Have I "forgotten what I look like"?

Hello everyone,

In addition to my very long reply to the last post, I thought I'd add a few more thoughts here.

Verse 22-25: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But a man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this [look intently], not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it -- he will be blessed in what he does. "

I have to say that this is one of the things I often neglect to do, to "look intently." During the past year, I have been reading to read....but not often reading to "seek" or to "find". I think of what God said to Daniel, "Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." (Daniel 10:12). Have I "set my mind to gain understanding?" Or am I just reading because it's the "Christian thing to do"? Am I asking the Holy Spirit to teach me to obey and follow all His decrees? It's when we seek with all our heart, and in humility, that God will hear our words and prayers and "come in response to them."

I find the phrase "forgets what he looks like" so interesting. James is comparing the law (Torah) of God to a mirror. If I look into the mirror in my bathroom, who do I see? Myself, clearly. If we look into the law (mirror), what should we see?? A reflection of ourselves! Because Jesus was the Word made flesh, when we look intently into the Torah (which, for James and his contemporaries meant the law and the prophets -- the "OT" by our terms) we should see Jesus -- but moreover, we should also see a picture of ourselves, as His Word has now been written on our hearts and we are hidden in the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. And so more and more, as we endure and mature, and as we seek to find Him and know Him, the "perfect law that gives freedom" should become a reflection of our own life, walk and faith. The Word should be "what we look like," "our reflection" so to speak. We should recognize ourselves in it, rather than it seeming foreign, like a strange face staring at us from the mirror. But if we look into the mirror, and go away and continue in the deeds of the flesh, THAT is when we have forgotten what we look like in Messiah.

What does this mean though? How do we do this? In Philippians 3:15, the writer makes a telling statement:"Only let us live up to what we have already attained." Messiah has already attained for us the righteousness of the law, by the shedding of His blood. We are now called to walk in this righteousness...but HOW? Trying in our own strength so often results in failure and discouragement. I think one of the keys is just that: realizing our identity, remembering "what I look like" when I gaze into that mirror. Moreover, if we are seeking to find Jesus, we will know what HE looks like, what HE says about us, and who HE is. We won't be confused about His identity, which will make us less confused about our own. If we know that He is the King, He is the Messiah, He is the righteousness of God....and that I am a child of the King, I have been saved by His blood alone, and that I am now hidden in Him....will this not transform our thinking and our entire man (mind, will, emotions)? I once heard some kind of a story that detailed a bratty little kid that was actually a prince (he did not know it), but didn't start acting like a prince until he realized who he was. He already had the identity, he just now had to live it out. I think this is very appropriate.

Obviously, no amount of human striving or determination can cause us to obey the law perfectly, for the letter of the law kills. So I think, practically, that one of the ways we can look "intently" into the law is to read it humbly, realizing our frailty, with the intention of discovering Messiah and His righteousness in it, continually asking the Holy Spirit to write His laws upon our hearts and to conform us into His image. We know we cannot do it on our own, therefore we must trust in His work in us. Another verse that comes to mind is from Proverbs 29:18: "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law." In other words, if there is no revelation of the righteousness and perfection of Messiah in the law, we will cast it off as a restraint and go our own fleshly way. But if we seek "intently" to discover the shadows of Messiah and his righteousness permeating every word of the law, we will delight in it and it will transform us...and we will be blessed. We become like that who we behold (just like we tend to mimic the people we spend the most time with). It's really that whole "be transformed by the renewing of your mind" thing. The more we gaze at Him in that mirror, the more we extol His virtues, the more we lean on His Word of truth concerning our condition before the Father....the more our actions and lives will be transformed, no longer conformed to the pattern of this world (Romans 12).

I love Psalm 119 - the longest Psalm in the entire book, extolling the Lord's perfect law....hundreds and hundreds of years before Messiah was revealed, and before James wrote his letter. "Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep his statutes, and seek him with all their heart." (Psalm 119:1-2). Doesn't that mirror James' statement exactly? They who seek him [not their own righteousness by being a "rule/law abider"] with all their heart shall be blessed.... I think of what Jesus said when he said to the Pharisees that they searched the scriptures diligently for they thought that in THEM (the letter) they would find life, but they refused to come to HIM (the spirit) who could give life.

Also, I think that another part of that mirror image is that when we look into the "Old Testament" scriptures, we see how completely unrighteous we are according to His perfect Holy law, UNTIL we come to HIM for life and righteousness. It should more than ever make us run to Him, leaning on His strength, for "the sacrifices of God are a broken heart and a contrite spirit." The goal of the law was to point to righteousness in Messiah.

I pray with David, that God would "Open our eyes to see the wonderful things in [his] law."

Sorry for the dissertation! Hopefully that made some kind of sense. It's been a long day, and now I need to go and do some serious repenting for my attitudes and actions from today. I need to spend some time "gazing into the mirror". Lord, have mercy on me, according to your most holy and life-giving Word.

