living life as a balancing act a product of

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1 living life as a balancing act 1 a product of

2 Meet with God is brought to you by... Powered by 4 is Back to the Bible s Web-based tool designed to help you engage in God s Word at least 4 times a week. You can divide this Meet with God study in a way that helps you meet this goal. Here are some daily suggestions: Read the passage and devotional. Answer one Consider It question each day. Read the passage and Apply It section. Write your plan to apply God s Word in the note space. Complete the Express It section. See how well you retain God s Word by answering the Remember It questions. Reflect on and journal about a verse or two. Use the Seek It section for additional days in God s Word. Sign up for Powered by 4 online at Meet with God, an official publication of Back to the Bible Copyright 2009 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Printed in the U.S.A. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Staff: Editorial Assistance: Allen Bean, Ben Zuehlke, Emily Wurl, Kathy Thorne, Leisa Larson Design: Brandy Griffin Produced with the assistance of The Livingstone Corporation ( Project staff: Neil Wilson Cover and Interior Photos: Meet with God is produced 12 times per year and sent with no obligation. back to the bible P.O. Box Lincoln, NE From the Author This month we re going to think about the kind of balanced life Jesus lived. And we re going to do it by looking at a letter Jesus younger half-brother, James, wrote. Even though James didn t really discover who his older brother was until after the Resurrection, he shows us in his letter that he learned a lot from Jesus along the way. In fact, the Book of James is filled with warm, practical and firm wisdom for balanced living. Balance has to do with giving everything in life its proper weight the proper priority. Life requires that we balance not just two things but many! One of the best examples in the Bible of balanced living is found in Luke 2:52: And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. Even as a boy, Jesus had the major areas of His life aligned and in balance. He had the mental (wisdom), physical (stature), spiritual (favor with God) and social (favor with man) in their proper places. My prayer is that you ll find a greater balance in your life in the next few weeks as you study this Meet with God. 2 3

3 Balancing Your Need with God s Supply y This week, pray daily for wisdom Readit James 1:1 8 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him (James 1:5). Have you ever felt confused about a decision or restless about the direction your life was headed? It s in those times the times when we feel off balance that we realize we don t have all of the answers. We re lacking something we desperately need: wisdom. Wisdom helps us stay balanced by restoring and protecting our stability. Most of us would admit that down deep we want to live wisely. In fact, I ve never met anyone who woke every morning anticipating making one bad decision after another throughout the day. And I d guess that you ve never heard anyone say, You know, I just love to make poor choices! We realize there s a way life should be lived, but we often discover that living that way eludes us. The first step toward living a balanced life is balancing wisdom about choices with wisdom about challenges. Life is a combination of what happens to us and how we choose to respond to it. James reminds us that we will meet trials of every kind, and we need to be ready. He tells us that God uses life situations to produce steadfastness in us. Steadfastness is another term for life in balance. Once we ve developed steadfastness, we will be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:4). It s no wonder James brings up wisdom in the very next verse. When we read God s plan, we instantly realize we re going to need wisdom. James assures us we have a generous and willing Supplier of wisdom the Source of wisdom Himself. We can go to God with our need for wisdom in making choices and wisdom in responding to life. We can ask Him for the wisdom to grow in steadfastness! But James warns to do one thing: ask without wavering. It s the key to receiving God s wisdom. Praying for wisdom is serious business, not a casual request. God often answers our prayers for wisdom when we seek it in His Word. We discover that God already included in Scripture the very answer we need in our situation. 4 5

