When God Says Jump, You Jump! James 4:13-17 NLT

"Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, 'If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.' Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." (James 4:13-17)

During the school year this past year, I was homeschooling my younger two kids while the older two went to public school. This wasn't a new thing. We'd been homeschooling for several years by that point, but the older boys had gone off to public school as we felt led to send them. At the start of the year, therefore, I submitted paperwork that said I planned to homeschool both my fourth grader and my first grader all year long. If you had talked to me last summer, I likely would have told you that I planned to continue homeschooling indefinitely. I enjoy the extra time I get with my babies by doing so.

But by Christmas break, I was getting this feeling like my daughter needed to go to public school. I pushed it away, of course, because why? But every few days, I would just get this overwhelming feeling about it. I prayed about it. I talked to my best friend about it over and over again (we beat that proverbial horse until it looked like a monkey*). I even mentioned the idea here and there to my husband. But I didn't make any sort of decision. Finally, in February, I took a tiny step. I told my husband that I thought we should actually look into it for the rest of the school year. I thought that surely he would say no, that it was silly to send her for just a couple of months, and I would be in the clear on this one. But he went and said, "yes, I agree." *LOUD SIGH*

I have to insert here that I felt a little like Jonah with the message to Tarsus. In that story, he was afraid to go and didn't want to give a message of mercy to the evil people of Tarsus (see the Book of Jonah in the Old Testament for the whole story). Like him, I really didn't want to do what I felt like God was leading me to do. I was struggling with the exact thing James warns about in verse 17! "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." Thankfully, God has blessed me with an amazing, overly honest sometimes, and encouraging husband along with an honest, loving, pushy-in-a-great-way, Jesus-knows-what-he's-doing-so-just-do-it best friend.

I took another tiny step. I called the school and talked to the admissions lady about what I would need to do to get my daughter enrolled. She gave me the steps and I completed them. Step by step over the next several days, I walked the path that I felt God had laid out for me and before I knew it, I was standing in the elementary school office on my daughter's first day of school in the public school system (ever!). My fourth grader walked into her classroom with her teacher and a class full of kids that she didn't know. And you know what happened? She loved it, of course!

By the end of the school year, I found myself wishing that I'd been brave sooner, that we had enrolled her in school sooner. Even though I missed her like crazy when she was gone during the day, I knew without a doubt that she was where God wanted her and she was loving every minute of it. In fact, when the last day rolled around this year, she was super sad to see the year come to a close. If it had been her choice, she would have kept going to school all summer long. Haha.

So why did it take me so long to listen? Well, I'm not sure which it was but I can think of a few reasons that could have led to my choices:

1. I wanted it my way- Who doesn't love doing things their own way? Don't we all love life a little bit more when things are going our own way? The problem here is that my way didn't match up with God's way.

2. Fear- Honestly, this was the biggest deciding factor for me. I was afraid to take the steps forward on this decision. What if she hated it? What if she struggled? What if she failed? What if something happened to her either in school or on the bus on the way to school?

3. Was it really God or was this a trick? You can only sit in indecision for so long before you're actually making a decision by not deciding. Whew, that was a mouthful. But it makes sense, right? If I had continued to waffle on my decision, we would have easily ended up at the end of our school year (my daughter only needed another 60 days or so of school by February as we always start early so we can end early). At some point, after talking to plenty of people who also love God and love me, I needed to take a step of faith and see what God guided me to do next.

The next time you are feeling like God is leading you to do something, no matter what it is, move forward using these steps:

1. Pray about what you're feeling. Talk to God about it and see what he shows you. He may never speak audibly to you (I don't know, I'm not you) but he does speak- through his followers, through memes and billboards, through messages at church, and especially through His Word.

2. Check the Bible. Open it up and see what it says in there about what you're being called to do. If you are feeling called to do something that goes against the Bible's teaching, it's not God calling you. God is never ever going to call you to do something that he has already said no to in the Bible.

