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Behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

FIFTH DAY: Read James 5. James encouraged generosity, patience and prayer. How are Christians to live while waiting for Jesus’ return? How do the examples in this passage encourage or challenge you? Patiently, establishing our hearts, not grumbling, steadfast, not swearing any oaths, pray during suffering, praising during cheer, seeking the help of the church and the church helping those that are sick and in need, praying, asking for forgiveness, confessing our sins, holding accountable and encouraging our brothers and sisters.  Patience in suffering/waiting on the Lord. Patience implies that we are waiting on something. That there is some goal or event or experience that we want to happen and we are just waiting for it to come. Do I wait on the Lord? Am I looking for/forward to his return. Am I working now as if he is imminently returning. v. 9 “behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” Am I living my life as if Jesus is just on the other side of the door waiting for him to sw...
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What good is that?

Working through this passage on the relationship between faith and works this morning. I have probably heard a dozen sermons on this passage, but getting into the Word yourself always shows something new. Hebrews 4:12 "The word is alive and active." This morning one of the verses that stuck out to me was verse 16 "and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?" After spending most of my time rehashing the faith and works debate, this verse was challenging and convicting in a very practical way. It challenges how I respond to people's needs. It is the southern way to ask people how they are doing, and if someone breaks the unwritten rule of replying that everything is fine, it is custom to tell them that we will be thinking about them and praying for them. How many times have I said this to people and then 1. not even thought or prayed about them after walking away...
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If you show partiality, you are committing sin

I am a middle school teacher. School will (maybe) be starting back in a couple weeks. This morning was challenging for me as I think about my upcoming students. My prayer is that I would not overlook any of my students but care for and lift each one of them up equally. That I would be a model of what it looks like to love your neighbor sacrificially. I pray that I would not have any bias or partiality when it comes to my students and how I treat them.  FOURTH DAY: Read James 2:1-13. James warned believers against favoritism. 9. Why is it wrong for believers to show favoritism? v.4 “Have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” v.5 “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world.” v. 6 “But you have dishonored the poor man.” v. 8 “If you really fulfill the royal law according to Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.” v. 9 “If you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the l...
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"Receive with meekness the implanted word"

This is one day in the Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) study on Acts of the Apostles. THIRD DAY: Read James 1:19-27. James challenged believers to live out faith. 6. Which commands stand out to you and why? quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness receive with meekness the implanted word -  This is able to save souls. All of the other things listed are possible when we are spending time in the Word. But there is a way in which we have to interact with the Word - meekness. We must come to the Word humbly which is implanted in us and growing. It has the ability to save where desire leads to sin leads to death. Humility - it is the Holy Spirit working in us that reveals God’s truths to us, not our intellectual prowess. The Bible should first change our hearts not just our head.  be doers of the word, and not only hearers - persevere bridle your tongue and do not deceive your heart visit orphans and widows in their aff...
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Personal Note

I'm sorry for the lull in posts. As I get back into the Word, God has shown me so many wonderful and convicting truths that it will take me more time to faithfully work through them all. So I wanted to take this time to write a quick personal note. Something that the Lord has shown me recently (well not really recently, it is something that I have always known but never really let myself acknowledge or share with others) is that I have a crippling fear of being found out. This fear is rooted deeply in my pride and cripples me from fully fulfilling God's call to love others. The only way I know how to kill pride is to humble yourself before others and put your insecurities out there. So, my fear is that other people will know that I don't have my act together and that what they see is sometimes a front. To love others is to help focus them on and point them to Christ, and this fear of being found out deters me from that. I find that many times I do not direct conversa...
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1 John 2: 1-6

Continuing the journey through 1 John, I am in chapter 2 and in just the first six verses the Lord has shown me a stumbling block in my walk. Far to often I focus on the "big" roadblocks in my relationship with Christ: my pride that fools me into believing that I could and should plan what I think will be best for my life (I am not advocating that you don't ever plan, I just tend to plan selfishly on what I think will make me the happiest and most comfortable while not being open to how best I can serve God at any given time) and my tendency to lose sight of God as a need. In the latter, I find myself selfishly trying to minimize God into something that is just a good thing that benefits me, and not seeing him as God, my Lord, Father, and Savior that I dedicate my life to glorifying and serving. As you can see those are two very different views which I believe will lead to two very different eternities. Now to the text: "And by this we know that we have come to know...
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Fellowship with God

Disclaimer: The majority of these posts will be me trying to work through and dig into the Bible. I am not a theologian, a seminary student, I haven't even read the whole Bible, but I want to know the Lord and I know that Bible is His word. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 "and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." This is my goal that I may be a man of God that is competent to follow His will and equipped for every good work for His glory. So I pray that through this God will be glorified and that anyone that stumbles upon these will not take my word for what the Bible says but will search the scriptures themselves and come to know the Lord more the intimately as He so desperate...
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