Go Play in Traffic

James 4:13-17

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

A while ago I was picking up my kids from daycare. When it is warm out they play outside on a playground and the parents pull up and park and get their kids.  You open the fence, it has a lock thing on it, you close the fence, replace the lock, go get your kid, sign them out, have them say goodbye to the teacher, then back through the locked fence and replace the lock and then off you go. 

Well this one time I got there and I was walking toward the gate from my car and I notice that the gate was left open…  some parent forgot to do their job. Then I noticed something worse, a kid had gotten past the first line of defense and was headed for that gate. Now that is the daycare workers job to take care of that… but no one was, this kid was headed right out the gate and right into the parking lot filled with parents that are in a rush and barely paying attention. The kid makes it past the gate and right to the parking lot… what should I have done?

Seriously, it’s not my job… why do I need to be grabbing the kid? Plus if I do grab the kid, what if I scare the kid… then some creeper guy is grabbing kids near the playground -great. The parent should've closed that gate, they should be the one going to get this kid….   or this kids parent should be there…  they should be grabbing their own kid… right?  

No, since I see the kid and I can reach him then I need to be the one to run over there and pick up the kid and bring him back to the playground! It’s just that simple, it’s the right thing to do.  Sometimes you look at a situation and its just so easy to see what is the right thing to do. When those situations pop up you need to act.

To know what is the right thing to do and then not do it - that is sin. It’s just like that with God…  You will see situations where you know what the right thing to do is - then its your choice if you will obey or not.  Your friends are laughing at the wrong kind of jokes, do you laugh along?  Bullies are picking on the special needs kid at school. do you say something? The cool kids are picking on that girl over instagram, is there anything you can do?

I believe that God makes the right choice very visible…  its not always easy, in fact its usually hard, but it is still up to us to make good decisions.

Questions:

1.   What is a situation that you knew instantly what was the right thing to do?

2. Talk about a situation that you knew it was the right thing to do but then didn’t do it. How’d that feel later?

3. Take a minute and journal about this topic.

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Written by Jeff Harkins

Don't Do It!

James 4:11-12

 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹² There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

So I am driving into work today and all the talk on the radio is about how one football player is calling a coach a racist. Now there is one thing I have learn about public speaking and speaking on the topic of racism …  Don't Do It! You are bound to either hurt someone’s feelings or start some conversation that will hurt someone’s feelings…  so the easy thing to do would be to change the subject, but I am going to embrace this one because it illustrates this passage so well today.

So the Eagles coach (Chip Kelly) cut or traded a handful of players that were really good. Some of those players happened to be black and one of those players has been on the news recently claiming that it was because of racism that the white coach cut the black players.

Please understand: I know that racism exists and is a terrible thing, and many people have to live under a cloud of racial injustice their entire lives and that offends God and it is simply wrong.

Maybe the coach is a racist and this player has some experience that he hasn't shared with anyone…  but as of right now the only thing they are going on is that he cut a few black players from the team. No other evidence.

Then, when you take 2 seconds and look at the situation, you realize that he also cut white players, and this one black player that was traded was then replaced with 3 black players…   now, again, maybe there is some racism that we have not heard about, but for now all that this guy is saying is that the coach is racist because he traded him for more black players. It’s a silly argument. The player looks foolish making these unfounded claims.

So many times we choose to speak evil against someone else without getting to know them or getting to understand them. There is a difference between not understanding a person and choosing to make evil stuff up about them.

As a Christian, even when you know you are right, you need to always think about what you are saying and remember to demonstrate “Love” in everything you do.

1)         We know we shouldn't judge people because we know it hurts us. Tell about a time that you got hurt by someone judging you.

2)         We all know and say that it’s wrong to judge others, yet we are all guilty of it often…  where do you have a problem judging people?

3)         “Do not speak _________ against one another, ___________.”

4)         Take a minute and journal about this.

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Written by Jeffery Harkins

As Easy As Picking On Kids in a Park

James 4:11-12

 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹² There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

-The Mosaic Law consisted of 365 negative commands and 248 positive for a total of 613 commands. It was the Law God gave to Israel from Moses.

