JAMES 4: 13-17, 5:1-6

Be careful that you do not count on that which is not yours, like time!
Your life is as a vapor, present but passing.
You do not know the future
so don't set your plans in concrete.
Commit your life to God and trust Him with tailoring it to fit His purposes.
It may actually look very different from how you've planned it.
Live mindfully, aware that you are not the One in charge.
Speak in ways that accommodate to His Lordship, His direction.
Then, you won't find yourself distressed.

Boasting about your plans, all that you will do,
is not acknowledging the One who created and redeemed you,
the One who has the right to be supplying the agenda
for your life, learning and service opportunities!

Choosing to do things that are forbidden by God,
things that are hurtful to others,
are not the only things that are designated as sin.
When you know what is right and good
and you do not do it, it is sin.

Inevitably, those things that you fashion as a “god” and choose to serve
will not serve you well in the long run.
If your focus has been to have what you want
without regard to God's commands
and without respect to those in the world around you,
the time will come when you will see that what you have
will hold no value.

Prayer:
God, you are the creator and giver of TIME.
Our times are in Your hands.
But, so often we take control, sit in the driver's seat, think ourselves the navigator,
and fail to acknowledge or consult You, our GPS (God Positioning System).
No wonder that we get off track.
Forgive us.

Help us to remember that sin is more than doing what is wrong.
It is knowing what is good and right to do
and choosing not to do it.

Again, we commit to following and serving You.
Dislodge any “god” that we have allowed entrance into our lives.
We know it has nothing of value to offer us
and will sit in judgment against us in the end.

Twila Charles Leichty
February 28, 2010

JAMES 4:1-12

Where does conflict come from?
Do we not know ourselves?
It is the result of pride, self-will that wants what it wants
and isn't shy about asserting itself,
even becoming aggressive in seeking to find some way
to make it happen.

James says that when we don't ask for what we want
or we ask and don't receive what it is our hearts yearn for,
it is with good reason.
We are to look hard at our motivation for wanting what we do.
Scripture points out that self has a way of pushing it's own agenda,
perhaps hoping, or even insisting, that it must also be God's agenda.
Perhaps we have some awareness that our requests are selfishly driven
and so we seek to get our way without laying our want before God
in the way that Jesus did:
God, this is what I want, but if my want interferes with Your will,
if it will not be honoring to You,
if it will not fit into the bigger picture that You already see,
if it does not draw others to You,
then I relinquish my will and choose Yours.

To whom have we honestly committed ourselves?
We can't be loyal to God if what we want shoves Him from center stage.
He is, rightfully, a jealous God,
having given all in pursuit of a relationship with us!
He is a gracious God and provides us grace
but He will not dwell with pride.

Those who are proud argue against the truths of God;
they do not follow the laws of God;
they do not trust the provision of God.
Therefore, God resists, as a magnet, the proud,
but is drawn to those who are humble, acknowledge their dependence on Him,
and seek to honor Him in all their ways.

Yes, we need to settle the question of our loyalty,
return to our first-love,
repent of motives and behaviors that are self-seeking
and lay them out for God's cleansing work.
Humbling ourselves makes us pliable in His almighty hand
so that He can shape us into vessels that display His character.

James reminds us where we stand in relation to each other and God.
We are brothers and sisters, none of whom are fully mature.
When we put each other down, we are acting as a judge.
We are to remember that there is but one Lawgiver,
God,
and He alone is able to judge.

Prayer:
God, help us to remember that we need to look within
when there are conflict problems.
Help us to level with You about our hearts.
Too often our words and behaviors show us to be divided in our loyalty.
But we want to be totally committed to You!

Point out those times when we are praying “in Jesus' name”
to secure what we want
rather than telling you what we want or what we deem best,
then submitting to Your will, whatever that is,
and choosing to trust You,
knowing that Your ways are beyond our ability to see and know.

We acknowledge that Your jealousy is a rightful jealousy.
You are totally committed to us, having created and redeemed us,
even when it meant the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus.
Help us to sacrifice those things of lesser value
for the “pearl” of a relationship with You, both now and for eternity.

Keep us humble, keep us honest.
Help us confess our wrongs.
We want to experience Your cleansing, from the inside out.
Mold our wills to do Your will.
It is the only way that we can truly honor You.

Twila Charles Leichty
February 19, 2010

JAMES 3:13-18

There are two kinds of wisdom, both of which have their own “reward.”
There is worldly wisdom, the kind that the serpent introduced in Eden
when he planted the idea that God was selfish
and choosing to withhold what was good from His children.
He had his own agenda and presented
what he thought would entice mankind to embrace it.
Cloaked in the bold and lofty pretense of concern for man, he succeeded.
However, within a very short time, man realized that what seemed good to him
was but a way for another to reach his own goal.
They had been manipulated!
That's the way worldly wisdom is, so be on guard.
Research its past history. Check out its fruit.
You'll find it delivering only that which confuses, wounds and kills,
both individuals and relationships.

Godly wisdom presents differently.
It is attired differently, in a coat of humility.
When viewed closely, one sees that its verbal presentation
is matched by behaviors that are gentle, kind, patient, and merciful.
There are no patches of favoritism or hypocrisy,
but a genuine concern for the well-being of all.
Others find it attractive and seek to know the Designer of such simple elegance!
It is in line with Scripture, never contradicting or twisting what God has spoken,
so study the Word
and you will be able to discern which is which!

Prayer:
God, we want to be people who know You and Your Word
so that we can rightly differentiate between
that which presents as wisdom in our world
and that which is Godly wisdom.
Help us to “live out” what we have been and are being taught by You!

Twila Charles Leichty
February 15, 2010

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts,
and cried unto him, saying,
Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David;
my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
But he answered her not a word.
And his disciples came and besought him, saying,
Send her away; for she crieth after us.
But he answered and said,
I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me.
But he answered and said,
It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs
which fall from their masters' table.
Then Jesus answered and said unto her,
O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.
And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Matthew 15:21-28

Jesus and his disciples traveled to the coasts of the north
when a woman from that area approached Him.
She recognized Him as the Jewish Messiah
and acknowledged Him as Lord
before pleading for mercy and presenting her need.
The fact that He did not respond to her did not cause her to turn away;
her persistence was fueled by her daughter's desperate need for healing.
But His disciples, tiring of her pursuit, asked Him to send her away.
Jesus responded that His mission was to the Jewish people.

She was not put off with His comment.
In her culture, it was common for people to pray to more than one god.
She had exhausted all of the resources known to her.
It was not difficult for her to kneel before this One, Jesus,
and further plead her case.
Jesus told her it was not right to give the food of children to dogs,
and she acknowledged the truth of that,
but she knew that dogs took their food from that dropped upon the floor,
and she boldly said so!
She wanted not what rightly belonged to another
but what was not claimed by those for whom it was intended.

She knew His heart, was driven to Him by her need;
she was totally dependent upon Him, His word and action.
It was the kind of faith that Jesus longed to see in the Jews,
but they were dropping their morsels upon the ground.
Jesus granted her request.

Prayer:
God, we were once outsiders as this woman,
and we thank You that the Bread of Life was broken for all of us.
We are eternally grateful!

Twila Charles Leichty
February 2010

JAMES 3:1-12

Think twice about teaching others!
Yet all of us are teachers.
All of us are impacting the lives of others -
family members, friends, co-workers, acquaintances.
Teachers have influence,
and those with greater influence have more responsibility.
And while we all stumble in many ways,
those with greater influence will impact the lives of more people when they stumble.

Those who do not sin with their words are considered perfect or mature,
because the tongue is the most difficult member of the body to train.
The powerful horse can be taught obedience through a bit in the mouth
and large ships, blown by mighty winds, can, by the captain's hand,
be turned by a small rudder.
Similarly, a small member of the body, the tongue, has great influence.

The tongue is likened to a forest fire, capable of vast destruction,
even when one's words are few.
It can incriminate the whole body by its utterances.
While man can tame every kind of animal,
the tongue continues to be like a beast with fangs full of venom, waiting for victims.

Yes, the tongue is capable of praising God and cursing man, God's creation.
Isn't that the same as lashing out against God?
How is it that both blessing and cursing come from the same source?
Two kinds of water, sweet and bitter, can not possibly come from the same spring!

Prayer:
God, we recognize that we are all teachers,
impacting the lives of those in our own spheres of influence.
Yet we struggle with our tongues.
We know we often stumble.
Our tongues sometimes tattle on us,
letting us know that we are not the people we desire to be,
wounding others,
failing to provide refreshment and encourage growth in those around.
Change our hearts, so that our words bless both You and others.
We need an infusion, a massive dose, of Your heart's compassion.
We want to be a people who build up,
according to the needs of those in our lifespaces,
rather than another member of the devil's demolition crew.
Help us. Show us the way.

Twila Charles Leichty
February 2010

And when he was come into his own country,
he taught them in their synagogue,
insomuch that they were astonished, and said,
Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
Is not this the carpenter's son?
is not his mother called Mary?
and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
And his sisters, are they not all with us?
Whence then hath this man all these things?
And they were offended in him.
But Jesus said unto them,
A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Matthew 13: 54-58

* * * * *

My world view, when I am the focus, lends itself well
to thoughts, attitudes and behaviors that are self-protective,
designed to take care of me in some way.
It leaves no room for God.
We seek safety, the comfort of the familiar, what is known to us,
rather than seeking to know God
and finding safety in relationship with Him
during the stretching experiences
He allows to enter our lives.

I wonder whether those in Jesus' hometown of Nazareth
weren't stuck where we so often find ourselves.
They knew what they grew up with.
Life seemed to have a rhythm that was familiar.
It required little thought.
Neighbors were known; patterns of relating were practiced.
Then Jesus came back home and entered their synagogue.
What He said and what He did not fit together well
with what they knew and understood.

His family had lived in the community for years.
Jesus was not who they expected Him to be.
What He said and how He said it, what He did,
these were different.
Because it was different, they were offended.
Yet, He spoke truth.

Do we, too, find it difficult to embrace newly revealed truth,
choosing instead to be offended?
Or do we risk to look deeper,
seeking to find Scripture that supports it,
knowing that letting go of what we have always known and believed
may be needful if we are to continue to learn and grow?

Maybe we are as guilty of rejecting Jesus
as were those in His hometown of Nazareth?
Are we blocking God's work among us here and now
in some similar way?

Prayer:
God, you have so much to teach us.
Help us not to close our eyes to seeing truths you present
because we are a patterned people,
and You are a God who often works differently than
what we expect or are comfortable with.
Open our ears to hear more of your truth
and to accommodate to it
rather than to choose the route of offense
that blocks you from manifesting Yourself among us here and now.

Twila Charles Leichty
6. February 2010