3. Talk with trusted family and friends who absolutely have your best interest at heart. What do they think about the calling you're describing? Do they see any flaws in the plan? Do they have any valid concerns that you should consider? Or maybe they have a different first step that they think you should take? What does God think about that step? Ask them to pray with you. Remember that Ecclesiastes 4:12 teaches that "a cord of three strands is not easily broken." And Jesus says in Matthew 18:20, "when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there."

4. Keep talking to God as you take the first step. Let him guide your steps. He is going to lead you through what he's leading you to do. Even when you're afraid to do what he's saying, take the steps anyway. God's way is always infinitely better than our own!

Today I pray that we can all take the steps that God is calling us to take. I pray that you are brave and strong. And that you continue to talk to trusted people in your life because God has given us fellowship for a reason!

As we close, think about the following question. What is God calling you to do in your life that you're afraid to do and what is the first step you need to take in order to make it happen?

*No actual horses or monkeys were harmed in the making of either my decision or this post.

Let's Talk About Loving Others Again- James 4:11-12 MSG

"Don’t bad-mouth each other, friends. It’s God’s Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You’re supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?" (James 4:11-12)

I've spent much of my morning reading about death and my heart is hurting over it all. Deaths in Dallas, Texas as police officers were killed. Death in Minnesota as a man was killed in front of his girlfriend and her child. Death in Louisiana as a man was killed in a convenience store parking lot. Death of a newborn baby whose mother used heroin during her pregnancy. Death as abortion is chosen over life again and again. So much death. I honestly am at a loss for words over what to say about it all, but I'm obviously going to try to find the words here.

I read today's verses for our study of James and my mind just went right back to all the videos I watched this morning and the articles I read. I cannot shake the feeling that I need to say some things about it all. James says that "God is in charge of deciding human destiny," so why are we constantly trying to do his job for him? That's what all of this feels like to me. A group of people decided that those officers were wrong to take the lives of the men in Louisiana and Minnesota (and I am not disagreeing), so they decided to shoot officers completely unrelated to the incident in Texas in response? How does that make any sense at all? How does taking more lives, shooting more people, causing more death and division help anything? Do these people who have committed this latest act of violence truly feel any better about all that is happening in our country now that they've done this? I can't imagine they do.

God's word, his Message, his Royal Rule are absolutely taking a beating here in our country lately. People aren't loving one another as we are called to do in God's Royal Rule. We aren't spreading God's message of Jesus's love. We are resorting to killing each other! My heart isn't the only one broken here. God's is too. We are quickly becoming a country divided against itself in so many ways- Christians vs non-Christians, Muslims vs non-Muslims, immigrants vs non-immigrants, rich vs poor, homeless vs homed, white vs black. The list goes on and on.

#blacklivesmatter has been circulating social media a lot recently. And it has everyone up in arms. #blacklivesmatter doesn't exist in order to say that other lives don't matter. #blacklivesmatter is here because we are losing so many black lives for no good reason right now. As a country, we are slowly circling back to isolating a group of people and acting like they don't matter, like we don't care about them. And guess what? Black lives do matter. They matter to Jesus. They matter to me. They matter to my family and my friends. They should matter to you too. Because Jesus made those lives. He put those souls into those bodies. He breathed life into them and placed a purpose in their hearts. They are here for a reason, just as we all are. We should be embracing one another, not in spite of our differences, but almost because of our differences.

Those differences are what make this world spin around and around. God wanted us all to be different. He made us colorful on purpose. He gave us personalities on purpose. He gave us passions on purpose. He gave us idiosyncrasies on purpose. He gave us talents on purpose. When God made us, he stepped back and said we were very good work. Not just mediocre, not "eh, I could do better." No! Very good (Genesis 1:31). And you cannot convince me that he doesn't put in every effort, every bit of his sweat, love, and tears into each and every life that he creates.

The Bible tells us that we are all "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalms 139:14). He has carefully crafted each of us for his good purpose here on earth. We have no right to snatch the lives of others away in a moment of anger. No right at all. I long to see our country unite as one again, or maybe I should say for the first time.

Today I want to do something a little different. I want to issue a challenge to anyone reading this. I don't know if I'll have one person read this or a thousand, but here's my challenge: Reach out to those you don't agree with in your life today. Tell them that you love them and that you are so glad that God made them so uniquely different. Find something that you love about them and tell them. Embrace the things that make you different from everyone else. The world needs you exactly as you are. God only made one of you, so be the best you that you can be. Don't cave to the pressures of the world. Don't conform and try to become everyone else. We already have everyone else. We need you.

I also want to challenge you to step outside of your perfect little box. There's an entire world outside of that box that you haven't even seen yet! Go somewhere different. Order food at a restaurant you haven't tried before. Visit Goodwill in a different city (because come on, Goodwill is quite possibly the best store ever, seriously). Gather up canned goods and take them to a new food pantry in the "scarier part of town." Offer up your services at a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter. The only way that we can see the kind of love that God calls us to in the world today is if we step up as a group and start showing it.

I pray today that God can heal the hurts in our hearts, that he can come alongside us so completely that we feel his presence throughout the day. I pray that he can help us to pick up the broken pieces and rebuild them into something so beautiful for his glory. More than anything, I pray that we can all come together and realize that every single life matters to God. And I pray that we will start showing God's love to everyone around us beginning today.

Just as we are called to do in Ephesians 5:2, let's go forward "and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us" today.

I Want It My Way- James 4:1-10 (MSG)

Everyone loves to get their own way, right? It's like it's this inborn desire to do things our own way in our own time. But guess what? James says that isn't the way things should be at all. He calls it sinful. Our own sinful nature is constantly battling against the part of us that longs to follow Jesus (Paul talks about this, actually), so we shouldn't be striving for our own way all the time.

"Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it." (James 4:1-2a)

Can you think of a time that you wanted something so much that you would have done anything to get it? What about a time that you just wanted something and schemed until it happened? Maybe there wasn't violence (I hope not), or even the risk of it, when you wanted something but you still went about getting your own way in the wrong way. Let's read the next couple of verses from James on this:

"You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way." (James 4:2b-3)

Let me tell you about the semi-annual fight at my house, the proverbial hill that we are willing to die on around here. Shaun and I have been married for 14 years now and we have just one really big argument twice a year every year. It's a total first-world problem and ridiculous. You've been warned. We fight in the spring/summer about when to put the AC in/on and then we fight again in the fall about when to turn the heat on. Shaun wants his way because running these things is expensive. It costs us a lot of money each time either thing is running. I want my way because I live in this house all day nearly every day with four kids. We get hot (cold in the fall) and feel that we "need" the AC (heat in fall) to be comfortable. And you know what happens when we both fight for our own way. There is no violence or death, of course, but there is an argument because we are both so focused on getting our own way. Feelings are hurt and we aren't following God's way on it at all.

So what does James say about this?

"You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that 'he’s a fiercely jealous lover.' And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that 'God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.'" (James 4:4-6)

Ouch. Cheating on God? How is it cheating on God to want your own way? Well, James tells us that wanting our own way and scheming to get it is "flirting with the world." How would you feel if your spouse or significant other were flirting with someone else? You'd be upset, I hope. Imagine that feeling and I think we get a small glimpse of how God feels when we are so focused on our way that we totally disregard him and his way.

"So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet." (James 4:7-10)

As silly as the semi-annual fight is around here, it's a serious event to Shaun and me. And it says in verse 7 that this fight is just one more way that Satan is trying to drive us apart. In the first few years, there was yelling (Shaun) and crying (me, haha) as we both vied for our own way on this. Our former neighbors knew the day was coming each spring and would practically set up lawn chairs because they knew we'd be ridiculous about it. Honestly, aren't most arguments ridiculous at their core?

But in the last few years, we've approached this differently. We've come together and talked out the issues we each have with our own sides. We've prayed about it. We've done our best to submit to one another as we are called to do in Ephesians 5, giving a little from each side. This year, instead of putting the AC in on the first hot day of May like I would really like to do, I compromised by waiting until July. And I didn't whine about it. That's another key to submitting to one another and trying to do things God's way. You aren't truly submitting to God's way if you are doing the right thing on the outside but insisting on the wrong thing on the inside.

What proverbial hill are you dying on right now? What is it that you just have to have your way on, no matter the cost? God is calling you to a better way, to his way. Lay that sword down at the base of the cross and hand your way over to God. His way is so much better! He has bigger things in mind than you can dream and you will never be disappointed by God's dream for your life. My prayer today is that we can all move forward in God's will rather than our own. Amen.

Applying Wisdom- James 3:13-18

"If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom." (James 3:13)

I have wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I always pictured it in one particular way. I'd write a best seller like JK Rowling or Ursula Vernon. Kids everywhere would be dying to get their hands on my books. Because I'd be this great story teller. But there's a problem. No one is beating down my door to hear my stories. Literary agents don't read my samples and then jump on their computers to email me back, let alone set up a phone interview to become my representative. And there's probably a reason. While I have been pursuing this dream for quite awhile, I can't say that I've been doing it God's way. I've been writing my own stories instead of telling God's. Honestly, there have been times that I've struggled with some of the things in these exact verses (though I didn't realize it at the time and I shutter to think of the negative words James uses here):

"But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind." (James 3:14-16)

Recently, I've taken a step back and asked God what he wants me to say and do. I feel like he placed this dream on my heart for a reason and I want to follow it. I just don't know how exactly. The conversation is something like this:

"I want to write," I tell him over and over again.

"What do you want to write?" I can feel him asking.

"Well...I don't really know exactly. Something interesting. Something people will want to read. Something about you," I answer without a real answer.

"Like what?" he asks again gently.

"..."

"While you're thinking about it, I have some things for you to read," he says.

We've been building to this moment for awhile, God and me. I've tried writing my own way on my own time and it hasn't worked. So while I try to figure out where God is leading me, I read what I feel like he's telling me to read. First, he led me to Holley Gerth's book, "You're Already Amazing" via my mom. In that book, I learned that I have strengths and skills that God has given me with the intention that I use them for Him. I am honest. Sometimes overly so. And Jesus made me that way. Interesting, right?

Next I read through Charles Swindoll's book about Paul called "Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit." Initially, I started reading that book because I wanted to know more about Paul for the devotions I was working on about Galatians- you know, the first book of the Bible I felt like God wanted me to study here on this blog. In that book, I learned that Paul was called to the desert to spend time alone with God for quite awhile. In that time, God was molding and shaping Paul to be who he needed to be in order to really impact people for eternity. And while I'd hardly call this summer home with my sweet babies a desert, it is absolutely, unequivocally a transition period for me.

In this transition, I'm also studying the Eeyore of the Bible- Ecclesiastes. I'm using Courtney Joseph's study and learning a lot about enjoying the moments we're in and serving God through what we are doing in our everyday lives. I'm only about halfway through that, but there have been invaluable lessons along the way as I study alongside (goodness, I just checked, haha) 26 of my closest friends. ;)

I'm also reading through another of Holley Gerth's books called "You're Made for a God-Sized Dream" because, you know, I feel like God has called me to this writing life. And do you know what I read there? We go through transitions (like this one!!) where we will develop our relationship with God to a higher level and learn more about what God wants us to do with our lives. He isn't going to call us to a dream and then toss us into the deep end, which is what it would be if he'd made any of these posts go viral or one of my handful of finished stories popular. No, instead, he is going to give me the opportunity to say yes to and work on smaller projects like the manager did in Matthew with the three servants to whom he gave various amounts of talents (a currency back then, just ironic now). You can read the whole thing in Matthew 25:14-30 if you're interested but the basic gist of it is that each servant was given talents to grow. In the end, the manager gives more to those who did well. I want to be the one that does well with the talents I've been given.

