Sometimes to really get at what a verse is saying I like to make a list.
But first I ask the Lord to show me what He wants me to see and learn from His Word.
After all, since He authored it, there is no better insight than *His* on what it says, what it means and what it means to me.
I've been spending a lot of time in the book of James lately in preparation for the upcoming women's Bible Study. All I can say is James will mess with ya! Ya'll need to sign up for it then we can all get "messed with" and "adjusted"at the same time.
Yep, it is definitely calling for some adjustments in my life.
But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. James 1:25 (NASB)
If I were the kind of person who gives her lists titles (which I'm usually not) my list could be entitled...
"How to Be Blessed in What You Do"
(By the way this does not contradict that neat song we sing about "we don't want blessings we want you".... I get what that song is saying but I also know the two are very intertwined. When we have Christ we have more blessing than we can ever imagine)
But back to my hypothetical title for my real list...
"How to Be Blessed in What You Do"
(Each point comes directly from the verse.)
1. Look intently in God’s perfect revealed truth. My keyword said that the word "Look" describes a person who stoops over Scripture and looks intently for its message. The Greek word denotes penetrating absorption. This person isn’t just taking a hasty glance at the Word on her way to brush her teeth. She is taking the time to search intently.
2. Abide in God’s perfect truth. Keyword for "abides" - continues, remains, tarries, perseveres, stays near. Kinda like the blessed man of Psalm 1 who meditates in God's law day and night. So its not a one time dig in the Word it is a continuous daily "tarrying" and a persevering to "stay near" to the Word.
3. Doesn’t forget what he has heard. (#4 will explain why)
4. D.o.e.s. it - puts truth into action - I am convinced that being doers of the Word and not just hearers is what keeps you on track with #3. Otherwise its just too easy to walk away and forget what you have just heard. Acting on truth solidifies it in you and then a bonus is as you obey it you begin to understand it even more. (Told you James will mess with ya)
So there you have it.
But one who looks (stoops over Scripture) intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides (continues, tarries, stays near, perseveres) by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed (happy, fortunate, supremely blessed) in what he does. James 1:25 (NASB)
Want to be on the receiving end of God’s favor today?
Want to be supremely blest, happy, fortunate? (keyword description for ‘blessed').
Then look intently into God’s Word.
And not just once, designate time every day to continue looking/abiding in the Word.
And when you close your Bible, go out and do what it says...putting what you just learned into practice and then...girlfriend...brace yourself for some blessing....
Because according to James 1:25 "you will be blessed in what you do."
That's the Word at work in me this week. How bout you?
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind in my life. My heart has ached tremendously for some of my friends and family. The situations have all been things that the world cannot explain. Like suicide of a mother and the father did the same before Christmas, heart attack of a healthy 22 yr old,infertility of a couple that longs to have a child, etc etc etc.
ReplyDeleteWith all that, this person who "has to have" her 7+ hours of sleep has found myself wide awake many nights. During these hours, God and I have had lots of time together. In the midst of the storm around me, a verse continued to come to mind. Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God.
My thought process: He is God. I am so appreciative that He is in control and I don't have to be!
But, be still??? Okay, I know, I need to slow down and have my quiet time. That's being still, right?? Sitting, reflecting, reading, praying, memorizing, etc. In my simplistic thoughts, I was being still with my body, but not with my mind. Then, it hit me, STILL as in my brain!! A simple verse that I have known for years, yet never truly applied it to my life has transformed my world. I have found time with Him the past few days/weeks to be much more intimate than ever before, if I come to His throne and BE STILL!
When I studied still: motionless, without waves (and yes I can make some), calm, tranquil, peaceful, stationary are all okay and I can handle those. Here are the harder ones for me to swallow: free from sound or noise, silent, hushed, buttoned up, clammed up, close mouthed, undisturbed, unruffled, untroubled, muzzled.
So, the teacher who told me in elementary school that I needed a muzzle when I wouldn't stop talking was absolutely right!
Wow Amanda! This post REALLY spoke to me. Thank you for sharing it. As I look at your list of "still" words I have to admit that those "harder ones" are on my hard list too. I have to tell you something because it fits right in with this post. I was noticing a lot of stinky "entitlement" issues in my attitude last month and I began to realize I needed some adjusting. Someone suggested that sometimes we need to physically adjust our posture before God in order to give us a mental reminder of who He is. I started spending a few minutes face down on the floor before my prayer time each day. I was so unused to it that I was not consistent at it...so it took a little time until it became a daily thing but He would remind me and gradually it is becoming a habit. Do you know the first thing that I heard in my head the first couple of weeks when I put my face down are these words...I am God and you are not...or sometimes now I just say them to Him...YOU are God and I am not. That sounds so simplistic, like duh, I have known that for a long time,(kinda like Be still and know I am God) but the truth is my actions were not reflecting it so I apparantly needed a daily reminder of it and spending a few minutes face down before Him has really made a difference for me. I hope that doesn't sound like I am flaunting any spiritual discipline...because I am so not...nor am I saying everyone needs to do this...its just what I know I needed. I am sure others spend hours face down... and I am also sure many have effective prayer lives without ever getting on the floor. All I am saying is I needed this physical reminder in my own life - so just starting my prayer time this way (I still get back up in my chair and do most of my praying) has helped me do much of what you are sharing - to be still and know He is God. JUST this morning almost the exact words you posted came out of my mouth...I am SO glad He is in control and I am not...So GLAD I have a God and don't have to look to myself for all the answers.
ReplyDeleteThank you Amanda for this insightful intimate post of how the Word is at work in you!
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance,kindness, goodness,faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23
ReplyDeleteGod has been speaking to me about the fruit of the Spirit and in the journey of meditating on His word I was still trying to "do" the fruits on my own and became very frustrated that I still just could not seem to do them.....well God opened my blinded eyes and showed me that "I" was trying to do them without Him...and believe me that just won't work...."I" can't do them but Oh how HE can!!!
Forbearance means patience which I'm not very good at....God is showing me to wait on Him....and to know that it's all about Him and His timing....not mine....I'm learning that "I" will stumble again and that's ok but if I stay in His word and a close relationship with Him it will be a little less often....:)
Great insights Angie! I always think of this verse in connection with John 15:4-5 because those verses remind me of exactly what you have observed that it is impossible to bear any fruit without being connected to the Vine. If you think about it, no new grapes will grow on a branch that has broken off the vine and any existing ones will wane. So the branch's focus (if a branch could have a focus, ha ha) should be to stay connected to the Vine and then the Vine provides all that's needed to produce fruit. I like that deal don't you? (just abiding in Christ and letting Him do His work through us)That's a lot better than trying to muster up patience on my own.
DeleteSounds like you are absolutely on the right track as you look to Him, meditate on His Word and wait for Him.
Thanks for sharing this with us Angie.
This is the perfect time to share my recent WAW 'cause I've been studying what it means to "abide" in Christ and have Him abide in me from John 15:1-11. And you are so right, Angie. I've also been frustrated when I've tried to bear fruit on my own. I once heard a pastor say, "Did you ever see an apple tree grimacing and straining to produce an apple?" Of course not! The tree simply remained firmly rooted in the soil, taking its nourishment from the earth and drinking in the sunshine, and Voila! Fruit!
ReplyDeleteIn #2 of Trudy's original post, she shared that abiding means "continues, remains, tarries, perseveres, stays near." What great definitions. It also means "to be vitally united to; to remain connected to; to stay in a given place expectantly." If I don't stay vitally united to my Savior, I'll wither and dry up like a branch that is worthless and good for nothing but firewood (like in John 15:6). But if I remain connected to Him (and motionless, calm, tranquil, peaceful, and stationary just like Amanda said!), then my life will bear those fruits of the Spirit. And guess what? As an added benefit (as if that weren't already enough), my life will be full of joy (John 15:11).
There's something else I noticed in these eleven verses. The word "abide" is mentioned ten times. Ten times! Must be pretty important, right?
Tracey, I love all your definitions for abide (they really add so much) but this especially stood out to me “to stay in a given place expectantly” That just adds a whole new dimension to abiding. Sometimes I fail miserably at expecting great things from my great God as I wait on Him so I’m going to put that in a good place to remind me of it.
DeleteAnd 10 times....wow. If you don’t mind me stating the obvious for people like me who sometimes miss the obvious :)...that is another great tool in getting at what a verse is saying. Simply circling or counting the times words are repeated in a passage. When you do that, sometimes you suddenly realize how important a concept is that you might have otherwise missed.
Thanks so much Tracey!
But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62. On Day 16, in our 40 Day Study Guide, we were asked the question "what do you think Jesus means in this verse?" It's a pretty strong statement, and just reading it on the surface you would get the impression that Jesus is saying, "Look, if you're going to look back at what you have given up to follow Me, then I don't want you." We used to say of someone or something that is useless, it was "fit for nothin'" :)
ReplyDeleteBut in looking at that word "fit", we learn that it means "useful, well-situated, ready for use, well-adapted." I don't think Jesus is frustrated and disappointed with his disciples. After all, who wouldn't want to go back and bury their father? Or say good-bye to their family if God called you to a foreign mission field? I think instead He is simply saying "if you want to be most effective in My kingdom, as My disciple, and truly make an impact; then you must position yourself (structure your life) to make Me more important to you than anything." You can't be distracted, or divided - if you're going to "plow effectively" and produce fruit in the kingdom, you must be focused on Me. It's not about our "worthiness" for the kingdom - none of us are worthy and we all stand ONLY in the righteousness of Christ. It's about positioning ourselves to useful...suited..ready for God to use in whatever assignment He may choose.
A couple of things strike me. This comes right after the disciples discussion of 'who's the greatest'; as well as their criticism of others who weren't in their small group - which Jesus corrected them on both issues. Also, right in this passage (v. 51) it says the Jesus "resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem" - and repeats that in vs. 53. I think the lesson is what consumes our focus? Are we looking around at others and what they are doing? Who among us doesn't compare ourselves to others? (I surely do). Or have we resolutely set our face to march forward only focused on what God has called us to be - obssessed, centered, focused on Him.
I love the picture of trying to plow a straight line while you're looking back. It just won't happen. But as we shed our lives of the distractions that keep us too busy for that "being still" and "staying connected to the vine" so that God can produce His fruit in us (thank you ladies for that word)...we will find ourselves true "doers" of the Word as Trudy so beautifully talked about...and we'll be hanging on the plow for dear life as God does it through us! Thanks for letting me ramble. Love hearing from you ladies!
Wow Sheila, I am really astounded as I have read through these how much the Lord has knitted these posts together, each one adding a little more insight to the next. I have been so encouraged by reading each one of them.
DeleteYour picture of the person trying to plow while looking back versus resolutely setting our face on Christ shredding all other distractions spoke volumes to me. Thanks so much for your valued insight. You really should consider teaching the Bible, like in a Sunday morning class or something (smile).