Mercy and Judgment

Have you ever been hurt by someone?  Maybe they spread a rumor about you.  Maybe they stole your boyfriend or girlfriend.  Maybe they did something so horrible that they do not deserve your forgiveness.  You have every right to be angry, every right to not forgive them…or do you?

Today’s Verses:
Read James 2:12-13

Do your toes hurt?  James has a way of stepping on my toes and I’m pretty sure that he has done that with yours as well.  The easy thing is to remain angry at someone that has offended or hurt us.  It’s easy to be mad, it’s easy to not forgive, it’s easy to not offer mercy.  But whoever said being a follower of Christ was easy?  As Bro. Joe has said, “Do something hard!”  Don’t take the easy road.  Do what God has called you to do…offer mercy so that you yourself can receive mercy from God.

Discussion Questions:
1.  At times, do you find it difficult to offer mercy to someone that has maybe offended you?

2.  What makes it hard to forgive someone that has hurt you?

3.  Who is hurt more when we become bitter?  Us or the person we are mad at?

4.  According to these verses, what happens when we choose to not offer mercy to others?

5.  Who do you need to offer mercy to today?  What are you willing to do to change that?

Breaking the Law

We all tend to classify sin into different levels.  For most of us, we think that lying isn’t as bad as stealing a car.  Or gossip isn’t as bad as having an abortion.  The problem is that we base this on how we feel, not on what God’s Word says about sin.

Today’s Verses:
Read James 2:10-11

James tells us that even if we could (which we can’t) keep all of God’s commandments and we only broke one commandment, we would be guilty of breaking all of them.  How can we break all of the commandments by breaking one?  Check out Matthew 5:48.  God’s standard is perfection!  Anything less than that is still imperfect.  That’s why Jesus said that if you have lust in your heart, you have committed adultery and if you hate your brother, you have committed murder in your heart.  There is no sin greater than another.

Discussion Questions:
1.  Do you look at all sins being equal?

2.  How do these verses affect the way that you look at sin?

3.  Before reading this passage of scripture, did you realize that you were guilty of breaking the entire law?

4.  How does that effect the way that you view salvation?

Love Your Neighbor

Have you ever had someone sit down beside you at lunch that stunk?  How about the homeless guy that is standing at the red light with a sign that says, “Will work for food”.  What thoughts go through your mind as you look upon them?  I know that many times I have been quick to judge someone based upon their outward appearance.  James addresses this in today’s verses.

Today’s Verses:
James 2:1-9

Somehow we find ourselves comparing ourselves in order to make us feel better about ourselves.  Think about the kid at school that wears “generic” clothes.  We often judge someone based on the type of clothes they wear.  When you really stop and think about it, it is truly obsurd to do so.  They usually have no control over what their parents can afford or choose to buy for them.  Yet we find ourselves mocking or ridiculing them just to get a few laughs.  How sad.  I’ve been the one being laughed at and I have also been the one laughing at others.  God has shown me that it doesn’t matter the color of someone’s skin, their age, their family background or ethnicity, we are commanded to love them as ourselves.  When we do not, must realize that we are sinning against God.

Discussion Questions:
1.  How well are you at loving your neighbor as yourself?  Do you favor some people over others?

2.  How have you discriminated against people?

3.  What makes it so difficult to love our neighbor as ourselves?

4. What does God see when He looks upon the homeless, the poor or the dirty?

5.  How would your life be different if you chose to see others the way that God does and began to treat everyone as equals?

Taming the Tongue

As a teenager and a new Christian, my biggest struggle was with my mouth.  My mouth was filled with every form of vulgarity and profanity.  My first job was at Pondegrosa as a cook.  I was very open about my faith, and even my call to full time ministry.  I remember working one day and a young co-worker walked by as I was singing a song that had strong sexual references in it.  She looked at me and said, “And you want to be a youth pastor?”  Wow!  Talking about cutting to the core.  What she was saying is exactly what James is saying in today’s versed.