-The issue James is confronting here in 4:11-12 is judging others. If they are speaking evil (gossiping) and judging about one another they are speaking evil of and judging God’s Law. (vs. 11) Only God who is the judge has the freedom to judge. (vs. 12) If He wanted us to judge He would have made us the judge, hence the reason why we are not the judge.

Things are different in our days; we aren’t living by the law anymore, we are living by God and His Word. If you speak harshly of, are rude to, gossip against, or verbally harass someone you are doing the exact same thing to God. We are taking the creators’ creation and assuming we have the right to judge it (whoever or whatever it may be). I was at a park one day and saw someone else’s misbehaving child; he was throwing sand at the slide, so I went up to him and started yelling at him. I told him mean things, I was judging him, I was being rude, I wanted him to feel bad for what he was doing, and then I went home and gossiped about what he had done. I did not have the right to jump into this child’s life and beat him up like that or go home and talk bad about him, I was not his mother, it was a sin to use those harsh words, and it was not my place. Now if this story was true, and his parents were watching, I probably would have gotten into some kind of trouble. But this is what James is getting at; we do not have the freedom to treat others like that (whether they are close friends, family, boyfriend/girlfriend, or strangers). It is not our place to be mean, gossip against, or judge others. God is the only one who can and will judge someone, and it might be you if you are trying to take God’s role and judge someone. 

Questions:

1.   Can you think of someone you have spoken harshly to or about? Is there some way you can apologize to them? Or maybe you need to bring it up before God first, and then figure out how to make it right with that person.

2.   Do you feel bad for gossiping? If yes, why? If no, then ask God to help you feel compassion for His people and to break your heart for what breaks His.

3.   What verses could you start memorizing to help you fight the battle against gossip? ( Example: Ephesians 4:29, Matthew 12:36, Psalm 101:5, Proverbs 16:28)

4.   Challenge: The next time you start to judge someone, examine your own heart before you judge theirs. Ask yourself how you could be an encouragement to them instead of an abuser and try praying for them.

Matthew 7:2-4 "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?…”

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Written by Sarah Davis

Get your running shoes on!

James 4:5-10

Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

The girls’ retreat was this past weekend and it was a lot of fun! The main focus was on how tricky satan can be... how he can fill our lives with lies that we believe, that are totally opposite of the truths God clearly says in scripture.

Some examples of the lies we can get trapped in are:

-I’m not good enough

-People don’t like me

-I can handle everything on my own

-I don’t have to change to be a Christian

-My past determines my worth

-The things I do now are not important

There are literally SO many lies we can believe. The longer we believe them, the more they start showing in our lives.

These verses tell us to...RESIST the devil. This means we need to FLEE and GET THE HECK AWAY FROM HIM! Read verse 7-8 again:

7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

It seems simple... humble yourself (realize you have a problem) then resist the devil and he will flee from you. God’s got your back... whenever you are ready to flee from the lies satan has instilled in you, God will help you. It won’t be easy – it will take daily effort, but the result will be liberating!

The closer we get to God, the closer He will feel to you. When the lies creep back: read your Bible, pray, memorize scripture, etc... Get away from satan and closer to God.

People typically don’t root for two sports teams simultaneously... they have a favorite. We need to be careful not to divide our loyalty between God and the things of this world (vs. 8). We need God because this world is a scary place without Him. When you feel like your life is out of control with lies, draw near to Him.

Psalm 56:3: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you

Joshua 1:9: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go

Isaiah 41:10: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand..

Questions:

1. What are 3 things that you have believed about yourself that you know are lies?

2. What can you do to remind yourself that these things are not from God but actually from Satan and not true about you?

3. How can you encourage others that are believing lies about themselves?

4. Take a minute to journal about this topic.

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Written by Melissa

Only on Pay-per-view

Take 5 minutes to pray to God. Ask Him to open our minds and hearts to what He has to say through His Word.

James 4:5-10

Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

In the world of sports, a huge event that just occurred was a boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio. Even though the fight was disappointing (nothing really happened), Mayweather won the fight and remains undefeated. Not only did he won the fight, but he won $100 million to go with the championship belt. And he was already the highest paid athlete before this big payday. Like he really needed that money!

Let's get one thing straight... I don't like Floyd Mayweather. He is a criminal, he's violent, and he's proud. He has the mindset that he can do whatever he wants. But life seems to be going well for him right?

