Category Archives: God

The Roman’s Challenge: Slave of God

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“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I cannot tell you how often I have wrestled with God. Beginning this study is another example of that wrestling.

Last month, as I was finishing my study of James, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to invite you all on a journey with me through Romans. But, I have resisted. I felt like it was too big for me. Truthfully it is. Anything we do in our lives is “too big.” That is why we need Jesus! This is why He has given us the Holy Spirit to be our helper.

Paul opens Romans stating He is a “servant of Christ Jesus…” The Greek word for servant is “duolos” which is interpreted “slave.” A slave is defined as “A person who is wholly subject to the will of another; one who has no will of his own, but whose person and services are wholly under the control of another.” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

When you and I say that Jesus is “Lord” of our lives, we are stating that we have become His “slave.” He owns our lives. Whatever He says, we must do. He is not a harsh and cruel taskmaster. He is good and everything He does is good. What He commands us to do is for our good.

Our service to Him was purchased by His love, and our obedience to Him is a display of our love for Him in return!

Oh how I long to have a heart that is fully and instantly obedient to my Lord! I fail at times, but I am hoping that my response time to His call is getting better.

As Paul said, I am a slave to Christ and set apart for the gospel ( The Good News)! My obedience brings glory to Him and displays to others His image so they can see Him too. Then they can respond to His call saying, “Yes You are my Lord, I am a slave to Christ. Whatever You say, Wherever You send me, I will obey!

Join me in reading the Book of Romans. We will read chapter 1 for a week. Each day we will read it expecting the Holy Spirit to speak to us through His Word!  This is the Romans Challenge that God has put before me.Join me!

FIRST — What am I seeking?

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About a year ago, God pointed out to me my phone addiction… God: “Janet, what do you do when you first wake up?” Me: “Uh…grab my phone and check Facebook… then the weather.”

I wasn’t exactly walking in obedience to what Jesus said…

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I came across this video last night and it has been very impactful to me. Take few moments and watch.

Jesus told us: 

““Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We are to pay attention to the Word. “Consider carefully.” Relationship with God doesn’t just happen. If we want to be close to God and experience Him in a close friendship. We have to invest our TIME! The measure of the time we spend seeking Him. Is what we receive. If we are investing in our relationship we will receive from Him and then some!

He’s waiting on us to respond to His invitation to “Know Him.”

This is where true life is! 

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What are we seeking first, to KNOW Him or to KNOW our social media feed…? Only one option gives eternal life!

James: Turn Back the Wanderer

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This week is James 5.

“My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Speak the truth of the Word of God! We do not know who it will be that we are in contact with that needs to hear it.

This verse is of great significance to me. Five years ago, I was living as one who had wandered from the truth. There was someone who was bold enough to tell me the truth about the lies I was believing. She turned “a sinner from the error of their way.” And she saved me “from death” and covered “over a multitude of sins” in my life. I am so grateful!

When we walk in error/ sin, we need someone who will stand firm on the Word of God and tell us the Truth in the Word. It is the only way for us to live free!

Don’t be afraid to be thought of as different, radical, or extreme! God wants to use you to bring back His children to Him!

James: Prayer

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“…The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today is James 5.

“I guess all I can do now is pray…” I don’t know how many times I have heard that statement. Sadly, I don’t know how many times I have made that statement…

“All I can do now?!?!” How sad it is that we undervalue prayer!

James 5:13-18 speaks of how important prayer is. If we are in trouble, we need to pray. If we are happy, our prayer should be praise. If we are sick, have the elders of the church pray and anoint us with oil for healing. If we sin, pray for each other so we may be healed.

I would venture to say that prayer IS the most important thing we can do. Prayer is connection to our Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit will help us pray. Jesus paid the price for us to be able to come boldly before God in prayer. Yet we relegate prayer to quoting the Lord’s Prayer, praying a short blessing over our meals, and possibly a quick, “Now I lay me down to sleep…” prayer at night.

Of all the great works we an do, prayer is the greatest. It is in prayer that we come to God: We acknowledge our total dependence on Him; We surrender our will and our ways; We listen for Him to speak; We are given the power to obey.

As we pray God’s Word over our situations and circumstances, we will know God and will experience Him. We will be assured that He is working all things out for our good!

Prayer isn’t a small part of the work God has called us to. Prayer is the work. May our hearts be attentive to prayer continuously throughout our days!

James: Be Patient and Stand Firm

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“You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” (verse 8)
 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV

If I had my way life would be easy. I would be dancing in fields of daisies every day with not a problem in sight. But this simple is not the reality of living in a fallen world. Life often is hard.

We can take comfort in the words of Jesus. He told us that we would have troubles in our world, but we could take courage because He has overcome. In each and every circumstance we face, Jesus is Victor!

Ultimately we have a hope that one day Jesus the challenges we face and the troubles we endure will end. We have a promise, “The Lord’s coming is near.” Because of that promise we are to “be patient and stand firm.”