Today’s Verses:
Read James 1:26-27

What my co-worker was saying to me that day was if your religion allows you to speak like that, it is worthless.  You are no different than the rest of the world so why should I become a Christian?  We must always remember that people are watching our actions.  We can say we love Jesus all we want but it is our lifestyle that shows whether our faith is real.  James says that pure and lasting religion has action attached to our faith.  In an example, he says that we should take care of widows and orphans.  It is one thing to talk about our faith, yet it is another thing to act out our faith.  We all need to examine our tongue and ask God to help guide the words that we speak so that He would get the glory everytime our mouth opens.

Discussion Questions:
1.  How is your tongue?  Do you use profanity?  What about Gossip?  How about anger?

2.  How do the things that come out of your mouth hinder other people from wanting to become a Christian?

3.  Do the things that come out of your mouth reflect what you say you believe?

4.  Based on how you speak, and what God’s standard is, would your religion be worthless?

5.  What is it going to take for you to change?

Man in the Mirror

When you look in the mirror what do you see?  I’m not talking about your acne, big ears or lame hair.  I’m talking about what kind of person do you see?  I don’t know about you but when I look in the mirror, I do not always like what I see when I look past the exterior.  James offers some practical advice on how to change the areas in our lives that are less than perfect.

Today’s Verses:
James 1:21-25

James encourages us to get rid of anything in our lives that is not pleasing to the Lord.  But how do we do this?  It is through the Word of God by planting it into our hearts and minds and by studying it daily.  But is it enough to just read God’s Word?  James says no.  How many times do we come to church, hear a message, then go home and never let the message change us?  I love verse 25.  Notice that James says to look “intently” at the perfect law.  God has given us the Word as the law.  By studying God’s Word and doing what it says, it offers both freedom and blessings if we do what it says.  Intently means we have to do something to make that happen.  We cannot expect to have a daily quiet time with the Lord unless we intentionally set aside time to do so.

Discussion Questions:
1.  Do you like what you see when you look into the mirror?

2.  Is the person you are becoming, the person you want to be?

3.  What is stopping you from being all that God wants you to be?

4.  What sin do you know that you need to change?

5.  How can God’s Word change your life?

Be Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak, Slow to Become Angry

Today’s Verses:
James 1:19-20

The book of James is so practical.  I have always struggled with listening.  When I was young, my mouth usually moved twice as much as my ears did.   This is an area that God has been working on in my life for awhile now and am still working on.

Have you ever been talking with someone and before they finish speaking you already have in your mind what you are going to say?  As a matter of fact, you really don’t care what they have to say.  You just want to make sure you get your say in the conversation.  Are we really listening?  How many times do we speak before we listen to what the other has to say?  It’s interesting that James 1:2 began talking about trials and today he is talking about listening.  I have two trials that I am dealing with right now that I have to make sure that I am quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.  James wants us to realize that being angry can never make things right in God’s sight.  Our anger will lead to broken relationships, arguments and cause us to say things that we will ultimately regret.  When you have a disagreement with someone, we are to go to that person and talk it out, in love.  This is what I challenged many of you to do while we were at camp this year.  Today, I have to do the same thing.  My prayer is that the Lord will give me the wisdom to know when to listen and when to speak.

Discussion Questions:
1.  Do you tend to speak or act before you’ve had a chance to listen to the other person?

2.  What makes it so difficult to listen?

3.  Are there past situations where you can see that it would have been better to have listened before you spoke?  How would the situation be different if you would have done so?

4.  Is there someone that you have become angry at that you need to go and ask forgiveness from?

The Gift of the Word

Today’s Verses:
James 1:16-18

To be honest, I had to read these verses several times before I began to understand what I believe James is talking about here.  It would have been easy to skip over these verses and move onto the next section but if I do that, I’m doing both you and I a disservice.  This was a great exercise for me because I had to dig into the Word which is exactly what God wants us to do.  Not just read over to say that we read our devotion today.  The great thing about Scripture is that God will often reveal something different to you than He does to me.  So here is what the Lord showed me this morning…

In this passage of scripture, I find two words that stand out; “Gift” and “Give”.  James says that we need to recognize that every good and perfect gift comes from God. Have you ever said to yourself, “Man, I’m lucky”?  Is there really a such thing as luck?  I tend to view my life from Scripture.  God says that good things do not come into our lives by chance, but by His blessings.  One of the gifts that we have been given is found in vs. 18.  “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth“.

