2 types of friendship

James 4:1-10New International Version (NIV)

Submit Yourselves to God

4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 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. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

4 You adulterous people,[a] 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. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”[c]

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

As we continue our study through the book of James. James goes on to describe two types of friendship. The first type is a Friendship with the world (4:1-5).  Friendship with the world causes conflict with others, conflict within yourself, and ultimately conflict with God. James talks about fights among the church, but the fights are more thank likely because they have lost sight of where the true battle was. The world wants us to focus on wanting more stuff, to prioritize our comforts, and to ignore the poor while we focus on ourselves. Satan would like nothing more to cause fights among us over things that really don't matter and have little focus on what the real battle actually is. We must resist friendship with the world. Friendship with the world comes from the sinful desires of the flesh.  All conflict comes from desires within us, desires that are motivated by a longing for earthly pleasure. In verse 3 the prayers of the people were even self centered. We are to seek what is best for the sake of God's name  not our own. We should want His will, not ours, to be done.    Friendship with the world results in spiritual adultery against God. 

But the other friendship is opposite of that with the world.  The other kind James talks about is Friendship with God (4:6-10)   Instead of running to friendship and intimacy with this world, we should be running to friendship with God.   This friendships origins do not come from the desires of the flesh, instead come from the gracious desire of God. By God's grace He will produce the fruit of faith in you. Go to Him. Trust in him.   Augustine said "give me grace to do as you command, and command me to do what you will."   God is merciful, gracious, all loving, and He all that we need to obey His bold commands.   Friendship with God is also motivated by a longing for eternal satisfaction.  Friendship with God realizes that if we seek friendship of the world now, we will experience the opposition of God for eternity. Friendship with God results in submission to the authority of God.   

If we want to grow in intimacy with God, these are the things we ought to do.

-Resist the Devil forcefully

-Seek God repentantly

-Pursue purity

-treat sin seriously

-And we should trust God completely.  God will give you grace in your humility, and He will be the one to raise you up. We do not need to do that on our own. 

2 Types of Wisdom

Where does your wisdom come from.  As we continue our study through the book of James we are going to look at two different types of wisdom.

James 3:13-18New International Version (NIV)

Two Kinds of Wisdom

13 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. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition,there you find disorder and every evil practice.

17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Wisdom is something that we all could use a little more of.  You have to have wisdom to be able to use knowledge correctly. Wisdom is important when it comes to making decisions.  James describes places that our wisdom can come from. He contrast the difference between true wisdom and false wisdom. 

The first type of wisdom that James talks about is Worldly Wisdom (3:13-16). This type of wisdom is the false wisdom. It comes from below, this is man-made wisdom. This wisdom does not come from God, and whatever does not come from God is destined to fail. Worldly wisdom does not come from God, it comes from Hell and Satan. This type of wisdom is complete opposite of anything that is of God. It is demonic.  In Genesis 3, the serpent tempts Eve to trust his wisdom instead of God's wisdom. Truth is, the evil one is trying to do the same thing to us today.  Trying to get us to trust the world or anything else besides trusting God. This type of wisdom is all about ME. It is motivated by self-centered ambition. This type of wisdom only results in disorder and evil.  It leads to envy, strive, boasting, and deceit. 

The Second type of wisdom is True wisdom. It is Godly wisdom (3:17-18). This type of wisdom comes from God. In James 1, James says if any of you lack wisdom he should ask God for it. When we ask God for wisdom we should not doubt that He will give it to us, we should have faith. He gives wisdom generously. This type of wisdom is opposite of how the world thinks. It is motivated by God-centered humility. The characteristics of this type of wisdom is evident in the Beatitudes. (Matthew 5:3-12)  Godly wisdom is Pure, it is Peace-loving. It is Gentle and compliant. True wisdom is full of mercy and good fruit.  This is the type of wisdom the results in peace and righteousness.  God's wisdom produces blessings.  

The question is where do you find your wisdom. Do you find it in the ways of this world, or do you find it from God?  We should constantly be praying for wisdom in our daily decisions so that we are bring God glory.  To truly be a mature disciple of Christ, our wisdom needs to come from Him. I personally been spending a lot of time lately praying for wisdom of different circumstances that I have been going through. God has really taught me patience through this. One world that is evident in my life right now is TIME. There are things that I really want but they need time. and God's timing is always perfect. I have been reminded that He is sovereign. He is working in me through the pain and things I am going through that I do not understand and molding me more and more for His glory. 

As a nation and in the world we need to be praying for wisdom.  There are some scary things going on right now and we truly do not need to get our wisdom from the world, because it will only lead to destruction. We need to be praying to God for wisdom because His wisdom is true and pure.

Thank you for taking the time to read. 

DJ McMickle

Ephesians 2:1-10

Watch your tongue

ames 3:1-12New International Version (NIV)

Taming the Tongue

3 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 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.

3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.5 Likewise, 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. 6 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.

7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Our words have so much more power than we think they do.  Everyone of us have said something without thinking that we wish we could have grabbed the words out of the air before anyone heard them.  In this passage, James describes 3 powers of the tongue.  

The first one is the Power to direct.  He uses the illustration of a bit and a rudder. (3:1-4) He talks about how not all of us should be teachers.  Teachers should practice what they preach, otherwise their teaching is hypocritical. This passage isn't only towards teachers as in verse 2 it says we all stumble. Our sins of our mouth lead to sins in our deeds. During World War 2 there were posters that would read "lose lips sink ships!" The truth of the matter is that lose lips can wreck lives. Someone makes an statement they didn't mean to, can lead to them being forced to defend themselves in a fight. Because of his tongue the whole body is has to defend itself.   The bit and rudder are small instruments that have great power. They both overcome contrary forces. The bit controls a wild horse, and the rudder fights against wind and currents. Our tongue must overcome our old sinful nature that wants to control us. This means our tongue must be held in check by a strong hand, and ours is not strong enough on our own. WE NEED CHRIST. When Christ is in control of our tongue, then we no longer have to fear about saying the wrong things or even saying the right things the wrong way. When Jesus is the Lord of our hearts, then He will be the Lords of our lips also. Our mouth says what our heart feels.  The bit and rudder have the power to direct, which means they affect lives of others. Our words can do the something.  A runaway horse or a shipwreck can mean injury or death. A judge says guilty or not guilty and those words affect the destiny of the people who are involved. Even a simple yes or no from a parent can affect the direction of a childs live.  We should never underestimate the guidance we can give by the words we speak or not speak.   Peter spoke at Pentecost and it made a major impact on the Gospel going forth. Jesus spoke to a woman at a well and her life was greatly changed forever.   

On April 21, 1855 Edward Kimbal went into a shoe store and led a young man Dwight L. Moody to the Lord. Moody went on to make a major impact for the Gospel and his ministry continues to affect people today.  Our tongues have the power to direct others to right choices. 

The second thing is our tongue has the power to Destroy. (3:5-8)   James compares it to a fire and an animal.   The tongue is like a fire, one spark can spread and destroy a whole forrest and cost millions in lost timber profits.  A small spark can start a fire that can destroy a whole city. This happened in Chicago in 1871. There was a fire that started in the O'Leary barn that spread. This event left 100,000 people homeless, 17,500 building destroyed, and 300 people died. It cost the city over $400 million dollars in damage that day (which would be a lot more money today.) Our words can start fires also, it just takes a small spark. A hot head and hot heart can lead to words we wish we could take back.  The old rhyme "sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me" is one of the biggest lies ever.  There are so many times people have said something to me that still affect me today, even if it happened when I was 7. Fire burns and it hurts.  Our words can even shut people away from the idea of having a relationship with Christ.   Our words are like a wild animal who preys and pounces then kills. For many of you their has been times where someone sank their poisonous words into you and it has left scars.  Our tongue can not be tamed by ourselves. But God can tame our tongues.  Animals and fire both can be tamed by man and when controlled become great resources. We have to let God be our Lord of everything.  Pray for His words to be the ones on your lips. 

The last power James describes about the tongue is the Power to Delight. (3:9-12)   He uses the examples of a fountain and of a tree.  A fountain can provide a cool drink of water for a man to stay alive. We use the water from a fountain for many different things. Water is life giving. Our words can also be life giving. But like water, when it is not controlled it can lead to damage like a flood. Water cleanses us.    

Our words can lead to very important things, and communication is always important in our relationships. We need to surrender our words to the lord and be filled with the Spirit.  May our words not tear people down but lift the up.  Our words can help make an impact on eternity. But we can not tame our tongues ourselves  it takes Christ.   He who is within me is way greater than I will ever be!!!

DJ McMickle

Ephesians 2:1-10

False Faith

As we continue through the book of James, we will be looking at verses 2:14-26 in this post. If we look at Ephesians 2:8 that it is through Faith that we are saved, it is not because of our works, so no one can boast.          But since we are saved we should produce fruit.  In this post we are going to look at different types of Faith that James describes in this passage.

