Monday 31/12/12

James 2:1-4 ESV

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Here God teaches us to treat everyone, rich or poor, high or low, equally with no partiality and no distinction. In God's eyes, all men are equal. But our worldly and sinful tendency naturally want to appease a rich and powerful person, while treating poor people with contempt. Here the Bible rebukes such thoughts, because the rich and powerful tend to be poor and distant toward God, while the poor are usually close and full of faith to Him. To balance things out, we should treat everyone equally gracious because in God's eyes, all men are equal. Whoever go to church are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and are our equal.

Friday 28/12/12

James 1:22-25 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

The law of God is like a mirror for us to see and evaluate ourselves, where we do well and where we do badly. If we only listen to the law and then walk away, it is like we just take a look at the mirror and then forget. Instead, we must check our image, then we work on sharpening our strengths and improving our weaknesses. So we must be hearers who act, and God will bless us in our doings.

Thursday 28/12/12

James 1:19-20 ESV

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger - Too often we speak, and even get angry, before we actually hear and understand. That causes many strifes and misunderstandings.  Thus the Bible advises us to refrain and be slow, hear and clarify our understanding first, before we make our respond and state our opinions.

Also, our human anger just gratifies our fleshly desire and leads us to sin, it produces no righteousness of God. It's better to be err in meekness, forgiveness and mercy than in anger and judgement. Thus we should refrain our anger respond as slow as we can

Wednesday 19/12/12

James 1:13-15 ESV

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

God never tempts us, although He may test us by allowing trials and temptations to come to us. We are tempted by Satan as he lures and entices us using our own desires. An evil desire, if not mortified, gives birth to sin. If we do not confess & repent from sin, but continue to abide in it, it will grow and bring forth death.

Therefore, we must continually guard and check our heart. If we start having evil desires, we must shun it and seek strength via prayers to keep our thoughts and our heart pure. If our evil desires materialized to sinful actions, we must turn away from it and repent, confess and seek forgiveness from God.

Abiding in sin leads to dead and isolation from God. Continually guarding and checking our heart prevent this and keep our life and our rightstanding with God.

Tuesday 18/12/12

ames 1:12 NET

Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.

God does not tempt (to destroy), He tests to prove. Without testing, we won't be able to recognize our weaknesses, or see our achievements. While enduring the test, we see our weaknesses and learn how to overcome it with the help of God. The test will strengthen our faith and reliance on God, help us grows in skills and maturity. Ultimately it leads us toward the promised crown of life from God.

Monday 17/12/12

James 1:9-11 ESV

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Poverty will fade away one day, if the poor is hard and diligent in his work. Being poor, he is humiliated by the world. Rather than accepting and humbling in his poverty, it's good for a poor person to boast of his ambition, to exalt himself in God.

On the other hand, it's better for the rich to boast in his humiliation because his richest will fade away. Being rich, he will receive all kinds of praised and honors from the world, and is tempted to be proud. By boasting in his humiliation, he avoid all those temptations and mingle well with his poorer brothers in Christ.

Ultimately, in Christ we are one. In God's  eyes, we are the same, no richer, no poorer, no master, no slave. We all contribute our part in His Kingdom, and receive His providence. Everything is from Him and is given by Him, the masters must not think they are better or higher than the slaves, or the rich than the poor. They just have different lot in life.

Thursday 13/12/12

James 1:6-8 ESV

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

When we start asking in prayer, God will work in us and in our life to help us obtain them. He will send trials and difficulties to give us opportunities to learn and practice. He will give us the necessary knowledge from His Word, people around us, or other sources. Through applying the knowledge and overcoming the trials, we obtain what we asked in prayer.

But overcoming trials and applying new knowledge require a lot of hard work and perseverance. To do so we must have faith in God in the good outcome, and keep that faith amidst of difficulties and setbacks. Without faith and continual effort, we are like a ship toss back and forth by the wind, getting no where and never obtain what we ask for.

Wednesday 12/12/12

James 1:5 ESV

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

God gives wisdom, and the Bible - his Word - is full of wise instructions and insightful cautions. The wisdom books - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, Song of songs - are entirely wise saying. Thus, if we wish to be wiser, the best way is to ask from God in prayer, and learn from His Word. Overtime (not immediately), the Holy Spirit will work in our soul and His Word will fill our mind with wisdom.

Additionally, God will arrange trials, temptations and difficulties for us to exercise His wise instructions, remove our weaknesses and practice discerning and make careful judgements. Yes, trials and temptations cause us hardship and pain, but from them we learn to be wiser. So count in all joy.

Tuesday 11/12/12

James 1:2-4 ESV

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

As Christians, like the rest of humanity, we have to go through all kinds of trials, temptations and difficulties. But whenever we face them, we can rejoice as they are arranged by God to help us grow. They are opportunities for us to exercise our faith in God, to practice being patient & steadfast, to  remove our weaknesses and to learn new skills. After we endure them all, we will become complete and perfect, lacking in nothing, able to be a contributing and pleasant member in God Kingdom, able to enjoy the light of life in God.

Thursday 5/12/12

Galatians 6:3 ESV

For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Pride is having an exaggerated view of oneself combined with diminishing the importance of others. In other word, to think he is something when he is nothing. This is a deadly sin in God's view, because it causes strife & contention which destroys the peace & unity in the group.

Also it is a delusion. One can play a critical role, but it's God who placed him there and gave him ability to do that. In God's eyes, he is nothing and can be replaced by another. Being prideful means he has forgotten God's grace and forgotten the contributions of others. We are in the same church body. The eyed are important, but the arms and legs are equally important. So are the tongue, the teeth, the fingers ... Each plays a critical role, but that's not a reason to be prideful. That's the reason to be thankful and helpful to one another.

So don't be deceived, remember God and his grace, and remember the help of others.

Wednesday 4/12/12

Galatians 6:4-5 ESV

But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.

The previous verse teaches us to bear each other's burdens, but this verse teaches us to be responsible for our own work. We must make sure the work is done well, of high quality, ensure satisfaction for those who use it. We must test our work such that we have reasons to fell happy and proud (boast) of the job well done.

Tuesday 3/12/12

Galatians 6:2 ESV

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Each of us has our burden, the hardship that taxes our strength and mental. These burdens are from God to help us learn to lean on Him, build our moral and good habits for right living, as well as avoid staying idle and tempted by sin.

However, God doesn't mean for us to bear alone, but we need to help each other in love. That makes our burden lighter as we each can contribute our strengths and get help in our weakness, give our surplus and receive in our lack. With that we learn to live out the law of God, which is love our neighbors.

Monday 2/12/12

Galatians 6:1 ESV

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

If we find a person, especially another Christian, does wrong things, what should we do? Should we criticize them and keep a distance from them? Here the Bible commands us to restore them in the spirit of gentleness. It means we should gently help them recognize their error and the consequences, and point to them the Godly way to deal with the problem, in words and in illustrative stories, especially from personal experience. In that way we build each other up, correct our errors and align ourselves with the way of God.