4 considerit Because counting it all joy is the wise way to respond to various trials, how do we develop that mind-set? As you read James 1:1 8, reflect on the following questions: When do you particularly sense the need for wisdom? How do you usually respond? Why does James end verse 4 with lacking in nothing and begin verse 5 with lacks wisdom? How would you describe a doubleminded person? Applyit If double-mindedness (see the last question of the Consider It section) is a condition we want to avoid, then singlemindedness is the alternative God wants us to pursue. Singlemindedness is not so much thinking about one thing at a time as it is a way of thinking consistently in one direction. James picture of the wave of the sea being tossed by whatever wind happens to catch it aptly describes a trying-to-think-in-two-ways person. In contrast, Isaiah pictured beautifully the kind of people we want to be: You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you (Isaiah 26:3). Expressit Write out a list of specific areas in which you need God s wisdom. Talk to Him about what it means that you can count on Him for wisdom to deal with the situations with His help. 6 7

5 Balancing Your Faith with Your Works rememberit 1. James addresses his letter to whom? 2. We should count it joy when we meet what? 3. What does the testing of our faith produce? 4. James says that God gives this generously to those who ask. Readit James 1:21 25; 2:14 18 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing (James 1:25). This week, persevere in acting out your faith. 5. Someone who doubts is described as what kind of person? seekit Go deeper into your study of this week s lesson. Finding Wisdom: Psalm 111:1 10 Proverbs 3:13 18 Remaining Steadfast: Romans 12: Corinthians 15:5 58 Answers: 1. The twelve tribes (James 1:1); 2. Various trials (James 1:2); 3. Steadfastness/Endurance (James 1:3); 4. Wisdom (James 1:5); 5. Double-minded (James 1:6 8) Here s the age-old problem: how do we balance faith and works? The Bible clearly teaches that everything God offers us comes by faith. We can t earn any of it salvation, forgiveness, eternal life, grace, etc (see Eph. 2:8 10). If it doesn t come to us for free, we don t get it at all! But people have always asked in one way or another, Where do works, obedience and faithfulness fit in? How can we be active, as God asks us to be, and not look like we re trying to earn our salvation? James helps us sort out this problem. He tells us that workless faith is worthless faith. Or to put it another way, we must allow our faith in Christ to energize and motivate our actions in order to live fully and fruitfully. Internal faith must have external expression or it is worthless. James comments about faith have to do with contrasting those who think they can have a pure faith apart from 8 9

6 considerit How would you differentiate between faith in works and faith that works? As you read James 1:21 25; 2:14 18 reflect on the following questions: What does being a doer of the Word have to do with faith? How is James using the expression law of liberty and what would be a good example of the law of liberty in action? Why does James call the situation he describes in verses a dead kind of faith? the rest of their lives with those who know that genuine faith works. Keeping a balance enables us to say, I trust Jesus, and I will let that trust be the motivation behind everything I do or say. Obeying Jesus (working) is one way we remind ourselves that we trust Him. He does ask us to do things we probably wouldn t do (love our enemies, forgive those who persecute us) if we didn t trust Him. The old hymn has it right: Trust and obey, for there s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. The truth is that no one can tell by observation if another person is trying to earn his salvation or express his trust in Jesus through obedience. Ask yourself: Why do I live the way I do? That question becomes the opportunity to clarify that you are trusting Jesus for your eternal destiny and obeying His commands in this life. Your answer is a way to keep faith and works in balance. Applyit The fact is, many Christians don t demonstrate their faith with action! But genuine faith is a lot like hope: it affects our external behavior the way we live for Christ every day. First Peter 3:15 reminds us that people ought to see evidence of hope in our lives and ask about it! James points out that the same could be said of faith. How often have your words or actions led someone to ask, Why do you live the way you do? Expressit Let God know (and remind yourself at the same time) that you want to be a doer of His Word, not just a hearer. Ask Him to point out areas in your life where you have been listening but not doing. Write down one or two things God wants you to do, things that will define you as a doer. Then, after you pray, get busy! 10 11

7 Apply it Most of the physical landmarks that we deal with are part of a long-standing but not eternal creation. But the truth of God s Word stands for time and eternity. The directions God provides (even the painful ones) give us a dependable route and effective rules for living. If we ve got God s eternal landmarks in mind, we ll adopt a pilgrim mindset, never thinking of this world as our permanent home. We will make it a habit to check God s landmark presence every day for correction and encouragement. And we will live by those instructions we find chiseled in the landmark of God s Word. Express it Proverbs is filled with short landmark statements that provide us with food for thought and reflection each day. Choose one of the proverbs from today s reading, and express it in a prayer. Ask God to keep bringing His words of direction to mind throughout the days of your journey ahead. rememberit 1. James asks his readers to put aside filthiness and what? 2. We are to be doers of the Word and not just what? 3. James describes the Word as the perfect law, or the law of what? 4. What does James tells us about faith without works? 5. James says that he will show his faith by what? seekit Go deeper into your study of this week s lesson. Saving Faith: Romans 5:1 5 Romans 10:9 13 Serving God: Galatians 5:13 26 Philippians 3:7 11 Answers: 1. Wickedness (James 1:21); 2. Hearers (James 1:22); 3. Liberty (James 1:25); 4. It is dead (James 2:17); 5. His works (James 2:18) 12 13

8 Balancing Salt Water and Fresh Water This week, intentionally insert a gracious word into at least one conversation. Readit James 3:7 14 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? (James 3:11). Before he asked the question in this lesson s key verse, James made an observation about our mouth habits. He pointed out that we use our tongues to bless our Lord and Father as well as curse people who are made in the likeness of God (v. 9). Blessing and cursing come from the same mouth. These things, James tells us, ought not to be so (v. 10). Notice that James is not primarily saying that blessing is like fresh water and cursing is like salt water. His illustration, like the further ones about the fig tree and the grapevine are all about the relationship between source and supply. Fig trees don t produce olives; vines don t yield figs and a spring doesn t produce both fresh and salt water. We should produce a dependable flow from our mouths. People should be able to rely on what they will hear from us. This lesson s key verse reminds us that Jesus said much the same thing: But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person (Matt. 15:18 20). James is being very direct and truthful with us when he warned that our tongues will always have a wild streak. A real test of spiritual maturity is to control what we say and also what we say after we say the wrong thing! It is critical to identify how quickly we apologize and make corrections for hurting others with our speech. In fact, we maintain balance when we monitor what we say and are quick to accept responsibility when our mouths get us into trouble. Balance is maintained as we strive to be the kind of peacemakers James mentions a little further down in verse 18. Wise talk always leads toward peace

9 considerit Review all of chapter 3. What does James mean by tongue? As you read James 3:7 14, reflect on the following questions: In what ways does James demonstrate here that he knew about Jesus illustration of what comes out of the mouth in Matthew 15:18 20? Are there situations in which you particularly struggle with your words? What do verses have to do with the way we talk? Applyit There s a direct connection between wisdom and what we say (or don t say). Proverbs points out that sometimes the wisest decision is to remain silent (see Prov. 11:12; 17:28). Ultimately, however, we want to speak clearly. As Jesus put it, our yes should mean yes and our no should mean no (see Matt. 5:37). When people approach you for conversation, can they trust you will speak what they need to hear and say it in a way that will glorify God? Expressit As you pray, remember David s amazing prayer in Psalm 19:14, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lo r d, my rock and my redeemer. Ask God to reveal any missteps in the past and give you the courage to make things right

10 Balancing Friendships with Submission to God rememberit 1. What can no one tame? 2. James refers to the tongue as a restless evil filled with what? 3. With our tongues we sometimes bless whom? 4. A salt pond will never yield what? 5. What should the wise show in the meekness of wisdom? seekit Go deeper into your study of this week s lesson. Speech: Psalm 141:1 10 Matthew 15:1 20 Unity: Psalm 133:1 3 1 John 1:1 10 Answers: 1. The tongue (James 3:8); 2. Deadly poison (James 3:8); 3. Our Lord and Father (James 3:9); 4. Fresh water (James 3:12); 5. His works (James 3:13) Readit James 4:4 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you (James 4:10). This week, consider what areas of your life need to be submitted to the Lord In some of the sternest language in this letter, James confronts his audience (including us) with the tendency to get out of balance when it comes to relationship with the world. He uses the phrase friendship with the world (v. 4) to describe a dangerous situation. The word world here is the Greek word kosmos, and it is often used in Scripture, not to describe people but to indicate the system of evil controlled by Satan which influences all of life. The friendship with the world James is warning us about comes into play when we begin to replace God s role in our lives with the role that the resources and pleasures of the world offer us. If you wonder how strong a temptation friendship with the world can be, look no further than the third temptation Satan presented to Jesus in the wilderness: Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me (Matt. 4:8 9). Jesus knew exactly 18 19

