Got Trouble?

Trouble is not new. Our English word, "trouble" covers everything from a rogue raccoon to a destructive relationship. Trouble. Hardship. Trial. Tribulation.

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There are different ways to think about trouble. It's usually unexpected. Unpleasant. Difficult, even.

Some trouble comes against us personally. Some is situational, or circumstantial. It could be serious, life-threatening, or annoying. It may come as a result of our own sinful choices or have nothing to do with us at all.

The word James uses is "peirasmos" (pronounced, "pi-ras-mos") which means a trial or temptation.

In James 1:2, this is something that just happens. You fall into it. You didn't see it coming. You didn't do anything wrong, necessarily. Like Mr. Magoo, you simply walked into the manhole of a peirasmos. 

God wants us to know what to do with these moments. Look what the rest of the chapter says:

• Use it. Squeeze the living daylights out of it. Milk it for all it's worth because God sent this as a gift. It has a purpose and that purpose is to make me perfect, complete, not lacking any good thing. I can say, "Thank you, God, for sending this my way at this time. I may not know how you're going to use it, but I trust that you are good and you will use this for your glory." (James 1:2-4)
  
  
• Admit that I have no idea what to do next. "God, you sent this trial, this difficulty, and I know You know all. Please help me respond in a way that pleases You. Help me know how and what to do, how and what to say. I can't figure this out on my own, but You have promised not to criticize or judge me when I admit I don't know what to do. Help!" (James 1:5)
  
  
• Ask expectantly. If I don't really believe God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do, I'm no different than the lazy servant who buried the talents. I can't just sit and do nothing. I must keep moving, keep trusting, keep obeying. Trust is demonstrated by obedience. (James 1:6-7)
  
  
• Do not depend on my resources. This is not about how much money I have or how many people I know. This is about learning to trust God with everything, in every circumstances (James 1:9-11).
  
  
• The goal is endurance. Not perfection. Just hanging in there. Day after day. God will give the grace I need for each moment--not tomorrow, not yesterday, but today, right now. (James 1:12)
  
  
• Watch my choices. It's easy to turn to  gifts apart from God to bring comfort and relief. God says, "When you're hard-pressed and suffering, examine your heart. Your desires, contrary to Mine, will lead to death."
  Instead,  I must exercise trust that God will provide exactly what I need when I need it--He is the Giver of every good and perfect gift. He saved me by His Word, He will keep me by His Word. He will not fail regardless of the circumstance. (James 1:13-18)
  
  
• Anger is and indicator something's wrong--but be careful. Not getting my way leads to an angry response. I have to ask if I'm angry because God's rule was broken or because my rule was broken? As I examine my anger in the light of His Word and and accept God's provision instead of my own, I will experience the saving work of His Word (James 1:19-21).
  
  
• The proof is in my response. Hearing the Word, is not the same as keeping the Word. The sermon I heard doesn't count. The radio station or podcast I listen to doesn't count. My pastor, small group leader, and accountability partner don't count. The only thing that matters is if I, myself, arm obedient to the Word of God. Obedience ultimately leads to blessing. (James 1:22-25)
  
  
• Finally, I can say all the right words and look like a "good Christian," but if I don't keep my mouth shut and help those no one else knows about or sees, people with legitimate needs, my religion is worthless. I've got nothing. Go back to verse 2 and start over. (James 1:26-27)

Got Trouble? God's has answers. Help. Grace. Anything that makes me dependent on Him is a good thing.

Another Gospel

Jesus had nothing to hide. 

I just finished reading the gospel accounts of Jesus' crucifixion. I almost stopped. I didn't want to continue. It was painful and difficult to read. Then John wrote this, 

And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. (John 19:35)

God doesn't withhold the truth. His Word is full of good and bad--good outcomes and bad outcomes, God-honoring and dishonoring people. But our churches...

Too many of us have accepted and live out another gospel. We promote goodness and peace, but practice deceit, hypocrisy, and conflict to protect that facade. Somehow appearance has become our gospel. False teachers in pulpits, leaders seeking their own reputation, people covering, fixing, and blending the lines to manage the destruction.

If we lived like Jesus, if we lived like the weak, failing, needy people we are, we would be honest about ourselves. We would be honest about others. And people would see Jesus instead of us and our trappings.(see 2 Corinthians 4)

Everyone doesn't need to know everything all of the time, but our honesty, like every other part of life, is to be governed by love: God's love for us and our love for others. The One who knows and sees it all died for our sin, guilt, and shame. If I truly believe that, I, too, have nothing to hide.

For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we must answer.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need. (Hebrews 4:12-16)

Simplicity as Success

One of the benefits of being a stay-at-home mom so many years was access to resources and materials. My brain was ready to learn and grow even while my body was spent.

 Book after book, page by page, with no particular destination or goal, I devoured thought-provoking, otherwise difficult reading. Hour after hour I listened to Christian radio and speakers. Thoughts, questions, and applications stirred in my mind as I scrubbed floors, folded laundry, tended to children and country chores.

 J.I. Packer's, A Quest for Godliness, was one of the most impactful. Of the words and thoughts which escape me, the message I still carry is: keep it simple. The more common and everyday our speech, the more effective we are in communicating the truth of the gospel. This was Paul's example:

 And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come as someone superior in speaking ability or wisdom, as I proclaimed to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I also was with you in weakness and fear, and in great trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of mankind, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

 Ironically, J.I. Packer is not known for his simple presentation; in today's society Puritans aren't either. But that was their focus and goal--to preach Christ simply, with purity and grace.

 That was my goal as I wrote, Sanctuary: Hope and Help for Victims of Domestic Abuse. With a background in elementary education and a heart for individuals who struggle to learn and read, my goal is other's learning. Teaching is evidenced, not by one who teaches, but what is learned. As future educators, we were taught that the measure of our effectiveness was the success of our students.

 When individuals use code words, acronyms, high vocabulary, or share a complex/confused presentation, it confuses the listener. That is when one must assess the goal--Is it to be thought of as important, intellectual, and knowledgeable? Or is the goal effective, accessible information? With God's help, our goal should be the simplicity of Jesus Christ and His finished work.

 Our value, worth, and identity are not measured by our teaching, words, or following, but by Christ Himself. May He guide and bless the sincerity of our words and interactions with others for the sake of the gospel--and their very lives.

 For though I am free from all people, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may gain more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the Law, I became as one under the Law, though not being under the Law myself, so that I might gain those who are under the Law; to those who are without the Law, I became as one without the Law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might gain those who are without the Law. To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak; I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way as not to run aimlessly; I box in such a way, as to avoid hitting air; but I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:19-27)