The Life We Were Created to Live

"I'm tired of repenting, Lord." It was one of the most pitiful prayers I've ever prayed, but perhaps one of the most honest. 

I'd been in a state of non-stop conviction for weeks. A few weeks in James will do that for you. I'd repented until I didn't think I could repent anymore, then found another sin in need of repentance.

I'd seen myself as I was, and I wasn't impressed. I had thought I was doing okay. James showed me different.

I loved James when I started writing. Midway through, my fervor wavered. It was only when I was nearly done with the work that I began to understand the powerful primer he's written.

James was Jesus' little brother. He knew about not measuring up. He knew what the walk of faith Jesus intended looked like, because he'd watched Jesus every day of his life. You know how younger brothers are. They idolize their big brothers, especially one as nice as Jesus. 

Private Jesus was one thing. Public Jesus was altogether different. His words sounded crazy to James. And then, the crucifixion. Resurrection. 

Suddenly, it all made sense.

James knew the Christian life because he knew the Christ. He'd lived with Him far longer than any of the disciples. He wrote what he knew.

This is a primer on how to live the Christian life. Quit whining. Get the sin out. Stop faking. Love your neighbor. Stop hoarding and start giving. Pray real and pray big. Get off the pew and get in the world. Tell people the truth you know.

THIS is how we, who call ourselves Christians, are supposed to live. James' words convict us because we're not doing it.

If I am to be the Leanna God created me to be, I have to live the life James described. It's the life I was saved to live. The life YOU were saved to live.

Even if you don't participate in the James study, I urge you to read through those five chapters in the back of your Bible. They will change your life. If you'll let them.

We were created for radical obedience, astounding adventure, unimaginable joy, and all-pervasive peace, but we'll never have it sitting on a pew. 

Today, let's make a start. Open our Bibles. Allow God to speak to us through those pages. Do what He says. It's that simple. 

"Consider it all joy, my brethren..." James 1:2 nasb
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The James study will be available January 15th at www.lessonsindiscipleship.blogspot.com. As always, there's no charge, but there will be the opportunity for a suggested donation to cover the cost of producing the materials.

In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: The Step-Aside Power Retreat
If you'd like to help support this ministry, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802
#Jesus 

The Step-Aside Power Retreat

After Jesus was baptized by John, he had three short years for ministry. With just over a thousand days for preaching and teaching, Jesus chose to invest the first forty days in the wilderness. Fasting. Praying. 

Not a soul in sight.

No one to listen to His preaching.

No one to teach.

No one to heal.

That's quite a chunk of time, with what looks, on the surface, like little return. Why spend all that time in the wilderness?

There's power to be found in the kind of retreat in which the usual distractions are removed. A sweetness of communion with God that can be found nowhere else. 

Jesus taught about fasting as a private mode of worship and sacrifice, warning that we are to make no outward sign of fasting for others to see. He, who was sinless, prepared for service in the most important way of all, quietly, privately, communing with our Lord.

Denying ourselves is not at all popular in this culture, and I don't like it much either, but there's power to be found there. 

Is our concern about the spiritual needs of our children and loved ones great enough to spend time fasting and in solitude with our Lord? If so, offer a sacrifice of fasting (either food or pleasures) as you pray today.

Is our concern about our own spiritual needs great enough to spend time fasting and in solitude with our Heavenly Father? Then do so today. 

The sweetest times with our Lord, and the most powerful, can be found when all the distractions are left behind, so pray for a heart willing to step aside with Him, if only for a few minutes.

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days..."(Luke 4:1, 2a NASB)

The James study will be available January 15th at www.lessonsindiscipleship.blogspot.com. As always, there's no charge, but there will be the opportunity for a suggested donation to cover the cost of producing the materials.

In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: Fighting with a Dead Writer and Conceding Defeat 
If you'd like to help support this ministry, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802
#Jesus 

Fighting with a Dead Writer and Conceding Defeat

I've been fighting with a dead writer for weeks. I'm not only worn out, I'm conceding defeat. Sorta.

I loved writing the Hosea study. Tons of history and centuries of political turmoil to explain. Lovely literary techniques to tease out. Beautiful allegory. Stunning truth. 

James is an entirely different kind of writer. As plain as cornbread. As tough as shoe leather.

I wanted the James study to be beautiful, too, but it's not that kind of book. 

I realized last night that the entire book of James can be boiled down to one sentence. "If you want your prayers answered, get over yourself and quit sinning."

There's no way to make that message beautiful. Beauty would be a distraction in the midst of this simple truth.

What I've written is lean. Clean. Different from my usual. It feels a little like I've gone "off brand." I haven't.

James demands that we look at our lives and deal with our sin. It's that simple. The study I've written is that simple, too. "Straightforward," one young man called it.

I've complained about James until I'm sick of myself. I've whined that I was struggling until every one around me is sick of me, too. I've rewritten so many sections that I can't tell if I've saved the best parts or not.

