THE WORD OF GOD
There are many books in the Bible that I
love to read and study, the Psalms and
Proverbs, John, Genesis, Philippine and
Ephesians, but none are as self-explanatory
as the book of James. James was an Apostle
who was also the brother of our Lord Jesus.
My daughter once told me that her Bible
study instructor brought out the fact that
although James was Jesus' brother, he called
him Lord and regarded Him as God. Perhaps this is how James is able to write with such respect
truth about the Word of God. The book of James is one that leaves no room to mishandle the
Word of God. It is a book that gives us the reason for the Word, how we are to receive the Word
and what results the Word is to bring about in our lives.
Have you ever wondered about your own Christian growth or that of another brother or sister in
Christ? I have. Mostly, I am concerned about my own Christian growth. I believe it is the good
brother James who reminds us that the Word of God is a mirror so that when we look in it we
should see only ourselves.
Our Christian growth is of high concern to God. I believe this Newsletter is blessed with spiritual
encouragement to undergird me and my family's spiritual growth. I am thoroughly convinced of
the will of God in my life as it pertains to this writing ministry. He has confirmed His will
several times and in many ways. I want to thank each of you who have called or written to tell
me how the Newsletter has helped you spiritually. I take none of the credit, but all honor and
glory goes to God our Father whose word is the power of God for the salvation of all those
who believe (Romans 1:16).
This month I am led by the Spirit of God to share the treasure of His word and how it will change
your life as you receive it as the Absolute Truth that it is, respond to it with an open heart willing
to obey it and reflect upon it day and night so that you will have a prosperous walk with the Lord
(Joshua 1:8).
In this study of God's word I will refer constantly to a teaching pastor, Tony Evans. He is a black
minister in Texas and has written several books and has a radio ministry called "The Urban
Alternative." He is one of those ministers who is able to teach clearly and make it so plain that a
child can receive it. Evans explains how the book of James invites us to "receive the Word
implanted, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21). He brings notice to the fact that the
word implanted is in the past tense. This is because if you know Christ, the Word has already
been put inside you.
With this being the case, then how is it that there are some who are "saved" but do not benefit
from the Word that is "implanted" as James tells us it is. I believe it has nothing to do with the
Word but with where it has been planted. Jesus' parable in Matthew 13 tells us that the Word is
as a seed, normally seeds have to be planted in order to grow. As long as seeds are kept in a bag
and not planted in soil then they will not be able to grow. It takes the actual planting of the seed
in soil in order to grow. The same is with the Word of God, it needs to be planted in our hearts
before it can cause spiritual growth.
How it is planted will also determine how it will grow. If you take seeds and just throw them on
top of the soil and never water or cultivate them, will they grow? Perhaps not. When we go to
church and hear the Word as it is "thrown" out at us and not water it by studying and meditating
on the Word nor cultivate it by listening to spiritual tapes or reading spiritual material, will it
grow? Perhaps not.
James says it is the "implanted word that is able to save our souls" not the unplanted word. I
often wondered why the book of James sp so often of saving the soul when it is a book written to
the "saved" then I read once that salvation is ongoing. The initial step is saving our soul from
eternal damnation but there is a process of which we need "saving" everyday. James is not
talking about getting people to heaven. His readers were already believers. They had the Word
implanted in them. But James is saying that if you receive the Word, the Word will deliver
[saved] your life to be lived as it ought to be lived.
There is a real war going on in the Christian's life. Satan is forever trying to undermine the work
of the Holy Spirit. James explains this too. He says that we are to resist Satan and tells us that the
only way to resist him is by submitting to God. The very next verse says to "draw near to God
and He will draw near to us." How long do you think Satan will or can stay around with you
and God so "near" to each other? Remember, Psalm 91, "he who dwells in the secret place of
the Most High shall (not maybe, sometimes, hopefully) abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
The key is to take the Word of God and plant it so deep in your heart that it will grow up and
sprout into your life. You will need to begin to study a verse, memorize it, meditate on it until it
becomes so real that your mind automatically brings it to your memory when you need it. Even if
you can only take one scripture a month or a year, begin somewhere because this is what it will
take. God says it-- not me. The Bible makes it plain, read Joshua 1:8, Ps 1:2, 63:, 119:15-16 and
2Tim. 2:15 to name a few.
