Category: Sword Fighting Class

Sword Fighting Class – Look Intently and Be Blessed

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“Consider if pure joy, my dear brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1 1 - 9 If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives wisdom to all without fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich, should take pride in his low position, for he will pass away like the wildflower.  For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, a rich man will fade away even as he goes about his business.James 1 part 2

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me’ for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor can he tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin, when it is full-grown, give birth to death.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruit of all he created.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this; everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word of truth that is planted in you, which can save you.  Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself.  Do what it says.

Anyone who listens to the word and does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

We are almost to the end of James 1!  Great job!  Here’s this week’s verse:

But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard but doing it – that man will be blessed in what he does.

When we hear God’s word and we let the Holy Spirit direct us and correct us through it, we are blessed.  Every part of God’s revelation to us has a purpose in our lives.

As we live a life obedient to God’s word, he has more and more room to bless us.  He becomes increasingly more precious to us the closer we walk with him.

What we say is not nearly as important as what we do.

Please help us be doers of your word, dear Father.

 

Sword Fighting Class – Don’t Waste Your Time

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance and perseverance must finish its work so you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.James 1 1 -9

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position for he will pass away like a wildflower.  For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, a rich man will fade away even as he goes about his business.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because, when he has stood the test, he will receive the Crown of Life that God has promised to all who love him.James 1 part 2

When tempted, no one should say ‘God is tempting me’.  For God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin, when it is full-grown, give birth to death.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the Heavenly light who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Therefore, put off all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word of truth planted in you, which can save you.  Do not merely listen to the word and deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.”

Yeah!  With God’s help we are doing an awesome job of memorizing James 1!  The next two verses go together so here they are:

“Anyone who hears the word and does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”

Useless.

Worthless.

A waste of time.

That’s what we’re doing if we’re listening to and reading God’s word but not letting him change us and transform us through it.

Please open our heart and minds to your transforming power, dear Father.

 

 

Sword Fighting Class- Do What it Says

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.James 1 1 -9  If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without fault and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, for he will fade away like the wildflower.  For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, a rich man fades away even while he goes about his business.James 1 part 2

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trials for, when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.

When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me’, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor can he tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desires, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters, every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the Heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruit of all he created.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry because man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word of truth planted in you, which can save you.”

Wow!  We’re memorizing James 1 and we only have a few more verses to go.  Here’s our next one:

“Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.”

Do what it says.

Listen and obey.

Let God transform us from the inside out as we read his word and then do what it says.

We deceive ourselves if we just check the box by sitting in church on Sunday but we don’t let God’s word soak in and change us.  We deceive ourselves if we faithfully read our chapter of the Bible everyday but we don’t respond.  If we don’t repent and turn away from the sin in our lives.  If we don’t let God transform our thinking and our attitudes.

Do what it says.

That’s easy to memorize – very challenging to do.

We need your help, Abba Father.

Sword Fighting Class – Our Black Belt

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

We are memorizing James 1 and we are up to the Black Belt level.  We are memorizing verse 21 today and we have 6 more to go.  What a blessing!

Here are the first 20 verses that we have memorized:James 1 1 -9

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like the wave of a the sea, blown and tossed by the win.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.James 1 part 2

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position for he will pass away like the wildflower.  For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, the rich man fades away even while he goes about his business.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trail because, when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

When tempted, no one should say ‘God is tempting me’ for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters, every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we may be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry because man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Yippee!  We’re doing great!  This is only possible because nothing is impossible with God!  Here’s our next verse:

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

The thing that immediately comes to my mind with this verse is “50 Shades of Gray”.  Moral filth.  Evil.  And I feel like I’m being bombarded on all sides.  In the media.   In conversations.  The general population doesn’t seem to have any issues with it.  I’m starting to call it ’50 Shades of Smut”.  No one has any questions about my opinion 🙂

God tells us in this verse to get rid of all moral filth and evil.  We are to cast off all sinful practices like a filthy garment.  This includes our thoughts along with what we say.

And we are to open our hearts and minds to the word – wanting to hear the truth and willing to change.   The Word can help make us wise and help us understand salvation.  Grace.  Redemption.  Transformation.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

 

Sword Fighting Class – Our Anger

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting Class2 Comments

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind; that man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord, he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”James 1 1 -9

“The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  While the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, for he will pass away like the wildflower.  For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, a rich man fades away even as he goes about his business.”

“When tempted, no one should say ‘God is tempting me’, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”James 1= 13-18

“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.”

“Dear brothers and sisters, take note of this; everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

Yeah!  We’re memorizing James 1 and we’re doing great!  If you’re doing this with me, I know you are being blessed.  I am.  I love having this portion of scripture etched on my brain.  God uses it all of the time in my life.  Here’s the next verse,

” because man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ”

Our anger is not right for us.

It makes us say things we shouldn’t say.  It makes us do things we shouldn’t do.  We are not quick to listen and not slow to speak when we are angry.

Our anger is often based on self-centeredness.  Something was done to us.  Something was said to us or about us.  It focuses our attention on ourselves, our emotions.

