Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

In the midst of hard times, we have tendencies as humans to think that God is testing us by throwing a little evil into the mix of our lives just to teach us a lesson or “get back” at us for our own disobedience. I have actually been told that by some influential Christian people in my time on earth. 

But Pastor James gives us a different perspective. He begins by reminding us that prosperity is short-lived and not something to count on. In these days of job loss and trying to pay the bills, we look for more prosperous days, but is that to be our focus? God will meet your needs, NOT your wants, but will meet your needs, if you trust fully in him while focusing relentlessly on His will and plan. Been there, done that. Still doing it.

Pastor James then brings us to another point of learning that we all must grasp…God is not the one tripping us up. With everything that God is…evil is NOT in God’s nature. Here’s how James explains it;

“Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.” James 1, Msg

“Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, ‘God is trying to trip me up.’ God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust.” James 1, Msg

Tell us how you really feel, Pastor James! Yes, I think that is quite clear. So don’t fall for the blame game of why things are happening. Just stay loyal to God and get through it. He will help you! He is not out to “get you”!

One more thing to remember….

“Lust get pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.” James 1, Msg

Where LIFE and more LIFE comes from…

“So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.” James 1, Msg

Stuff of life happens. Don’t blame God. Look up to God! And the God of heaven will forgive and help you through it all. How encouraging to be called the “crown of his creatures”! Are we living like we know that and believe that? 

Dear Heavenly Father, Forgive us when we have blamed you for our own mistakes in judgement, our times of giving in to lust and desires to have our own way. Forgive us when we whine about what we don’t have by losing focus on You and what you have given us. You have turned our heads around with your Word this morning, once again, to look more fully and intently into your face.

“And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
in the light of your beauty and grace.”

In Jesus Name, Amen
PS, It’s not your fault! I don’t blame you, Lord. Now, let’s move on…to Life on Your terms

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!.

Been there? When you are so overwhelmed with what is going on around you, you don’t know where to begin? You don’t what to do to begin? Our biblical pastor James knows…

“If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it.” James 1, Msg

I had a few teachers, and later professors, in my school years who held what they should have been teaching us (knowledge for the skill) up high as in a childish game of “keep away” where we couldn’t possibly reach it. They let us know that they knew it, and would make us guess. That’s where their misguided “power” came from and they didn’t want to lose that. When we guessed, each answer was made fun of in very condescending ways. This is not “discovery learning” where a fact is given then proven and expanded through “hands on” of learning more. I’m talking about the arrogance of some teachers to hold the power of what they know over the heads of their students. 

God is not like that! He knows everything. He helps us to know what we need at just the right time when we need it. Where is your faith?

Yes, “You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. So, “ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.”

God is not condescending although he has every right to be. Don’t you love that about God, our Father?

Pastor James then reminds us to pray…then stop the worry! Let God work! 

“People who ‘worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.” James 1, Msg

Believe in the God of Whom we are asking! Trust in His answer of no, yes, and/or wait. He knows what is best. No one else by God knows that for us. Pray, then leave it there. This is easy to say, but hard to do, but worth it when we do. Believe. Trust. Faith is built when we believe and trust.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this encouraging reminder that you are waiting for us to just ask. To boldly ask in faith and belief that nothing is too hard for you. May Your kingdom come, Your will be done, in all the details of our lives, as it is done in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins as we forgive in those who hurt and sinned against us.
In Jesus Name, Amen!

SUFFERING.

Defined, suffering is pain that is caused by injury, illness, loss, etc. : physical, mental, or emotional pain. So there are many ways to suffer. As I read the commonly quoted James passage about suffering from Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, his explanation is clear. James is expounding on the virtues of growth that can happen in all of us, if we allow it, through all the experiences in life that challenge us. That is the “gift”. But it is sometimes hard to remember when you are in the middle of this unbalance in your life.

I have a friend who is deeply suffering emotionally and all I can do at the moment is pray for her. Is this a gift, I ask God? And I know God will use this to help her. We just don’t see how in our limited human thinking to know just HOW God will use it…but he will. And when we reach the end of the suffering, it will be a gift of growth, growing more in love with Jesus and the gift of maturity to help someone else going through similar suffering in their journey. So, yes, consider a gift my dear friends, even when you are in the middle of things. Instead of why me, ask how will this help me to grow closer to You, dear Savior? What will I learn? How can You use this for your glory? 

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” James 1, Msg

Whatever God is allowing you to go through today, know that God will never leave to go through it alone. Trust Him. He has your best interest at heart. He knows your name. He loved you before you were even born. What encouragement to know that…what peace, sweet peace in knowing and believing and living that good news.

Dear Heavenly Father, Comfort those who are suffering. Be gentle as you teach all of us through our times of suffering. Don’t let us forget your love for us. And help us see challenges, through your eyes, as gifts, In Jesus Name, Amen

DON’T PROMISE A PERFECT CHURCH,  BRING THEM TO YOUR PERFECT JESUS!.