Receiving the Word
Evans tells us that: "the Word is not really heard until it is obeyed. James gives a number of
conditions that will enable you to hear and receive the Word. The first condition is that you must
be 'quick to hear' (v. 19). That is, you must prioritize the Word. You have to want it enough that
you go to it first. You must respond to God the way a mother hears her baby cry and jumps out of
bed to attend to the baby's needs. That's being quick to hear".
I remember the days when my daughter, Kia was a baby, I felt that I could hear her crying no
matter where I was. It is my prayer to become as committed to the Word of God as I was to my
newborn baby.
Evans goes on to his second point, "we must be 'slow to speak' (v. 19). Unfortunately, a lot of
Christians aren't quick to hear. They're quick to talk; quick to offer their opinion".
Ooouch, my toes are hurting. As I told you earlier, Evans has a way of putting things that even a
child can understand. He gives an analogy of us having two ears and one mouth, meaning we are
to listen twice as much as we talk.
He says to "make sure that when we do speak, what we say reflects what we heard--which is, of
course, God's Word and not our own. In other words, don't speak before you have heard from
God, because you just might be wrong. Make sure you've heard God's viewpoint before you offer
your thoughts".
The only way I can see to avoid this pitfall is to know the word of God for yourself before giving
advice to others.
Evans third point is one that we all struggle with from time to time. We want God to do our thing
instead of us doing God's thing.
He says, "we are to be 'slow to anger' (v. 19). When God's Word speaks to you, don't get mad if
it's not what you want to hear. Don't get mad if God is not doing things the way you want Him to
do them. Why? Because our anger doesn't make anything better (v. 20). Getting mad doesn't
change God's Word or make Him move any faster. Our kids often get mad and then expect us to
change just because they got mad. Well, James wants us to know that our tantrums don't impress
God any more than our kids impressed us or changed our minds. So let's be slow to get angry".
The fourth point gets even harder.
Evans explains that the condition necessary to receive the Word is purity of life. "Putting aside
all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the Word implanted word"
(James 1:21). In other words, don't come to God's Word with your old way of thinking and
acting. When you got saved, some remainders of your old patterns of thinking and acting came
with you because you won't be perfect until you're in heaven. But (Oh yes, there is a but) James
says there is no place for our old wickedness in God's new program. We can't force the round
peg of Christianity into the square hole of our old life. A lot of us are trying to make God's Word
adjust to us rather than our adjusting to God's Word.
Ooouch!!! I believe Evans has just stepped on all my toes. I repent of all the times I was trying to
make God come down to my standards rather than me coming up to the standards of His Word. I
know now that that will never work. I pray you have found that out as well.
Now do you see why I love to read and hear Evans speak. He leaves no room for nonsense. Who
ever said growing would be painless. I believe we will not GO into heaven but GROW into
heaven. After all do we expect to get there as we are?
Responding to the Word
Evans goes on to explain how we should respond to the Word. He says,
"After we have received the Word, we need to respond to it (James 1:22-25). First, you receive
or welcome the Word, then you follow up your reception with the appropriate response. Notice
that it is the 'doers of the word' (v. 22) who are 'blessed in what [they do]' (v. 25). There's not a
true believer who does not want a blessed life. It comes by responding to the Word.
Many Christians mark their Bibles, but never let their Bible mark them. That's the idea here.
Hearing the Word without responding to it is like chewing without swallowing; it tastes good,
but there is no long-term benefit to it.
When you sit under the Word, you are to do so as one looking into a mirror. And the prayer you
should pray every time you confront the Bible is, "Lord, show me myself as You see me."
That can be very threatening because a lot of us want lying mirrors. We want mirrors that make
us feel good. But when you stare into the mirror of the Word, you are going to see things that you
don't like because God's Word is "the perfect law . . . of liberty" (v. 25) and we are very
imperfect. But when we are willing for God's Word to search and know us, and when we are
ready to change what God shows us is wrong, we end up being blessed.
Many of us, though, come to the Word like someone going to one of those little photo stands in
the mall. We take a quick picture, when what we need is an x-ray that penetrates beyond the
surface and gets down to the heart. The Word of God will do that for the person who is in a
response mode, not just a reading mode.
Now let me tell you the good news. When you and I take this attitude toward the Word, we'll hear
things we never heard before. We'll see things we've never seen before, because God now has
freedom to let us see ourselves as He sees us. Now it's true that when you start taking the Bible
seriously, it's going to be like your first workout; it's going to hurt. But the pain produces gain if
we remain committed to respond to what God shows us".
Reflecting the Word
Evan's gives a final way to experience the Word of God.
"After receiving and responding to it, you must reflect it in your daily walk. "If anyone thinks
himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this
man's religion is worthless" (James 1:26). Religion here has to do with our external, visible
spiritual activity. James says we can be doing religious things and yet not be truly religious. The
first place your obedient response to God's Word should manifest itself is in your words. One
proof that your faith is real is your ability to control that little piece of flesh in your mouth.
James has a lot to say about the tongue in chapter 3. It's a convicting word, because too often we
use the same tongue to bless God and curse other people. If our religion doesn't show up in the
way we talk, anything else we think is genuine is a waste.
Then your response to the Word of God should reflect itself in your works. "This is pure and
undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their
distress" (v. 27). The works that count with God are those that make you want to help folk who
can do nothing for you in return. James is not talking about working a business deal here. He's
talking about orphans and widows, the poorest and most helpless people in that culture. As the
overflow of your response to God, people all of sudden become real important to you. You don't
turn up your nose at poor folk anymore. You don't look like you're better than someone else who
may simply be the victim of tragic circumstances. Responding to God the right way gives you His
heart of compassion for others.
Finally, your response should reflect itself in your walk: You are to "keep [yourself unstained
by the world" (v. 27). We are supposed to be in the world, but not of the world. Keep yourself
unspotted from the world. Don't let the world stain you the way you may get a stain on your
dress or shirt that looks very obvious to everyone.
How can you keep yourself unstained by the world? Pray the way David prayed in Psalm 139:
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if
there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (vv. 23-24). We are all like
broken vessels in one sense because we all sin and need God's forgiveness. The only way to keep
a broken vessel full is by keeping the faucet turned on. That's what happens when we receive,
respond to, and reflect God's Word. Let God's Word be a faucet that runs constantly in your life.
Let it be the mirror that shows you the truth. Let it be the perfect law that corrects and guides
you.
In the Beginning
I marvel at the fact that God and His Word have always existed together. In the beginning God
spoke His Word and the heavens and earth and every living thing was created. When God created
man along with all that He gave him, he also gave him His Word. Read Genesis 1-3. As long as
man obeyed, the personal relationship between God and man would continue. God is a God who
does not change, He makes this declaration in Malachi 3:6 and again in Hebrews 13:6 where
Paul declares Christ is the same today, yesterday and forever. Since the beginning, He has
required total obedience to His Word. This is seen throughout the Bible and is continually played
out in many, many generations down to today. God still requires obedience to His Word. After
all, what other reason do you suppose He gave us His Word?
The magnificent thing about God is that He supplies us with what He requires of us. He requires
obedience so He gives us His Word. He requires faith so He gives us His Son in which to place
our faith. He requires holiness so He gives us His Holy Spirit to empower us to live holy. He
requires trust so He gives us trials and testing to build our trust. Are you getting the picture?
Recently, I took a road trip with my husband, who was then a long-distant truck driver. We
traveled through the mountains of New York and Pennsylvania. I saw huge snow-capped
mountains that took my breathe away. One of the mountains reminded me and my husband of
Mt. Sinai in the Moses' story. We talked about the days when God resided on Mt. Sinai where
Moses came face to face with God in the "burning bush." It occurred to me then how wonderful
God is and how grateful I am that He no longer resides on a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula
desert. Because if He did, He would be too far from North Carolina and there would be a great
distance between me and my Lord. But at the same time, I was amazed by how God dwelt among
His people in that desert. As soon as God revealed Himself to them, He immediately gave them
tablets of His written Word--with the very finger of God Himself. He told them to keep His
commandments and walk in all His ways and there would be blessings but, to not obey His
commandments would bring curses. (Read Deuteronomy 27 and 28 for details) We serve a God
that does not change, therefore, today He still requires total obedience to His Word in order to
receive His blessings. We hear this all the time but are we living an obedient lifestyle?
