by Taylor Adams | Sep 15, 2015 | James
James 3: 3-4
Words have power. With words, the earth was formed, the sick were healed, the dead were raised, and demons would flee. Our words have the power to create an atmosphere of either life or death (Prov.18:21) and reveal the secrets of our hearts and what is going on inside. Several years ago, a Japanese scientist named Masaru Emoto took two bowls of rice, with all of the same conditions except one. With one bowl he would speak with anger and hate, and the other he would speak with affection and love. For a period of several weeks he would repeat this process until by around day 20, the bowl that received hateful words was rotten, moldy and decayed, while the other began to ferment with a rather sweet aroma.
So often Christians will say harmful things, not believing or realizing the lasting effects that they have, and the realities that they have created with nothing but their words. If we repeat something over and over again, sooner or later we will begin to believe it as truth. God knew this and warned us over and over again about the effects that our speech and declarations have. Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but let God transform you by the renewing of your mind.” The most effective way of transforming the way we speak is to let God transform the way we think. You don’t have to watch what you say if you watch what you think.
It is no surprise that James draws a comparison of the tongue to a ship with its rudder, and a horse with a bit in its mouth. Both are extremely powerful and are capable of either great good, or devastating harm; but the one thing that controls the direction of their movement is such a seemingly unimportant member. The tongue, while being small and insignificant, can set the course for a life of building up, or a life that brings destruction to those around us. As believers, we are called to live a life that edifies and brings hope through the power of Jesus, the renewing of our minds, and the declarations we speak.
Photography: @alexandra_michon
by Toni Thrash | Sep 14, 2015 | James
James 3:1-2
James tells us that our tongues and body should align. Our actions will follow what we say.
When we are speaking what God says, then we are breathing life into those we are around through praise, love, acceptance and truth. But when we are not it brings death through gossip, anger, pride, slander or arrogance.
Our tongues are like spiritual meters… what is your tongue saying about your heart?
Just like a parking meter shows when our time is almost up, we can gauge our tongues by how tired we are, frustrated, or weary. Those are signs to add more “coins”.
To tame the tongue is to dive into His word so what comes from your mouth is God breathed and your body is filled with joy.
One of the ways we can work on this is to give God control of our tongues. We must take responsibility for the things that come from our mouths.
Our hearts, grounded in the word, need to come out with love, grace and a touch of firmness. What flows in our heart will surely flow from our mouths.
Photography: @bdebard
by Lauren McPherson | Sep 13, 2015 | James
James 2: 25-26
You may have heard about her, she is what the bible has referred to as, a “harlot.” However she is a part of the lineage of Christ? Yes! That’s right Christ! Her name is Rahab, she was a prostitute from Canaan. The actual Greek word translated “prostitute” in (2:25) is porne. Rahab was known for all of the wrong things, a continuous pattern of bad decisions after another. God still loved her! But when she decided something needed to happen she sought after meaning, perhaps a purpose. Rahab believed in God and then did something about it. Rahab helps protect two spies sent by Joshua to spy on the city of Jerhico. By hiding them and cleverly telling the king’s messengers that she didn’t know where the men were from, helps get the people of Israel to a safe place. Rahab told the spies, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you show kindness to my family and save all of our lives. She had faith and because of that, her actions backed it up.
God has the ability to change hearts and minds, not us. But one thing is for sure, when I pray that people see Christ in me I pray that my actions show it as well. You see, my faith for God is what brings about my action, because I choose to have a relationship with him and not a “religion” he can work through me and you. Faith and works go together like Oreo cookies and milk, you can’t have one without the other, or as James puts it; “the very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing” (James 2:26). Paul says it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved (Romans 10:10). Do you have faith, and do you have actions? Rahab did, God saw her for what she would be.
I think Beth Moore sums it up the best…
“You and I are free from the law. But if we are “free” to live continually and completely absent of all signs of Christ’s spirit in us, Something is dead wrong.”
Photography: @jacobnnorris
by Madison McKinzie | Sep 12, 2015 | James
James 2:21-24
When you think of the word faith or hear it, what are some of the first things that come to your mind? For most of us, we would immediately think of religion, trust, or believing in something you can’t see or feel sometimes. I doubt for any of us that the first words that come to mind would be good deeds, or even actions. In Romans, chapter 4, Paul writes that, “But people are righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God…” BUT in James, chapter 4, verse 21, James writes, “Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.” There is a special correlation between these two verses. James and Paul are not contradicting each other; rather they are simply complimenting what each is saying. Paul, on one hand, is not saying that God’s law is unimportant but that it is impossible to be saved simply by just obeying it. Paul emphasizes faith. James, on the other hand, compliments what Paul is saying by stating, “…His faith and his actions worked together.” He does not say, however, that our good deeds justify us.
Let’s break it down:
In verse 21, Abraham’s faith caused him to DO something he knew he had to do.
In verse 22, it proves this by saying that, “his faith and his actions worked together.”
In verse 23, it says that, “Abraham believed God…” This goes to show that Abraham had faith in what God was doing in his life. Therefore, “God counted him as righteous because of his faith.
And in verse 24, “…we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.” — “Faith brings us salvation; active obedience demonstrates that our faith is genuine.”
Photography: @Klby
by Maddie Watson | Sep 11, 2015 | James
James 2: 14-17
Time and time again, I looked into those sad, sorrowful eyes as I drove by on my way to work. I made excuse after excuse, “Oh, I just don’t have (time, cash, food, etc.).” Each day leaving the homeless woman on the corner hungry and empty handed. Something inside me kept urging me to plan ahead so that I could stop and give her something, but I silenced that voice with excuses. The voice of the Holy Spirit continued to urge me to stop and help the woman, each time it got easier to make an excuse, and each time my heart became more distant from the Lord. I decided that I would just pray for the woman when I saw her, and that would be good enough, right?
Wrong. There was a reason that I continued to feel convicted after driving away from the woman each time. Yet I kept on choosing to walk in myown selfish ways. Finally, one day the Holy Spirit captivated my mind and heart once more and closed the distance between us through the lesson offered from James 2:14-17. If I truly love God, acts of service- like sacrificing time, cash, food, etc. should come out of an overflow of my heart. What good would simply praying for the woman on the corner do when the Lord has blessed me and given me opportunity to be an enabler and provider for that sister in Christ. That would be equivalent to holding an umbrella outside during a rainstorm and praying for the umbrella to open as rain pelted down on you, instead of using the capability you have been given to open the umbrella yourself. Our love for the Lord is to overflow from our lives into the lives of others through our actions. Without that overflow, are we truly walking in faith at all? The choice is ours. Will you open the umbrella?
Photography: shelbseab
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