-Melissa

now thats the truth Bill, learning to listen instead of just flapping the gums is one of my most painful flaws ! I heard an old country preacher say one time " it only takes two years for a child to learn how to talk , and the rest of his life to learn to shut up!"
He followed it up with something even funnier regarding a donkey , but he used the old English word.
I wonder if the start of a solution (about finding the joy in trial ) is found in verse 5 where it says , "if any of you lack wisdom he should ask God , who gives generously to all without finding fault , and it will be given him."
Yesterday I kind of tried this at work , granted it was not exactly a huge trial but there was this thing that always happens there that always makes me bitter , so this time instead of spouting off to my brother , I prayed that God would give me wisdom in the situation and calm my sinful heart. I can't say I wasn't angry but my perspective was sure different ... hey maybe its a start.

A start...

When I read Chapter 1, I recognize that it asks us to react in a way that is not an easy thing, at least for me, to do. I like many, have faced challenges and situations that have caused me great pain and my first thought is most certainly not to give thanks to God. Even thinking about the last year that I have dealt with the pneumonia that I had and its' lingering aftermath, it hasn’t been too often that I have thanked God as I have been in the process of coughing up a lung.

But really, I should be thanking God for my illness. It made me recognize my limitations, helped me realize that I had stretched myself too thin, and caused me to rely more on others and particularly on Him than on my own abilities and strength. Cutting back has given me more time with my family and with others, all of which has truly blessed me.

I appreciate the way the chapter guides us regarding how we react to and interact with others. Verse 19 is one that I need to continually remind myself of as there are times that I do not listen enough, speak too fast and react too harshly. I worry that my girls will observe this in me and demonstrate this as well.

Well, here are some beginning thoughts. I will reflect and post more later...

Bill

Let's get crackalackin'

I agree with Dave and Missy that we jump into the Book of James chapter by chapter and see what we come up with.

One of the main reasons that we wanted to start in James was verse 18 in chapter one
"He chose to give us birth through the word of truth"
It has not really been a great year for me with the Lord if I'm honest , but my conversion happened here , with the word of God .
I became a believer after finishing the entire bible in 22 days , it changed my life completely ,
and the only difference between then and now is time in the word !
I trust that God will move even in the short times in the bible, i have seen it , please pray for us
that he would restore this most important of all disciplines

Ok so here we go trying to blog for the first time ..... thanks Bill . Missy and I were talking and we both kind of thought, we would go chapter by chapter .
Then if questions come to mind we post and comment , Her first question was , what does it look
like practically to " count it all joy when we suffer trials of many kinds" ?

How does this work?

Hey Alles and Strove families,

So how does this work? Are we taking a particular passage per week, or just reading and commenting?

Who Was James?

James, the brother of Jesus, became the most prominent leader in the church at Jerusalem by the time of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15). He is also the traditional author of the Epistle of James. In the New Testament his name appears in Matthew, Mark, Acts, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Jame and Jude.

The first mention of James by name in Scripture is in Matthew 13:55. Then the names of the four other sons of Mary and Joseph, who are most certainly dead at this point, besides Jesus are listed, along with a vague reference to 'sisters' in verse 56. Since the name of James is placed first among the brothers, it is fairly likely that James was the oldest of the brothers after Jesus. However, since the brother listed after James is Joseph (verse 55), and it is common for the eldest son to be named for the father (Luke 1: 59-60), it is possible that James' name was placed first because of his prominence at the time of the writing of the Gospel. The name of Jesus, who was not the physical son of Mary's husband, Joseph, was previously commanded by God (Matthew 1:20-21).

An even earlier passage almost certainly also refers to James. In Matthew 12:46, Jesus' 'mother and brothers' are said to be waiting to speak with him. Upon hearing of their request (verse 47), the Saviour redefined his family as 'whoever does the will of my Father in heaven (verse 49).' Though he most certainly did not understand the spiritual reality of Jesus' point at that time, a seed was probably planted in James' mind that contributed to his understanding of the nature of the church in his ministry as a church leader.

Because of the apparent lack of understanding of Jesus' role by James and his brethren in the Gospels, it is virtually certain that James' conversion to Christianity did not occur until after the resurrection of Christ. He was probably in the Upper Room with the apostles, Mary and Jesus' other 'brothers,' also now converted (Acts 1:14). That season of prayer (verse 14) took place only a few days after the resurrected Lord appeared to James (1 Cor. 15:7). Prior to that, 'his brothers did not believe in him' (John 7:5), even though they were impressed by Jesus' miracles (verse 3).

It must have been a confusing, if not highly frustrating, thing to grow up in the home of Joseph and Mary, as the younger brother of Jesus Christ. Both parents certainly believed that Jesus was the long-anticipated Messiah, but even they did not always understand him. (Luke 2:49-50). The other children certainly would have noticed that Jesus was 'filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him' (verse 40). That Jesus never sinned and that his growth was perfectly balanced (verse 52) probably engendered jealousy and resentment in the younger siblings.

Although Joseph and Mary undoubtedly had told James and their other children that Jesus had a very special role to play in God's plan, it was still probably baffling to them how Jesus could leave the family business around the age of 30 (Luke 3:23). If Joseph was dead by that time, as seems assured by his absence in the family passages in the Gospels (Matthew 12:46; John 2:1), Jesus, as oldest son, would have been the head of the household. Since Jesus was a 'carpenter's son' (Matt. 13:55) who had worked and become known as a carpenter himself (Mark 6:3), it would have been natural to assume that he would have continued at that trade. Perhaps the disappointment of James and others is a large part of the reason why Jesus was not honoured 'in his home town and in his own house' (Matt. 13:57) during his public ministry.

There is no other record of James' response to Jesus and his ministry until after the resurrection. In what seems to have been the next-to-last appearance before his ascension to heaven, the glorified Saviour was manifested to his half-brother (1 Cor. 15:7). It is quite likely that James' conversion was a result of that meeting, much as Paul's was later (1 Cor. 15:8; Acts 9:3-19).

Sine none of Joseph's and Mary's other sons believed in Jesus during his pre-crucifixion ministry (John 7:5), it is very plausible that James led some (or all) of his brothers to faith in Christ after his own conversion. Though their mother's belief was apparently decisive, the transformation in their brother, James, may have been. The mention of 'brothers' (plural) in Acts 1:14 in the Upper Room requires the conversion of at least two of Jesus' half-brothers. Almost certainly included would be James and Jude (Matt. 13:55; Jude 1), the brothers who contributed books to the New Testament.

The next mention of James is in Acts 12:17, after Peter was miraculously freed from prison by an angel (verses 3-17). Peter asked those gathered for prayer to get word of what had happened to 'James and the brothers'. 'Brothers' almost certainly means the wider church in Jerusalem, thus the mention of James' name probably reflects his recognized leadership role in the church.

Two other inclusions of James' name in Acts underline his prominence as a leader in the Jerusalem church. At the Jerusalem Council, James was the last leader to speak, adding Biblical support to the testimony of Peter (Acts 15:7-11) and Barnabas and Paul (verse 12). Since James' approach was essentially accepted word-for-word by the other leaders and the gathered church (verses 13-29), he must have commanded great respect from all.

The final mention of James in Acts is at the conclusion of Paul's third missionary journey. When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, he went to James and 'all the elders were present' (Acts 21:18). This wording again indicates that James was a leader of even higher station than the elders. Since the other apostles besides Paul were not referred to in Jerusalem in the book of Acts after the Jerusalem Council, the likelihood that James was, in effect, the ranking Christian leader in Jerusalem from that time forward until his death is fairly strong.

Most of the remaining references to James in the New Testament outside of Acts seem to fit into the time frame of the appearances of James in Acts. Probably the earliest of these are in Galatians, which most likely was written not long before the Jerusalem Council. In Gal. 2:9 James, Peter and John are termed 'pillars' of the church. Paul's interaction with those leaders in Jerusalem was very positive, as they recognized his mission to the Gentiles (verse 9). However, at a later point, men claiming the authority of James came to Syrian Antioch and caused great dissension in that primarily Gentile church (verse 12). Since the visitors even managed to persuade Peter and Barnabas to assume certain legalistic practices (verses 12-13), it is likely that the assumed influence of James was part of the Judaizers' revenge.

In 1 Cor. 9 Paul noted that 'the Lord's brothers' were married (verse 5) and that their families were supported by the church financially (verses 4-6). Surely James would be included in that phrase. The reference in 1 Cor. 15:7 to the appearance of the resurrected Christ to James is proof of that prominence

The Epistle of James was almost certainly written by James, who grew up in the same household as Jesus, although he does not make mention of that relationship, but instead humbly calls himself 'a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ' (James 1:1). The reference to the Old Testament, Christ's Sermon on the Mount, and prayer (James 4:2-3, 5:13-16) fit well both the scriptual picture and the strong extra-biblical tradition about James. Because the congregation of believers is called both 'synagogue' (James 2:2) and ecclesia ('church', James 5:14), the epistle may be one of the earliest New Testament writings, dating from a time in which the church in Jerusalem was still more of a messianic synagogue within Judaism than a clearly distinct religious grouping.

The final reference to James in the New Testament is in the first verse of the short Epistle of Jude, Jude, like James, calls himself 'a servant of Jesus Christ', but also goes on to bolster his authority as a writer of Scripture by the further description 'a brother of James' (verse 1). By that point in the apostolic era, the only James that could be named without further description is the Lord's younger half-brother.

Tradition holds that James was killed for his faith in the early 60s AD by the Jews. He is said to have been thrown from the roof of the Temple in Jerusalem, though this is not certain. The developing church lost a great leader and godly example when James died.

From: "The Complete Who's Who in the Bible," Paul D. Gardner, Editor (1995)

First Posting

Well, Dave & Missy Stroeve, her Ladyship and Bill & Heather Alles have committed to spend some time digging deep into the book of James. Let's get it started!