James: God Has A Plan
Excerpt… If God’s plan for each of us is to give us hope, why do we have to endure such trials, hardships and pain. And why does He allow us to get into such despair? Well, the short answer is that God’s plan is that He wants us to experience a life of righteousness (James 1:20). This is the cornerstone of what the Book of James is all about.

Click on the title of this post to go directly to the original article or – click here to go to the “James” website.

It seems “religion” is becoming an ever more popular topic of discussion among politicians and the stars of movies and television these days. But, invariably, when their conversations turn to matters of faith, there’s a glaring omission in their professions. They firmly believe that “good” people who live “good” lives, loving and caring for others, are going to get into heaven. As if to validate their beliefs, a growing number of them are very active and vocal in charitable endeavors. But you seldom, if ever, hear any of them mention Jesus. It seems very few of them have any room for Him in their varied systems of belief.

The fact is, this questioning, or at least omitting of the New Testament doctrine of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ seems to be spreading. The words vary, but the central theme remains, “How can God (at least the one Christians worship) say He is love and then condemn so many people to Hell on a technicality? Isn’t that just plain hypocritical!” I don’t doubt that some of you may have heard similar statements from friends or relatives and are struggling to give an answer. We’ve struggled to give those we love an answer too. What follows are the results of that struggle, prefaced by three things God set as the anchor points for His response: Read the rest of this entry »

Updated on Oct 25, 2008.

During my Bible Study time, I was reading in John chapter 3 when something “popped out” at me! In verse 23, the Scripture says, “Now Jesus was about thirty yeas old when he began his ministry.” Does that strike a note of interest in you? Or, maybe you have already examined this and recognized the enigma (something not easily explained or understood) that it poses?

Although I have read this many times before, the question that occurred to me – this time – was, “Why did Jesus WAIT?”

There are several similar situations that come to mind. One is the case of Lazarus who was dead and had already been in the tomb for four days (John 11:17)! Why didn’t Jesus do something a the first notice of Lazarus’ sickness? Or what about some of the healings? Like the case of the blind man in John chapter 9 where Jesus told the man to walk a half mile down a very steep slope to the Pool of Siloam in order to wash off the mud that Jesus put there. Robin Sampson in her excellent blog (Heart of Wisdom) asks the question, “why didn’t Jesus just heal him there?”
In John 2:46,47 (when Jesus was only 12 yrs old) Mary & Joseph found Jesus “in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.” (Emphasis mine) If Jesus was so smart at 12 that he “amazed” the Bible scholars of his day, why didn’t he go on the road as a child evangelist? Why did he wait another 18 years and then only have 3 or so years left for ministry?

One “answer” to Jesus’ 18 year delay in ministry is probably found in verse 52 – which I believe is one of the most profound verses in the entire Bible. The verse is its self an enigma, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” The only part of that that I can say I understand (at least partially) is that Jesus grew in stature. Although he could have been placed on this earth full-grown, he came as a little baby and underwent the struggles of physical growth – just like you and I must do.

BUT, beyond physical growth, the verse tells us that he also grew in wisdom. One reason that Jesus did not begin his ministry at the age of 12 is that he had to grow in wisdom. That is likely a problem that all of us face as well. In order to be successful, we must first acquire wisdom – and often, by the time we become “wise,” we are too old to do much about it! <grin>.

Later, Matthew recorded, (13:54) “Coming to his home town, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’” Apparently, Jesus satisfied the requirement that he grow in wisdom (and every other requirement of the Messiah). (Check out the next post for more about the acquisition of wisdom.)

We all get frustrated that – in our view – justice is perverted and things just aren’t “right.” Wicked people seem to thrive & “have it all” & the more wicked, the greater their “benefits.” While godly people suffer & it seems to never end. Habakkuk challenged God, “How long is this going to continue?” (Habakkuk 1:2-4)

The Psalmist asked the same question over a dozen times (along with other Bible writers). Job also asked the question in Job 7:19; 19:2 & in Job 24:1 he asked, “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?” Job wanted to know WHEN it was going to stop! He wondered if God has set any limits on the pain that we endure. Read the rest of this entry »

Robin Sampson in her blog, “Heart of Wisdom” has written a great article listing Biblical events that occurred on the third day. Of course we know that Jesus arose on the third day but Robin lists 14 more events. Check it out here.

This is a follow-up post to the article, “Jesus – right on time.”

(See the “James On Trial” site for more on this title… http://james.cdntoday.com/2009/09/looking-wisdom/)

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2Pet 3:18)

Several years ago, I did an in-depth study of the Book of James. I ended up teaching and preaching for a full year on the series! (If you would like the outlines, I can make them available later.) One of the primary concepts that I developed through that study was concerning the acquisition of wisdom.

I do NOT believe that God “sprinkles wisdom dust” on our heads. I believe that there is a PROCESS through which we develop wisdom. Here is my take on that line of intellectual development:

1. Knowledge is the accumulation of “facts” (or presumed facts)
2. Understanding is the comprehension of those facts
3. Wisdom is the application (in life) of our understanding of the facts that we have accumulated

Most of the education today (up to and often throughout undergraduate studies) is simply sharing “facts” from a book (or from a teacher’s brain) to a student. Then a test is given where the student is expected to repeat the “facts” that he/she has been “taught.” Usually, an objective test (multiple choice, etc) is used to evaluate this. Some very talented & caring teachers make it their business to move from the sharing of facts to encouraging/forcing their students to think through an issue and develop an understanding of the facts that they possess. To evaluate such comprehension generally requires a subjective test (such as essay writing.) Since this is much more difficult to develop and to grade, many teachers revert to “teaching facts.” I do not believe that our schools/colleges/universities are equipped to teach wisdom.

Actually, it is my educated opinion ^(note1) that wisdom CANNOT be taught! In every case, wisdom must be learned through experience. But someone already has their “hand in the air” wanting to correct me using James 1:5 as the proof that Godly wisdom is given by God. But, like so many Scriptures, this one can be misconstrued if taken out of context.

James wrote this portion of the Bible to answer the ancient question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” In verse 2, he told Christians everywhere to “Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Well, DUH! This guy’s got it wrong from the gitgo! Who, in his right mind, can possibly be happy when everything is going wrong? And, in that day, “going wrong” often meant “facing death.”

But James gives a reason for being joyful in such severe trials, “BECAUSE.” (Not like my mom used to answer, “Because I SAID so!”) Rather, this “because” explains things… “because… the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (or “patience” if you read the KJV.) Well, if I wanted patients, I would have become a doctor! <grin> But bear with me (actually with James) here for a minute: Verse 4 says that “perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Let me reverse-analyze James’ thinking here:

1. We NEED/WANT to be mature & complete (v.4)
2. To get there, perseverance must be finished
3. But, to acquire perseverance, we must face trials of many kinds & our faith must be tested (vv 2,3)

Did I get all of that right? If so, then it appears that when we get patience/perseverance, it is NOT because God sprinkled it down from heaven upon our heads – it is the result of our having undergone severe trials that test our faith. And, as we put that patient attitude to work, we move further along in the PROCESS of becoming mature & complete.

Now, I have not forgotten about verse 5 here. After moving through the “patience process,” at some point, we should reach maturity & become “complete, not lacking anything.” Now, does it seem strange to you that the very next verse says, “If any of you lacks…”? If I read that correctly, when you finished with your trial, you should have become “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (at least in reference to that situation). How can you then say, “I am mature and complete, not lacking anything, EXCEPT I lack wisdom”? The only answer to that dilemma is that you are NOT mature and complete and you did NOT pass the “testing of your faith.” So, when you ask God for wisdom, He sends you back around the mountain for another “dose” of trials. He does not find fault, just “generously” allows you to retake the test!

That answers another question: “Why can’t I ever catch a break? Why do I just keep going around in circles and never get ahead?” The answer is, “You didn’t pass the test (of your faith) last time so you have to re-take it. You went through verses 2, 3 & 4 but you still LACK something so you must go back to verse 2 again!

Note1: Ray Waldo holds a Master of Education degree in Educational Psychology earned at Mississippi State University.

Note2: Robin Sampsom has written a nice article on this. Read it at http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/when-trials-comes-rejoice/