Let the Lord Plan Your Life

“Look here, you people who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (James 4:11-12, NLT).

In Proverbs 27:1 we read: “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” We do not know the number of our days. Neither can we know whether our plans will materialize. God alone knows and controls the future. With this knowledge securely in mind, we ought, therefore to let the Lord lay plans for our future. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us not to worry about our life, what we should eat, drink, wear. After using the birds of the air and the lilies of the field as examples, He then said: “But seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:33-34, NIV). An adage states: “Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” Are we not to plan, then? Not to make any preparation for the future, such as an education to help us better do the work we are to do? Hardly that. But even in preparation for our life’s work, we take it a step at the time. We cannot worry and fret, nor boast. Prayer will be the springboard to guide us in the right way. Depend on God to lead, and at the same time be ready to serve willingly where He leads. The parts of the puzzle which is the future will then fall into place. James had the right advice, indeed, when he wrote: “If the Lord wants us to, we will do this or that.”

Life is like a fog which vanishes quickly away. Life is utterly dependent upon the sustaining power of God. Because of its brevity, how much more ought we to be within the parameters of God’s will and way. Psalm 23 is a good example of the believer’s dependence upon God. And watch the progression of what happens: whatever the need or situation, God is present and providing. Knowing to do good and not doing it is sin. This is what we often refer to as the “sin of omission.” When we make plans for the future, even though our plans are good, and fail to lay the whole matter before God, seeking His guidance and will, we are committing the sin of omission with a very important entity—our very life, its work, and its influence. God has numbered our days. How He would like to order our days as well, and bring fulfillment and purpose into our lives. God gave us talents and abilities for a purpose: to serve Him and others. Henry Blackaby in Experiencing God gave this advice for Christians: “Look to see where God is working and join Him in that work.” Be alert to God’s bidding; join Him and be blessed.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Sunday, October 24, 2010

Warning Against Judging Others

" Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge your neighbor?" (James 4:11-12, NIV).

The first statement in this admonition from James might be translated: "Do not speak evil of one another" or "do not disparage one another." Disparage was a word that meant to de-rank, or to lower in rank or reputation, even to marry below one's class; to depreciate or to degrade. In James' day, the Christians still thought highly of and sought to live by the Jewish law. He reminded his readers (hearers) that there is only one Lawgiver and Judge. Everyone reading this would know immediately that James meant God, "the One who can save and destroy." Therefore, who are they to pass judgment on a neighbor, or to speak out against the law? Slander was regarded by the Jews as a very serious sin, although their law did not say specifically: "Thou shalt not slander." Anyone who slandered-brought false charges against, made false statements about, or defamed the character of -another was claiming for himself the function of the law. Here James is again sounding a warning as Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus warned about the seriousness of taking the law into one's own hands and judging others: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from you (sic) brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5). We need to nail down the concept of receiving the same judgment as that with which we judge. Most of us must admit to having a plank in our own eyes. We are hardly qualified at all to judge others lest we be met with more severe judgment.

Eugene Peterson in The Message Bible stated these verses plainly and in every-day language which we can easily understand: "Don't bad-mouth each other, friends. It's God's Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You're supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?" (James 1:7-10). Unfortunately, we have strong tendencies to judge. Shall I saw we even like to judge? But let us remember what we say in the Disciple's (known as the Lord's) Prayer: "Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever." God alone has the power to judge. Our role is to help others, not to judge, to witness to, not to criticize; to love, not to condemn. Can we measure up?

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, October 23, 2010

Draw Near to God

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:7-10, NIV).

A saying frequently heard is "Satan made me do it." That is a ready excuse for un-Christian behavior. Satan flees stiff resistance. Actually, if the Christian is on guard to Satan's wiles, he can resist the devil. It is the Christian's choice to submit to God and resist the devil. It is the Christian's choice to come near to God. God is always waiting to forgive, cleanse, strengthen and make strong But the move to draw near to God must begin with the Christian. So far as our sins are concerned, we are to grieve over them, mourn over them. James is very plain about our double-mindedness, in which we give God some allegiance but try to hold onto the things Satan entices us to do. Acceptance of God's way means coming near to Him in repentance and with deep grief for sins. "Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hears, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom." The washing referred to is not ceremonial, as the Jews practiced, and which Jesus referred to as making the outside of the cup clean while the inside remained full of greed and self indulgence (Matthew 23:25). It is an ethical cleansing in which the sinner is genuinely sorry for sin, and recognizing his sinful state grieves and mourns over his condition. It is this humbling of oneself before God that enables forgiveness and God's lifting the repentant sinner up.

In today's language and with much passion, Eugene Peterson translates these verses in The Message Bible: "So let God work His will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you will get on your feet."

It is our daily choice to submit to God and resist the devil. The spiritual battle is constant and ongoing, for the enticements of Satan are always present and the effort to defeat his influence is necessary to a victorious, radiant Christian life. Move toward God. He is ready to receive and embrace you, lift you up and empower you for His work. Thanks be to God we can know His presence and power in our life.

c Ethelene Dyers Jones; Friday, October 22, 2010

Wrong Kind of Pride Leads to Multiple Sins

"Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God/ Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us years jealously'? But He give more grace. Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.' James 4:1-6 NKJV).

James writes strongly in these verses about the wrong kind of pride, the selfish, self-seeking pride that leads to all kins of sinful actions. A commonly held moral teaching was that the aggressiveness of bodily desires was the root of all sorts of human conflicts and quarrels: wars, murder, covetousness that leads to stealing, adultery, enmity with God. Then in the midst of speaking of the wrong kind of pride and desires and the sins to which they lead, James inserts a strong word on prayer: "You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." To pray from wrong motives is most certainly an indication that God will not answer the prayers in a positive manner. This is another evil effect of seeking bodily pleasures and holding to the wrong kind of pride: they prevent answers to prayers, or even prevent one from praying. The Scripture James quotes here, so we are told by scholars, may have been form some of the writings not included in the canon of our Bible: "The Spirit who dwells in us eyarns jealously." The Greek words for this sentence are most difficult to translate, and one cannot find this quotation in a concordance of the Old Testament. James, like many of us, was no doubt not quoting any specific text, but giving the gist of meaning from several Old Testament texts. We can safely say that the Spirit of God that dwells in us "jealously yearsn" for us to refrain from the sins of selfish pride and focus on His way. "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble" is a quotation from Proverbs 3:34.

Sin produces selfish, prideful desire and lack of humility. Our prayers, instead of being selfish, should seek to glorify God and advance His kingdom. Is He not then interested in our day-by-day requests, some in which we frequently ask for help in tough situations? Certainly He is, and He hears these prayers when we pray from an humble heart and our motives are right. The promise is assuredly that "He gives grace to the humble." Let us beware of our selfish pride and cultivate humility.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, October 21, 2010

Tomorrow Is Uncertain

“Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.” (Proverbs 27:1, NASV).

Tomorrow is uncertain. We should not count as definite what we plan to do for we do not know what that elusive “tomorrow” holds. Eugene Peterson in The Message Bible renders the verse: “Don’t harshly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.”

It is hard to draw the line between being boastful and concerned about tomorrow and being so lackadaisical that we set no goals for the future or make any plans whatsoever, allowing whatever may to come, as in the song, “What will be, will be.” In that case, why plan to get an education? Tomorrow may not come, so why would we have a need for preparation? Why, then, did the wise man who wrote this proverb warn us to beware of boasting about tomorrow? The emphasis here seems to be on the word boast. We cannot say with assurance that we will do a certain thing or accomplish specific goals on the morrow, for, behold, today is the time we have. Yet, even in today, we can work as though tomorrow will come and have faith that God, who controls all of time, will work out His will in granting us the days allotted to us.