Here's a scary thought! "God opposes the proud." When we are proud we try to make ourselves feel like we're better than everyone else. We might think we can do anything we want, that no one can tell us what we can't do. Pride is a big deal, God opposes the proud. When we are proud we are forgetting that the most powerful being ever is bigger than is by a lot.

James then tells us how to not be opposed by God. How to not be prideful. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you." That's our answer to pride. To submit ourselves to the real heavyweight champion, God.

Keep in mind the song by Chris Tomlin, "Our God." In the bridge he sings "and if our God is for us then who could ever stop us." Do you really want that God that cannot be stopped opposing you? Think about what we're doing when we are proud..

Questions:

1. How are you proud?

2. What do you need to do to submit to God?

3. Put that into practice, strive to submit to God this week. 

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Written by Max Davis

and that's the way the cookie crumbles...

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:1-4 ESV)

Do you ever get frustrated because you feel like God doesn't answer your prayers? I know I do!

Have you ever watched the movie, Bruce Almighty? Bruce takes over as God for a few days and he can do miracles and answer prayers. Bruce opens up the Yahweh prayer mail and reads a few prayers and it seems like the people are asking for good things, so he says "yes" to them. In one of deleted scenes, God shows Bruce what His plan was and how that is now altered. For example, chubby Philbert is getting picked on in gym, and prays, “Oh, God, please help me.” Bruce replies, “Don’t worry Philbert. Help is on the way,” then gives him supernatural power to climb the gym rope faster than anyone. Next, we see a lady named Esther about to go bankrupt. Bruce causes her to slip on milk in the grocery store and a lawyer happens to be right there to assist her. These certainly seem like the answers they wanted.

However, God shows Bruce what his plan would have been for them if the answers had been "no."

Bruce: There were so many…I just gave them all what they wanted.

God: Yeah. Since when does anyone have a clue about what they want. Remember Philbert?

(Scene cuts to Philbert beating another kid up on the playground.)

Bruce: Yeah, Philbert…what’s gotten into him?

God: Brilliant young man. He was gonna be a great poet. The soul of his work would’ve been built around his childhood pain. Now he’s headed for a career as a professional wrestler. He will eventually test positive for steroids and end up managing a muffin shop.

Bruce: Wow, that’s a disappointment.

God: He got what he prayed for. Esther Maha…(scene cuts to Esther’s living room). I love Esther. Esther was bankrupt. She was gonna have to eat her pride and call her sister. That would’ve gotten the two of them together again. Instead she bought a condo in South Florida.

James talks about how we don't ask so we don't receive, and when we do ask, we ask with wrong motives, so we still don't receive. God won't give us the things we seek for selfish or worldly reasons.

So when you don't study and then pray for God to help you pass a test... or when you speed and pray you don't get a ticket... or for the calories in this cupcake not to go to your hips… these prayers are most likely going to be answered with a "no" because your sin earned you some bad consequences.

However, when we pray for God to help us be more kind, patient, loving or godly, those are prayers He'll answer with a yes. When we pray with honorable, godly intentions, we will receive it.

Answer This:

1) Do you ever feel like God doesn't answer your prayers? Is there something you've prayed for something for a long time and God hasn't done it?

2) You do not have, because you do not _______________. You ask and do not receive, because you ask _______________, to spend it on your passions.

3) Give an example of a time you prayed for something and in hindsight you are glad God said no.

4) Spend time praying and ask God to reveal to you any selfish desires or passions you may have. Ask Him to help you seek after Him and not after friendship with the world.

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Written by Amber

PS. The first person to read this and send me a text saying so will get a prize.

Don’t touch the rabid Squirrels and Raccoons

James 3:17-18- 

17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 

18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

That title got your attention, I bet. What about it though caught your attention? Did I have you at hello? Or was it the obvious danger factor implied by rabid squirrels and raccoons? Hopefully, you realize that if you were ever to see said rodents, you would know better than go out and touch, pet or adopt these creatures. That would be something we theologians call “unwise”.  It is just an illustration, but go with it for now.

            The verses in James 3 are just full of wisdom and such, even though it may say “thou shall not touch rabbit rodentia”.  It does, however, talk about controlling your tongue, wisdom and other things (it is a really short chapter. Go read it again).  Verses 17 and 18 are in a way the conclusion of James’ spiel on wisdom. 

