Being Patient

One of the characteristics that most people say they don’t have or need more of is patience.

The meaning of patience is being able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.

We all know that patience is a great virtue and that we want more patience in our own makeup.

In James 5:7-12 James deals with the virtue of patience.

James 5:7-12

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other brothers, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door! Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

James gives two examples of patience.

Example #1: Farmers

Farmers have to wait.

They wait for:

The rain to come

The crops to grow

The harvest to come

The farmer as he waits trusts God.

He trusts:

That the rain will come

That the crops will grow

That the harvest will come

The farmer stands firm even when the rain doesn’t come when it should.

The farmer stands firm even when the crops don’t grow as they should.

The farmer stands firm even when the harvest isn’t as plentiful as he wants.

Example #2: The Prophets

The prophets had patience as they faced suffering.

The prophets had patience as they faced persecution.

The prophets had patience as they shared the message God gave them and no one paid any attention.

James mentions Job’s suffering as an example of a prophet of God suffering great hardships and suffering but, through perseverance, experiencing God’s restoration.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing God, waiting patiently in faith trusting that God is good and will come through for us.

James mentions in this passage what patience is not.

Patience is not grumbling against others.

Grumble means to sigh or groan in vigorous and loud complaint against someone or something.

We are told that the people of Israel murmured or grumbled against Moses several times during their wandering in the wilderness. They complained loud and long against him.

Patience is not swearing.

Swearing means to threaten another by an oath.

It is saying things like:

I promise you will pay for that.

As I live I will get you for that.

I swear that I will get you back for you did.

If it’s the last thing I do I will get revenge on you.

The idea is that a person who is exhibiting patience will not be seeking revenge against someone who has wronged them.

In Romans 12:19 Paul tells us not to seek revenge, but leave room for God to defend you.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about trusting God and not complaining or seeking revenge.

James shares three reasons for us to be patient.

First, Jesus is coming back.

When Jesus comes back, everything, I mean everything, will be made completely right. We as God’s people, until then, need to wait, trust and obey.

Second, Jesus is the Judge.

We are not judges. We don’t have the knowledge or wisdom to judge justly. When Jesus tells us not to judge He does it because we don’t have the complete knowledge and thus our judgments will not always be just. We also don’t have the wisdom to judge justly. Jesus also tells us not to judge because it frees us. It frees us to let God take care of passing judgements on others.

If you have ever judged someone, you know it is hard work. It causes us to expend time and a lot of emotional energy. That is time and energy that we could spend serving God.

Let Jesus be the Judge.

Third, the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Jesus is compassionate. We see it as He dealt with the woman at the well and the woman taken in adultery.

Jesus is full of mercy. We see it as He dealt with Zacchaeus and Peter.

We are followers of Jesus so we are to show to the world who Jesus is. When we show patience, compassion, and mercy we show the world Jesus.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is showing the real Jesus.

Patience is not easy and for most of us it is not natural. I pray that you will join me in asking God to develop in us a supernatural patience that will be seen in our having a joy, a compassion, and a mercy that is from Him.

Patiently Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                   Joe

Warning for the Rich

In James 5:1-6 James gives warnings to rich people. I read these and I realized that these warnings to the “rich” apply to me and to the people that I know. Rich is a relative term. What we consider average or middle class in America is wealthy in many other countries. Who James addresses as the wealthy of his day are the middle class of our day in America. What are the things that the “rich” are warned about?

James 5:1-6

Now listen, you rich, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.

Warning #1: Don’t base your life on material wealth and possessions.

In Luke 12:15 Jesus tells us to watch out and to be on our guard against all kinds of greed. He says that a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

In Matthew 6:19-20 Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth because moth and rust destroy those treasures and that thieves can break in and steal them. We are to store up treasures in heaven because those treasures will not be destroyed or stolen. Jesus tells us that where our treasure is, there our heart will also be.

When we build our lives based on and in material wealth, it will cause us to be:

Insecure

Greedy

Self-Centered

Unloving

Jesus wants to free us from dependence on things that will leave us unsatisfied and anxious.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is basing our lives on Jesus and not material things.

Warning #2: Don’t be dishonest people.

In John 14:6 Jesus says that He is the way and the truth and the life. Jesus is the truth.

Everything that Jesus says and does is truth.

All truth leads to Jesus.

If we are dishonest people, then we don’t reflect the truth that Jesus is the truth.

In Ephesians 4:15 the church is commanded to speak the truth in love.

In Ephesians 4:25 we as followers of Jesus are told to speak the truth to our neighbor.