So this summer, these verses are my ultimate goal:

"But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness." (James 3:17-18)

In this period of transition from homeschooling mom to "just mom," I am seeking God's wisdom for my life. I want to be the person that He is calling me to be and no one else. I am listening to his voice and moving along as I hear him speak- hence this blog. I pray that through my writing somehow, God uses me to "plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness." And I pray the same for you. May God reveal his wisdom from above in each of our lives.

I know this particular post has been a little...okay, entirely me-centered. I feel like the time is now to be sharing where I am in my journey in order to help someone else out there. I think the best way that we can approach this whole "applying wisdom" goal is to stop focusing on our own wisdom and start taking a moment to pray for the "wisdom from above" that James talks about in James 3:17.

Because while we have this very limited view of the big puzzle that we are all a part of, God can see the whole huge picture. He knows where each piece is supposed to go and can gently guide us there if only we allow him to do it. Otherwise, we are just going to sit on the table waiting forever to be used in the bigger picture. God isn't pushy. He isn't going to force anyone to go anywhere or do anything that they don't want to do. He isn't going to make us have a relationship with him. He gave us the ability to choose.

So what are you going to choose today? Are you going to stop what you're doing and talk to Jesus about his plan for your life or are you going to keep pushing on in your own way?  

Me and My Big Mouth- James 3:1-12

James doesn't know this, but he apparently wrote this particular chapter for me about two thousand years ago. God knew he'd be making me with my big, overly honest in not-always-the-best-of-ways mouth and he tapped James on the shoulder. "She's going to need this. Trust me."

"Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way." (James 3:1-2)

I can't even begin to tell you the number of times my mouth has gotten me into trouble. And if it isn't my mouth, it's my face. Because whatever I am holding inside of my mouth just pours out onto my face. You can absolutely see the words that I'm thinking written all over my face. It's amusing, therefore, that these words are here in James for me. I think it's even funnier that I spent several years as a teacher to my kids (I suppose I still am since my husband and I are raising them to be amazing, world changing, Jesus loving human beings) and am now writing these devotionals on this blog despite what it says above.

Let's see what else James has to say on this subject:

"We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself." (James 3:3-6)

James shares example after example of small things that make big changes. And he's right. Let's look at that first example he shared. The average horse stands as tall as the average man and weighs more than a thousand pounds (these can vary from horse to horse of course, some are more than 2,000 pounds). If you tried to push a horse with your bare hands, it wouldn't have to go anywhere. If you tried to pick it up, you wouldn't get it off the ground. They are heavy and big, right? Insert a bit, a small piece of metal (sometimes other synthetic material), in the mouth of the horse and you can hop on its back and lead it where you want it to go. The bit can be held in the palm of your hand and weighs almost nothing. And yet? It can lead a horse.

Our tongues are just like that. Think about the speeches made in history by people like Rosa Parks, Adolf Hitler, and Martin Luther King Jr. There are so many more but let's think on them here. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. used their tongues to speak for positive change, to stand up for the rights of themselves and others while Adolf Hitler used his for evil. He set an entire horrible piece of our history into motion through his speeches. Many of the things that each of those people said in their lifetimes are still with us today, written into our history. The tongue is powerful. Once it's used to unleash words into the world, there is no reigning them back in. You can't pull them back, take them back, unsay them. They're out there forever, for better or worse.

"People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring." (James 3:7-12)

Isn't it amazing that the tongue is such a small part of our bodies, one that's hidden inside our mouths, and it causes so much trouble when used incorrectly? James paints a pretty scary picture for us in saying, "People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue." (James 3:7-8a) It all sounds rather hopeless, doesn't it? But it's not. You see, we can't tame our tongues by ourselves. We need Jesus for that, just like we need Jesus for everything. By sticking close to him, talking to him throughout the day, reading his word, and pausing before responding to reflect on Him, we can learn to control our tongue through Jesus' power rather than our own.

So let's move through our day today doing just that- talking constantly to Jesus, our maker, the one who loves us no matter what we do. Allow him to guide you. Let's think before we speak today and see what a difference that could make. Do you struggle with this the way that I do? Is there anyone in your life that you could speak to about this so that you could build an accountability relationship with one another? Start a journal, maybe. Tell your family what you're planning to do so they can help you through it. Who knows? Maybe they'll join you too and you can start something new within the walls of your home. I'm honestly praying for you all today, that Jesus will change each of us one day at a time.  

Faith, Works...What? James 2:14-26 MSG

"Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it?" (James 2:14)

Today's verses actually remind me of the very holiday we are celebrating today. In the United States, we are celebrating our independence from Britain, written up and submitted on July 4, 1776. The cool thing about this, the part that is comparable to our verses, is that the American Colonies talked a good talk about wanting independence. For years, they grumbled about wanting to be free and then one day, everything came to a head, and they did it. There was, of course, a whole lot more to it than that but this isn't a history lesson. The point is that they declared they were independent.

But that declaration wasn't the end. It was only the first of a long list of actions that they had to take in order to make their dream come true. People died for the dream. There was a war that lasted eight years involving multiple countries. Our own country was a wreck that needed fixing when it was all over. This isn't much different from being a person who loves Jesus today. All over the world, there are Christians who love Jesus and just want to share the amazing news that he died for us all and they are being persecuted for it. They are dying for the dream of sharing Jesus with everyone. Those are huge actions.

Let's look at an example from James:

"For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, 'Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!' and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?" (James 2:15-17)

Ouch. This one hits too close to home because we do it every single day. We see a need that must be addressed and we just hope someone else will take care of it. But what if we are the very "someone else" that Jesus had in mind when that person crossed our path? We are missing out on an amazing opportunity to help a fellow human, to possibly introduce them to Jesus, and to demonstrate our own faith with a little bit of action. We are far too passive here in America. We are comfortable and are rarely willing to step outside of our own bubbles to help someone else whose bubble has popped.

"I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, 'Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.'

Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove." (James 2:18)

Those are technically James' words from thousands of years ago, but they are still completely applicable now. I am apparently full of examples today because I have another one to share. This one is a little more personal.

When I was a teenager, I made a ton of bad choices. If you asked me then if I loved Jesus and if I was a follower of Christ, I would have said, "yes, absolutely." But you wouldn't have believed me. Do you know why? Because I wasn't showing my love for Jesus in my actions. My actions said that I was a spoiled rotten, bratty teenager of the world who acted entitled to whatever she wanted. That's not Jesus.

It was like a game of mini-golf gone terribly wrong. I was still carrying my tiny little ball of faith around with me, but I had dropped the club I needed to launch my faith into the windmills and castles and across the moats of the world. So instead of playing the game with those around me, I just put my little faith ball in my pocket. From the outside, it looked like I wasn't playing the game. No one else knew except me. So it didn't matter how good I was at tossing my ball toward the little goal. No amount of holes in one were going to make me a winner because I wasn't really playing! I had no actions to back up my claims.

Do you know what James says about my pathetic faith?

"Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?" (James 2:19-20)

And by the time I was 19, that was exactly what I had- a corpse. I had dropped about as low as I could go. I was a single mom and already divorced. Yes, there were still some amazing things in my life- my incredible blessing of a son being the biggest one and my supportive mom being a close second. She came alongside me and helped me pick up the pieces of my broken, dead faith. She walked me back into church, she prayed with me- she had the actions that my faith lacked. And that's when things finally turned around.

Just like Abraham and Rahab did in the Bible, I needed to back my faith with some actions. Here's what James says about them:

"Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham 'made right with God by works' when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are 'works of faith'? The full meaning of 'believe' in the Scripture sentence, 'Abraham believed God and was set right with God,' includes his action. It’s that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named 'God’s friend.' Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?

The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse." (James 2:21-26)

Read that last verse again:

"The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse."

