James 4 impressed upon me the importance of submitting to God. That is so key to peace and well-being! I find it so funny that the natural human feels that taking matters into their own hands is the only solution in life. In reality when men do this, it is saying to God we are in opposition to Him.

The world is evidence of what will happen when honoring God is not observed. You see people envious and doing all matter of evil. The Lord has a way of raising up the humble, those that give themselves to the Spirit’s work. God is worthy to be served and honored!

When we were little, my Sister Rachel and I were told to read James 3 by our Grandma Virginia. I guess we had called each other names or something, so she wanted to share with us how much influence the tongue has. James shared that even though a bit is small, it controls a horse. Same thing with a rudder…it too is small, but it can steer a ship. The tongue is a small member, but it can do enormous damage.

My prayer is that the words of my mouth will be pleasing to God! When I speak, it should bring glory to God and bring peace. I guess you can say that just as much influence can be given by the tongue if we speak good as it can when speaking evil. It makes one think!

James 2 spoke about not showing favoritism to the wealthy, and neglecting the poor.  While reading this chapter, it reminded me of what Pastor Chuck Smith was going through in the early days of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. He told about what he and his wife, Kay, had to make a decision about.

That decision involved whether to let dirty hippies into the sanctuary or not.  Chuck was at first against their sitting on the floor, because they would get the carpet dirty. I believe they decided to take up the carpet in order for the hippies to be able to hear the Word of God. God blessed the ministry of Calvary Chapel because the poor in spirit were being fed!

James was sharing how if you did not obey one of God’s commands, you were guilty of disobeying all of them.  Pretty convicting, isn’t it!? It is all in how you are living your life…are you living it to benefit yourself, or are you honoring God and your fellow man!?

Today I felt led to talk about James 1, because that is the book Pastor Kevin launched into yesterday. James started everything by mentioning we should count it all joy when we go through trials/testings. If we remain strong in Him, that is when our patience will mature and we will receive a crown/ reward. Bottom line, Christ is the one to give us life. We need to have faith so our perseverance can bear fruit.

We all need to remember that God honors our faith in Him. When we are focused on what He wants and start acting on those beliefs, that is when we will see fruit. If we don’t function in His power, we will be unstable in our ways. We will be tossed to and fro with how we are feeling or what we hear. God wants us to walk in peace!

It was kind of interesting, yesterday. Alan and I watched a message Pastor Paul had recorded. He was mentioning the fact that peace in our life comes in trusting Christ…faith. We can have faith in God because of Christ’s character. I think that is so beautiful, how Christ never changes! He will not go back on promises, and they are always AMEN!

Proverbs 31 started off with advice from Solomon’s mother.  It included staying away from evil women, and from strong drink.  I find it interesting that the end of this chapter states the attributes of a virtuous woman.  It included that her children call her blessed.  I know that Solomon didn’t follow that advice very well in his life, but valued his mother’s words.  He included those warnings amongst the previous chapters.

At any rate, I pray that maybe someday I will be able to have the experience of having my adopted children calling me blessed.  It is going to be interesting how the Lord will work in Alan’s and my lives.  I just need to hold onto the fact that as I serve God I will become more of a virtuous woman. Thank you, Jesus!

Proverbs 30 gives a prayer I have given God throughout life…I have asked Him to keep me honest, and that God will keep me balanced financially. It is amazing how off-centered man can get when not tuned into God!

When addressing the subject of having integrity, I would say it is found in following Christ and the leading of His Spirit. After all, didn’t Jesus say He was the way, the truth and the life!?

God has the ability to provide exactly what each of us needs. It is interesting that this writer asked God to balance his finances, so that he wouldn’t be begging or become prideful because of the abundance of wealth. I have wondered sometimes if God has not blessed me abundantly because I would become prideful? Each of us needs to thank God for each day’s blessings, that we are not stuck begging for bread. That we are not out there drawing attention to ourselves.

Proverbs 29 proves God is both merciful and just. In verse 1, it brings up the fact that people should avoid being stubborn against God. That only leads to a permanent downfall. Verse 26 warns about not putting your full trust in speaking to a king…rather, God is the one who will bring perfect justice.

Talking about someone who was stubborn, it was the Pharaoh. The Bible says that God hardened his heart…He went along with the decision that the leader had made. God is a gentleman and will not force people to surrender to Him. That decision led to the Egyptians drowning in the Red Sea!

In reference to putting your hope in the king or governing authority, they are only able to give partial justice. After all, they are human. God, however, is immortal and omniscient. He knows how to give perfect justice. God, please come soon to make all things right! In your name, Amen!

Proverbs 28 starts off with a funny picture of the wicked running away from nothing; whereas, the righteous are shown as being courageous.  That is a wonderful promise we can claim as God’s children.

That is one area I need to improve on…I need to renew my mind daily. When I dwell on God’s promises to me, He will be faithful and transform my life. I just read that in Romans 12:2. That is beautiful that I can be courageous in the strength of the Lord! I will not be running around in a panic like everyone else in this world!

Verse 18 of Proverbs 27 was the section that spoke to me today. It compared taking care of a fig tree and getting fruit to taking care of a master’s property. It is something that bears fruit over a matter of time.

I started thinking of what God gives us here on Earth…how results are not always obtained over night. Our problem is with patience…to finish our race with endurance. We may not grasp the eternal fruit we will one day partake of when we are with Christ, but we trust our Master.

In Proverbs 26, it has several analogies about foolish/lazy people. It mentions how honor given to the lazy person is like snow on a Summer day. Later on in this chapter, it is like a hinge on a door when the lazy person turns over. One of the grossest comparisons is that a foolish/lazy person is like a dog going to its vomit.

Isn’t it true, that it is wasting time giving praise to the foolish person!? A fool will think that what they are doing/saying is great and that you agree with them. It just is not fitting to give their sayings acknowledgements.

On the ideas of a foolish/lazy person being like a hinge and a dog, it is true that these individuals will keep repeating the foolish actions. They will swing back to their wrong ways, or they will lap up the vomit they just spewed out. Father, give us the wisdom to learn from our past mistakes and not to become complacent. Let us advance with you into new beginnings! In Jesus’ name, Amen!