Horace, a great Italian philosopher who lived from about 65-8 B. C., had probing concerns about tomorrow. He stated: “Drop the question what tomorrow may bring, and count as profit every day that Fate allows you.” He is also responsible for the often-quoted “carp diem,” which we translate “seize the day”. The quotation containing this Latin phrase, translated, reads: “While we’re talking, time will have meanly run on; pick today’s fruits (or carp diem), not relying on the future in the slightest.” The idea is to seize today. It is here for us to enjoy, to gain benefits from, to live wholly in. One of my favorite quotations along this line is Psalm 118:24: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” I quote this nearly every morning upon awaking, thanking God for another day of life. Jesus taught about the folly of earnestly seeking to lay up treasures upon earth because of the uncertainty and brevity of life (Luke 12:16-23). See also in His “Sermon on the Mount” where he taught: “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34, NKJV). James, too, wrote on this theme: “Some of you say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to some city. We will stay there a year, do business, and make money.’ But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away.” (James 4:13-14, NIV). Someone has wisely observed: “Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.”

To close out thoughts on avoiding the uncertainties of tomorrow, I end with an original poem:

One Day at a Time

If we could but the secret find
Of one day at a time,
We’d borrow not tomorrow’s fears
And neither look behind
To yesterday’s regrets and tears,
Nor rue today’s firm tread,
But fill life full of love and joy
And happiness instead.

In our concern to push ahead
We grab and gulp and pine,
Not understanding precious peace
Of one day at a time.
Lord, grant us patience thus to live
And give us grace to find
The sheer delight of present tense,
Of one day at a time.

-Ethelene Dyer Jones (c1984)

Lord, may we live fully for You today. “Today is the first day of the rest of our lives.” Amen.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, July 29, 2010

Keep on Asking, Seeking, Knocking

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.” –Matthew 7:7-8 (ESV).

I read these verses from Matthew 7—ask, seek, knock—and beseech God in prayer for things that I sincerely think I am needing to have come to pass. Why, since God promises that in asking, seeking, knocking fulfillment will come, are my requests not answered, or why do I have to wait so long?

I must remember that Jesus gave the teaching we have above in what we call His “Sermon on the Mount.” It is the best sermon we can find anywhere on how disciple should live, think, act, react, pray, conduct his/her life. I should not extract these two verses—with the action they indicate (keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking)—from the context of what Jesus teaches in the Sermon. He makes it very clear in the sermon that the focus of the Christian’s life should not be egocentric—always seeking for what I want. Rather, the true way to God is narrow: “small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a new find it.” (Mt. 7:14). I am to ask, seek, knock within God’s will for me. Just as I would not give bad gifts to my earthly children or to those I love, how much more than I does God know about giving good gifts to me, or, in this context, answering my “asking, seeking, knocking” by saying “wait awhile” or “No”.

I gain additional perspective on how I should ask from James 4:2b-3:

“You do not have because you do not ask. Ye ask, and do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (NEV)

Asking suggests dependence. I am depending on God to supply my needs, to answer prayers of intercession for others, asking for answers on challenges faced. And even though He knows what those are before I ask Him, He is my Father, and as His child, I go in trust to Him, asking him, indicating my dependence on Him.

Seeking suggests yearning. Oh! How I yearn to know more about God, and to experience the good He has stored up for me! I yearn for God’s goodness and for His good gifts for me. “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God.” –Psalm 41:1 (NIV) Seeking is my way of finding God daily! I read of devout Christians who named themselves, using a spiritually-connected adjective following their name—as ______, the Faithful; _________, the obedient. What would I name myself, I thought. And immediately it came back: Ethelene, the Seeker.

Knocking suggests persistence. In His Sermon, Jesus wanted to show disciples (and now I’m included in that circle!) how to grow in faith, how to conduct the Christian life. We keep on knocking at the door of the Giver of every good and perfect gift. A wonderful illustration of His being on the other side of our door is Holman Hunt’s magnificent painting of Jesus at the Door. Jesus stands on the other side already, ready to come in, ready to bring what it is I need. As Hunt indicates, the latch opens from the inside. I must lift that latch and let Him come in to bring His mercy and grace.

Oh, storm-tossed and sometimes weak disciple that I am, I keep on asking, seeking, knocking! Selah!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Wednesday, January 27, 2010