are to understand the nature of God we need to understand that God is good all the time.

It can be difficult to believe when we see evil prevail or sickness hit the innocent or natural disasters that seem unfathomable. Bad stuff happens and sometimes to good people. Sometimes good stuff happens to bad people. I answer to this dilemma with a standard retort and premise. God is always good and God is always just. He is just in what he allows and what he does not. Sickness is not always caused by sinfulness and natural disasters are not always judgments. When we are tempted to blame God and be angry or bitter toward him we need to remember he is not tempted by evil.

God does not hold resentments. He does not execute vengeance indiscriminately. He does not need anything and therefore lust after nothing; he cannot be bribed or manipulated. God does not have self esteem issues he is not lonely and in need of relationships. God is Love, 1 John 4:8.

1 Corinthians describes love for us. " Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Love is other directed not self directed. It considers others more highly than ourselves: sin is the opposite of this, sin is always selfish and the root of sin lies in our own character.

but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.

Many believers come from the Flip Wilson, the 1970’s comedian, School of Theology; they claim the “Devil made me do it.” Well the devil is a tempter. He tempted Jesus, and he tempted Adam and Eve. The difference between Jesus and Adam was that Adam’s desire lead to disobedience while Jesus continued to obey even when his will was contrary to the Father’s. When Jesus cries “not my will but yours be done” he is indicating that he did not want to go to the cross. Hebrews 5: 7-8 express this truth in very clear terms. “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered”

Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death

Death has reigned in human history since the disobedience of Adam. If it were not Adam it would have been you. Adam walked with God as no man ever has and he could not stand up to the desires of his flesh, in the midst of a sinful world you only have one pray, “Lord save me.”.

Sin when it is full grown brings death, death to relationships, and jobs and nations and dreams and all things that it touches. But God in his mercy became a man and lived out what we could not live out on owe own. Romans 5:19 reads “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

That righteousness is action based. It creates it loves, it works, and it forgives. It demonstrates the character of the Good God we speak about to others and shows that he is a gift giver and a joy stealer.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

The gift of the Word of Truth is the “God is Good, and All the Time God is Good.”