The ark of the covenant is another example of God's Word dwelling among His people. The
Israelites kept the scrolls that contained the scriptures in the ark which was kept in the temple
and they felt as long as they had the Ark with the Word of God in the Temple there were assured
of God's presence and protection regardless of how they lived. The prophet Jeremiah warned
Israel against this type of thinking way back in 587 B.C. His prophecy forewarned them of God's
wrath unless they repented and returned to the Lord in obedience. We know the end of the story,
they did not repented and suffered the wrath of God and were taken into exile in Babylon.
Thanks be to God that after many, many warnings from the judges, prophets, priests and the like,
God out of His unconditional love and mercy did not give up on us. Finally, He sent us His Word
wrapped in flesh to dwell among us to give us a clear picture of what total obedience should look
like. Jesus Christ is the perfect model in which to pattern our lives.
When it came time for Jesus Christ to give His life for our sins, He promised to send us another
Teacher. He said it was better for us that He should go to His father so that the
Teacher/Counselor would come and not only teach us God's Word, but reside within us in order
to lead, guide and empower us to live a life of obedience. This way God would dwell within us
not on Mt. Sinai nor in a Temple but within the heart of every believer- at all times and in all
circumstances. Praise God.
From the Garden of Eden to Mt. Sinai, the Temple(s) in Jerusalem to the giving of the Holy
Spirit, God has made Himself and His Word available to us. He has not changed, He still requires
total obedience and has given His Spirit to empower us to do His will. Therefore, we are without
excuse. God's requirements are the same for the believer and unbeliever alike. If you are not
saved, this is an appeal to you to get things right with God. For Romans 5:8 says the wages of sin
is death and death is eternal separation from God. In other words your sins will get you an eternal
home in Hell. Don't be fooled into believing there is nothing after this life. There is definitely,
life after death. The question is not whether there is eternity but, rather where will you spend
eternity? Jesus is definitely coming back. Will He be coming for you?
You can be sure of going with Jesus Christ upon His return by giving your life to Him and
placing your faith in Him and then allowing Him to enter your heart to be your Lord and Savior.
Start now by praying the Prayer of Salvation on the Prayer List and begin going to Church,
attending Bible Study and Sunday School in order get to know the Lord and develop a
relationship with Him.
Spiritual Road Signs
During that same road trip I took with my husband, the map was a necessary tool. We would
refer to it quite often to route our trip. Before we could go any where we had to check the map
for directions and chart the best route to get there. Without the map and its instructions we would
have gotten lost. Times when we would be unsure of where we were, we would take out the map
to refer to it again. We would check the compass and several road signs to ensure that we were
going in the right direction.
This is not unlike the Christian life and the Holy Bible. The Bible is a vital tool in walking the
Christian life and we need to refer to it quite often to ensure that we are on the right track. The
Bible gives clear instructions with road signs as principles and Christ as our compass to ensure
that we are going in the direction that God intends for us to travel.
Just as my husband and I could not "take off" in
any direction without first checking the map,
neither are Christians able to "take off" before
checking the Bible for directions. Surely, we
could have not checked the map, made an
educated guess and possibly ended up at our
destination, but not before going miles and
miles out of route and taking the chance of
getting lost. This is how I imagine the life of
Christians who do not spend time in their Bibles
and deciding for themselves what is right and
wrong without consulting God's map for
directions. I once read an acronym for the letters
B-I-B-L-E as Believers-Instructions-
Before-Leaving-Earth. This is so true, without regular Bible Study and applying the Word to
your life how will you get instructions to leave earth and arrive at destination - HEAVEN?
If you want your destination to be Heaven, visit the site: Call to Salvation to pray the Prayer of
Salvation, giving your heart to Christ.
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