Tag: view of God

Part 2

Old Testament: Isaiah 65 & 66

Poetry: Proverbs 1 & 2

(Sorry, yesterday I missed that the month Of October we will be re-reading the book of Proverbs with one chapter every day- the 1st chapter on the 1st of Oct, the 2nd chapter on the 2nd, and so on…we will return to Psalms on Nov. 1)

New Testament: James 5

Today, we will continue with the devotion Andy started on James 4. Yesterday he wrote about considering the proper view of life. Here is today’s …

The right view of God. What is the right view of God that he teaches us to have in verse 15 of James 4? He tells us two very important things about God. One is contained in the words: “If the Lord wills, we will live.” And the other is contained in the words, “If the Lord wills, we will . . . do this or that.” How would you state the truth about God contained in each of those two sentences?

First, when he says, “If the Lord wills, we will live,” he teaches us that the duration of our lives is in the hands of God. Or: God governs how long we will live. Or: God is ultimately in control of life and death. We may not know how long our vapor-like life will linger in the air, but God knows because God decides how long we will live: “If the Lord wills we will live.” And James is saying: If this is a true view of life and God, then it should shape our mindset and shape our way of talking.

In Acts 18:21, Paul left Ephesus and said, “I will return to you again if God wills.” In 1 Corinthians 4:19 he writes, “I will come to you soon if the Lord wills.” For most of his life, he did not know if the next town might be his burial place. That was in the hands of God. And so are our lives. God will decide how long we live and when we die. James’ point is: that God means for that truth – that reality – to shape our mindset and our attitude and our words. He means for that truth to be known and spoken about. He means for it to be a part of the substance of our conversation. God means for a true view of himself to be known and believed and embraced and cherished and kept in mind and spoken of. “Instead you ought to say . . .”

Now, there is another truth about God in verse 15: When he says, “If God wills we will . . . do this or that,” he teaches us that the activities and accomplishments of our lives are in God’s hands. God governs what we accomplish. Not only are our lives in his hands, our success is in his hands. “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” “If the Lord wills . . . we will do this or that.” And if the Lord does not will, we will not do this or that. Whether we do this or that in all of our business is in the hands of God.

So what was wrong with what these people said in verse 13: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit'”? What’s wrong with that? What’s wrong is that it does not give expression to a true view of life or God. Specifically, it does not give expression to the truth that life is a vapor, and it does not give expression to the truth that God governs the length of our lives and the achievements of our lives.

Is there a deeper problem here than just the absence of true words and the presence of bad theology? Yes, there is, and James describes it in verse 16: “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” The root problem is arrogance or pride, and the expression of that arrogance, he says, is “boasting.” And all they said was, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” That’s all they said. And James calls it boasting and says it’s rooted in arrogance. I look very carefully to the bible as well as to my own life to see what real arrogance is. It is arrogant not to believe in the heart and confess with the lips that how long you live and what you accomplish are ultimately in the hands of God. How are you planning? With God on your mind or in your own thoughts and strength? My prayer for you is that you take a look at the plans you are making and consider God in all of them.

-Andy Cisneros

Reflection Questions

  1. Is it important to you to do your planning (and speaking of them) as James, and God, teach here in James 4? If so, how can you work at keeping God foremost in all of your planning? How can you share that with others when you speak of your plans?
  2. How often do you remember that your life is a vapor and your life and death and activities are in God’s hands? How does keeping that in mind affect your thoughts, words and plans?
  3. How are you sometimes guilty of pride and arrogant boasting? What is the remedy?
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If the Lord Wills

OLD TESTAMENT READING: ISAIAH 63 & 64

POETRY READING: PSALM 90

NEW TESTAMENT READING: James 4

As we focus on James 4. We are going to look particularly at 4:13-16. Let’s walk through this text together, see the picture of God that is here, and how James says it should affect us. Who Is James addressing?

James 4:13, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.'”

James is reprimanding some folks here – perhaps businessmen or merchants – but it is stated very broadly to include virtually anyone. Anyone who does what? Five things:

1.      They plan to set out on a trip today or tomorrow: “Today or tomorrow we will go . . .”

2.      They plan to arrive at a destination: “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city.”

3.      They plan to spend a certain amount of time there: “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there.”

4.      They plan to engage in business and carry through a plan of action while they are in that city: “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, and engage in business.”