James gives us examples of those who have displayed “patience in the face of suffering.” The prophets of old, in the Old Testament, were persecuted. Job lost everything. But in the end they all had great reward.

Through it all our focus must be on Jesus. He is “full of compassion and mercy.” His Holy Spirit has been given to us to help us.

Ultimately, for the believer, there will be a time when we will receive a great reward. Make no mistake about it, Jesus will come again! What a day that will be! Stand firm til the end!

James: Rotting Wealth…

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(This week we read James 5)

“Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days… You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.”
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“He who dies with the most toys wins.” (attributed to Malcom Forbes.) Is this true?

James warns against living in “luxury and self indulgence.” There is danger in pursuing “stuff” over pursuing Jesus! When we believe what we possess materially is of more importance than what we possess spiritually, we are in deep trouble. The love of money will produce evil in our lives.

It is not wrong to possess wealth, but we must keep it in the correct position in our lives. What we own is not ours. All that we have and all that we are belongs to God. If we are blessed with possessions, we are to use those possessions to bless others.

The pursuit of wealth over the pursuit of God will lead to emptiness. In the end, what we have owned here will not follow us into eternity. Wealth will rot… Only one thing is eternal and will matter when we die — Jesus! When it is all done our goal should be to hear Him say, “Well done.”

Whatever our financial status may be, abundantly rich or just scraping by, a life lived after “self- indulgence” will end in death. Once again, life is not about me and what I possess. It is all about Jesus.

Not my will but His be done!

James: It’s Not About Me

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(Today is James 4) 

“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.””
‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A “me-centered” life is empty and foolish. But our natural inclination is to live that way.

We make our plans: I will do this today. I will do this tomorrow. Ten years from now I will be here. But do we consider God? Do we ask Him what His plan is?

The truth is we are only here for a little while. The only thing that will be of any significance in our lives is the Eternal. Eternal life is only found in God.

James tells us “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” (Verse 17) The “Good” we ought to do is living our lives surrendered to the only One who will take our lives and give them meaning far beyond the short time we have here on earth.

If we do not “do” the good of a surrendered life, a God-centered life, we live our lives in sin.

Instead of making our plans, we should be asking:

Today or tomorrow, where do You want me to go God? How long would You want me to do this or that? What do You want me to be about?

My life is not my own. It is not about me! It is about God and glorifying Him in all I do!

James: Do Not Slander

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(Today is James 4)

“Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?”
‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Speak life!

Slander- . A false tale or report maliciously uttered. and tending to injure the reputation of another. (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

We are to be careful of how we talk about others. If we slander, or speak evil, of others, we judge them. We also judge “the LAW” —The one law that Jesus stated that completed and fulfilled all the others: 

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭12‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When we speak evil of our neighbor, or our spiritual family — brother or sister in Christ, we are not loving them as we would love ourselves. So we have judged the second of the greatest commandments, that Jesus stated, as irrelevant to us. We are not keeping it or obeying it!!

Loving our brother and sister is to desire to benefit them and prosper them and to act accordingly to that desire. It is action. When we love we “do.” We display that love by what we do and say.

Our words must be used to build up and encourage, NOT defame and destroy.

“Who am I to judge my neighbor?” Jesus didn’t instruct us to judge (condemn/ punish – Greek) our neighbor…

He told us to love!

James: Friendship With the World… It’s a Spiritual Affair!

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“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

An adulterous affair will destroy a marriage. We are meant for a relationship of oneness with our spouse that no one else is invited to participate within. This is true of our spiritual relationship with God. “Friendship with the world…” or adopting the world’s “values and priorities, which are contrary to God’s.”(Berean Study Notes – Bible Hub) is “enmity against God.” Or “the quality of being an enemy.” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

When we desire to live according to the ways of the world and chase after sin, we are choosing to pursue other lovers (spiritual adultery). Our love for God is less than our love for our selfish desires. We may wear the label of “Christian”, but our actions display the opposite. This simply will not work!

God “jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell within us.” (James 4:5) He desires for us to live in an intimate relationship with Him. He will not have competing lovers.

Is God the desire of our lives or are we consumed with chasing everything else?

James: I Am The Problem…

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(This week we are reading James 4)

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Self focus is deadly!!! It produces fights and quarrels with others. It leads us to atrocious sins.

The self focused person wants what they want when and how they want it. Their theme is “it’s all about me…” But when we live our lives focused on us and our desires, we cannot receive from God. That is because our motives are wrong. Our desires are set on getting what we want — our pleasures.

If our lives lack peace and God feels distant, there is one phrase that will describe the root of what is going on. It is worthy of saying it out loud so understanding can come. “ I am the problem…” I need to get my eyes off of me and onto God who holds everything I need.

Life is not about me at all. It is all about Him!!! If my desires are set on Him, if I ask God for His provision from a heart that is surrendered to Him entirely, totally, and completely, if my life is all about God, I will dwell in God. His peace, joy, and love will fill my life.

“I am the problem” can be changed to “Jesus is the answer.” He is to be our lives. That is the only way to live as we were created to be.