Stuck in James

I can't believe that I have been "stuck" in James since the beginning of August. We started reading it as a family then and I have not been able to tear myself away. Now I have to admit that I have not been doing an in depth word by word, verse by verse analysis (I know of at least one hermeneutic prof who would be glad to hear this), rather I have been trying to understand the stories that James is trying to convey.

It seems that James is telling his audience "Don't worry about the struggles and hardships you are facing, God can use them to build character in you and help you develop Godly wisdom. Rather than worry be about the task of taking care of the forgotten, the marginalized, the voiceless; and while you are at it don't forget to take care of your own spiritual well being. Live out your faith in such a way that people will see that you are different. If you say you believe something do you have a concrete example of how that is being lived out in your life? Finally, remember it is not about you. Guard your tongue, keep your own want and desires in check, humble yourself before God so that He is the one who can life you up."

This is my summary of James, the key story themes that James develops. What I need to do now is to figure out how I can apply them and integrate them into my life. Is there one of these themes that jumped out at you? If so grab onto it and see how God want you to transform you life based on the theme.

Too Many Random Thoughts

It seems that my ponderings of late seem to be jumping all over the place. I know that if I were to step back far enough that things would make sense and all come together, but for now I am up close and personal with the idea of "belief." How does one define belief? My simplistic working definition is that belief is something that you know to be true. This then raises questions about "knowing" and "truth" but I am not ready to head down those roads yet. This is how one pondering turns into a lot of ponderings. Anyways back to "belief."

It seems to me that our beliefs can be broken down into a least 3 different categories. I define these categories as doctrinal beliefs (those that form our worldview, life philosophy), functional beliefs (those that are informed by our doctrinal beliefs, but are the beliefs we live out each day), and natural beliefs (those beliefs that govern our natural world).

Over the next few days I will be looking deeper into each of these categories of beliefs. As you think about the different categories what are some of your beliefs that make up your worldview, that you function our of, that inform you about the natural world?

Do and Be

As I prepare to preach this weekend an idea has been bouncing around in my head. This idea is "Do and Be." As Christ-followers we are called to "be", "be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16), be in the world but not of the world, "be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within you.." (1 Peter 3:15). The doing part is how we live out our faith. It is about loving our neighbor, taking care of orphans and widows, making disciples, and engaging the world.

As Christ-followers we are called to live a duel life. One life calls us to reflect on who we are, keeping a close check on our relationship with God. In Matthew 22 Jesus tells His followers that all the other laws hang on this command to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and James tells his readers to "...keep oneself from being polluted by the world." This is the "BE." It has to do with who you are.

The second life is "DO." This is the living our of our faith. James in his letter tells us to show our faith by our deeds. Going back to Matthew 22 the second part to Jesus' conversation with the Sadducees was to "love your neighbor as yourself." You see we were not meant to live in a vacuum. We are called to live in community. We have all be blessed with different gifts and talents. We need community in order for these skills to be expressed.

Our challenge is to "be" and "do." What spiritual disciplines can you practice to draw yourself closer to God? How do you love God with all that you are? How do you "Do?" What gifts and talents can you share with the community where you live? This can be within the church, but it also must flow our into the larger community. As you move through the next week thing about "being" and "doing."

I vote Pro-Humnity

OK, here we go my political commentary for the year. I vote pro-humanity. I see this as the platform or policy that God would choose. As we read the Bible we have the creation narrative and the entering of sin into the world in the first few chapters of Genesis. The rest of the Bible is about a restoration process between God and man. I know one person who dubbed it "Project Humanity."

If you read my Facebook page you will see that I am apathetic towards politics. This year has been a really drain on me because of the flood of negative campaigning going on. I want to know what a candidate is going to do rather than what another candidate may or may not have done.

So what is the pro-humanity platform? I wish I had all the details. We need to protect human life, human dignity, and human rights. Our laws, policies, and actions must value humanity. This is not a job only for government. Our communities of faith must be involved. Local non-profits also play a role. Finally, you and I must do our part.

As a Christ-follower I try and live our Matthew 22 by loving God with all I am and loving my neighbor. The first is my private faith and the second is my public expression of my private faith.

To vote pro-humanity does not begin and end on November 4th. To be part of the pro-humanity part is to vote via your actions everyday. Get involved, mentor a child, volunteer with a non-profit, donate your money to a worthy cause, write you elected officials, fulfill the command to love God and love your neighbor.