5.      They plan for the business to have certain results: “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, and engage in business, and make a profit.”

What’s the problem here? Is this wrong? To plan and intend to go places and do things? No, not really. In verse 15 he is going to say it is legitimate to plan to do this or that. What’s wrong then if it’s not planning?

What’s wrong is that the plan that is made in verse 13 is made in the mind and spoken with the mouth (“Come now you who say . . .”) without taking a true view of life and God into account. Verse 14 talks about the true view of life that is not being considered, and verse 15 talks about the true view of God that is not being considered when they plan their business venture.

In verse 14, James says to those who are planning this business venture: “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” In other words, in all your planning and in all your talk about your planning (“Come now you who say . . .” verse 13) you are not taking this view of life into account.

My Life Is a Vapor. So What? So what is the point? The point is that for James, and for God, it matters whether a true view of life informs and shapes the way you think and how you speak about your plans. Your mindset matters. How you talk about your plans matters. Think about this. Believing that your life is a vapor may make no practical, bottom-line difference in whether you plan to do business in a place for one month or one year, or ten years. But, in James’ mind – and he speaks for God – it makes a difference how you think about it and talk about it. “Come now you who say . . .”

Why? Why does that matter? Because God created us not just to do things and go places with our bodies, but to have certain attitudes, convictions, and verbal descriptions that reflect the truth – a true view of life and God. God means for the truth about himself and about life to be known and felt and spoken as part of our reason for being. In other words, it not only matters that you have a right view of life when you make your plans – you are like a vapor – but it also matters that you have a right view of God as you make your plans. And that you give an expression of this true view of God: “You ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'” Look at some of the plans you have made and ask yourself today “Have I considered God”? We will finish James 4 tomorrow and answer the question “What is the right view of God?

-Andy Cisneros

Reflection Questions

  1. As Andy suggests, look at some of the plans you have made and ask yourself today “Have I considered God”?
  2. How does remembering that your life is a vapor affect your planning and how you speak about your planning?
  3. What does the phrase, “If the Lord wills” mean to you? Do you use the phrase? Do you have that mindset? How would it affect your hearers if you were to use it?
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Confess

Leviticus 5-7

Leviticus 5 5 NIV

Confession – yesterday we talked about Christ’s sacrifice replacing the Old Testament offerings. I also mentioned how we often take for granted the fact we no longer have to make the sacrifices. In those sacrifices, it was just that, a sacrifice – the people had to give something that they could have enjoyed because of their sin.

Even though there was a loss, the people had no clear way to alleviate the weight of guilt and find forgiveness in their lives. God has provided another way to help with that – Confession.

Confession is something that is hard to do. Many lie, deny and push blame on others just to avoid confessing. It is something that God asks of us not for his benefit but for ours. I remember being told often as a kid the only way to fix a problem  is to realize there is one. And that is what confession is.

Further, confession gives a proper view on sin, God and ourselves.

The punishment for sin is death – we need a proper view of sin. I have often heard of people talk about their sin as “Not that big of a deal.” Sin is just that, SIN. If it is wrong, we shouldn’t do it. Sin that is not confessed and not repented of leads to missing out on the Kingdom.

God cannot be in the presence of sin – we need a proper view of God. Our God is a holy God. He expects purity not just in our actions but also our hearts. (Matt. 5:8 says the pure heart will see God.)

We cannot do it on our own – we need a proper view of ourselves. We often try to fix our problems on our own. Sin is not something we can fix on our own or earn enough to repay the debt. We need a savior and Christ is willing to step in on our behalf.

A couple tips on confession:

Confess immediately – when you know you have done something wrong do not push it off. It is easy to push it off.

Confess specifically – I hear a lot of prayer that vaguely ask for all sins to be forgiven. Make it personal and specific.

Confess honestly – Take it serious and do not make promises you know you will not keep.

Confess to someone else – this is something I push in the church. For some reason people are afraid of letting others know about their sin. Most will acknowledge they are a sinner but would never discuss their struggles for fear of other’s judgement. Find someone you trust and create an open discussion and ask for accountability.

John Wincapaw

 

Today’s Bible reading can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+5-7&version=NIV

 

Tomorrow’s reading will be Leviticus 8-10 as we continue the 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan