Well, it has been a little over three months since I began reading in James. It started as a family reading and reflection as we shared once a week what God had been teaching us through His Word. After that was done (a month or so) I couldn’t stop. I kept reading and rereading the lessons and principles God wanted me to learn and ponder upon. These ponderings can be found in prior posting. <\/p>\n
I have spent the last part of my pondering on chapter 4. Here James is addressing the issues of self-centeredness and humility. Our goal in life is not to be filled with the “I want so I can do my thing” but rather our attitude should be “God with this resource I could do this for others.” When we ask God for things, His response seems to be tied to the motive or reason why we are asking.<\/p>\n
When it comes to our relationships to God and to others humility seems to be key. We are to humble ourselves before God so that He can lift us up. I think that this humility should carry over to our relationship with others also. How many conflicts could be avoided if we simple humbled ourselves to others. Now I am not talking about being a door mat, but there are times when our pride gets in the way of working through a problem. <\/p>\n
As I reflect back the key idea that transformed me the most was found in James 1:26-27 where James addresses what “true religion” is. It is about serving others and tending to our spiritual well being (really loving God). <\/p>\n
This is what I am taking away from my time in James. I have incorporated this into my personal life platform as an operational belief and working through the core value(s) this represents in my life. I am acting on if, because if we don’t act on what we say has transformed us, then I would question if we truly have been transformed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, it has been a little over three months since I began reading in James. It started as a family reading and reflection as we shared once a week what God had been teaching us through His Word. After that was done (a month or so) I couldn’t stop. I kept reading and rereading the … <\/p>\n