We're taking a trip chronologically through the Bible this year.
I lift my eyes up to the mountains, to the clouds, to the warm sun.
My help comes from the Lord who created all of these things.
He does not let me stumble. He never sleeps – he is always caring for me.
The Lord watches over me – I can feel his presence. He is standing right behind me, not letting anything harm me.
My Lord watches over my life – protecting me.
He watches me day and night, today and tomorrow….forevermore.
Thank you, Abba Father.
There are so many thoughts and feelings fighting within me, dear God.
There are problems and situations rising up all around me!
I find myself often thinking that you aren’t in control of this. That you aren’t going to work this one out for my good.
But I know, dear Lord, that you protect me.
I know that your power within me can lift my head up high so I can see you.
So I can focus on you.
When I call out to you, you always answer.
I can sleep at night because you are with me.
I have no fear because I know that you love me and give me strength.
Deliver me from all the things that distract my attention away from you.
As a wave of other people’s voices washes over me, dear God, help me to hear only yours.
I know you will deliver me, God.
You have proved your faithfulness to me.
May your blessing be on us, your people.
Thank you, Abba Father.
Do you have days where it feels like there are problems and challenges coming at you from all sides?
I do.
Issues come up at work.
Difficulties arise in my personal life.
These are also the times where I get a tooth ache or a cold.
Or I get a flat tire on my car.
And the washing machine stops working.
And the dog starts having a weird cough.
I know you’ve been there, too.
One of the blessings of being adopted by God as his child is knowing that we can reach out to God in the middle of all of this mess and he will give us peace.
He will give us strength.
We know from etchingJames 1 onto our minds that, when we persevere under trials by asking God for wisdom, he will always give us in a generous amount and we grow and mature. We become complete.
God is always faithful. David knew this. We read in 1 Samuel that God had rescued David from the paw of a lion and the paw of a bear so David was confident that God would give him victory over Goliath.
What are the Goliaths that we’re facing today?
Dear Father, we ask for the bold confidence David had as we face our own Goliaths. We know you are faithful. You have always taken care of us in the past. You will always love and care for us in the future. Please help us live each day with that confidence – with that attitude – knowing you are helping us fight our lions, our bears and our Goliaths. We love you, dear Father. In the awesome name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
“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. 
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.
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.
At this time last year, I had the privilege of visiting Israel. Other people who had taken the trip told me that it would change how I read the Bible for the rest of my life.
They were so right.
As we’re reading this famous story of the walls of Jericho falling down, I remember how it felt to be sitting on a hill in the new Jericho. The old Jericho was cursed so the new Jericho was built close to the old city but not at the same place.
Our tour guide was Dr. Woodrow Kroll who was leading his 50th group through Israel. He stood in front of us on a hill with his back to the city (picture) so we could look down at this land promised to the Israelites thousands of years ago. He read from the Bible the historical account – the marching, the yelling, the trumpet blowing and, finally, the walls tumbling down.
Sometimes when we hear about the ‘stories’ of the Bible or read one of these historical events that have become a well-known Children’s Bible story, we can start to think that these stories are folklore, handed down through the generations.
That’s not true about the Bible. The Bible is a historical account of events that happened. The miracles in the Bible actually took place, they weren’t computer generated like they are in the movies.
Archeological findings continue to prove the historical truth of the Bible. The amount of conflicting archeological findings is growing smaller as more and more things are being discovered that verify the historical accuracy of the Bible. They just haven’t found everything yet. When they do, there will be no more conflicts.
The Bible is not filled with ‘stories’. It is history – our history as children of Abraham. Children of the faith. The places are there. The proof is there.
If you ever get a chance to go, pack your bags. It will change how you read the Bible…forever.
Thank you, Abba Father.
Our to-do lists are long.
And they keep growing.
There are so many challenges ahead. It can be overwhelming.
Where do we find the strength?
Joshua must have felt completely overwhelmed when Moses turned over leadership of the Israelites to him. He was going to have to lead them into battle – over and over – in order to claim the Promised Land. They could see the Promised Land. They could also see the fortified cities that were already there and the crowds of people who inhabited them.
The book of Joshua begins with God giving instructions to this new, young leader. ‘Be strong and courageous’. God repeats this phrase three times in his first set of instructions to Joshua.
3 times.
Why? Because Joshua was going to have to remember that he needed God’s help to do this. This was way too big of a mission to try to pull off on his own. Joshua by himself is not strong enough for what he is going to have to do. Joshua by himself is not brave enough to face the challenges that lie ahead for the Israelites. So God is telling Joshua what he will give Joshua strength and courage – as long as Joshua depends on God.
God is telling us the same thing today as we read his words. He will give us strength and courage for the journey we are on – the purpose we are here to fulfill.
We can be strong – it comes from God.
We can have courage – God has our back. There is no reason to be afraid.
We find strength and courage when we’re living close to God.
Listening and obeying.
Thank you, Abba Father.
If you are careful to obey my commands, I will shower my blessings upon you.
You will be fruitful and prosperous.
I will keep you safe.
I will bless you with peace. You will sleep well – not fearful of anything.
I will remove all threat to your safety from your life. Your enemies will fail.
Don’t worry about being outnumbered by the evil ones – I am on your side. I will look upon you as my favorite child – providing for you and always being faithful.
My blessings will overflow in your life – one on top of another.
I will walk with you and live with you. I will be your God and you will be my child.
I am the Lord your God who sent my only son to die for you so you might believe and live with me forever.
I gave you freedom so you can choose to stand faultless before me. You can choose to walk closely beside me everyday. You can choose to love me and listen to me.
You can choose to obey.
Thank you, Abba Father.
God told the Israelites to put tassels of blue cord on the corners of their garments. When they looked at these tassels, they would be reminded of all of God’s commands and that they were supposed to obey them. I bought a prayer shawl for my husband when I was in Jerusalem last year and it had several tassels on it. Devout Jews still wear tassels every day – to remind them to obey.
Where are our tassels?
What are we doing to help us remember God’s commands so we can obey him?
A lot of people post scripture in their homes – on mirrors, on walls, on refrigerators.
Many of us have scripture in frames or on plaques hung on our walls. One of my favorites is a picture of several hot air balloons going over some mountains and its hung in my office at work. It reads “Faith is holding onto God’s dreams and watching your own come true.” It’s not a scripture but its a blessing that God has made happen in my life. It reminds me of the many years God has been faithful to me – in all situations. And it challenges me to ‘press on’ with obedience in anticipation of what God has planned for me in the future.
Another very effective way to always have scripture available to help change our thinking and change our behavior is to memorize it. For those of you who are taking on the challenge of memorizing James 1 with me, I know you are feeling the blessings like I am. We aren’t quite done – we have a couple of more verses to go. But I already can say that I not only know James 1. I also feel James 1. The wisdom in this chapter is woven through my mind. It has become a part of my thinking process.
How amazing!
What a blessing!
And its all because I did my part and God showed up and did his part.
What are your tassels of remembrance?
Do you need some more?
Please help us remember, Abba Father.
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:
“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.
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.
God gave this benediction to Aaron to bless the Israelites thousands of years ago. Today, God repeats this blessing over us as we read his Word:
The Lord Bless You and Keep you,
* Bless us with his abundance.
Come with me on a Journey through the Bible 