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We all understand what people mean when they talk about "polar opposites". And it's not usually about large white bears and flightless birds. It's about people. Either speaking about personalities (most often) or opinions. I'm sure each of us can provide multiple examples of each, especially with the way things are these days. The saddest place to find these divisions, however, is within the Church. It may be differing views between denominations or even differing opinions within the same Church. It's one of the strategies of the Enemy to "divide and conquer". We need to not only be more aware of this, but take steps to prevent it's success. Now more than ever, it's imperative that we put petty details aside and work together for the greater good. The very survival of our Churches and our Faith.
Acting in response to this awareness, Nate Parks* had stamped envelopes ready to hand out to anyone wanting them. His purpose was in sparking not only an awareness in us toward encouraging our leadership, but providing a means by which to do so. (or at least inspire people to do something)*
Let's read today's passage together --
James 1:13-17
New International Version
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Nate's message this morning was an amazing and timely* reminder of the hope we have in Christ. He opened with an amusing story to illustrate the central point of today's scripture. He shared about a family vacation to Florida in March some years back. Obviously, the goal when visiting the beach is relaxation, right?? And snacks, of course... out come the Goldfish crackers and... yep, you guessed it!! Down come the seagulls!! LOL So, being the "oh so Godly, spiritual man" that Nate is, he begins to pray for theses bothersome "messengers of the Anti-Christ" to leave him and his family alone. lol Now, I think most of us know that God doesn't make things that easy. He's no longer here in the flesh, so it's on us to act against our foes. You seriously cannot fathom what comes next!! Pool noodle/Jedi Sword to the rescue!! LOL LOL LOL ...
Seriously though, there's an incredible depth to the book of James and it's guidance for our lives. Some even consider it as the "Proverbs of the New Testament" for it's imperative instructions. (valid) It also contains a wealth of deep theology, however. With this in mind, let's dig in --
Verse 13 leads the passage off by presenting an incredibly powerful thought. God does not tempt us. The truth is, that it's human nature turned away from God that leads to temptation*. As human beings, and particularly as Americans, it is our tendency to feel "entitled" to a life of happiness, or at least the pursuit thereof. (after all, the Constitution guarantees us that right) The problem is, there are always going to be problems. (Jn. 16:33) Another tendency is to put human emotion on God. We come up with wrong definitions of His Words when we do this. The question we need to be asking is not, "What did I do wrong??" The question is this, "is the One Who is truly in control good and caring??" Jump down to verse 17 for a minute -- "Every good and perfect gift is from above..." How do we define "good" and "perfect"?? if we're honest, we probably define them according to what we want things to look like, right?? Idk where Nate found his definition of "perfect", but the insight was that it meant "something specifically designed for the recipient." In the process of this part of the message, Nate shared his and his wife's original challenges toward having children. Extreme measures were taken before their first daughter was born. Her name is Grace in honor of God's gift to them.
God continued to bless them with 2 more children, in the timing they required*. Another girl, and a boy. Their son presented a whole new level of faith in God's goodness. It was his wife's deepest fear to have an Autistic child*. Physical issues would have been less intimidating to them. Nothing in Nate's presented definition of "perfect" says "easy"; it says "designed for the recipient." Verse 17 says, Every good thing... "good" means, "solid, having integrity". The second part of the verse speaks of light. Natural light has darkness at the core. (yes, even the Sun). But God's light is pure to the core. It contains absolutely no darkness. There are no variations or flickers. (fire, for example) Another idea we as humans tend to embrace in relation to goodness and perfection is that of abundance. We read John 10:10 and think we know what it's talking about because that's the perspective (or lens) we're seeing it from. When are we going to learn that God doesn't think like we do!!??* The verse speaks of life more abundantly, but the Devil comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. And we think killing is the worst Satan can do... oh, my friends, we are so very wrong about that... First of all, as indicated above, temptation is sourced from human nature turned away from God. The thieving comes as a result of sin. Secondly, to find Satan's most powerful weapon, we need only to look back to Genesis at Adam and Eve. Satan never said that God wasn't all-powerful, or all-knowing or anything like that. He asked a question that planted a seed in Eve's heart and mind... "Did God really say...?? The seed planted was doubt. Satan is the ultimate master of the "sneak attack." He knows we're smart enough not to fall for a direct hit. But doubt is like an Atomic Bomb for the Devil. One tiny particle can produce an explosion.
Now look back at verses 13 and 14 and review the facts -- God cannot be tempted*; therefore he cannot tempt us. God is good. Life creates fertile ground for weakness and deception. (vs. 16) At this point, Nate shared another story about a beach in NJ in April (IKR) ;p Their son was still fairly young at this point. (around 18 mos.) and they had just received the official Autism diagnosis. They had a crisis of faith during that time amidst the layers of emotion and intellect. Their dream of abundance and "perfection" was shattered. Together, they made a decision to trust that God was good and knew that He had a purpose for them and for their son. It would have been very easy to fall prey to the Devil's trap of doubt, but they held firm.
It is our responsibility to tend our own ground. We need to be intentional about rendering Satan's weapons impotent!! We need to make positive, Godly connections to help cultivate our soil. Encourage one another on the journey. Remember, God is good and has our best interests at heart!! -- God Bless!!
Footnotes --
Nate Parks is a regularly presented Guest Speaker in our Church. He heads a Camp Ministry that covers the entire Northeast region of the US.
The notes of encouragement idea was only introduced to me and a number of others when we watched the service online after our Fellowship Group teaching/gathering time. I think it's a great idea, however, and plan to act on it later this week.
Timely reminder in that Rob has been struggling with trusting God rather than man to provide for him/us. (join the blog, and see the Forum for prayer requests)
We've all heard the expression of blame when people say, "the Devil made me do it!!" Well, no he didn't. You allowed yourself to be weak and make a poor decision. All the Devil did was entice you with something (or someone) that seemed like a good idea at the time. There is also a whole train of thought relating to The Lord's Prayer here. I'll let you meditate on that one... (it's almost 10:30 at night, I'm tired)
They prayed for a September birth in light of Summer Camp being a busy time. Their second daughter and their son were both mid-September!! God is good!!
Nate referred to their son as "having Autism", but we understand that phrasing is inaccurate. It's not a "disease" it's an inherent difference in brain processing. A good friend of mine who's husband is an ex IT expert defines it as "Windows vs Linux". Same capabilities, different operating system.
God doesn't think like we do... (Isaiah 55:8-9)
God cannot be tempted... (Matt. 4:1-11) See also Jn. 1:1... God and Jesus are 2 of the 3 "faces" of the Trinity. Or roles filled, as in Father, Son, and Holy Ghost = Any man who is a Father is also a son, and someone's best friend and advisor. Same person, different aspects or facets. (diamond, prism)
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