Sixteen-lane Super high-way or Contra flow lane

 

James 4:13-17

Have you given thought to your life?  My pastor shared that as we go into our sixties and beyond, our thinking about death will be more frequent.  It may not be as frequent as the teenage boy thinks about sex, but it follows that same pattern of thought.  My goal in writing this is to awaken Christians to what the Manufactures Hand-Book on Life tells us about living in victory in our years on planet earth, the years that were written in the Book of Life.  It is very important to understand that God alone knows what that number is, but He has told us that we cannot add even one day to our physical days on planet earth, and Jesus said that in Luke 12:25 and in Matthew 6:27, but we do have a choice on how we spend those days.

I am amazed when watching gymnastics, the exercises require physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, balance, and grace. The Christian life also requires balance, and all extremes will lead to a fall.  I call that living independently from the plan God has for our lives, and it will always cause a wreck.  My view of the Christian life is a sixteen lane super highway going one way, with a single contra flow lane going in the opposite direction right up the middle of them; you are totally safe going against the flow, but there are many exciting enticements found in going the other way.  And James is giving us a “watch-out” in these verses.

“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” – 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.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”  As it is, you boast in your arrogance.  All such boasting is evil.  So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it for him it is sin.”

The sixteen-lane super high-way has a way of making us anxious, most of us have bought into the world’s smooth advertisements on how much better life will be on the sixteen-lane highway, but how is it working for you?  My observation is that many of you are consumed with fear and anxiety over the “what-if’ the dollar loses it world status or “what-if” we become more socialist so that the government takes over and tells us what we can or cannot do?  All the ads are not focused on getting you off the contra flow single lane some are designed to render you totally ineffective on that single lane, to remove you from believing the promises of God and being totally dependent on Him.  It does matter to God about the road you are on, the sixteen-lane highway or the contra flow, Jesus has some great council for us in Matthew 6:25-34.  Verse 34, Jesus gives as a wrap-up, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Spotlight on my Soul

 

James 4:11-12

Often, I would tell the young couples we taught that I avoided the book of James because the Holy Spirit brought me under such conviction each and every time I did a study in that book.  It was done in jest, or was it, because God has used this book of the Bible as a spotlight on my soul.  I’m sure most of you do not fall prey to the schemes of the enemy, but I’m a very slow learner, and when I read these two verses, my response is guilty as charged.  These verses state the following; “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.  There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy.  But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Often, we humans play a game, it can be a fun game but that depends on what role you are playing in the game, it is called, “Got’ you.”  It is played in this way; you con someone into believing a false story, and one day that is set aside for the game is April 1, we call it April fools day.  But that is not the only time it is played, we do it in marriage, at work, church, school, and with the ones we love, and often it is done when you catch the other person in a misstatement, an exaggeration, or just ignorance of a subject.  The bottom line of the game is to show that you are superior to the others in the group, and you show little or no concern for the one the joke is played on.

In the fifties, yes I’m getting old, and with age comes time to reflect on the past, and I’m blessed in many ways, an one of the ways is in the last week-end in April, Jan and I go to Concan, Texas and spend the weekend with many who have made that journey in time with us.  I bet you would like to be a fly on the wall to hear some of the stories that get told, it is a great time and each year it seems to get better.  But this is an observation, and I must say it is not the norm, but some of the folks seem to miss what the person has become and are still trying to keep them in a box that they may have long since left.  It never happens when they are present, but after they have walked away, words are said about their character that goes back to who they were in school, not the person who just walked away, and James is saying, “Do not speak evil against one another brothers” and I must include he also is referring to ladies. 

I’m guilty, I’ve taken on the role of judge, but God is clear, there is only one who can look into a person’s heart, and you or I cannot do that.  Can you save someone from themselves, in short the answer is no.  Can you redeem a person who has made wrong choices and is headed for destruction?  Once more the answer is no, but God who judges rightly, who sees the intent of the heart, and who is able to save and to destroy, gets a little upset when we try to take His role; He only has the right to judge.  So who are we to judge our neighbor or friend?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Looking Back

 

John 7:1-14

When it comes to Jesus the world is not very passive, many hate His name or anyone   associated with His name.  Have you ever wondered why?  Why is there not the same hatred for other World Religions and its Founders, beginning with Judaism and Abraham in 2,085 BC?  Next is Hinduism in 1,500 BC. With no specific founder, and then Buddhism in 5560 BC with Gautama Buddha as its founder.  In between Christianity in 30 AD with Jesus Christ as its founder or other religions like Taoism 550 BC by Lao Tzu and Jainism in 599 BC by Mahavira.
In 325 AD, after being persecuted for almost 200 years, Constantine made the Church become a legal religion, and compromise begins to enter the Christian church.  In 590 AD we have the development of Roman Catholicism by Pope Gregory, and in 610 AD the beginning of Islam by Mohammed.  It was in 1515 AD reformers by the names of Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin began Protestantism. 
Now lets look at some and by no means all of the modern religions: such as Mormonism by Joseph Smith in 1830 AD, and 7^th Day Adventists by E.G. White in 1845.  Next comes Jehovah's Witnesses by Charles Taze Russell in 1870 AD, and Christian Science by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879 AD.  In 1955 AD, we had Scientology by L. Ron Hubbard, and in 1961 AD, Unitarian Universalism was officially formed.  And by all means we would not want to leave out the Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in 1966 AD.

