Blessed is the man who endures temptation James 1:12 Blessed – “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” We know this famous phrase from Matthew 5. What we might not realize is that the word chosen to introduce the Beatitudes is not a word about God’s benevolence. It is a word about my own internal state…
Blessed is the man who endures temptation James 1:12 Endures – How do you know that God is working strenuously in your life to bring you into conformity with His Son? How do you know that God is on your side, actively engaged in molding your character for eternal purposes? The answer might startle you. …
As is often the case, I find that the Greeks had a much deeper grasp of the essential elements of the concepts behind words that we now employ without much inner reflection. We have become anaesthetized to the profound and often revealing connections lying hidden inside our language simply because we have been removed from…
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you doubleminded. James 4:8 Draw Near – Today we would never imagine that this Greek word was filled with expectant mystery and terrifying holiness for the early Christian church. Today we don’t recognize its explosive…
“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Life in the Spirit is a lot like proper punctuation. There are rules that have to be followed. The Bible often uses the analogy that our lives are like something written in a book. Having God write your name in His book is…
“God has made a joke of me” Genesis 21:6 I don’t think we know the people of the Bible very well. We are the victims of years of watered-down teaching. The stories of the lives of our spiritual ancestors have been “sanctified”. We know the triumphs of their faith, but we have little appreciation for…
Two quotations: Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are, quite naturally, impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new, and yet it is the law of all progress that…
God won’t ask what kind of car you drove; He’ll ask how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation. God won’t ask the square footage of your house; He’ll ask how many people you welcomed into your home. God won’t ask about the clothes you had in your closet; He’ll ask how many you…
For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:3-4 (NLT) Needing Nothing – How often our prayers are motivated by circumstances in which we are acutely aware…
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you doubleminded. James 4:8 Doubleminded – Have you ever prayed for something but not received the answer you wanted? Perhaps you received no answer at all. Then some well-meaning person says to you, “You just…