            “But the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all, pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” That there, would be a good closing thesis (at least I, a high school student think so) to a paper titled “Why you should be Wise”. I am not sure how exactly one could take a different spin off of what this is saying, so, here is James 3:17-18 in a nutshell – Be wise. That means be pure. Be Peace-loving. Be considerate, submissive and full of good mercy. Be impartial and sincere. This, as Jesus said, will bear “good fruit” (yet another thing wisdom is).

            So, while you are reading this, pray for God to help you live wisely; to show compassion and mercy, to be peace-loving and considerate.  Pray that God will show you (and help you) how to live as one who has wisdom – Go reread those verses, pray and avoid all rabid rodents. 

Answer This:

1. Tell your own recent "rabid animal" story - something you did that was just so dumb and unwise that you're embarrassed to even tell people about it.

2. How do you define "wisdom".

3. Where is the best place to find wisdom.

4. What do I mean if I say that "wisdom is not just knowing the right thing to do" ?

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Written by Caleb Cleck

going viral

James 3:15 – 16

15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

Who do you like on TV? Who do you see on TV or any entertainment that you think : that is cool person, I want to hang out with them. For me: Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Bono, Zoey Deschanel, Neil Patrick Harris, Ron Hextall… these are some people I would love to have coffee with. They seem like “down to earth people”, we always say that about actors or performers who make us feel safe and trusting. How many times though, do those people seem so “real” and “down to earth”, but then you hear someone who actually had the chance to meet them and you find out they really are just acting – in real life they are a jerk.

This week during a Draft week interview on live tv a reporter was asking a big named ESPN analyst questions in an interview. He asks one question and the guy being interviewed turned into a complete jerk, “you can’t ask me questions that we didn’t go over ahead of time, what kind of…” he treated this reporter like junk and made it sound like he himself was so important and the other guy was nothing. Just a jerk. He did it because he thought they were taping this interview, he didn’t know it was live! Seriously, when the other guy mentioned that they are live the jerk froze, “live? Uh, can we start over”. No you can’t start over!

See sometimes we put on a front and we pretend to be this kind and gentle person when people are watching (when we are “live”) but then when its back to normal then we are a jerk. This passage here is referencing the verses before that say You might be a wise person, but if you have “jelousy and selfish ambition in your hearts” … you are being false to the truth. You can be a good person, you can be very wise…  but if you are doing it for yourself and not for God, it’s just not gonna last. One day the whole fake charade will come crumbling down and it will hurt, or even worse sometimes we convince ourselves that we are wise and have pure hearts but in reality we are all about ourselves… and sometimes one by one everyone else around us starts to notice it. Getting caught on live camera and going viral lets everyone know at once, but if that wasn’t life and that guy just mistreated the reporter off the air, still that reporter would know that he was fake… and one by one the people around him would realize how fake he really was. Is it like that for you? The more that people spend time with you do they come to realize that you are the real deal or that you are a fake?

1. We are all flawed, we all have areas that we are fake in, and hopefully we are working on that. What is some area that you struggle with?

2. How can you take small steps to making your life real in public and in private?

3. “This is not the _______ that comes down from above, but is _______, unspiritual, demonic.”

4. Take a minute and journal about this.

look at my wisdom

Ever watch White Wolves? For those of you that haven't had the privilege, a group of teens and their leader go on a backpacking trip, very much like the Wilderness Trip we do but with less canoeing. Their goal is to get to the top of Eagle Rock. They eventually make it to the top and disaster strikes! Their trip turns into a rescue mission. All throughout the movie, one of the teens, Scott, has camping experience and just seems to be wise in making decisions and knowing how to handle these scenarios that none of them have ever been in before. Towards the end of the movie, Benny decides to leave on his own and get help. He goes in the middle of the night without discussing it with the group. When Scott wakes up, he sees a note from Benny and is ticked off! He starts complaining about how they should've discussed this and they should've decided together. Adam looks at him and responds "no you mean you should have decided. Let's face it you're just angry because you're the one that has to sit here and wait, while he's the one that got to go." Scott angrily kicks some dirt because Adam's right. Scott tries to make it seem like his concern is the group when really he's mad because he's got some jealously and selfishness.