In Matthew 22:16 Jesus is described as honest.

In 1 Peter 2:22 Jesus is described as not having any deceit in His mouth.

When we are honest and truthful we correctly display the character of Jesus.

When we are dishonest and untruthful we distort the character of Jesus.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is speaking the truth and displaying honesty.

Warning #3: Don’t live for pleasure and in luxury.

In Ecclesiastes 2:1 we are told that living for personal pleasure is vanity or useless.

In Ecclesiastes 2:11 we are told that living for personal pleasure is like chasing after the wind.

Pleasure is fleeting and to try to base your life on pleasure means you will continually be chasing it. It means that your desire and focus will always be on what brings you pleasure.

Hebrews 11:25 tells us that even sin can bring temporary pleasure. Pleasure can thus lead you into sin.

God wants us to experience joy and pleasure but with our joy and pleasure centered in Him. We experience real pleasure when, by the way we live, we bring God pleasure. Our calling is to do the desires of God and that makes God smile. God’s smile is what we desire and what brings the real pleasure we are seeking.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is finding our pleasure in bringing pleasure to God.

Warning #4: Don’t condemn others.

John 3:17 tells us that Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world.

In Luke 6:37 we are told not to judge or condemn others.

In John 8 Jesus has every reason to condemn the woman taken in adultery but He does not.

Condemnation is emotionally killing a person.

Condemnation is telling the other person they are of no value.

Condemnation is telling the other person they are beyond hope.

In Romans 2:4 Paul says that it is God’s loving kindness that brings people to repentance. It is not our condemnation that changes people. It is God’s love flowing from us to others that changes people.

When people condemn me, it causes me to put up my defenses.

When people come in love to help me, it allows me to respond by listening.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is acting and responding in love, not condemnation.

We as people who possess material wealth and who have influence with others are to:

Live based on spiritual wealth

Be honest and open

Live for God’s pleasure

Love, not condemn

These things are possible only as we surrender out lives to Jesus and live in relationship with Him as our Lord.

By God’s Will and Desire, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                   Joe

Judging and Boasting

James deals with two issues in James 4:11-17.

The first issues that James deals with is judging.

James 4:11-12

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 tells us we are not to slander one another. Slander is saying something about someone to others so that it harms them. James says that when we do that, we are judging that person.

In Matthew 7:1a Jesus tells us to judge not.

Then in Matthew 7:1b-2 Jesus tells us why. He says, “That you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”

Jesus says we are not to judge because the way we judge others will be the way others judge us.

We need to understand what is meant by judging.

Judging is not calling sin, sin.

Judging is not calling something wrong, wrong.

Judging is not in love expressing concern for another’s actions.

Judging is not separating yourself from others whose behavior tempts you to sin.

Judging is saying or thinking things about another that hurts them.

Gossip is judging.

Condemnation is judging.

Slander is judging.

Trying to control another is judging.

Lying about another is judging.

James then goes on to say that when we judge another, we also judge the law. And when we judge the law we are not keeping it.

In Leviticus 19:18 we are commanded to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

In Mark 12:31 Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

In John 15:12 Jesus commands us to love each other as He loves us.

When I judge, slander, gossip, or condemn another, I am not loving them and I am not obeying the commands of God. I am judging the law and saying I am above the commands of God.

Another huge problem with judging is that it displacing God out of His position of Lawgiver and Judge.

The reason that this position is reserved for God is that God is the only one who can save and destroy.

In Matthew 10:28 Jesus tells His followers that they are not to fear those who can destroy the body, but fear the one who can destroy both body and soul.

God is the one who gave the commands (Lawgiver) and the only one who can judge if a person is obeying them (Judge).

So who are you or I to judge our neighbor? The answer is we are not the ones to judge; only God is.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about loving our neighbors and not judging them.

The second issue James deals with is boasting.

James 4:13-16

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

James tells us not to boast and brag. He says that boasting is evil.

James gives us two reasons why boasting is wrong.

First, we as humans have limited knowledge.

We don’t know for certainty what will happen tomorrow.

We have finite knowledge – God has infinite knowledge.

We have finite power – God has infinite power.

We have finite authority – God has infinite authority.

Second, we as humans don’t live long.

Our lives are compared to a morning mist that appears for a short time and then goes away.

I remember as a child thinking that people in their 50’s and 60’s were old. Now, in my mid 60’s I look at anybody under 100 as not really old.

When you say 80 or 90 or 100 years it sounds like a long time, but when you live it, it seems like a short time.

I may plan many things for myself, but my lifespan my very well not allow me to accomplish a lot of those plans.

