Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

James - Just Do It

 

James - Just Do It

I learned something very interesting about the Book of James this morning. I knew James was one of the brothers of Jesus and became a leader in the church after Jesus’ death. But, I didn’t know much about the actual content of the book of James. Reading the NIV Introduction of James, I discovered that James decided to write down some of his best teachings and advice and send them to other Jewish believers in Jesus who were scattered throughout the Roman Empire. These sayings, quick thoughts, and random ideas formulated this book. 

So, in modern terms, James took his best Tweets, Blog posts, and sermon snippets organized them and turned them into a letter full of wisdom and advice. When we read this book, and now having a little more understanding and perspective of the book, we can understand why it comes across in such a direct and practical way. This book is an instructional book on how to live the Christian life. There is very little theory or general information, and it is chalked full of explicit instruction and do’s and don’ts. I read somewhere or heard in a commentary that, on average, throughout all five chapters that every other verse ends up being a command of some type. So, the entire book of James is summed up in v22 of chapter 1. 

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” - ‭‭James‬ ‭1:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I will be diving into the book of James over the next days, not sure how long it will take me since there is so much wisdom and information to process. Today, I am simply going to stay here; do what the word says. I heard a long time ago from a Bible teacher that, for the most part, Christians do not need any more sermons or teachings or knowledge, Christians just need to start doing what they already know. 

This reminds me of The Greatest Commandment. In Matthew 22, Jesus was asked by a local theologian or super religious type, what is the greatest commandment in the Law? 

“Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” - ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22:37-39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus responded with the greatest but followed it with the second greatest. So, when we are faced with the concept of really going deeper into God’s Word and want more in-depth teaching and even hear people leaving churches because they do not go deep enough (whatever that means), I am reminded of Jesus' response. It might be a good idea to get good at loving God and loving others before we move onto “deeper” topics and study. 

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” - ‭‭James‬ ‭1:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Please do not get me wrong, or hear the wrong thing here. I love studying God’s word and uncovering insight, understanding, and knowledge. I unpacked this verse the other day from Peter;

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” - ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It’s critical to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. YES!!! But James hammers home to us the purpose of growing in our knowledge, and it is not to live in our heads like a pithy professor, this knowledge is to spur us into action and to become more like Jesus with our action and our lives. Our knowledge and mind-sets are to set us up to DO SOMETHING! 

James is going to be a great book to dig into and learn from. Lord, as we walk into today, remind us and prompt us throughout the day to take this knowledge and awareness and do something with it. May we be the hands and feet of Jesus to someone you put in our path today. 

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch