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What is genuine faith?

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So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people]. Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom. Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose]. - James 4:7-10 (Amplified Bible) We depend on him for our being and for our knowing—especially our knowing of him. We are because he is. We know because he reveals. We do not originate our existence or our knowledge. He is the ultimate source and foundation of both. And since God’s absolute being and revealing is essential to his glory, and since his glory is the greatest gift he could give, we are happy for him to be ...
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Where is my friendship? - Part 2

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 1. What does my speech reveal about my heart? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.  The good man, from his good treasure, brings out good things; and the evil man, from his evil treasure, brings out evil things. But I tell you, on the day of judgment people will have to give an accounting for every careless or useless word they speak. For by your words you will be justified and acquitted of the guilt of sin; and by your words you will be condemned and sentenced. - Matthew 12:34-37 (Amplified Bible) Do my words consistently build up or tear down? 2. Do I exhibit heavenly wisdom or earthly wisdom? But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be arrogant, and be in defiance of the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly (secular), natural (unspiritual), even demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing and morally degrading practice.  But th...
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Where is my friendship?

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What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it because there is a whole army of evil desires within you? You want what you don’t have, so you kill to get it.  You long for what others have, and can’t afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. And even when you do ask you don’t get it because your whole aim is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.  You are like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband’s enemies.  Don’t you realize that making friends with God’s enemies—the evil pleasures of this world—makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasure of the unsaved world, you cannot also be a friend of God. Or what do you think the Scripture means when it says that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, watches over us with tender jealousy? But he gives us more and more strength to stand against all such ...
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Are my words honoring?

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If anyone can control his tongue, it proves that he has perfect control over himself in every other way. We can make a large horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in his mouth. And a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go, even though the winds are strong. So also the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A great forest can be set on fire by one tiny spark. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness, and poisons every part of the body. And the tongue is set on fire by hell itself and can turn our whole lives into a blazing flame of destruction and disaster. Men have trained, or can train, every kind of animal or bird that lives and every kind of reptile and fish, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is always ready to pour out its deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our heavenly Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against men who are made like God. And so blessing and cur...
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Am I living purposefully?

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O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit or stand. When far away you know my every thought. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say before I even say it. You both precede and follow me and place your hand of blessing on my head. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it. You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book! Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. - Psalm 139:1-5,13-16,23-24 (Living Bible) He knows you complete...
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Am I enduring adversity? - Part 4

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How to persevere trials 1. Joyous Attitude Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. - James 1:2 (Amplified Bible) The natural human response to trials is not to rejoice; therefore the believer must make a conscious commitment to face them with joy in the light of an unassailable, unchanging relationship with the sovereign Lord of all creation. - John MacArthur 2. Understanding Mind Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. - James 1:3 (Amplified Bible) Through tests, a Christian will learn to withstand tenaciously the pressure of a trial until God removes it at His appointed time and even cherish the benefit. - John MacArthur 3. Submissive Will And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing. - James 1:4 (Amplified Bible) The testing of faith...
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Am I enduring adversity? - Part 3

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Why must we endure adversity? 1. To test and strengthen our faith Trials reveal whether our faith rests in God Himself or only in comfort and outcomes. These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of his return. - 1 Peter 1:7 (Living Bible) 2. To humble us Suffering reminds us of our dependence on God and strips away self-reliance. Do you remember how the Lord led you through the wilderness for all those forty years, humbling you and testing you to find out how you would respond, and whether or not you would really obey him? Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to both you and your ancestors. He did it to help you realize tha...
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