Sunday, March 15, 2020

unstable man

Face each day with the certainty that the Spirit living in you will guide your steps. Don't live with analysis paralysis. Act in faith that your life is being animated by Elohim and that, because of that you cannot fail. Apostle James revealed an amazing promise the God who created the universe will gave wisdom to all who asked Him for it. He does not give it based on our worthiness, but base only on our request. Why? As apostle James made it clear in (verses 2-4). God want His children to trust Him.one such evidence is asking Him for wisdom when we don't know what to do. But there is a condition attached to His promise we must believe and not doubt, in other words God wants us to come to Him  convinced both that He is the one the true source of wisdom. And that the wisdom He gives is trustworthy, He wants us to be ready to act on it. The person who doubts God's wisdom or willingness to give it ls likely to accept what God give him. He she will consult other sources, looking for a second opinion spiritually speaking in James days those sources may have included false idols. Our modern day has its own source of worthless sources for wisdom false Teacher, culture, celebrity and so forth. The person who doubts God's wisdom, apostles James write is like a wave in a wind storm who blown up knows where He will end up?
Begin with a challenging command for Christian believer we are to classify hard thing in our lives as "joyful" because those ordeal he help us develop a deeper trust in God. Christian (believers) who trust God also seek wisdom from Him. And not from the godly source. we Continue to trust Him through difficult experiences, in parts to recieve the Crown of life. Promise to those who don't stop. We don't blame Him for our desire to sin, but we do credit Him for every good thing in our live. 
Apostle James moves to another of his principal themes- prayer that gains result. He say that a man who petitions God for wisdom must ask in faith, but as apostle James expands upon the necessity of faith, he clearly does not mean to limit his advice to one kind of prayer, the for wisdom. He expect us to understand that faith is the condition for any successful prayer, whatever it may seek faith is the to unlock the storehouse containing all of God's benefit. The Epistle of James is rich in uncommon words and unsual figures of speech, we find several examples here in the  openning discussion of faith. He contrast faith with "wavering" (v.6). The word refers to a struggle within the mind arising when a man's thoughts take both sides in an internal debate. A debate over what? There are two possibility since James does not tell us which kind of wavering he means, he likely means either one is wavering or if a person is not sure whether God will hear and answer his prayer. Likewise, it is wavering. Despite God's promises to be our guide in all thing including prayer he is not sure what to pray for either kind of wavering compromises faith and reduces to doubting. Therefore, good alternative translation for "wavering" and "wavereth" are doubting or doubteth. Apostle James compare the doubting man to a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed sea. (v6). The greek expression does not picture single wave, but a whole sea of waves sweeping first one way and then another as constantly shifting winds play upon the water. Apostle James declare as that such a man will not receive anything from the Lord (v7). His prayer; petition will hit the ceiling and come right back. Other words it will bubble then blown away by the wind and pop up. Because it didnt conceived 
The window of heaven will shut up his voice. Such a man suffers from a grievous flaw in his character. In seeking to describe his flaw. Apostle found himself at a loss to convey the idea with any familiar word, so he coined a new one or at least he used a word that occurs nowhere else in ancient literature. He says that a doubting man is "double minded" literally "with two souls" (v8) pershap he was fashioning a greek equivalent for an expression employed twice in the pld Testament (1chron.12:33; Ps. 12:2) double heart in english and "a heart and a heart" in hebrew. The hebrew expression suggesting a divided heart, speck of a man who is insincere, whose statement cannot be depended on either because use he use of the comparable greek term, the book of James give it a different sense referring to a man who pray with a divided between faith and doubts. The tragic outcome is that he is "unstable in all his ways (v.8). The word "unstable" suggested something that is not planted firmly on the ground-something that is unsteady and likely to topple over. James means that wherever a double minded man walks, he will have a hard time staying on his feet. He will stagger along rather like someone who is intoxicated, and as a result he will always be slipping and falling. In other words he will be constantly getting into trouble.
  Faith as a prerequiste
In his emphasis on faith, James again shows the mind of his older brother Jesus. One of Jesus' core teaching was that with faith, nothing is impossible although the first three Gospels, called the Synoptics differ sharply in their coverage and style frol the Gospels of John, they all agree wuth John that Jesus viexed prayer as an instrument with unlimited power (Matthew 7:7-11); John 16:23). Jesus taught clearly throughout His Ministry that the condition for successful prayer is faith (Mark 9:23). The immediate inspiration for James remarks on faith setting it in contrast to doubt, seems to be the following saying of Jesus, Jesus answered and said unto them, verily i say unto you. If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea it shall be done. And all things. Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing ye shall receive (Matthew 21:21-22).
The promise that all things are possible through the prayer of faith is stunning in its magnitude. It is absolute. There are no hedges on all things. Can we begin to concrive what "all things might include." to urge us to greater imagination of the possibility. 
Jesus affirms that by faith we could move mountains. How much faith do we need to accomplish great thing? Not much an amount comparable in dimensions to a tiny mustard seed will do(Matthew 17:20). Even with little faith nothing is impossible. But although Jesus promise that by faith we could moved mountain we feel mightily pleased with ourselves it by faith we manage to moves a fews spadefuls. 
We find a comparable promise elsewhere in the teaching of Jesus. "And the Lord said, if ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamore tree be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea, and it should obey you" (Luke 17:6). Why do we not see christian moving a tree and mountains so far as i know, there is no Recorded instance of a believer casting a mountain into the sea or uprooting a tree and transplanting it elsewhere just by the power of prayer why not? Sometimes ago  i planted a tree as (mohon) marker a boundary of a lot as i was doing the work, naturally could not help but notice the many eye-catching specilents of flowering trees and shade tree in the yard, of other people around town. Why did i never command one of theirs trees to move to my property, and if i had done so, why would God never have granted my desire thought i prayed with perfect faith? Because i would have been stealing somebody else trees. On my own property, i have many trees and shrubs growing wild out behind my house. Many are strong, attractive and flourishing. Many would be more useful if they are relocated to barren ground. What if i commanded one of these trees pluck itself up and replant itself in my front yard? Now i own the tree making it moved would not be stealing, and it would serve me better in its nex place. So if i prayed to God to move it; i would be seeking a good thing. Or would i? Basically, i would be seeking to escape from work. God never perform a miracle just to suit our laziness in His view, answering my prayer for Relocation of the tree would not yield good fruit, but an evil result. Look down a few verse, "God cannot be tempted with evil (James1:13). God cannot be persuades to do evil even by the prayer of His children. That is why many prayer are never answered they are seeking evil not good. 
Now we understand why Christian do not go around removing mountains and trees. It is hard to imagine any circumstances when casting a mountain into the sea or transplanting a tree would be necessary to accomplished any good thing can you think any? 

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