James 2:14-26New International Version (NIV)

Faith and Deeds

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 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? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[a]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together,and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[b] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

The first type of Faith that James describes is Dead Faith (2:14-17).  In Matthew, Jesus says "Not everyone who says to me "Lord, Lord" will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is Heaven." (Matt. 7:21)   Dead Faith is the type of faith were people substitute words for deeds. They know scripture and stuff, but their walk does not match their talk. They think their words are as good as works and they are wrong. James gives an illustration of a man needing clothes and food, and the man with dead faith notices the man but does nothing about it. As believers we have an obligation to meet the needs of people no matter who they be. When we help someone it is an expression of love and faith works by love (Gal. 5:6).   Dead faith is the person who only has an intellectual experience. In his mind he knows the doctrine of salvation, but they never submitted themselves to God and trusted Christ with their salvation. They know all the right words but does not back them up with their works.  Faith in Christ brings life and where there is life there is growth, and fruit.  You will know them by their fruit.   No man can come to Christ by faith and remain the same anymore than a man comes in contact with 200 volts and remain the same.  Dead faith is not saving faith, it is counterfeit. 

The second faith James describes is Demonic faith (2:18-19).   Dead faith is a person touched only in his intellect, but the demons are touched also by there emotions. They believe God is real and they tremble.   A person can be touched in their mind and their emotions and still not have true saving faith. Saving faith changes lives not just the mind and emotions.  Being a Christian involves trusting Christ and living for Christ. You receive life when you reveal the life. 

The last one James describes is Dynamic Faith (2:20-26)  Dynamic Faith is faith that is real, Faith that has power, faith that results in a changed life. Faith is only as good as that you have it in. A man in a jungle who has faith in an idle is no good, because that idle has no real power. If you faith is in something that is not good then your faith will not accomplish nothing.   True saving faith involves the whole person. It involves their mind, emotions, and the will of the individual.  Dynamic Faith leads to action. It leads to obedience on part of the will. The obedience isn't in isolated events, but it continues through out life.    James gives two old testament examples of dynamic faith. The first is Abraham, who is a Jew, godly man, and a friend of God.  The second one is Rahab, who is a gentile, Harlot, and belonged to the enemies of God.  Both Abraham and Rahab exercised faith in God. Abrahams faith led out of his actions. He was justified by his faith and it was shown out in his works. 

This morning I started reading a new book. The book is called "Not a Fan" by Kyle Idleman. I highly recommend this book and I haven't even finished it yet. It is one of those that is hard to put down. In this book he as the question of are you a fan of Jesus or are you a follower.  A fan is someone who is an enthusiastic admirer they do not have to sacrifice anything.  But a Follower does make sacrifice for the sake of Christ.     

As you read this post I want you ponder the question what kind of Faith do I have?     If we truly have faith in Christ then it should show in our works. It should show in the way we treat people, the way we think of people. For they should know us by our fruit.   Are you someone the world describes as a Christian or are you someone who describes Christ to the world. 

Favoritism Forbidden

As we continue through our journey in the book of James, we are going to discuss the topic of favoritism.  This is something that a mature Disciple of Christ should not do.  We shouldn't show favoritism.  James discusses 4 basic Christian doctrines in light to the way that we treat people in James 2:1-13

James 2:1-13New International Version (NIV)

Favoritism Forbidden

2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 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. 3 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,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

5 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? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”[b] also said, “You shall not murder.”[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

The first basic doctrine James discusses is the Deity of Christ (2:1-4)  When it comes to Christ, He did not respect persons.  Jesus' enemies admitted "you are not swayed by men because you pay no attention to who they are." Matt 22:16.  Jesus looked at mans heart and not the outward appearance. He was not impressed by someones riches or social status.   Jesus saw the potential in the life of sinners.  In Peter, he saw a rock which he would build His church. In Matthew, The tax collector, He saw a faithful disciple who would one day write one of the four gospels.  We are so prone to judge someone based on their past, and not their future. We are prone to judge people based on their outward appearance, rather than the inner attitude of the heart. We do not enjoy sitting with certain people at church, school, or lunch because they "are not our kind of people".  Jesus was a friend to the sinners, he did disapprove of their sins. It was not compromise, but compassion, that caused Him to welcome them, and when they trusted Him, He forgave them.  

Rick Warren once said- "Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someones lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don't have to compromise convictions to be compassionate." 

When it comes to Christ, He was also despised and rejected. Yet, He was the very glory of God! Religious leaders in Christ day, judged Him based on human standards and rejected him. He came from the wrong city, he was not a graduate of their accepted schools, he did not have official approval of the people in power, and He did not have any wealth. His followers were tax collectors, and sinners. Yet He wads the very glory of God. We need to look at everyone through the eyes of Jesus. God can use even the most unlikely person to bring glory to His name.  He has used me. 

The second doctrine is   The Grace of God (2:5-7).  The emphasis here is on God choosing. This involves His grace.  If salvation was based on reward than it would not be grace.  God saves us on the basis of the work of Christ on the cross, not because of anything we are or have done. God ignores national differences, and social differences.  The doctrine of God's grace, if we really believe it, forces us to relate to people on the basis of God's plan and not basis of human merit or social status. Jesus broke down the walls between jew and gentile and it is wrong for us to build those walls up again.  We can not rebuild them if we believe in the Grace of God.   I personally am a sinner who is saved by grace. My salvation is not based on something I have done, but based on what Christ did!

The third doctrine is the Word of God (2:8-11).  D.L. Moody said "Every Bible should be bound in shoe leather."  James quotes the Old Testament by saying "Love thy neighbor as thyself." The word of God continues to tell believers to love one another, love thy neighbor. This doesn't mean to just love those who live close to you.  Christian love does not mean that I must like a person or agree with him on everything. You may not like their vocabulary or habits, and may not want them as a close friend. Christian love means treating others the way God has treated you. The motive behind this love is to bring God glory.  Love always builds up, but hatred tears people down. We only believe as much of the Bible as we practice. If we fail to obey the most important word "Love they neighbor as thyself" then we will not do any good with the lesser matters. The Pharisees cared more about the lesser things than the fundamentals. Therefor they broke the very law they thought they were defending. 

The last doctrine is The Judgement of God (2:12-13)  Both Paul and Jesus assured believers that they would not be judged for their sins, but our works will be judged and rewarded.  Our words will be judged. What we say and how we say it to people will come up before God, Even our careers words will be judged. (matt. 12:36)   The words we speak come from the heart, therefor when God judges the words, He examines our heart.  Jesus emphasized caution when speaking in some of His warning in the sermon on the mount.     Also our deeds will be judged. It is true that God remembers our sins no more. Casting our sin as far as the east is from the west. But our sins do affect our character and works.   God saves us from sin, but not the consequences. If you robbed someone and asked God for forgiveness, He will forgive you. But you would still have to face the consequences of that sin, meaning you would be in Jail.   

Our attitudes will also be judged (2:13)   Our beliefs should control our behavior. We as Disciples of Christ ought to practice what we preach.  Jonah had wonderful theology, but he hated people, and was angry with God.   

One of the test of the reality of our faith is the way we treat others. Can you pass the test?

Faith Obeys

James 1:19-27New International Version (NIV)

Listening and Doing

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 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.

26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

It this blog we are looking at James 1:19-27.   James talks about 3 responsibilities towards God's word.   The first one James talks about is receiving the Word. When we receive the Word we should be quick to hear.   Just like a servant who is quick to hear their masters voice, or a mother to hear her baby's cry. So should the believer be quick to hear what God has to say to us.    

Also when is comes to receiving the Word, we should be slow to speak. Now I know this is a hard one for a lot of us. When it comes down to it we have two ears and just one mouth, so we should do more listening than talking. We are to be humble when we approach the Word of God. Too many times we argue with God's Word, if not out loud, we do so in our hearts and minds because it did not fit what we wanted to hear.  

Which leads to us needing to be slow to anger, when receiving God's word. Our anger does not bring forth a righteous life. If we get angry at God's word we will not follow it.   We should also prepare our hearts for His word.   We need to rid ourselves of the way the world thinks. The Word is different from the world. 

The next thing we need to do after receiving the word is the practice it.    It is not enough just to hear the word. We must also do what the word says.  It is not hearing, it is the doing that brings the blessing. A man once said "to many people mark up their Bible, but never allow it to mark them."   When it comes to practicing the word, we need to take some time for some examination.  Just like looking in a mirror, we see ourselves as we really are.   We also need to allow restoration.  We use a mirror to help restore, just like washing our face, to restore it to what it was.  The mirror of the word does not only examine us and reveal our  sins but it also cleanses us.   It cleanses the heart and mind of spiritual defilement as we meditate on it.     

The last thing we need to do when it comes to practicing the Word, is allow transformation to occur.    After the Lord restores us, He wants to change us, so we may grow in His grace and not commit sin again. There are to many Christians who confess their sin and claim forgiveness, but never grow spiritually to conquer that sin and self. We are to be transformed by His word. 

Next we are to share the Word.  Verse 26 talks about our speech. It is the tongue of a man that reveals his heart.  If the heart is right, the tongue is right. A controlled tongue means a controlled body. We should also keep a tight reign on our tongues.   

When it comes to sharing the Word, we should also do so in service. After we see ourselves and Christ in the mirror of God's word, we must see others and their needs. Everyone of us who are in Christ are called to minister and to serve. 

When we allow ourselves to be transformed by the word and put it into practice is leads to separation from the world.  When it comes to the "world" James is referring to, it means a society without God.   If you look at events going on in the world today you can see that.  We as Christians need to take a stand for what we believe.  You can not turn on the tv or drive around town without seeing that the world is a broken place. As children of God, we are in the world physically but not in it spiritually.  We are sent into this world to win others towards Christ.  

I hope this blog has made some sort of impact in you. I pray that it becomes our desire to make the name of Jesus famous, and may the Gospel go forth. 

DJ McMickle

Ephesians 2:1-10