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. (James 3:13-14 ESV)

In chapter 3, James has been talking about the tongue, and how it's so small yet powerful. He talks about how a spring or a fig tree can only produce what they are made to produce. After all that, he then starts talking about wisdom and good conduct.

If a fig tree produces really delicious figs, it doesn't have to brag about it and tell people. Its fruit speaks for it. Likewise, if you are wise and understanding, you don't need to brag about it; the way you act should demonstrate it. It's back to the whole idea of faith without works being dead.

If you are trying to be wise, but with selfish motives, you are being false to the truth. Eventually what is in your heart will be revealed.

The book of Proverbs spends a great deal of time talking about the difference between those who are full of wisdom and those who are full of folly. Here are just a few verses:

The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin... The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence... The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near. (Proverbs 10:8, 11, 14 ESV)

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. (Proverbs 15:2 ESV)

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, (Proverbs 3:13 ESV)

My son, do not lose sight of these— keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. (Proverbs 3:21-22 ESV)

The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace. (Proverbs 3:35 ESV)

Answer This:

1) Be honest- are you truly wise and understanding or do you tend to be motivated by jealously and selfishness?

2) "Who is wise and understanding among you? By his _____________________ let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom."

3) How does your conduct relate to your wisdom/understanding?

4) Take some time to journal about this passage.

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Written by Amber

a wee little man

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. (James 3:10-12 ESV)

Based on my own life, the comments of some of the other devo writers and conversations with some of you guys, I know our speech is a big deal. It has been a stumbling block for many of us in the past or currently. Why is this even something worth talking about? Cursing, gossiping, sarcasm and what not don't seem like that big of a deal compared to stealing, lying or murder.

Normally we stick a personal story/example in here, but the example that came to mind was a Bible story:
And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:18-25 ESV)

This guy did everything the Law asked of him, but Jesus said he lacked one thing; he needed to sell his stuff and give to the poor. He can't do it, his stuff is too important to him (Says so in Matt. 19:22). Now just to clarify, this isn't a command to all of us that we cannot be wealthy. In the next chapter, we read about Zacchaeus who was not required to give away his money but he did so because it was no longer important to him once he met Jesus.

Alright, so how does this story apply to James 3 and our mouths? The rich ruler did things right--he kept the commandments. However his one stumbling block was being greedy with his money. But that one issue stopped him from while-heartedly loving and serving God.

The same is true with us and our speech. We can do really well keeping all the commandments--we go to church, read our Bibles, pray, go to church. But we struggle with the words that come out of our mouths.

James says mouths shouldn't be both good and bad, the same way that a spring can't have both fresh and salt water or a tree can only produce its own kind of fruit.

Your speech can be a stumbling block that stops you from whole-heartedly loving God (just like the money did for the rich ruler). Our mouths are an indicator of what's in our hearts. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45 ESV)


Our speech should be used as a blessing, not a curse. Here's how you can do that: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:29 ESV)


If your speech is not what it should be, use this verse as a prayer: Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! (Psalm 141:3 ESV)

Answer This:
1) do you struggle with your speech--cursing, gossiping, sarcasm, inappropriate jokes/stories?
2) what is a practical step you can take this week to improve your speech?
3) "From the same ________________ come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ________________ so."
4) take some time to journal about this passage.

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Written by Amber

You?? You?? You go there?

James 3:6-9 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

So we were out of town over the weekend of Easter and I heard it got really windy here in Phoenixville. The morning after I got home we got a text from my wife with a picture of our bunny cage – the roof had blown off while we were gone. My terrible wife was disappointed because the bunny didn’t jump out and run away (she doesn’t like pets) but when given the chance to bounce free our bunny stayed in his cage. The bunny is trained to stay in the cage if it wants to be fed. The bunny also has a little plastic “potty” in his cage … he’s not perfect but he’s pretty much potty trained…  took longer for my kids to get potty trained. If you have pets you know that you can train them to do stuff. Animals can be tamed and trained, some people even tame wild animals (don’t do that it’s dumb) but people do it with good success.

This passage says that an animal can be tamed but the human tongue is a different story.

When I was in high school as a freshman and sophomore I played football. I also was very active in the school Bible study. One day the big name Senior quarterback Bobby Green came walking into the locker room and asked something about the school’s Bible study and where it was meeting that night. Now Bobby had never come to the Bible study, I would have noticed that, everyone noticed what Bobby Green did. If he started coming to the Bible Study then everyone would start coming!! Imagine how cool that would be that we could be getting the Gospel out to all the cool kids in the school and then all the other kids would want to come too. So Bobby is asking in the locker room about where the Bible study is and so I answered and told him who’s house it was at. He stopped, looked at me, then laughed ..  “Harkins, you don’t go to a Bible Study!”. You see, when I was at Youth Group and around my Christian friends I was a Super-Christian, I was like leading stuff at Youth Group. Around my family I was also a Super-Christian…  but in the locker room…  that was different. In the locker room and on the football field I pretty much cursed like a Norwegian sailor. I loved Jesus, but I had a terrible mouth because I wanted to fit in…   Now Bobby Green, most popular kid in school, is interested in the Bible and when I try to talk he actually laughed because he didn’t believe I had anything to do with the Bible or God.   Ouch.

The tongue is so hard to tame. It’s been years since I’ve cursed or taken God’s name in vain. I just don’t talk like that anymore, I can get proud because I have tamed that tongue…  well, until I get into an argument with my wife. The woman I love more then my life itself but if I get stuck on myself and end up arguing with her I know exactly what to say to hurt her. It’s awful that we hurt the ones that we love, but it's true we do it and it usually comes from our tongue. It’s so hard to tame the tongue. Without God, it’s simply impossible.

1. When is the last time that you wounded someone with your tongue (words).

2. You don’t tame anything without a plan – what do you plan to do to make yourself choose better choices with your tongue?

3. With it we _________ our Lord and Father, and with it we _________ people who are made in the likeness of God.

4. Take a minute to journal about this topic.

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Written by Jeffrey Harkins

Right Side, Left Side

James 3:4-5 - 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 

One story pops into my mind right away when I read this passage every time.

So it was a pretty nice day at the end of a really long and terrible week for weather. The sun was out and there were not many clouds we set into the water with our partners and paddled for what would be the last long day or paddling our canoes on this long trip. As we paddled through one large section of this massive lake things were fine, but as we got into an area between two islands the wind started blowing very hard. Soon the waves were kicking up and the wind was really strong coming into our faces. We had to keep our canoes aimed directly into the wind, if we moved off to the right or left even a little bit it would push the canoe sideways and the waves would start coming in over the side of the boat. It was started to get pretty stressful.

I was in the back of a canoe with someone, but we noticed that Amber and my German daughter (exchange student) Julia were really struggling… Julia was getting nervous and she and Amber were having a hard time controlling the boat. Every time I looked back they were further and further behind. Eventually I looked back and they have pulled the canoe all the way to the shore and they were walking their boat in the ankle deep water. This would take them all day to get to where we needed to be.

We switched and Julia got into the front of my boat. She was scared but she and I had built some trust over the year that we had lived together so we set back out into the waves and the wind. The wind was just as strong and the boat was just as hard to control… one wrong stroke and we were sideways. But Julia trusted me and listening to my words as I directed her which side of the boat to paddle on. I would yell “Right Side, Left Side” and one stroke at a time we made it against the wind to where we were headed.

This passage makes me think of that as I see how strong the wind can push a boat anywhere it wants, and how one slight move with your paddle and it will “rudder” the boat in any direction. But it is the power of words that I think about here, usually we use this passage in a negative sense that our words can tare people down and we need to tame our tongue, but that day on Lake Manitou we learned a lot about the power of your words. Amber and Julia were both trying their hardest to make the canoe go the right way, but they were not connecting… but when Julia got into the boat with me she could get past some of her insecurities and listen directly to my words, those words caused actions and she was able to do what was needed to be done to direct the boat. It’s not enough just to determine to NOT say bad things with our tongue, instead we need to learn how to use our words to HELP get you to where you want to be.

1) Can you think of a time that your words changed the outcome of a situation for the worse?

2) Can you think of a time that your words were used to change the outcome of a situation for the better?

3) So also the tongue is a _________ member, yet it boasts of _________ things.

