“13 Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’ 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:13-17
In 1970, I was on Summer Staff in Hyannis, Massachusetts. with CRU, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ. During the day, I worked as a carpenter, building a house overlooking the beautiful, serene Pocasset Bay. In the evenings I attended Bible Studies and Evangelism Training classes, before I went out on the main drag of Hyannis and engaged in street witnessing. Every Friday night our team rented the VFW Hall and held an evangelistic rally.
It was a great summer, as we reached out to young people visiting this resort area, from all over the country during the height of the Jesus Revolution. One night during the Bible Study session, I received from one of the instructors the best definitions of sin, I have ever heard.
“Sin is blasting through life, politely ignoring God.”
This statement defines polite, pompous “piousity” posing as piety. Prayerlessness is sinfulness.
When you are too proud to ask The Father for His sense of direction, His promise of protection and His hand of correction, you are full of yourself, not Him. When Jesus prayed, He stayed in prayer until His will was in line with His Father’s will. Follow His lead.
“Not My will, but Thy will be done.” Luke 22:42
This is the point of prayer. Anything less is sin. When James warns you to take prayer seriously, he identifies the cause for breathing your own ether…wait for it…PRIDE.
“You are just a vapor that appears for a little while…You ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills.”
Sound familiar? It should. Jesus prayed this way. Any diversion from the prayer life of Jesus will lead you to the perversion of prayer in your life. Get over yourself.
“You boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”
NOTE TO SELF: “All such boasting is evil.” Not some. ALL. You make God laugh with all your plans, and instructions that you place before Him and then call it prayer. Prayer is more about you listening to The Father, than it is informing Him of your plans for shaping the world to your image. Knowing the right thing to do, and not doing it is sin. Stop ignoring God. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Cleansed
“Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.” James 4:8-9
One of the first things a little boy learns from his mother is that clean hands are required to eat a healthy meal. Eating dirt and eating healthy are not on any mother’s menu. God’s meal plan for spiritual nutrition in The Book of James places a similar priority on being cleansed.
Showing up at my mother’s table for a meal was met with one question, “Did you wash your hands?” I became an expert at washing my palms. After all, they were the only side of my hands I intended to use to touch my food. My Mom wasn’t having any of it. She rejected my plan to utilize what I refused to sanitize. She sent me back to the sink for my hands to be cleansed, and totally sanitized before they were properly utilized at her table.
The Book of James reminds me of the difference between taking my suit to the cleaners and taking my hands to the sink or taking my body to the shower. Putting a clean suit over a dirty body is a short cut, but it won’t pass anyone’s smell test.
There is a huge difference between going to the cleaners and being cleansed. One impacts your clothes. The other transforms your character. Clothes don’t make the man. His heart does. When you go into your prayer closet, you aren’t looking for a clean suit. You are seeking a cleansed heart.
Note to Self: Your heart doesn’t need to go to the cleaners once in a while. The problem of the heart is sin. The heart of the problem is the problem of your heart. Your heart needs to be consistently, and constantly cleansed from sin. Don’t try to take your heart to the cleaners. Take it to God to be cleansed.
Believing prayer is cleansing prayer. Prayer is not a trip to the cleaners, or a laundry list you place before God. Prayer initiates a heart transplant, and a blood transfusion for courageous living. Talk postpones the transplant. Prayer initiates the transformation.
Prayer is nothing to laugh about, and yet prayer is nothing to fear. When you pray, The Father gives you what you need, not what you want. Your tears are part of His cleansing process. Two things break God’s heart: Rebellion and Repentance. Let them break yours. When you pray, try tears. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
The Judge
“11 Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?” James 4:11-12
While I was a student at Baylor University, 1968-1972, “The Golden Wave Band,” in honor of President Judge McCall, introduced a brassy, tribute into their football game routine. It was entitled “Here Comes The Judge.” If our receivers had been as catchy as this tune, our team would have won more than four games in four years. But I digress.
Critics perceive the local church to be the last refuge for a self-righteous, judgmental attitude. In a decaying culture, anything goes, and nothing is condemned. Those engaged in conduct they know in their hearts offends God, are not turned away from it by logic or judgment. They simply seek to gouge out the prying eyes of those who see things they way God sees them.
Evil does not seek to frame the debate and engage in a healthy dialogue that results in constructive criticism being taken to heart. Evil seeks to annihilate the truth. When evil hears ungodly behavior condemned, they are not satisfied with shutting up their accuser. They intend to cut off his head.
The church is a safety net for those who drive through God’s warning signs at the top of the cliff. With virtue being devalued, and innocence dropping like a rock, the voice of the church is often expressed as a cry of panic, not a confident call for help.
Why does it matter that the church is known more for judging sin than loving sinners? God hates it when His children are known for leading a self-righteous inquisition rather than engaging in life-changing intercession.
“Discernment is God’s call to intercession, never fault-finding.” Oswald Chambers
Behavior inside and outside of the church rarely meets God’s standards of perfection. This means there is always something to condemn, and someone to judge. When God’s children spew from the pew, they ignore one of The Father’s sternest warnings, “Do not speak against one another.”
Self-appointed judges leave church every Sunday. In their cars, on their way home or to the restaurant, they serve their children a big plate of roast preacher. It should come as no surprise when 80 plus percent of young people who leave evangelical churches never come back, after they turn 18.
Serving up a big mess of judgment, week after week, has not improved the appetite of young people for the church. It has left them with a bitter spirit, and a sour stomach. Nor has moral outrage become a welcome mat for those who are seeking to escape the sinking ship of a decaying culture. When they summon the courage to go to church, they rarely hear the words or sense the spirit of forgiveness, “Except for the grace of God, there go I.”
Note to Self: “Who are you to judge your neighbor?” The band isn’t playing, “Here Comes The Judge.” Wrapping yourself in stolen robes is a poor substitute for hitting your knees on behalf of broken people. When you judge your neighbor, you are not leading out in intercession. You are taking part in an inquisition.
Before you spew from the pew, take a look at your own life from God’s view. “Judgment begins at the house of God.” He knows what it took to save you. Get over yourself, and pray for others to discover His life-saving love. They don’t deserve His love. Neither did you. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Humble
“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep, let you laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” James 4:7-10
“God’s purpose for your life is to knock you out of you so He can fill you with Himself.” Bill Stafford
When I heard Bill Stafford share these simple words, I was in a hotel meeting room in the Smokey Mountains of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, with a small group of war weary pastors. We had come to take part in a “ReFresh” Conference led by Dr. Michael Catt. Stafford’s words didn’t add weight to my soul. They left me with an overwhelming sense of relief. Life suddenly made sense. Life-giving truth always does.
Jesus set a priority, and a pattern for prayer, but His most enduring template for the earnest prayer warrior is His purpose of prayer. His prayer in The Garden, on the night before His death, Jesus prayed with one purpose in mind, “YIELD.”
“Not My will, but Thy will be done.” Luke 22:42
“YIELD” signs must be the most ignored and violated traffic signs on the planet. At the point where two lanes of automobiles merge, a simple, triangular, one word sign is placed. It does not call for anything but submission. There is no command to stop, or even to slow down. More often than not, it triggers the urge to surge, not the urge to merge. Surging satisfies rebellion. Merging avoids a collision.
Though not specifically mentioned in this passage of Scripture, prayer is birthed in the climate of humility. “YIELD” is the sign and the fruit of humble praying.
With all due respect to Bill Engvall, “Here’s your sign.” “YIELD.” Simply put, prayerlessness is your first sign of pridefulness. Your pride leads you to all kinds of rebellions decisions and needless collisions. “STOP.”
Scripture is relentless in placing personal responsibility where it belongs, at the scene of an accident. When wisdom is ignored, and your urge to surge overwhelms your urge to merge, you are to blame, not the devil.
You have the opportunity and the power to resist the devil. When you don’t resist him, you cooperate with him. You can’t stop the devil from being the instigator and initiator of chaos, confusion and crisis in your life. You can refuse to let him set the course for your life.
NOTE TO SELF: The Father knows the devil is the instigator. The devil lobbies to be the navigator. When you pray, you draw near to The Father. He demotes the devil and promotes you. Believing prayer begins with your first breath of humility. Don’t STOP praying until you YIELD to The Father. Avoid the collisions that prayerless and prideful children never see coming. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The KItty
“4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:4-6
The Book of James asks a very tough question found in verse four. It is not the least bit rhetorical. It is very practical, and essential. Those who answer it honestly will change their behavior, and align themselves with the will of The Father.
Nothing will improve your prayer life more than coming to grips with the truth of, “Prayerlessness is pridefulness.” You prostitute yourself by turning any ministry into your mistress. Pleasing yourself was never meant to be your business. Selling out to the word should never be turned into your full-time job.
The Westminster Confession asks a great question too. What is the chief purpose of man? Answer: To love God and to enjoy Him forever.
Enjoy God? WOW. Who knew? The world paints a close relationship with God as either a fanatical passion or a pathetic pursuit. Spending time with The Father often appears to be robbing you of time that could be better spent enjoying more worldly pursuits.
Scripture makes it very clear. Being called an adulteress is pretty strong language. It is not a compliment, but an open rebuke. Don’t wear it as a badge of honor.
Rubbing up against the world should never become your way of getting your strokes. It should make your skin crawl and the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
At the turn of the 20th Century, Evangelist Billy Sunday was accused of preaching too strong of a message against worldly living. Having stepped out of the world of professional baseball to become a preacher of The Gospel, he called for the church to realign themselves with the will and the way of The Father. One irritated critic said, “Sunday, you rub the fur of the cat the wrong way.” Sunday responded. “Let the cat turn around.”
When friendship with the world begins to feel like a comfort to you, you have become deceived. Pleasing yourself and others at the expense of failing to please The Father, may give an initial sense of satisfaction. Any temporary relief from the battle against evil is short-lived and rarely life giving.
Personal preferences and pleasures bring comfort. That is why they are hard to turn down. They come to you like a small kitten, purring and climbing into your lap, seeking to be fed. The more you feed the kitty, the bigger it gets. Soon the purring kitty becomes a roaring lion, seeking you, and chasing you. The enemy has one goal. He seeks to devour you.
Note to Self: Don’t feed the kitty. Don’t let the world stroke your ego. Never feed your need to please yourself or others. Humble yourself and pray for The Father’s sense of direction, His protection and His correction. Turn around. Remember! “God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.” TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Source
“What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war with your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious 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 with the wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” James 4:1-3
EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA. Bad. EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA. Coming to a city near you. EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA. EBOLA!!!!
Get the picture yet? A deadly disease is in our midst. Thanks to the network and cable news talking heads, the airwaves have been filled with little else but this crisis du jour. One man dies in Dallas, and the world is ending. Thousands die from the impact of obesity, cigarettes, alcohol, automobile accidents, and abortion in our nation, and the media can’t find the bodies. But I digress.
I have a word to the wise, if you please. Cut off any dangerous disease at the source. Don’t let people who have it, spread it. Wipe it out. Class over.
The Book of James reminds me that the early church was a hospital for sinners. The leadership took very seriously the spread of deadly diseases like “quarrels and conflicts” among the people. They warned everybody to cut them off at the source.
“Quarrels and conflicts” spread through The Body of Christ like terminal cancer, and must be cut off at the source. Every member of The Body must rid their hearts of “lust and envy” or there will be a break out of “quarrels and conflicts” in the church. These fleshly expressions are a far cry from what the doctor ordered: The Fruit of the Spirit.
For over six decades, I have watched churches tear themselves apart over issues that ranged from the insane to the mundane. One of these Sunday night bouts was scheduled when I was 10 years old. It was a knock down, drag out fight over purchasing either a used or a new piano. The two sides were soon punch drunk, but the fight would not end. I kept squirming in my pew like a Chihuahua on a hotplate. I wanted to stand up and shout, “I’m missing ‘Bonanza!’” “Little Joe” has long since ridden off into the sunset, but the worship wars continue.
Though the word pray is not used specifically in this passage of Scripture, the message is there. Ask is very clear, but at the very least it implies that there is an option to “quarrels and conflicts” and “lust and envy.” It should sound very familiar. Jesus still invites His followers to come to Him and ask.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7
“Whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” John 15:16
Note to Self: When your personal pleasures become personal preferences, any spirit of deference is choked out of your heart, and the Body of Christ. “Lust and Envy” ride into town, one issue at a time. They are The Source of “Quarrels and Conflicts.” When you pray, you cut them off at the pass, and invite Jesus to step in and take over. He is all you need. As Texans say, “One Riot. One Ranger.” TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Motive
“You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” James 4:2-3
The Book of James sets the industry standard for statements that embody the twin towers of clear communication. It is filled with the simple and the profound. Nothing clears the air for prayer like, “You do not have because you do not ask.”
Unasked prayers give full expression to the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy. Simply put, only the unasked prayers remain unanswered. Believing prayer chooses to avoid the paralysis of analysis, by asking the prayer and then waiting for the answer.
Believing prayer involves leaving answers to prayer up to The Father. Prayer warriors don’t wring their hands, obsessing over wouldah, couldah, shouldah. They pray and leave the answer to prayer in God’s capable hands. They let Him sort it out. Like the title to the old 1950’s TV show said, “Father Knows Best.”
Prayer is always answered. The Father’s answers range from yes, no, wait, and my personal favorite, “You have got to be kidding.” It is possible to live long enough to learn that some of The Father’s greatest gifts to me were not giving me what I wanted when I asked for it. All it takes is one high school reunion for this to make sense. Thank you, Jesus.
Evangelist Billy Graham is quoted as saying, “The only time God doesn’t answer my prayers is when I am on the golf course.” His personal testimony may give us a clue about the right motive for praying. “Wrong motives” can also be translated “wicked.” Apparently Dr. Graham learned from personal experience that he could not expect God’s guidance when lining up a putt.
Anyone who has ever had a swing with a wicked slice, knows the futility of praying an errant drive back on line and onto the fairway. This kind of praying usually leads to long walks in the tall grass, and life time of “do overs.” FORE!
Jesus prayed to keep His personal will aligned to The Father’s will. In doing so, He revealed the right motive for prayer. The consequences of a wicked life are much greater than a wicked slice. Prayer can realign the former, but I can attest that it won’t do much to improve the latter. Still, when it comes to prayer, TEE IT UP!
Note to self: Don’t despair. God answers prayer. If you don’t get the answer you want. Pray anyway. Praying keeps you in contact with The Father, and His answers realign you to His will for your life. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
“Our Lord in His teaching on prayer never once referred to unanswered prayer. He said God always answers prayer.” Oswald Chambers
The Peacemakers
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” James 3:17-18
My Dad often told me about an automobile that caught his attention. It had a “Straight-Eight” Engine. Instead of the cylinders of the car sitting side by side in the engine block, they were aligned in a straight row. It never caught on. Interestingly, neither has The Father’s plan for providing the Spiritual power for a fresh awakening His church.
“The wisdom from above is…”
1. Pure: immediate obedience, an unadulterated, unpolluted, uncompromising obedience to the Word of God
2. Peaceable: guided by wisdom to discern areas of agreement between two opposing parties rather than a passion for stirring up resentment between them
3. Gentle: harnessed power operating under the authority and the jurisdiction of The Master.
4. Reasonable: willing to yield to God’s sense of direction, protection and correction and to see another person’s point of view through The Father’s eyes.
“Prayer is surrender – surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God.” E. Stanley Jones
5. Full of mercy: a heart overflowing with compassion for those you enjoy and for those who annoy you.
6. Full of Good fruits: bearing the character of Christ in spite of unbearable circumstances, and over-bearing people:
“The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23
7. Unwavering: anchoring your faith in the bedrock of God’s grace, and trusting in His timing, and His provision in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary
8. Without hypocrisy: unmasked, total transparency between you and God and with you and men. Refusing to live beyond your spiritual means by pretending to others to be more than you are with God.
“What a man is on his knees before God, that he is and no more.” Robert Murray M’Cheyne
Note to Self: Prayer provides you with the power tools to build a “Straight -8” life, and the capacity to align your wheels with The Father’s will. Before you put the pedal to the metal, make peace with God and with men. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, and put your knees on the ground. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Jesus, Matthew 5:9
The Tongue
“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.” James 3:1-2
When my first grade teacher, Miss Hamm, sent home my first report card, she noted, “Gary enjoys talking in class with his many new friends, while I am teaching. He needs to learn to pay attention.” My Mom got the message. My Dad made the point. It was a short learning curve.
The Tongue is a powerful tool for good or a weapon for evil depending on the will, and the character of the person doing the talking. Talk is driven by your tongue. Prayer is driven by your heart. If you don’t develop a heart for prayer, your unbridled talk will spew out of your big mouth. When you choose to be prayerless, you will step on your tongue, and stumble into error. This only happens…EVERY TIME!
Scripture places a heavy responsibility upon all who are called to teach, and warns them to bridle their tongues. When you prayerfully yield your will to The Father, your tongue will be harnessed for His personal use, not yours.
Jesus prayed to yield His will to The Father’s will. Before He spoke for Him, Jesus spoke to The Father. False teachers are in love with the sound of their own voice, and breathe their own ether. The most dangerous place in the world is between them and a microphone. The last place you will find them is in the prayer closet. They love the spotlight.
Jesus was called Master, by His disciples. It was not an honorary title, but a necessary bridle. They referred to His authority and jurisdiction over their lives. The Master intended to control the tongues of His discples, by empowering them to use their tongues for the honor and glory of The Father. He intends to exercise the same control over yours.
“Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.” James 3:3
To avoid accumulative error, ancient mariners used the rudder of their ships to make steady course corrections. The proper use of the rudder insured their ship would arrive safely at their destination. Huge ships and precious cargos were in danger when the rudder was impaired or ignored. A dysfunctional rudder meant a navigational error could not be corrected. Drifting farther and farther of course, the ship could reach a point of no return, crashing upon the rocks of a distant shore, far away from the pilot’s intended destination. The rudder and your tongue share the same reputation for having the power to guide or collide.
“Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.” James 3:4
The Tongue has the capacity to illuminate or incinerate. When you race towards a confrontation with an annoying person or enter into a conversation about an absent person, your prayerless communication will shed for more heat than light. When you fail to pray before you speak, you are setting in motion a scorched earth policy that was birthed in hell, not in Heaven.
“So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.” James 3:5-6
Note to Self: A bridle, rudder and spark have one thing in common. Though relatively small, they all have the capacity to make a great impact for good or evil. So does your tongue. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Works
“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” James 2:26
As a child of the 1950’s, I often accompanied my family on cross-country trips, before, during and after the development of America’s amazing Interstate Highway System. The path of our car would wind its way along clogged, two lane roads, through tiny towns. All along our route, there were traffic jams, while cars were halted. Huge mounds of red clay were in the process of being moved, by massive bulldozers and road graders.
The foundation of the highway of the future was mapped out, but until the work was done, life came to a standstill. The one confusing sign I would read as we crawled through town after town was, “SLOW MEN AT WORK!” As we pulled up closer to the sign, and seeing men leaning on their shovels, I would blurt out, “Why don’t they hire some fast men?”
The Book of James reminds me that faith is not just a noun. It is also a verb. Faith is not just an intellectual belief that I hold. It is a passionate conviction that has taken hold of me. Believing prayer transforms my faith into a passionate conviction, moving it from my head, to my heart, while bending my knees, and my will.
When you pray, you show signs of life. The only way for prayer to be unable to work is for you to refuse to pray. Jesus told His disciples to ask. Prayer is no more complicated than that.
“So that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. “ John 15:16
You may lead or attend a death defying church. Just because it exists does not mean that it is alive. A body of believers is not life giving, until it carries out the same work as The Founder of the church.
Jesus prayed while on earth. In Heaven, seated at the right hand of The Father. He continues to intercede for His church. When you follow Jesus, you either enter into a life of prayer, or you become lifeless. The Body of Christ is either a praying church, or it is a headless corpse, not a living body.
Note to Self: Believing prayer is a sign of your living faith. When you stop praying, you stop believing. Eventually, you stop working, and living. Bending your knees and your will, are vital signs of your living faith, and prepare you for the work that matters, intercession. Jesus did it. He still does it. He has called you to it. When you are prayerless, you are leaning on your shovel, and drifting off course into a spiritual coma. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!