James 1:1-8

Going thorough the book of James notes for James 1:1-8..

James 1:1 James names himself as a servant of God & of Jesus. Let's not whiz past this. James know his place& who he is.

Before any other title or name we or the world could give us, we are servants of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. This defines us.

1:1 "2 the 12 tribes in the dispersion." 40-50 AD. This is a Jewish house church. These are children & family of persecuted church in acts.

Dispersion means: he's writing to the Jews who scattered during the persecution of the early church. This makes verse 2 more amazing

Jm.1:1 makes vs2 much more awesome. He's writing to people who are persecuted £ed on for their faith. So he meets them where they are.

some versions say in James 1:1 "bondservant" Bondservants were servants by choice, surrendering their rights to their master Slaves were often marked by an earring. When the slave became a bondservant, the earring was nailed to the master's door.

1:2 see that many of us take our "ministry" to the world when God shows us to just love people where they are. He comforts the hurting first

If we are not careful, we will think more of our ministry than the people we minister to.James didn't rush in w/agenda but loved the hurting

Vs.2 have you ever watched a suspense movie 4 the second time and still been worried for the Hero? NO! You already know how it ends!

V.2 James is showing us that as children of God we must remember that God is @ the end of our storms looking back on them and He's @ work.

James 1:4- I'm often left "incomplete" because I'm busy trying to pray my way out of God's life shaping storms in my life.

James 1:5-8: vs.5 is one of the most known yet mist ignored verses in James. We can truly pray to God for wisdom. And He gives it freely.

Yet, how many times have I asked for deliverance from my storms instead of wisdom to walk thru it, letting steadfastness finish it's work?

James 1:5-8 God is offering wisdom freely to all who ask. How many times a week do you pray for wisdom: in friendships, marriage, decisions

Wisdom is Life Knowledge. There are plenty of smart people in the world. But there is a shortage today of Wisdom.

Vs.6-8 Doubleminded: is our faith compartmentalized? We trust God w/our job but not w/our health. Our time but not our wealth. Doubleminded

The "waves" of everyday life have their way with us until we truly understand that we can trust Him. He says He gives wisdom. So believe Him

Leave The Past Behind

Stop
dwelling on past events
and brooding over times gone by;
I am doing
something new;
it's springing up - cant' you see it?
I am making a road in
the desert,
rivers in the wasteland.

- Isaiah 43:18-19

Reading this Scripture I knew that God wanted me to understand that He was indeed doing something new in my life. In fact I had heard those verses before and really liked the idea of His doing something new that He would make a way for me where it looked dry and wasted. But this time I knew He wanted me to see verse 18 and that the two verses really did go together. That got me to thinking.

I didn't need to ask if I really was dwelling on past events. I was the queen of brooding over times gone by. When the God brought this to my attention there were a few things that I found interesting. First of all, whenever I would start dwelling on past events, on wrongs done to me or on wrongs that I had done to others, I would start to relive the feelings of the past and get angry, depressed, you name it. If I had either forgiven or asked for forgiveness, then I was purposely going back to the filth of those sins and wallowing in them probably not such a good thing to do. Then there's the word "brooding." Now, some folks use that word to mean fuss or fume over something, but this is the same word that the God uses in Genesis when He says that the Spirit of the Lord was brooding over the face of the deep during creation. There is a sense of care and nurturing attached with this word. Was I really caring for and nurturing my feelings of pain and frustration that are attached with those times gone by? You bet I was! Lastly, if I really was dwelling on past events and brooding over times gone by, if my attention was focused there, could I really see the newness that the Lord was bringing to my life? Very simply, it was extremely difficult to do so because my attention was not on the Lord.

God is indeed doing new things in our lives. He wants to bring us to new places of intimacy with Him. He wants to heal us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. But we have to cooperate, let go of what lies in the past, focus our attention on the Lord, and be amazed at what He does for us!

Through the Red Sea..

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“Tell…[your children]…the mighty things I have done.”

Ex 10:2 NKJV

It’s not enough to escape your past, its power over you must be broken; otherwise it’ll chase you the rest of your life. When you break away from something that keeps trying to recapture you, it’s crucial to get victory over it; otherwise you can’t move forward and enjoy the blessing God has in mind for you. It’s jarring to think something’s over only to find it isn’t. But remember, it was God who permitted Pharaoh to pursue Israel all the way to the Red Sea. Why? For two reasons: (1) “That I may show [you] these signs of Mine” (Ex 10:1 NKJV). God wants you to see that when you put your trust in Him, obstacles and opposition mean nothing. He wants this experience to be a ‘“landmark memory” you draw faith from when you face your next problem. (2) “That you may tell…[your children]…the mighty things I have done.” You don’t have to live under Pharaoh (Satan’s rule) any more. Like the Passover, when the blood of Jesus was applied by faith to the doorposts of your heart, your status changed. You’re no longer a slave but a child of God. The generational curse is broken. Your children can now grow up under God’s blessing. Abuse, alcoholism, anger and abandonment may have been the story of your past, but it’s no longer the truth about your future.

God can solve your problem in different ways, but sometimes He takes you through the Red Sea so that when you get to the other side you can look back and see Pharaoh and his armies “dead on the seashore” (See Ex 14:30) and know the battle is over!