4) What action steps will you take this week to allow you tongue to be used for Good and not Evil?

Take a minute and journal your thoughts here. 

got a light?

The other day I saw a teacher from my school in her car and she was smoking a cigarette. It really surprised me to see someone who I look up to so much doing something that almost anyone would say is very bad. I understand that smoking is her own life decision and really shouldn’t judge her for doing so, but it just took me aback.

James 3:1 talks about teachers, saying that not many people should become teachers because they will be judged more strictly. We tend to hold those who tell us how to act and what to do to higher standards, so it is very important that when you are in teaching positions you are careful to do and say the appropriate things.

The passage goes on to say, that we all make mistakes sometimes, but those who never mess up with their speech are perfect and have their whole body in check. We can get ourselves into a lot of trouble by just saying the wrong things.

We’ve all been told that our actions speak louder than our words, but sometimes what we say is just as important as what we do. And sometimes it’s what we don’t say that is the most important. Proverbs 17:28 says, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” It is very easy to be provoked by others and say things that we shouldn’t out of frustration or anger, but sometimes just holding our tongues is best.

James 3:3 likens our words to a bit, a small piece of metal put in a horse’s mouth that is attached to reins and allows the rider to steer it. Such a small device has the power to turn the whole animal, and in the same way, our words can affect all of us. They can choose our paths and have permanent effects on people, so we need to be very careful with them and think about what we want to say before actually saying it.

Answer This:

1. Have you tried to be a teacher in ways that you should not be?
2. How have you been using you words? Is this the way you should be using them?
3. When do you need to be silent instead of speaking?
4. Take some time to journal about this passage.

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Written by Hannah Pergolizzi

I will survive

James 2:24-26

24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 

25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 

26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Rahab was a prostitute, an outcast, defiled, destitute and alone. She left her family at a young age and sold herself to survive. The location of her home against the wall of Jericho made the perfect lookout for spies sent by Joshua to scout the land before battle. She risked her life for the cause; She knew they were led by the Lord and hid them when the King came searching for them. The Lord used Rahab to be fulfill his promise to the Israelites. She risked her life by protecting the spies and became a faithful follower of the Lord. Because of this her life was the only one spared from Jericho. The Apostle James adds to Paul’s record about Rahab being justified by faith saying that she was likewise justified by works (James 2:25). There is no contradiction between these two aspects for Rahab’s courageous deed was but faith in practice. Her faith gave her courage to shield the spies as she believed that God would triumph over His enemies. James quotes Rahab as exemplifying “justification by works.” To get a better look at this awesome story you can find it in Joshua 2.
Rahab is an example of grace, justifying through mere verbal faith. She believed with the heart (Romans 10:9-10), confessed with the mouth, and acted even at the risk of her life.


Answer this:
1. Does your faith speak louder than your words? Or do you words speak louder?
Meaning: do you say you have faith but don’t act upon it? Or can you see your faith living out by your actions? This may be a good question for you to ask a close friend or family member about yourself.
2. How can you make your faith more evident to yourself/ those around you?
3. How does Rahab’s faith and courage encourage you?
4. In what areas of your life do you need to combine both faith and works?


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Written by Sarah Davis

you can do it

James 2:18-23

18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 

19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder! 

20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 

22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 

23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"--and he was called a friend of God.

When I was a sophomore in High School I knew a missionary named Scott. He was a good man. He talked to me one year about this camp he was working at in Maine. He told me all about this camp and talked about how I should come up and work there with him next summer… they always need counselors… so that summer I packed my bags and headed up as a counselor. Throughout the training week Scott started to notice that when he was having trouble coming up with something for the group to do I would usually come up with a plan. He took note of that and started talking to me about how he felt like I could be a good leader and that he thought that I would do good working with teens. I was only a teenager myself, but I had already heard this from my Youth Pastor and a few others… my Youth Pastor actually went so far as to buy me a book about leadership and get together with me regularly and talk about leadership… But Scott did something different.. he said “here you go, you are in charge of this game time”, then he said “you are in charge of this hour every day”, then he said “Jeff you're gonna be in charge of the whole program”.
So in one area of my life I had guys saying “I have Faith in you that you can lead” and they would give me a book about leading… but then I had this guy saying “I have faith in you that you can lead” and he starts giving me chances to lead… he showed me his faith BY his actions… I knew that this guy believed in me because He trusted me with important stuff.
It’s the same way with God. Sure people believe in him, lots of people do… and they even want to have faith in him, but do they still want to live their lives the way that they want to or are they able to show God their faith by actually choosing to live for Him.
Now I grew up in a church that taught that you need to do good works to get to heaven, that is not true - You need to have Faith in God to get to heaven, and you need to use that Faith to have a personal relationship with Jesus, that is what gets you to heaven - not the good things that you do… however, we can't read your heart like God can… so when we see you doing things that show you are living for God, then we can see your “faith” by your “works”.

