Faith Revealed • James 2

Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.

James 2:13

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There is so much in this chapter! 

But, due to a real life lesson, 

I need to share this verse and how the Lord 

used it in my life this morning.

You see, after I posted this verse to my status 

on Facebook, I had a pop quiz on it.

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"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, 

when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. 

You know that under pressure, your faith-life is 

forced into the open and shows its true colors." 

James 1:2-3

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Through a difficult conversation with a friend, 

my mercy fruit was tested and what was revealed 

was instead a root of judgment.

As my friend poured out her feelings to me
the words that jumped to my lips
and rolled out of my mouth
did not encourage, lift up or give life.
Instead my words put her on the defense
and threw up a wall between us.

My words conveyed the judgment in my heart.
They showed that I expected
so much more from her.
Couldn't she see that she wasn't acting
like a real Christian?

My words revealed that I
thought she should perform,
cover up her initial feelings
and pretend that she had it all together.

Where was the mercy?

Thankfully, this conversation did not end 

with my judgment hanging out all over. 

Jesus came in and brought His mercy and forgiveness,

brought down the wall and restored relationship. 

Praise His Holy Name!

Our Holy Gardener is landscaping me 

with His Word. (See James 1:21.)

I am so thankful that He is at work and 

that He is making me into the Salvation-Garden 

He wants me to be!

But let me tell you, 

pulling these roots can sure be painful!

It is all well and good for me to read His Word 

and write beautiful shares about what 

He has showed me in His Word, 

but if I don't act on what He has showed me, 

what good is any of it?

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Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere 

in this if you learn all the right words 

but never do anything? 

Does merely talking about faith 

indicate that a person really has it?

James 2:13-14

•

Dear Lord, thank You for allowing this test this morning.
Thank you for prompting me to come to You,
because when I did You showed me what was
happening. Thank you that You do not want us to
pretend or perform for You. You want real fruit that comes
from walking in faith, in Your power, as I rely on Your
Spirit to produce Your Good Fruit in my life.
Thank You for Your Word that instructs me in the Way
I should go. Help me to do more than just read it
and talk about it. Thank You for showing me that I need to
do more than just talk and share about Your Word.
Help me to, by faith, do what it says.
Please teach me what Mercy is and please grow
the fruit of Mercy in my life. Please rip out the roots
of judgment that I have so faithfully tended.
In Jesus' name, Amen.

Blessings Flowing Down • Ruth 4

 

All the people in the town square that day, 

backing up the elders, said, "Yes, we are witnesses. 

May God make this woman who is 

coming into your household like Rachel and Leah, 

the two women who built the family of Israel. 

May God make you a pillar in Ephrathah 

and famous in Bethlehem! 

With the children God gives you from this young woman, 

may your family rival the family of Perez, 

the son Tamar bore to Judah." 

 

Ruth 4:11-12

The town women said to Naomi, "Blessed be God! 

He didn't leave you without family to carry on your life. 

May this baby grow up to be famous in Israel! 

He'll make you young again! 

He'll take care of you in old age. 

And this daughter-in-law who has brought him 

into the world and loves you so much, 

why, she's worth more to you than seven sons!"  

 

Ruth 4:14-15

The neighborhood women started calling him 

"Naomi's baby boy!" But his real name was Obed. 

Obed was the father of Jesse, 

and Jesse the father of David. 

 

Ruth 4:17
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Blessings flowing all over!

The men of the village proclaimed blessings,
and the women, too.

God provided the biggest blessing –
one that no one that was alive that day
every saw with their own eyes.

May my words be full of blessing
as I go through my day – through my life.

May my eyes be open for the blessings
that You so freely give.

May my heart and my mouth overflow
with grateful praise to You my Lord
for all that You do, have done and will do.

May I be faithful with what You have blessed me with.

My life is not just about me, about my little time on earth.
May I be passing the blessings on down the line.

 

Faith Expressed in Love • Ruth 2

Boaz answered her, "I've heard all about you—

heard about the way you treated your mother-in-law 

after the death of her husband, 
and how you left your father and mother

and the land of your birth and have come to live 

among a bunch of total strangers. 

God reward you well for what you've done—

and with a generous bonus besides from God, 

to whom you've come seeking protection under his wings." 

Ruth 2:11-12

What matters is something far more interior: 

faith expressed in love.

Galatians 5:3

Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; 

that's how freedom grows. 

For everything we know about God's Word 

is summed up in a single sentence: 

Love others as you love yourself. 

That's an act of true freedom.

Galatians 5:14

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She was a foreigner.

There she was in a strange place, far from home
with another to care for and provide for.

What was she to do?

Moving to this land she chose
to make their God her own.
She chose to make Him her refuge.

Physically her life may not have been very free,
but already she was walking in the freedom
of her Lord.

Stepping out in faith, she went out to
serve and provide for her loved one.

Faith expressed in love.

Her reputation proceeded her.
They all knew who she was and what
she had done.

Eyes had been watching
and they saw love, devotion,
faith and faithfulness.

Fruit blossomed in her life,
there for all to see.

She made God her refuge,
she hid in the shadow of His wings.

Ever so faithfully, so tenderly
God saw her, welcomed her,
showed her favor and provided for her.

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Father, help me to live my life fully trusting You. Help me to step out and express my faith in love and to use my freedom to serve in love those You have placed in my life. Thank You that You see me, welcome me, show me favor and provide for me. Thank you for being my refuge, thank you for hiding me in the shadow of Your wing.

Free Indeed • Galatians 5

My counsel is this: 

Live freely, animated and 

motivated by God's Spirit. 

 

Galatians 5:16

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I have been set free to live free,
why do I want to return to bondage?

Following the law
wraps those chains
tightly around my wrists and ankles.

I set up my religious rules
and as I follow them
I cut myself off from Christ
and then I walk around wondering why
I am not connecting with Him.

Focusing on Christ –
following Him where ever He leads –
that brings freedom –
that brings connection to Him.

Trusting Him completely –
Who He is, what He has done is enough!

Freedom grows as I use it to serve
those in my life in love.

Freedom is destroyed when I use it
to serve myself.

When I live my life freely,
animated by the Holy Spirit,
I will not follow my selfishness.

Free life, lived for others, brings more life,
it brings fruit.

Following the law, following myself,
removes the hope that fruit will come.

Oh Lord, help me to trust You so completely that I once and for all throw aside the chains of the law, the chains of myself. Lift my eyes, my heart, my mind to You so that my eyes are turned away from my little rules, my wants, my way. Take my hands in yours and lead me where You want me to go. That is when I can run and not be weary, that is when I can be all that You made me to be. Help me to step away from the "safety" of my little box to run wildly through the fields with You.

Fruit Revealed • Esther 7

 

 

Queen Esther answered, 

"If I have found favor in your eyes, 

O King, and if it please the king, 

give me my life, and give my people their lives.

 

Esther 7:3

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She came asking for life
not only for herself, but for all her people.

He came demanding death,
seeking to destroy a whole people
out of hatred for one man.

Two hearts cultivated in
very different ways.

Revealing what had been planted
deep within their soil.

At "such a time" their fruit came forth
bursting with the truth of who they were.

Life sprung forth from her,
death spewed out from him.

Daily I plant seeds in the
soil of my heart.

Daily I tend the garden of my soul.

The fruit reveals what has been planted;
how I have tended to my garden.

Help me, Father, to plant seeds of life and
to stay connected to the Vine.

Remove the deadly weeds that crowd out life
and produce death.

Help me to choose to feed and tend my garden
with the water of your Word and the Sunshine
of obedience.