Finally, I'm surrendering to James. His words have defeated me, and I've needed the beating I've taken. He's hammered my pride, my self-righteousness, and my sense of entitlement, as well as all the other sins I have, until it's a wonder I have any sin left. But I do.

If I finish writing the last fifteen days of lessons before Sunday, it will go up as one entire document. If not, it will be two. It's that simple.

I've hated James most days of this writing cycle. Today, I'm choosing to love him, his plain truth, and his simple words. His clean lines are beautiful in the way of a well-constructed Shaker chest. 

The truth he shares is easy to understand. Too easy. 

James writes in such a simple style that there's no way to misunderstand what he means. Tame your tongue. Swoosh. Just do it. 

I've never had this many days in a row where what I've written has left me in tears, caused me to repent, broken my heart over my own sin. It's been good for me. It's a perfect way to start a new year.

Whether you participate with the James study or not, grab hold of the central truth and let it soak through you. Convict you. Change you.

"If you want your prayers answered, get over yourself and quit sinning."

It's the way we, as disciples, were meant to live. Focused on Christ. Loving God. Loving others. Done with sin. Praying prayers that are answered. Make the change that changes everything.

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The James study will be available January 15th at www.lessonsindiscipleship.blogspot.com

In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: The Day Heaven Opened
If you'd like to help support this ministry, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802

#James #sin

The Day Heaven Opened

Social media is filled with prayer requests and promises of prayer. There are days when what I most want is for heaven to open and pour out a heavenly waterfall of answered prayer.

With that in mind, I've been pondering the possibility of being able to open heaven in search of answered prayers. One verse has occupied my mind. 

"Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, (Luke 3:21NASB)"

Ponder this for a moment: Heaven opened while Jesus was praying.

To be clear on the sequence, Jesus was baptized "to fulfill all righteousness." It was not for repentance of sin, but as an act of obedience to show us the way. 

He was obedient. He prayed. Heaven opened. 

The more I look at this heavenly opening, the more I'm convinced it was initiated by obedience combined with prayer. Jesus did what His Father asked Him to do, even when it was hard. Father God honored His obedience. 

We can't earn answered prayers by "being good enough" to deserve them, of course, but obedience is not optional. Jesus lived in right relationship with God, and we should, too. Love God. Love others. Those are the two laws that sum up everything else. 

Jesus said, "IF you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." John 15:7 esv

If we want answered prayers, we must abide. If we want to abide, we have to obey. It's that simple. It's that hard. 

Love. It's not optional.If we want answered prayer, obedience in love is a good place to start.
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In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: The Prayer Primer that Broke My Heart 
If you'd like to help support this ministry, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802
#prayer 

The Prayer Primer That Broke My Heart

One of the verses I memorized as a child is, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105 

If you've spent much time reading Scripture, you know it's true. The Word of God gives direction and much-needed guidance, but it also shines light on the dark places in our hearts. Convicts of sin. Leads us to righteousness.

That's how James has been for me. I've been preparing for months. Writing for weeks. Weeping all the way through. The gentle light of God's word has been a search light, pouring light into dark places. 

I have not liked it one bit.

It's the most agonizing thing I've ever written, because it's the most convicting.  

I don't see this in the commentaries I've read on James, but I believe James, AKA Camel Knees, wrote a primer on prayer. The key verse (to my intercessor heart) is this:

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16 nasb

Everything else James has written leads up to those precious words. We can pray prayers that are as effective as Elijah. There's no doubt about it. The problem is that we often miss the "therefore". 

All that goes before in James deals with getting the sin out of our lives. We want powerful lives of faith, therefore, we must get the sin out.

James doesn't pull any punches. We must stop using our tongues to slash people to shreds. 

We must quit whining our way through every trial and allow God to use them in our lives. 

We must abandon our foolish pride and embrace humility. 

We must love our neighbors as we love ourselves. 

We must stop trying to "learn" our way into heaven and start using what we've learned to do what God has commanded.

When we get our being and our doing right, we'll be ready to pray. When we pray, we will pray God's will, and He will do it. It will be the most exciting thing we've ever done.

It's hard work, this getting rid of sin and keeping it gone. Frankly, sinning is easier than not. But those answered prayers... oh, dear brothers and sisters, those answered prayers make the struggle to become sinless totally worth it.

I find it hard to let go of all my sin. 

The temptation to sin is pervasive, and as stealthy as a chameleon, finding its way into every crack, changing its appearance to be more attractive every time.

And yet, there are those marvelously answered prayers that are addicting. I long to see God's power. I crave it like a drug. 

It's taken decades to reach this point, but I'd rather have answered prayers than sin. So I continue to struggle against sin and repent as fast as I can recognize my error, and beg God to help me be more like Him.

I haven't wept over my sin every day I've written this study, but I have more days than not. I'll be glad to be through with it. I'm glad I've done it.

The James study will be live on January 15th. I hope you'll participate. It's free, as always. You can make a donation to defray costs, but you don't have to. I believe that's how God works. The best He has to give is free. 

You'll get out of it what you put into it. This is different from Hosea. There's not a ton of history to learn. Instead, we're looking at our hearts through God's eyes. Most days, the lessons are short, but the soul-searching is long.

I hope you'll join me for six weeks of study. Repentance. Change. At the end, if we do the hard work God requires of us, we should be closer to the point of Elijah. Flawed but faithful. Ready to pray with the power only God can give.

Today, let's stop long enough to ask ourselves a hard question. How serious am I about doing what God says? What do I need to do about it?

Let's make the change that changes everything. 

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The James study will be live on January 15th. You can access it at www.lessonsindiscipleship.blogspot.com (Hosea will be up until then.) You don't have to sign up, but if you do, I'll tag you when it's live. 

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: How to Make God Laugh

If you'd like to help support this ministry, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802

#prayer

How to Make God Laugh

There are probably many things that make God laugh, including the laughing Mamie (pictured above), but Scripture tells us there is one thing that definitely makes God laugh. (Leanna Paraphrase coming up)

I have seldom read a passage of Scripture more appropriate to today's culture than Psalm 2. It's a warning to mankind, and asks the question, "Why is everyone in an uproar trying to get rid of God?" 

All the world leaders, the psalmist says, have conspired together to free themselves from what they consider the bondage of God. It's their foolishness that makes God laugh.

"Show a little sense here, leaders. God is laughing at you. It's impossible to be free of God in this world. It all belongs to Him.

"God may laugh at you now, but, one day, He'll get tired of this. When He does, watch out. His laughter-turned-to anger is ferocious," the psalmist warned.

God's answer to foolish man's rebellion was His Son, and He offered Him the nations as an inheritance. We are a mess, but Jesus, in a truly remarkable act of mercy and grace, accepted us and redeemed us. 

The psalmist wrapped truth in a warning. "One day, Jesus will rule over this earth, and He'll shatter all this nonsense like an iron rod hitting a clay pot.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll forget your arrogant pride and turn back to God. You don't want what's coming. Do what I do: take refuge in God. That's where the blessing is."

The psalmist is right. It's past time to get over our foolishness, and embrace the truth of God. It's evident everywhere we look. The heavens and all of nature declare His glory. Who are we to deny His existence? His goodness? His love? 

Let's get over ourselves and get back to God. Humble ourselves before. Listen and obey. We won't gain His blessings with scoffing, but with obedience and reverence. 

Bend the knee. Bow the head. Acknowledge the One who loves us most.

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: When God Knocks the Breath Out of You
If you'd like to help support this ministry, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802
#Jesus

When God Knocks The Breath Out of You

Ryan had nearly knocked us out with the fumes from onions and red peppers. Every breath was scalding our airways, so we put masks on until the aroma subsided  and we could catch our breath again. This blog, however, is not about red pepper fumes. 

Daniel, had a different problem, and his response surprised me. He had a vision that caused him to mourn for three entire weeks. He did a fast of "tasty food", meat, wine, and ointment (deodorant/fragrance) because he wanted to understand and he was concerned about the vision. 

This next is the Leanna Paraphrase.

At the end of the time, while he was at prayer by the river, he looked up and saw a man in linen. This wasn't just a man, it was an angel, and his appearance was terrifying. He looked like he was on fire. Lightning for arms, flaming torches for eyes, highly polished bronze for arms and feet. His words sounded like roaring. 

Daniel's friends couldn't see the vision. I don't know if they could hear the roaring, but something frightened them so badly that they ran away. Daniel was knocked out by his fear and fell to the ground.

The angel was very nice, and knelt down to talk to Daniel. That made him tremble more than ever. 

"Don't be afraid, Daniel. God heard your prayer when you started praying three weeks ago. He sent me to give you your answer, but I was delayed fighting demons. I had to call in reinforcements." 

Daniel couldn't even look at the angel, much less speak. Finally, someone who looked more human than the fantastic angel touched his mouth. 

"You have knocked me off my feet and knocked the breath right out of me. I can't talk to you. You've scared me nearly to death."

That was all Daniel could say. It might not seem unusual, but Daniel was not a usual man. He was high in the government and accustomed to talking directly to the king. He wasn't a frightened kind of guy. 

The angel touched Daniel again. At last, he could speak. "I feel better enough to listen. Go ahead and speak."

Daniel understood an important truth: When God knocks the breath out of you with His majestic appearance or His majestic angels, the only sensible thing to do is shut up and listen.

I believe we'd hear more from God if we talked less and listened more. If we waited longer to get an answer to our prayers. If we sacrificed more freely in order to prepare our hearts for God's answer.

Do we want to hear from God? Fast and pray. Do we want to hear His answer? Wait for it. When the answer comes, be quiet and listen. 

It's that simple. 

Pray until God speaks. Then, stop talking and start listening. 

"Be still and know that I am God..." Psalm 46:10

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: How to Enter the Presence of God
#prayer