Answer This:
1. What are some works that show your faith ?
2. Why is it important for you to show your faith with your works?
3. “Show me your faith apart from your _________, and I will show you my faith by my ___________”
take a minute and journal about this.

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Written by Jeff

Faith in Action

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (‭James‬ ‭2‬:‭14-17‬ ESV)

Question: How does God know if you have faith? Well, He can see into your heart, mind and soul; He just knows if you have faith.

Another Question: How do other people know if you have faith? Well, you can tell them all about what you believe. You can talk about how you are trusting the Lord to your needs. The best way for other people to know if you have faith is to SHOW them! This is what James means in our passage today. James is building on what he said in James 1:22 which says, "But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourself."

The Christian life is about trusting God for our eternal salvation and daily living. It is having faith, trusting that God's Word is true. God sees into our hearts and knows our faith. Others see our faith as we put it into action.

My challenge to you: to make a commitment to give to the needs of a missionary. I know you are thinking, "You tell me to give, I don't have much." That is why it is called faith in action!


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Written by Jim Dugan (CBC Missionary to Australia)

just a little punch

James 2:11-13

11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 

12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 

13 Forjudgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

When I pick up my kid at school every day I ask how he is was during the day… I do like to know if he had a fun day and if he felt good and all that stuff, but when I ask I am asking about his behavior, because he has had some issues in the past and i want to stay on top of that and make sure that he is behaving. So the other day I asked how he was and he got all excited, a little too excited… “I was so good during nap time today Dad, I was so quiet and the other kids were being loud, but I was quiet… and when I wanted to play with Sophia under the table (yeah, I know that sounds odd for nap time) instead I just closed my eyes and tried to take my nap, and I never talked, even when Mr. Matt had to talk to all the other kids, I was being so good, I
was being super good, etc… blah blah blah” he went on and on about how good he was being during nap time.. so when he finally finished bragging about his nap time skills Mr Matt leaned down and said “you really were good during nap time buddy, but then what happened?” and my son was still up beat and just passed right on past this info - “oh yeah, well then i punched Vinnie, but I was super good during nap time!!”
When I wanted to know how his day was it just wasn't good enough to know that he was good at nap time, if you are good at nap time but get in a fight at playground time you can’t call is a great day! So Liam still had consequences for fighting even though he was being good. So here is the thing, I need to get my kid to understand that he has to follow the rules.
So we set up consequences for actions, both positive and negative.
Anything from not getting a piece of candy on the way home all the way up to some bigger consequences for bigger crimes. He needs to learn from his mistakes… however, it would be really rough if his school had a one strike and you're our policy. See, what happens is he and his friends get playing ninja turtles and one gets hit, thats what happens - its not like a real fight or anything… the teacher knows that, he still needs it to stop
but he knows that Liam is not a threat to the class so he is able to show Mercy and not kick him out of the school.
It’s the same way with God. Sure we all sin, and sin is sin. there will be consequences for our actions of course and we will hopefully grow and learn from those… but God usually doesn't sentence us to death every time we sin… be a really empty Earth if He did! He shows us Mercy when He could show judgement. That doesn’t make sin ok, there are always consequences in life, but his Mercy allows us to keep going so we can learn from our
mistake.

Answer this:
1) Name a time that you received Mercy instead of judgement.
2) Why does God even care, if we are all technically forgiven already why would he work consequences into our lives for the
actions we do?
3) “For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do _____, you
have become a ___________ of the law.”
4) Take a minute to journal about this passage.

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Written by Jeff