Deeply Rooted (When I Read Your Word)

READ THIS:  James 3:9-12 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Have you ever taken a big swig of your glass fully expecting water, but mid-swallow you realize that it wasn't actually your cup and you were drinking someone else's Diet Dr. Pepper? It isn't a pleasant experience, partially because you're not a huge fan of diet soda, but more so because you were NOT expecting soda at all.  When we go to a lake, we don't expect salt water. When we go to the ocean, we don't expect fresh water. And when we look at say an apple tree, we don't expect oranges. If we kno...

READ THIS:  James 3:5b-8 5b  Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.   7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Did you know that almost 85% of wildfires are caused by humans, and most of them aren’t even done on purpose? Even though they usually happen unintentionally, when they occur, they cause damage that can last a long time. How similar is that to the way we speak to one another? We rarely think about the words we say to one another, especially if we are frustrated or annoyed with someone or something. God gave us incredible power when He gave us the ability to speak to one anothe...

READ THIS:  James 3:3-5a 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5a Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? A bit is the little metal piece that people put in a horse's mouth that you can attach the reigns to. By tugging on the reigns, you tug on the bit, which moves the horse in the direction you want. A rudder is a little wooden or metal piece on boats (yes, airplanes also have rudders, but let's talk about boats) and when you turn the big steering wheel of a boat, you're actually shifting the little rudder that's in the water so that the whole boat goes the way you want it to.  If you notice...a bit is really small compared to the whole horse, and the rudder is really small compared to...

READ THIS:  James 3:1-2 1 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?   Welcome to chapter 3! Over the next few days, we are going to learn A LOT about the words we speak!   I'm a big Spiderman fan... and if you know anything about him, this quote will likely sound familiar: "With great power comes great responsibility." But what does that even mean??? When we are given opportunities to have power over others, we must be careful with how we use that power, because real leaders are responsible to care and to love those they lead. James says that teachers are often judged harder than others because they lead!   So what does a good leader or teacher do? James says there are 2 things (in verse 2!): they recognize that we all stum...

READ THIS:  James 2:25-26 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Prostitute=righteous? Yes...you did read that correctly. Remember righteousness can be thought of as "rightness." When we act in a way that is right , that means we are acting in a way that God approves of. Rahab is a lady we learn about in the Old Testament, (specifically in Joshua 2) who helped the Israelites spy on Jericho, the enemies of Israel at the time. As a citizen of Jericho, Rahab was asked to turn over the spies, but instead she hid them, deciding to help God's people instead of hurting them. We can do a LOT of messed up things, but that doesn't mean God will stop giving us opportunities to do the right thing. But we can only really do the right thing when we ...

READ THIS:  James 2:19-24 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.  20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?   James makes a pretty big argument here: knowing who God is and having faith are very different things. Knowing God is SUPER important, but there are plenty of examples of people and things that know who God is, but don't live for Jesus (like demons... not great guys). So what does faith look like i...

READ THIS:  James 2:14-18 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.   18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? In short, James is saying love isn't a feeling; it's an action. Our faith in Jesus doesn't just change us on the inside and then stay there. It changes us on the inside and then has a clear difference on the outside, often shown through our love of God that overflows to love of people! Remember yesterday how we spoke about treating people with mercy instead of judgement? Let's say...