If we look at the demographics on a modern world scale, it is interesting to see religion from this viewpoint.  Christianity has around 2,039 million members and on a pie chart has a 32% share of the pie, but it is dropping in membership.  Islam has 1,570 million members and that is 22% of the pie but it is growing.   Hinduism has 950 million followers about 13 % of the pie and is stable.  A group that few think about is the No religion and on the pie chart they are 775 million or about 12% and dropping.  Buddhism has from 350 – 1,600 million or about 6% of the world pie and is stable.  The Atheists have about 150 million followers or 2% of the world’s pie, and Judaism has about 23.8 million or 1% of the world’s pie.

The facts listed above are from: www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

All of the listed religions above, with the exception of Christianity, have one thing in common, they or offended by the name of Jesus, and many hate the name.  In some cases they have associated with His name, but do not see Him as the Son of God or the only way to the Father as Jesus claimed in John 14:6,7. 

In John chapter 7 we have the answer, it was the answer then and it is still the answer.  A special feast in Jerusalem, the feast of booths, and Jesus brothers who did not yet believe in Him, wanted Him to go to Judea so that His disciples would see the works He was doing.  This is Jesus reply; “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.” 

I have come to this understanding that many who go by the name Christian have no understanding of what they claim to be, because in Christ we have all the rights of son ship and all the responsibility of following Jesus’ commands.  Jesus makes this very clear in John 15:18-21,  “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.  But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.”
It all comes down to this fact; Jesus has the authority to forgive sin, to redeem sinners and to make you in right standing with His Father.  The apostle Paul under the authority of the Holy Spirit spoke these words: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools,” (Romans 1:18-22a)
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice

Caught in the Worlds Trap

 

James 4:4

When is the last time someone has addressed you in this way? “You adulterous people!  It is not your normal greeting, and James has just stated that we let our passions guide what we ask God, our Father for, and now he is calling us adulterers.  In fact, he is not through; “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.”  I am willing to bet the farm, that most Christians do not see themselves as adulterous people, and most would be quick to state that they are not an enemy of God. 

When I compare myself to others who go by the name of Christian, often I have a false sense of I’m on the right tract, I’m looking good, I’m in the race, but then I put my eyes on Jesus, and come to a full understanding of what James is accusing me of, often my actions are not in keeping with Jesus’ commands.  John 14:15, reports these words of Jesus; “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  And Jesus said in John 15:9-10, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

I often refer to my putting my eyes on anyone other than Christ as “putting my latter on the wrong wall.”  Doctor Luke warns us in Luke 21:34, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.”  Many of us overindulge in the pursuit of pleasure and have issues with anger or anxiety, and some are controlled by addictive habits; we have been caught in the worlds trap.   As we read the words of Christ, it becomes clear that we do not abide in His love, we have pursued a life of independence, and God the Father has called us to a life of dependence on Him and His Word.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Our four Hours with Terrorists

 

James 4:1-3

Many years ago our church had a couples night out, and Jan and I volunteered along with others to keep children at the church; Jan and I were assigned to keep two and three year olds for the night.   In that we taught many of these couples, we had been around some of the children and as they dropped them off most of these sweet little children acted as if they were at home, and most went to some object that they had played with or on many times before.  If my memory serves me right, we had 15 precious little boys and girls, and I was sure that four hours would pass quickly. 

To my amazement these sweet precious little boys and girls began to quarrel, it seemed that many of them were very passionate about what they wanted, and what they wanted was precisely what the other sweet precious child had.  In what seemed as minutes, we had battles going on all over this very large room, and these precious children were yelling at each other “it’s mine” and they would try force to back up their claim.  In a matter of minutes, Jan and I went from caretakers to a two person swat-team, we tried to be negotiators, only to end up wondering how so much upheaval, turbulence, unrest, trouble, chaos, and mayhem could have taken place in a matter of 15 minutes.  It was at this point I knew we needed Devine intervention, how could the two of us holdout for 3 hours and 45 minutes against such forces as these?

I remember asking Jan what happened, where did they learn how to be so selfish and just plain mean to each other, most are only two years old.  At first, I was sure that their parents had not taught them such mean-spirited actions, but as the night went forward I was sure they had.  It was at this point that fear filled my mind and heart, and I just knew the parents of these kids would never return!  If they were mine, I would have been looking for any escape.  That brings me to a question that James asks in chapter 4:1, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?  That’s precisely what I was wondering while keeping those children; what, where, how did they go from sweet and precious to little demons?

If only I would have looked past verse one, James gives us the answer in verses two and three.  “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.”  Before you say that is not true we do not murder, let me return to the longest four hours of my life, while watching, not controlling 15 two and three year olds.  In that room was a large slide, I helped the children up the latter and Jan made sure they came down safely.  A sweet, precious little girl, one I had been around often, was waiting her turn; she was standing at the top of the latter waiting, while the little guy in front of her had his turn, but he was somewhat fearful and was not in any hurry.  This is what my unbelieving eyes saw; that sweet little girl had waited long enough, she took her foot and put it in the middle of his back and slammed him down the slide.  It was at this point, she turned and smiled at me as if to say, he is no longer a problem, and she slid down the slide.  No, she did not murder him outwardly, but she had no concern for his feelings, his welfare; she just wanted the object removed so she could slide.

So James, speaking as the Spirit of the living God moves him, tells us we have two problems; first we do not ask, and second, we ask wrongly.  Are we not more like those two and three year olds than we care to admit?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

My blog; http://fromourbackporch.blogspot.com/

Hanging out in James

 

James 3: 13-18

I’m not sure James would have been a fun guy to hangout with!   Put yourself as the one who received this letter, and tell me would you have gotten a little defensive about the question asked in verse 13; “Who is wise and understanding among you?  By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.”  A couple points of interest, first, it was a letter and the verses and chapters were added much later, and you were in the mind of God when He inspired James to write this.  So it gets personal, James is telling me that my good conduct will show my works or the lack of them in the meekness of wisdom, and that will help us answer the first part of the question about self and others.

James also tell us that we need to fess up to what is in our hearts, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.”  My first thought was bitter jealousy and selfish ambition does not belong in the same thought pattern, but is that true?  Do not both have their roots in anger; someone else got the better place on the boat, a better family, a better education, the big promotion, the nicer house, and the root of this anger has it focus on Creator God.  It comes back to God must love them more than He loves me, because they got what they desired, but I did not.  And do not be deceived, selfish ambitions are rooted deeply in self-will and not in God’s will, they also have festered in the root of anger.  James goes on to share; “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.”   You may be saying I’m out of here, James has fallen off the bridge on this one, it may be earthly wisdom, but I’m not buying that it is unspiritual and demonic.  Then you must go back to where this battle began, Isaiah the prophet gives light into the fall of Lucifer or Satan in Isaiah 14:12-14.  What was the root cause of his fall from such a high position of importance, Isaiah tells us, “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God. I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself lie the Most High.”

It all began in a root of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, wanting our will over the will of God.  James tells us; “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”  Folks, stop and look around you, look at our government, and our culture, our problem is self will, not God’s will.  But James tells us we do not have to live that way; “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”  (James 3:17-18)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What is it?

 

James 3:2-12

One of my neighbors told me not that long ago that they enjoyed reading “From the Back Porch,” but that sometimes it seemed to be over their head.  Today’s subject will be on the spot; the object or subject of this paper will have affected everyone over the age of five.  Do you remember riddles that went like this, what is black and white, with lines on it?  Well, today we are talking about body parts, and it is one of the smallest, yet it has been used to do both good and bad, the Bible gives this description of it; “it cannot be tamed by man, it is restless, undisciplined, irreconcilable, evil, full of deadly poison, what is it?

James compares it to a bit that is put in a horse’s mouth so he will obey your orders, or the small rudder that controls a large ship.  I bet you already know the answer, verse five tells us; “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.”  I was never accused of being a silver tongue devil, but in my profession many were, they always had the right words at the right time.  Who else beside salespeople come to mind when you think of verse three, maybe politicians, lawyers, or even preachers?  Do you recall how your mouth made boasts at a young age; my dad can whip your dad!

It would be wise for all of us to stop and listen to what the Bible says in verses 5b-10, “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!  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.  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.  My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”

The other day one of my neighbors was at the mailbox area, and killed a large snake, and sent out an email with pictures to the other neighbors.  He got a response that he was not expecting, and the person who responded, came across with words that were not in keeping with being a good neighbor.  Once more, confirmation that the tongue will get us in trouble, but I must confess that when talking with my neighbor about it I called the person a jerk, and before I walked away the Spirit in me said, wrong, that person may have acted like a jerk, but that does not make him one.  Most of us have come across to others as a jerk by the careless words that have come from our mouth.  Often, but not of late, Jan has said, “Bob your words are harsh, they are unkind, and they hurt.  Who can rescue us from the control of the tongue? 

One of my mothers relatives had passed, and she along with her sisters were being greeted and given condolences by many old friends they had lived around in Graham, Texas.  One lady spoke to mother and said “Lily, do you remember me,” and mother’s response was, “yes, but I did not remember you being so large,” later mother was told that the lady had lost over 75 lbs.  My uncles had to leave the room, they were laughing so loud.  Mother later said she was so embarrassed, and the only thing she could remember about the lady was that she had stolen her boyfriend.  So do you think maybe mother passed on this curse?  It would be nice to have someone to blame for my tongue.

Most of us would be wise to take Proverbs 13:3 and 21:23 to heart.  James 1:26, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”  That’s not my point of view, that is God’s Word, and many in the church have religion that is worthless, so says the only One with a vote.  1 Peter 3:10, gives good council on living life on planet earth; “For whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice