What is God Thankful For?

James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Firstfruits are those crops which are presented as an offering of thanks before any other.

This is a truly amazing verse. That God considered me, in my depravity, and then birthed me into His family with the Word of truth, is mind-boggling. Furthermore, I am among the firstfruits of His thanks!

There are presently over 7 billion inhabitants of earth currently and probably that same number in the past total 14 billion made "imago Deo" in the image of God. Yet, only a small percentage have the high privilege of being thought of and bought by God. And I get to be one of that number.

I have nothing to bring, nothing to offer Him. He gets nothing when He gets me, yet the Sovereign chooses for me to be a kind of firstfruit of His creatures. This means that I am prominent in His plan and pre-eminent in His purpose.

In case you were looking for something to be thankful for with Thanksgiving so near, lift your eyes above the things of the earth, above the things that will pass away, to the throne of God, where we of His household are privileged to be the apple of our God's eye and the firstfruits of His thanksgiving offering.

The Stupid Things People Do To Themselves When They Know better

Jas 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

I am presently dealing with no less than 6 individuals or families who were grounded in the faith, but are willfully sinning and refuse to do the right thing. They have been drawn away because of their own lusts, they have been enticed and have fallen for the temptations. They cannot see that at the end of that path is death!

Pastor James tries to short circuit the whole mess by telling the brethren "do not go astray!"

How frustrating it is to see them turn their backs on everything that is right and holy; on their God, their families, their churches, on common sense, on godly counsel and for what? Their own lusts and stupidity, and eventually, death!

Most of the problem has to do with impatience. They want what they want and are tired of waiting on God, so they take things in to their own hands, doing things their own way and have shut themselves off from truth, blessings and life. They justify their poor decisions by saying “I have prayed about it and have peace.” But anybody with a lick of sense knows that is nothing but a smoke screen trying to divert the conversation. Imagine, “I am going to be a prostitute, I have prayed about it and God has given me peace!”

I used to preach a message about the broken vessel. I explain that God molds us into the vessel that will eventually reflect His Son Jesus. But when we get so high and mighty in our lives (see: independent) that we tell the Potter to take His hands off of our lives, He does and we fall to the floor and shatter into hundreds of pieces.

That's where the erring brethren end up, away from God and shattered into broken pieces.

Sad, sad, sad! Do not err, my beloved brethren.

Lord, we place ourselves back into your skillful hands this day that you may mould and make us into exactly what you want us to be. We remove our hands and stubborn wills from our agendas, and we ask that you have complete control. Restore those who have fallen, mend the broken, save the lost. In Jesus' magnificent name, Amen!

Take the Chicken Exit

Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Jas 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Jas 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

The very first time I ever saw a "chicken exit" was at Disney's Space Mountain. Pregnant women, the elderly, people with bad backs or heart problems... these and others were warned to get out of line and take the door to the left, or else! In fact, as the line progressed toward the loading docks, there were several opportunities to bolt from the line. A person could never say they weren't warned.

There is nothing "chicken" about making a wise decision. Can you imagine complicating a pregnancy or irritating a bad disc just to feel the thrill of a speeding roller coaster? How foolish!

And how foolish for the Christian when the holy Spirit of God kindly nudges us toward the chicken exit when we are bombarded with the temptation to sin, and for us to continue on toward sin?

Temptation equals a drawing away from doing right by our own struggles with powerful desires. That particular battle is exacerbated by the enemy when he dangles it in front of us, enticing us. As we have pondered it for a while, diminishing in our minds the consequences, accentuating the pleasure and imposing on the grace of God, we ignore all the escapes God provides for us and we take the thrill ride.

But, alas, the ride always results in loss, pain, chastisement. guilt and remorse. Pile up the thrill rides in which the escapes the Lord provides are ignored, and they result in death.

The enemy is a smooth operator. When he entices, he only advertises the immediate gratification, but never the long range consequences.

Do yourself a huge favor, when temptation comes knocking at your door today, watch for the chicken exits that God provides throughout the course of your temptation. Taking that escape has great rewards. Finally, you will not be able to say you weren't warned.

When, not If

Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Notice the certainty of the matter of temptation. Verse 13 says "when", again, the same in verse 14.

There is no sin in being tempted. Our Lord Himself faced strong temptation in the wilderness. Hebrews tells us He was tempted in every point (of the law) like we are, yet He never succumbed to it.

The old way of explaining temptation is that you have no control of a bird circling far above your head. However, when you allow that same bird to build a nest in your hair, you have allowed things to progress to far.
We must never allow temptation to build a nest. Resist the devil, we are told, and he will flee from us. Temptations can give way to thoughts, if we allow them to, then actions will follow.

Well, there are one or two things we can do about the bird flying over head, we can go inside or we can grab the shotgun and blast it out of the air. I like that option.

That brings us to the "whens," not "ifs" of today. When temptation hovers, are you going to allow it to build a nest in the fertile soil of you mind or move away from it or blast that vulture from the sky?

Just Hang On!

Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

If you are a child of God, you are the recipient of many promises. On the down side, one of those promises is spoken by Jesus in John 16:33, These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Ye shall have tribulation! Lovely, right? You probably feel you get your share and other's too.

But hang on child of God, endure it, overcome it, because there is a crown awaiting you for withstanding temptation. What you are experiencing now is not even worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in you. This is the Lord's promise to those who love Him.

You love God, right? Then this is the upside of what you are now going through. The future is looking much brighter. So just hang on.

Unwavering Faith

Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. Jas 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

A guy has a tree that is making a mess out of his and his neighbor's lawn, branches fall often on both homes. The neighbor insists the tree be removed but the tree service says it'll cost $1500 to take the tree out. Obviously, the man doesn't have the cash, so he decides to take it to the Lord in prayer.

"Lord" he offers, "I need this tree out of my yard and I can't afford the price of the removal, so if you would be so kind as to have your angels come down overnight and take that thing away, Amen!"

He sleeps fitfully and awakes with trepidation. He makes his way to the window, throws open the shades and guess what? The tree still stands in the yard!

"Phooey" he says, "Just like I thought, the tree is still there."

Does that sound kind of like the prayers we offer up? Doubtful, ineffective, faithless, unbelieving. I imagine that God would delight in honoring the prayers of those who fully believe that He can do anything, rather than anemic prayer offered in faithlessness.

I have an inkling that you have a mountain that needs moving today. Instead of being tossed between the waves of your doubt and your faith, why not just put God to the test and let Him be God? We know this, faithless prayers offered from doubting hearts always go unanswered.

Wisdom from God

Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

One of the toughest things in life is finding the right answers to perplexing situations. Having the discernment to make good calls, right choices and wise decisions can be like walking blindly through a mine field.

But God does not leave us without resources when it comes to needed wisdom.

I have found a few things very helpful in my decision making. Granted, when I don't employ the wisdom that God has provided, I always end up regretting not asking my Lord for His mind on the matter. I could share some nightmares about that, believe me.

Here are the things God uses most to impart His wisdom to us when we sincerely inquire of Him.

1) The Word of God. First and foremost, the Bible is God's complete and final revelation to mankind. Contained therein are all the answers of life. We must simply be willing to open the Book and mine for its riches. As Paul told Timothy, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. Read the Word for tried and true principles and solutions.

2) The Holy Spirit. God has sent forth His precious Holy Spirit into our hearts to guide us, to give us impressions. Jesus promised that when the Spirit came to us, He would guide us into all truth. Be sensitive to the leadership of God within you.

3) The Preaching and Teaching of the Word. God's preacher was sent to us as a shepherd. The shepherd's task is to feed us, to lead us, to equip us with the needed tools to minister to us. Heed the preacher's words as he walks closely to the Lord.

4) Godly believers which God places in our lives. God has put these good people in our lives to help us, to assist us in our walk with Him, to aid us in our growth and to counsel us in our dilemmas. Draw from their wisdom. The Word tells us that in the multitude of counselors, there is safety.

5) Open and closed doors. God uses circumstances in our lives to direct us away from that which is harmful and lead us towards that which is helpful. Our problem is when our agenda clashes with His, we may tend to knock down the doors He has bolted shut. At other times we hesitate at doors He has opened wide to us. Be aware of what He has opened to you and beware of that which is closed.

Beware of the pitfalls of many well-meaning people who have made grave mistakes based on:

1) Their walking by sight rather than by faith.

2) Leaning on the flesh rather than the Spirit.

3) Claiming "they have peace about it" when making a foolish decision based on their own lusts.

4) Listening to worldly friends, counselors or coworkers.

5) Acting according to situational ethics (what seems right at the moment) rather than being driven by principle.

6) Doing only what benefits self, without consideration of family, church, coworkers, country and the Kingdom.

Friend, God fully desires for you to make the best decisions and has enabled you to do so. You have to look in all the right places to answers to tough questions and avoid the wrong avenues.

May God bless you and help you to find your answers.