11 considerit Why does James use the word adultery as a synonym for friendship with the world? As you read James 4:4 10, reflect on the What difference does it make to you that God really has your best interests in mind in everything He does or doesn t do for you? How do submitting to God and resisting the devil go hand in hand to cause the devil to flee? following questions: How have you been affected by pondering God s gift during these weeks? what He was talking about when He said, For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? (Matt. 16:26). When we settle for what this world has to offer, we have paid way too high a price because we end up with nothing for all eternity. We can avoid friendship with the world ultimately by submitting to God. In yielding to His authority, we are able to resist the evil one. We were not created to function as someone ultimately in charge. We were created for an intimate and trusting relationship with our Creator in which He is in charge yet in this relationship we are exalted and lifted up! No amount of selfpromotion or selling out to the world s values will come close to the impact of hearing God say to us, Well done, good and faithful servant! (Matt. 25:23). Applyit From time to time, we need to take an inventory of how much of our lives are invested in the world. To what degree are we able to be still and know that He is God? Are we so busy pursuing what the world dictates that God has been edged out of most of our attention? Life takes on a whole new perspective when we submit to God and love Him with the soul He has placed within us. Divide a piece of paper into two columns. Label one column God and the other world. Now, list below each heading the amount of time you ve spent doing world things (watching TV, playing video games, non-work activities) and the time you ve spent pursuing God things (reading your Bible, listening to Christian radio, prayer, serving in Jesus name). Have you spent much time focusing on God? Expressit Genuine prayer, by definition, involves humbling ourselves before God. He doesn t draw near to take our orders; He draws near to lift us toward His view of life. We can tell Him and ask Him anything, but ultimately submission is stated in the words, Nevertheless [Lord], not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42)

12 rememberit 1. Friendship with what is considered enmity towards God? 2. God yearns jealously over the what, that He has made to dwell in us? 3. God opposes whom? 4. God gives grace to whom? 5. God will do what for those who humble themselves? seekit Go deeper into your study of this week s lesson. Worldliness: John 15:18 27 Romans 12:1 8 Colossians 3:1 17 Titus 2:11 14 Answers: 1. The world (James 4:4); 2. The Spirit (James 4:5); 3. The proud (James 4:6); 4. The humble (James 4:6); 5. Exalt them (James 4:10) 22 23

13 James letter is a call to action. He challenges those who claim to have faith to demonstrate it in their lives. Our faith in Jesus Christ is one that goes beyond feelings and emotions to life-changing action. # *Plus Shipping & Handling In these 11 lessons, you ll read through James letter, beginning to end. A short devotional with each lesson will help you get to the heart of the message of James. And thought-provoking questions will challenge you to examine your own life and encourage you to literally step out in faith. $8. 00 * (U.S.) $8. 80 * (Canada) You can talk it, but will you walk it? Product cost and availability subject to change. softcover 74 pages FOR order and shipping information see inserted envelope. With a broadcast and Internet reach to millions, Back to the Bible teaches the Word and touches the world. Powered by 4 is Back to the Bible s new Web-based, life-changing Bible engagement plan. Sign up at FOR questions, CONTACT: Back to the Bible P.O. Box 82808, Lincoln, NE back to the bible - Canada 40 Centre St., Ste. 3 Lower, Chatham, ON N7M 5W