Many years ago, a book of profound thinking hit the Christian bookstore shelves. It was probably not as well read as it should have been. We plucked from the bargain bin! But it was a great read for Randy and I at the time. We even created a workshop, using some of those thoughts as a way to stir God’s church leaders a bit. The book? “The 10 Dumbest Things Christians Do” by Mark Atteberry. One of those things is praising your “great church, with great worship” when trying to bring others inside to an imperfect group of people versus telling others about Jesus and how He has healed and consistently helps you and never leaves you or lets you down.

The book of James is saying a lot of the same and more. In Eugene Peterson’ introduction of the book of James, he states…

“When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business except, perhaps, business–and dishonest business at that. Insiders see it differently. Just as a hospital collects the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the church collects sinners.” -Peterson 

“Welcome Saints! To which we all greeted the speaker, Max Lucado, back with “Hello!” Then, just as joyously, he shouted, “Welcome Sinners!” All in the room were surprise, taken back and mumbled a weak “hi”. We are both! We are not perfect. We need to bring people to our Perfect Jesus, for He will never let them done. We are human and invariably will let someone down at some point in our lives. Maybe many times…”For all have sinned…”

Peterson goes on to say…”So Christians churches are not, as a rule, model communities of good behavior. They are, rather, places where human misbehavior is brought out in the open, face, and dealt with.”

“The letter of James shows one of the church’s early pastors skillfully going about his work of confronting, diagnosing and dealing with areas of misbelief and misbehavior that had turned up in congregations committed to his care. Deep and living wisdom is on display here, wisdom both rare and essential. Wisdom is not primarily knowing the truth, although it certainly includes that; it is skill in living. For, what good is a truth if we don’t’ know how to live it? What good is an intention if we can’t sustain it?”

Wait a minute…isn’t this the true mission of the church? To help us find the Savior we have been seeking and provide an environment where we can grow up with God has our landscaper?

According to church traditions, James carried the nickname “Old Camel Knees”. (I’ve heard that since I was a kid.) He had built thick calluses on his knees from many years of determined prayer. The prayer is foundations to the wisdom. Prayer is always foundation to wisdom. 

Ready for James? It might be a rough ride for us…

“I, James, am a slave of God and the Master Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered to Kingdom Come: Hello!” James 1:1 Msg

Dear Heavenly Father, We become slack in our efforts at times and our skills for living (wisdom) suffer from it. Sharpen our axes of thinking and behaving with your Word that heals, comforts and convicts. Do what You need to do in us. Thank you, Lord. 
In Jesus Name, Amen

SERIOUSLY….

Leaving Hebrews…Did we learn to get out of the way and on the Way…of Jesus Christ?

It’s hard to leave Hebrews and move on but we must. The writer encouraged and challenged the Hebrews and us at the same time. God’s Word does that. God loves and encourages and then, for our own good and growth, He whips us into the shape He planned for us before our birth. He knows us. He saves us. He grows us. 

He never leaves us where we are…He takes us farther down the road of pleasing Him and bringing Him glory…with the hope that others may join us on a similar journey with Him. It’s hard to say goodbye to Hebrews. We leave with this statement imprinted on our hearts and minds, “Friends, please take what I’ve written most seriously.” (Hebrews 13, Msg)

“Let’s aspire to let God have his Word back into our lives, so to speak. We need to let him—and only him—define what we are responsible for in our lives.

Jesus isn’t life enhancement. He’s life. He alone is the way life works. You can’t take someone else’s Jesus home with you. You can’t take your pastor’s Jesus home with you. Only your own walk with Jesus goes home with you. A relationship with Jesus is not automatic because you walk into a building with a pretty steeple or religious symbols. Buildings don’t change your life.

When we surrender to Christ, the spirit inside of us—the real person within the bag of bones we call a body—is renewed. Our brains are still flesh and blood that have recorded everything we’ve ever done. Our spirit is new, but we still have lost minds. Our brains become a battleground.

Sooner or later, we have to realize that Jesus is more than church. It requires consistent study of God’s Word and consistent prayer to help us thrive by deepening our roots and redefining erroneous thinking.” (From Casting Crowns website.) 

The above quote is a good ending for today as we move on…to James! See you tomorrow! 

Dear Heavenly Father, Your Word gives life to our tired souls and challenges us to be, just be with You. Then as Your living and giving Holy Spirit refreshes us, we leap to our feet, ready and encouraged to go “outside”, where the action of Jesus is, to keep living and growing, falling and getting back up again, and leaning heavily on Your grace. Oh, Lord, Your amazing, wonderful grace…thank you. Just thank you. In Jesus Name, Amen

THE PRAYER.