Let's fast forward from 19 year old Kristi to 35 year old Kristi (that's me today, by the way). If you asked me again today if I was follower of Jesus, the answer would still be yes. And I'd like to believe that you could closely examine my life and see the actions that back that claim up. I'm doing my best to show the world that I love Jesus.

How about you? Do you have the actions to back up your claim of faith? It's easy to say you're a Christian. It's far harder to act like one. I pray that we all figure this one out and demonstrate our faith to the world through our actions.  

Favoritism: James 2:1-13 NLT

Ah, favoritism, you fickle beast. We are apparently discussing you today. You rear your ugly head all over the place each and every day in every single person's life. Food, drinks, clothes, shoes, shows, cities, houses, music, parks, movies- but those aren't the problem here, are they? Oh no, favoriting people is the problem. Let's take a look at what James has to say about that:

"My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?" (James 2:1)

Yesterday, James called us to be careful about being corrupted and changed by the world. He said that true religion was serving the orphans and widows, but also not allowing ourselves to be polluted by the world. This sentence is like an elaboration on that verse. Playing favorites is a worldly problem. Jesus didn't play favorites when he died on the cross for our sins. He died for us all. So why should we play favorites here with those in our lives?

James goes on to give an example of playing favorites:

" For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, 'You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor'—well, 4 doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?" (James 2:2-7)

Haven't we all done this same thing at some point in our lives? I'm positive that I have. As a mom, there are days when one kid is my favorite over the others. I'm sure that I shouldn't be admitting that because it breaks the entire mom code (because each precious gem is special in their own way, yes, yes, I know). But the thing is, I am a lover of peace always. So the kid who is being peaceful and getting along with everyone, the one that is helping the others and saying sweet things, that's the one that's getting the favorite position for the day. Even as I write this I can feel one particular child dropping down the list as he instigates a fight mere moments after waking up. Over a remote. Sigh. I know it's terrible. Clearly James says I shouldn't be this way. Thankfully, Jesus already knows I'm a work-in-progress and is extremely forgiving. I am oh so thankful for this great news. Because I clearly need his forgiveness and understanding every single moment of my day. It's my prayer that I can remember this and extend the same to my gems.

Moving on from my word vomit of imperfect parenting...I actually prefer The Message variation of this next verse:

"You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: 'Love others as you love yourself.'" (James 2:8 MSG)

The New Living Translation actually says to "love your neighbor as yourself," but that always feels so limiting to me. I know that the word "neighbor" in the Bible refers to others, but this feels more concrete, more all encompassing. It's just so clear in this translation that James wants us to obey the rule that Jesus gave us in Matthew to love others- every single other person- as much as we love our own selves. This is such a tough call to action, isn't it? How can we possibly love everyone the way we love ourselves? Well, I hate to say it but we can't. It's absolutely an impossible call to action. Impossible without Jesus, that is. We need Him in our lives to be able to even attempt to love others the way we love ourselves. Jesus is love and we need that perfect love from him to distribute to others.

James goes on with more examples of his point here:

"But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. You can’t pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God’s law and ignoring others. The same God who said, 'Don’t commit adultery,' also said, 'Don’t murder.' If you don’t commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you’re a murderer, period.

12-13 Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time." (James 2:9-13 MSG)

Let's read verses 12-13 one more time because they pack a powerful punch. They are the entire essence of the Golden Rule. "Treat others how you want to be treated." But they are also more than that. Treat others with mercy and kindness, not because they deserve it- not a single one of us actually does- but because you love Jesus and Jesus would want it that way. Period.

Those words speak loudly to my faithful side. I am actually extremely faithful to those closest to me. I want to do what will make them happy. I love them fiercely and am protective of them. So knowing that Jesus wants me to do this and I am failing at it? That's tough for me. Again, I find myself so thankful that he forgives me for my failure over and over again. I can do this one better. I know I can.

What about you? Are you a natural people lover? Do you struggle with loving others? It's my prayer today that we can love others as we love ourselves, just as Jesus said (and as James is reminding us now).