Read Ephesians 2:4-5.  Paul says that before we are saved, we were “dead in our transgressions”.   I think this is what James is referring to in vs 18.  God’s greatest gift to us is His Word!  The Word is how we get to know God.  It is where we find purpose and meaning for our lives.  The Word changes our hearts.  And praise God, it is the Word that provides salvation through Jesus Christ!  This is why I am so passionate to help people to Know the Word!

Discussion Questions:
1.  What good things has God done in your life?

2.  What Gifts has He blessed you with?

3.  Have you recognized them as coming from God?

4.  When is the last time you thanked God for His goodness.  Take a moment to do this right now.

5.  Do you look at the Word as being a blessing from God?  If it is a gift, why do we not study it as much as we should?

6.  How has the Word of God changed your life?  How are you different than what you were before?

Puzzle Farter

I ran across this fun online game today.  The sound effects are great!

www.puzzlefarter.com

I made it to Level 35 out of 50.  How far can you make it?

The Beast Within

Temptation has been around since the creation of man.  It is something we all struggle with, and often fail at.  Since the foundation of the World, God has given us free will to choose what is right or to choose what is wrong.

Today’s Verses:
James 1:13-15

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had a choice to choose to obey God or to sin?  Have you ever thought that God was tempting you in that situation to see if you would do right?  James shares that because God is perfect in nature and cannot sin, He does not tempt us to sin.  In reality, it is our own selfish desires that cause us to sin.  Think back to the last time you chose to sin.  Did anyone make you do it?  No.  You chose to do so because it felt good, was fun or maybe because of the thrill of doing something you knew you should not be doing.  Let’s face it, sin is fun.  If it wasn’t we wouldn’t do it.  The problem is that the Bible says that sin is only fun for a season, or a short period of time (see Hebrews 11:25).  The Liar would like us to believe that sin will remove our problems, that it will take us to a place that will allow us to escape.  Unfortunately, he is only partly correct.  It will do that…but only for a short time or for a “season”.  What Satan does not tell you is that yours and my sin leads to death.  Sin destroys friendships, families, and it destroys us from within.

Things to Ponder:

1.  What sin are you dealing with right now?

2.  How has that sin only been pleasurable for a season?

3.  What consequences have you had as a result of that sin?

4.  What practical things can you do that will help you avoid and conquer that temptation?

5.  Is the temporary pleasure that sin brings worth the consequences that results from that sin?

Things of This World

It’s unfortunate that many of us live our lives merely to aquire “stuff”.  We live in a world that tells us that we have to attain the latest iPod, wear a certain brand of jeans, buy the hottest shades and drive an expensive car.  Money and material items are amoral; they are neither good nor bad.  The problem lies when they replace the pursuit that we have of God.  There is nothing wrong with wanting a new PS3 or the latest iPhone.  We must realize that “stuff” does not truly satisfy.

Today’s Verses:
Read James 1:9-12

Earthly possessions are temporary.  I once heard someone say that we are to “Hold things lightly.”  At any time, those things (friendships, family, job, houses, wealth) can be taken from us.  Remember Job?  He was extremely wealthy yet God allowed EVERYTHING to be taken from him.  Yet Job still praised the Lord!  We should live our lives for God’s eternal purposes, rather than pursue the temporal things of this world.

Discussion Questions:

1.  Why does James say that someone without money is in a high position but someone who is rich is in a low position?

2.  Do you find yourself always needing something better than what you have?

3.  Are you content with what the Lord has blessed you with?

4.  This Earth and your life is quickly fading away.  Are you living for worldly purposes or for eternal purposes?

5.  If God allowed your “stuff” to be taken from you, would you still be able to praise and serve Him?  If not, what does that tell you about your walk with Him?