Psalm 90:12 is a prayer of Moses where he asks God to teach us to number our days. We are to live knowing that it is God, not us, that determines the length of our lives.   

If we are going to boast we need to boast about Jesus, not about ourselves or what we are going to do or about what we have accomplished.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about humbling ourselves by boasting about God.

James 4:17

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.

Sin is not just not doing certain things.

Sin is not doing what God wants us to do. Sin doesn’t have to be aggressive; it can be very passive.

Sin can also be very subtle.

Sin can be gossiping about another person.

Sin can be quietly condemning another person.

Sin can be boasting about what we are going to do or what we have done.

Sin can be making plans without consulting God to find what His will is.

These don’t look like sin to most people, but they do to God and that is what matters.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing what God wants and doing it.

With Love and Humility Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                                 Joe

Friendship with the World Brings Fights and Quarrels

We are living in very contentious times. We divide people into groups and divisions and then we vilify them and make them our enemies. We do this so that we can dismiss them as evil and not have to really listen to them or deal with what they are saying or doing. We live in a culture filled with fights and quarrels.

James deals with two issues in the first part of James 4.

The first issue James deals with is what causes fights and quarrels.

James 4:1-3

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

James asks the question, “What causes fights and quarrels among people?”

James gives three reasons why there are fights and quarrels.

First, they come from desires that are battling in us.

When I have a desire but I know that it is not of God, then I feel guilty. When I feel guilty, I am more sensitive to what others may say or do. That sensitivity then leads to fights and quarrels.

In Philippians 2:5 we are told that our mind is to be the same as Jesus.

How am I able to do that?

The answer is found in Romans 12:2. It says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We allow God to renew our minds, and through that renewal, we come to know God’s will. In knowing and accepting God’s will our minds are brought into unity with God’s mind. Then we are no longer at war with our inward desires and we experience the peace of God.

Second, we don’t have what want we want because we don’t ask God.

The most common unanswered prayer is the prayer that is not prayed.

Matthew 7:7-8

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks find; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Jesus says:

We get when we ask

We find when we seek

The door will be opened when we knock

If we don’t ask, we won’t get.

If we don’t seek, we won’t find.

If we don’t knock, the door won’t be opened.

We don’t ask, and then we feel frustrated, and that leads to fights and quarrels. 

We just need to ask God for what we need.

Third, we ask with wrong motives.

James says that when we ask for things solely for our pleasure, that is asking with wrong motives.

God wants us as He children to know and experience pleasure.

God puts two stipulations on pleasure.

The pleasure is to be what God wants the pleasure to be and in God’s timing.

The pleasure is not to be our focus but the outcome of obeying God.

Many people have the mistaken belief that God is here to give us pleasure and make us happy. God is here for us to give Him pleasure and for us to make Him happy. Life is about God, not you.

When I try to force God to do things my way, I will always fail. And that failure will cause me to be angry, and that anger leads to fights and quarrels.

The way to avoid that is to desire God’s will and let that be the priority of our lives.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is yielding our lives to God and trusting Him to provide what we need and being at peace with Him.

The second issue James deals with is loving the world rather than loving Jesus.

James 4:4-6

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

James says that if you choose to be friends with the world then you have chosen to hate God and be His enemy.

Why does friendship with the world put you at odds with God? James gives two reasons why friendship with the world is not compatible with friendship with Jesus.

First, the Holy Spirit who God has placed in every believer envies intensely.

In Exodus 34:14 we are told that God is a jealous God. God will tolerate no rival. He does not want any competition for your love and loyalty.

When we show love and loyalty to the world and not Jesus, it puts us in opposition to God’s will for our lives.

Second, friendship with the world leads us to take on the characteristics of the world. One of the major characteristics of the world is pride.

God opposes the proud.

Why is God so against pride? God is against pride because pride elevates self over God. Pride says that “I/Me” is more important than God.

God opposes anything in our lives that is more important than Him and that includes ourselves.

You don’t want to be opposed by God because you will lose.

You don’t want to be an enemy of God because you will be defeated.

Instead of being filled with pride and being an enemy of God, you want to humble yourself and be God’s friend. According to John 15:14 we become God’s friend when we obey Him.

Obedience means I humble myself and obey God.

When I humble myself and obey God, He gives me grace.

Pride = God’s Opposition

Humility = God’s Grace

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is choosing to be God’s friend by humbling ourselves before Him and obeying His will.

In Unity and Friendship with God Raising the Roof and Removing Walls,

                                                     Joe