Away from God.  Away from the peace of God.  Away from the forgiveness of God.  Away from the unconditional acceptance that we only get from God.

James tells us in his third chapter that true righteousness is sown in peace, not in anger.

Dear Father, please help us deal positively with our anger and grow our righteousness.

Sword Fighting Class- Quick and Slow

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1 1 -9 If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without fault and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord, he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”

“The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  James 1= 13-18But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, for he will pass away like the wildflower.  For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the plant; it’s blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.”

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because, when he has stood the test, he will receive the Crown of Life that God has promised to all who love him.”

“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me’, for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.  And sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly light, who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.”

Awesome!  We’re memorizing James 1 with God’s help and we’re doing great!  God is doing most of it at this point, right?  Because it’s a lot and no way would we be this far without the help of the Holy Spirit!

Here’s the next verse:

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

It’s hard to listen – I need to get better at it.

It’s hard to be slow to speak – I need to get better at that, too.

Well, here’s one I don’t have a lot of issues with – anger.  One out of three 🙂

God is telling us that we should be all about listening to the word of truth.  Focused.  Committed.

Being slow to speak will help us keep away from the temptation to say things we shouldn’t say.  It will give us more time to listen.

And, when we are angry, we aren’t open to the truth.  We’re turned inward and only considering ourselves.  Not concerned about others.

Dear Father,  We ask for your help in being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.  Please grow these qualities in us.

 

Sword Fighting Class- Redeemed!

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without fault, and it will be given to him. James 1 1 -9 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.’

“The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, for he will pass away like a wildflower.  The sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. James 1= 13-18 In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business”.

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because, when he has stood the test, he will receive crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

“When tempted, no one should say “God is tempting me” for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.  And sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Awesome!  We are memorizing James 1 and we are doing great!  We are doing our part and God is definitely doing his part!  Here is our next verse:

“He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.”

God has redeemed us with his grace.  His gospel is the truth which transforms us from creatures forever separated from God’s light into his adopted children, reborn and reconciled to him.

There is no better news than this!

Thank you, Abba Father!

 

 

Sword Fighting Class – Everything Good

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”James 1 1 -9

“The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, for he will pass away like the wildflower.  The sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, the rich man fades away even while he goes about his business.”

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because, when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to all who love him.”James 1= 13-18

When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me’, for God cannot be tempted by evil or does he tempt anyone.   But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

Great job!  We’re memorizing James 1 and we are over half-way!  Thank you, dear God, for helping us write your word upon our hearts!  Here are the next two verses:

“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the Heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

I love this verse!  Everything good comes from God.  Everything that is true and good and fun and worthwhile comes from God.

This was driven home to me one year when my company had all of the top leaders attend a seminar to help us personally work through things in our heads and hearts because they knew we would be better employees if we were better people.

It was not a faith-based seminar but every main point they made was Biblical……..because all truth comes from God.  All good things come down from the Father of Heavenly light.

There is nothing good on earth that did not come from him.

I like the last part of that verse as well – God doesn’t change.  The rest of our world changes every second, shifting around like shadows that move as the sun moves.    God is our consistent Rock.  He is our only anchor.

Thank you, Abba Father!

Sword Fighting Class- The Choice is Ours

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without fault and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”James 1 1 -9

“The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position because he will pass away like the wildflower.  For the sun rises with  scorching heat and withers the plant; it’s blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, the rich man  will fade away even as he goes about his business.  Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because, when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”James 1= 13-18

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me’.  For God can not tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when, by his own sinful desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 

Awesome!  We are memorizing James 1!  Definitely a God thing – writing this on my heart would not be possible if God was blessing this and making it happen.  Here’s the next verse –

‘Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.’

When we take the bait like  James 1:14 mentions, we make the evil desire our own and this leads to sinful attitudes and actions.  As a result, we move farther and farther away from God.

God uses this whole passage of James to speak to us about the benefits when we persevere with wisdom and faith through trials.  When we stand the test, God is pleased, he knows we love him and he gives us the crown of life.

Or we can choose to be drawn away by our own wants and desires.  This choice leads to separation and death.

Our choice.  The consequences are clear.

Sword Fighting Class – Focus on the Right Things

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“Consider if pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  James 1 1 -9Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without fault and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord, he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”

“The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position because he will pass away like the wild flower.  For the sun rises with  scorching heat and withers the plant; it’s blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, a rich man fades away even while he goes about his business.”James 1= 13-18

” Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because, when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me,” for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone,”

Yeah!  We’re memorizing James 1 and we’re almost half the way there!  God is blessing our perseverance!  Here’s the next verse:

“but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”

We are tempted by our own evil desires.  When it’s all about us, we’re in trouble.  When we’re in ‘me first’ mode, we’re off target.  We’re doing what we want.  We’re listening as Satan and his team whisper in our ears…..dragging us away from the truth.

Enticed.  Interesting word. So I looked it up and it means to attract (someone), usually to do something, by arousing hope, interest or desire.

When we give our attention to our evil desires, they will entice us farther from God.

When we give our attention to God, he will renew our minds and transform our desires with his truth.

Our eyes are on you, Abba Father.