I almost didn’t post today’s blog entitled “So You Want To Be Fat And Lazy?” I don’t know if I was feeling insecure about it or just scared. I had Monica read it because I was afraid no one would take me up on my challenge. 24 people either left comments on the blog, Facebook, or email and said that they wanted to take the challenge. As promised here are some thoughts on chapter 1…
- vs. 2 – I hate trials! According to this we are to consider it all joy. Like exercising for the first time in a long time it’s painful to go through a trial. No one likes it, but we are stronger then we give ourselves credit for. In lifting weights, if you want to gain muscle you have to tear it first. It hurts and it makes you sore. Going through a trial hurts and it makes you sore, but you will become stronger.
- vs. 11 – I’m glad I’m not rich. Oh wait…compared to the majority of the world I am. Oh dang.
- vs. 14 – Temptation comes from our own evil desires. So maybe the devil didn’t make you do it?
- vs. 15 – Imagine conceiving a baby. For nine months that baby lives inside of you. When that baby is born it changes your life. You love it with all of your heart. But instead of turning around and loving you back this baby grows up and tries to kill you. This is the process of sin. It is conceived with an idea from within. We birth it because selfishly we think it’s what is best. We even tell ourselves that we love it. In the end though sin kills. No matter how great the sin feels in the moment it always leads to death. I wish I could remember this before I’m about to sin.
- vs. 19 – Great advice! This is basically the opposite of the Jersey Shore.
- vs. 21 – Get rid of all moral filth and accept the word that is planted in you. Great advice but how do we do that? James is about to tell us…
- vs. 22 – You accept the word planted in you when you do what the Bible says to do. This verse is so challenging to me. It’s kind of like my relationships with food. I’ve been on and read about almost every diet out there. I know a ton of information. In fact I could write a book on all the weight loss info that I know. And yet I’m still over weight. The truth is that just because you know something doesn’t mean squat unless you are willing to put what you know into practice. There are too many Christians who are fat with knowledge and not willing to apply or obey what the Bible teaches.
- vs. 27 – Have you ever wondered what type of religion God likes? It’s the type that helps those that can’t help themselves. In James time women could not work. If they lost their husband and weren’t able to marry again they couldn’t survive. Helping a widow or orphan means you did something for someone who had no way of paying you back. Kind of like what God does for us huh? God loves us even though we have no way to ultimately pay Him back. No wonder God likes this type of religion.
So if you read chapter 1 what is one thing that you will take away?
I would like to remember during struggles that I will persevere. I have been putting verse 19 into practice for awhile and truly believe it has helped me. Thank you Rob for doing this challenge.
I really needed to hear all of this right now. Going through some very hard times and doing this challenge is exactly what I need. Thanks for inspiring us Rob
vs 22 – the doing what it says…as you mentioned it can be applied to several aspects within our lives; we've read the facts and the instructions but we don't use them
thoughts:
vs 1-James the brother of Jesus does not call attention to the fact, but rather refers to himself as a willful servant(other translations insert the word slave) of Jesus.
vs 3-4:why should we count trials "all joy"? Because God is using them to perfect us to the image of His Son! What a glorious thought.
vs 18:We are God's prized possession!
vs 26- I hope my "religion" or rather my relationship with God is never considered worthless
My thoughts were as follows:
v8 – convicting. If you don't ask with faith (or if you still have rebellion within you), don't expect to get an answer.
v15 – crud. sin = death. Then why can't I stop? I know the penalty.
v22 – the old saying, faith is not a noun, but a verb.
vs. 14 – it's sometimes easy to make excuses or blame someone (devil) else for our evil desires but ultimately they come from within us…that can be a difficult pill to swallow…
vs 6-7: No wonder I spend a lot fo y time feeling unstable/feel like I'm being tossed around. This is going to happen when I let my doubt exceed my faith.
vs 21: I need to humbly accept the Word that has been planted in me and accept that it CAN save me.
vs 22: GUILTY!
Thanks for giving me a forum to study God's Word more!!!!
I love verse 22. It is my favorite from this chapter.
verses 5-8 are eye-opening. i'm sure that many of my requests are coated in doubt, and i need to CHANGE THAT!!
i think it's also…insightful? awesome? true? (can't find the right word)…that in verse 8 it says that if we doubt when we pray that we are unstable in all we do. SO TRUE. if you can't be positive about God's ability, what CAN you be positive about?