I was searching online for any ideas on studying James and came across Bible Study that seemed to delve into it quite deeply.* And the group leader recommended referencing Psalm 15 as a “primer” to studying James.
This intrigued me, so I am beginning with an overview from my own personal thoughts… after reading the first chapter of James and then reading Psalm 15.
Keep in mind, my premise behind this study is learning about growing in Spiritual Maturity… as a believer.
v~1: LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?
who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
In the Old Testament, the Tabernacle and God’s Holy Hill were very specific places that the Israelites held as His Dwelling and places for their worship.
Today, as a believer, my person is now the dwelling of God, in the form of His Spirit:
[What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19]
Did you ever do something wrong and felt a twinge? Did it make you “uncomfortable in your own skin”-as the saying goes?
In contemplating these thoughts… I believe that in order to dwell peaceably with my own self {and His Spirit which dwells within}, I must take heed to the answer given in the following verses…
With prayer, I believe these thoughts will give us a launching point into studying about
Spiritual Maturity!
*I’ve not read through more than the introduction, so I am not comfortable linking straight to it. If I refer back to it during my study, I’ll give an update on it when I’m finished.
When I was was young there were a few circumstances that occurred that turned my world on its head.
Now that yet another situation has turned my world upside down and been the cause of confusion, I realize that:
even as a child I was learning some lessons about God,
about life, about human nature… and myself.
I may speak about the other types of lessons sometime, but for today I want to share a few lessons I have learned about God… when my world seems turned completely bottom-side-up.
**The verses often quoted from Romans 8 are not idle platitudes:
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered…. These past few weeks I have been so grateful to have this comfort. When my heart is overwhelmed, The Spirit of God intercedes FOR ME at the Throne of Grace!
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.…And God listens.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.… I have seen it before, and I know I will see it again: Even when it seems that God could not work a situation out, I turn around and His name is being glorified and the darkest hour IS “just before the dawn.” While I do not yet see the rays of a new day pouring over the horizon of my heart, I am just as confident in them as I am of my salvation!
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.… and “bad things happen” because this world is a sinful place, but God uses circumstances to mold my life to be more like Christ.
**It is not about my supposed position of service or paid ministry that makes me useful to God. It is my heart being conformed to the image of His Son, so that I may be counted among the “firstborn” of God.
**It amazes me to watch how God uses us, sinful creatures, to accomplish His will, giving Himself supernatural Glory and causing His Name to be praised!
Verse 35 asks who could separate us, His own, from the love of Christ... and the answer in all of us should be the same as the apostle’s:
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There are others hurting and questioning over some current situations in the life of my family. I give them these verses from II Thessalonians 1:
11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: 12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.…
**Remember that God has called each of His children to proclaim His Gospel to the lost. That is our highest calling!
And I pray that those hurting and confused over issues would ask for Lord to **remove all secondary causes** -meaning the human instruments-
and believe that God IS in control.
He wants us each to learn something,
**and the ultimate Glory is for God’s name to be praised in your own heart and life, even through this.
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One of the hardest and yet most rewarding things we can learn in the Christian life is it TRUST GOD…
…we are not commanded to trust any man or the wisdom of men.
Only trust God.
He is the only one that loved us enough to take the punishment of our sin upon His own body to pay for it.
In Proverbs 3 we are told:
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: …bind mercy AND truth about they neck. Often truth seems to call for judgment,
**but God asks us to COMBINE truth WITH mercy.
4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man… and this combining truth with mercy {goodness, faithfulness, kindness} will bring us favor with man-this is a good thing.
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding…
**our own understanding will fail us.
Our own heart is full of wickedness. ALL men’s hearts are full of wickedness.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths… But God can and will direct the path our lives take when we acknowledge Him.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil…
We must not seek a wisdom from our own experiences
…or from a man.
This wisdom is faulty and flawed by sin.
Only fear the Lord. Only live your life as far from evil as you can…
8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones….
and your soul will be healthy and ready to stand before Him…
With Father’s Day just behind us, I was looking through some photos and found the one above….
My little man just turned 2 {on our 10th anniversary!}.
And he LOVES his Daddy!!!
And his Daddy IS pretty awesome. {yes, I am biased…. }
And some day… my little man will be a LOT like his Daddy.
Now, this could become a post TO Dads. But in my observations of families around me, I have found that the Moms have this crazy influence over what children think of their Dads.
So, I just want to say a word of encouragement to all Moms, everywhere….
DISCLAIMER: I have no illusions that my children are perfect. Their teachers tell me when they have done wrong to prove it! …and we have correction discussions multiple times daily. It takes W.O.R.K. And I do realize their ARE children who require extra effort… and I have no idea how I would handle them, except that God promises to give us grace for our own trials and not another’s. And those few times I have received praises… they often come back to haunt me when we have shameful days. I fail everyday. I correct in haste with an unkind voice more often than I would care to admit. I do not train when I should {because it takes T.I.M.E.}. But every time, I know that I have a Loving Heavenly Father who is ready to hold my hand and walk me through it… one-more-time. over-and-over-again. daily.
From Proverbs 29
The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. [verse 15] Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul. [verse 17]
Several times through the book of Proverbs, child correcting and training and the rod are mentioned. And it is spoken of twice in this one chapter!
{While I do believe there is a right and a wrong way to physically punish a child, that is not the point today!}
The fact that I must give correction… I must reprove [tell them they are wrong] and train [show/tell them how to be right] my children…
that is the point.
And these two verses give the basic reasons why:
Children will not learn wisdom [how to think and act with discretion, in a way pleasing to the Lord] without correction and discipline and training. And often punishment is involved [the rod].
Reproof and correction are not punishment… just a ‘time out’ or spanking or whatever method is employed for punishing wrong- that is not training.
Punishment alone is not the answer, but it is a vital part.
we must walk this path of life WITH them
As parents, we must take the time- and as a mother I have much more opportunity to do this than my husband… and often fall very short- to speak with and train our children- a kind, loving voice instructing our children what is right, how toys are to be put away, how siblings are to be treated, etc.
Truly, as in verse 15, when we leave untrained, uncorrected children all alone… the mothers are shamed– often to the point of reprimanding in anger [BEEN THERE!].
But when loving reproof and training have been employed by {preferably} both mother and father… those children will give rest to whomever is in charge of them, with just a soft word of correction.
They will be a delight unto their parent’s souls.
Others can tell when a child has had loving correction and consistent discipline [both the rod and the training, hand in hand]… because they will make comments like: “oh, your children are so well-behaved” {to which I try to reply: “They are God’s gift to me!”}…
or “how do you make them all behave?” {to which I just smile {and try not to crack up laughing}! most people do not really want to know that sometimes crying is involved…}
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