Read James 1:1-27
Situation:
James knew that Christians scattered all over the world would face challenges to their faith. If they were to remain faithful, their beliefs needed not only to be intellectual, but also very practical. He urged his readers to put their faith into action.
Observation:
Go allows tough situations in out lives to refine us and bring us closer to Him. We should approach these times with a right attitude and seek wisdom from God.
Inspiration:
When the potter bakes a pot, he checks its solidity by pulling it out of the oven and thumping it. If it sings its ready. If it thuds its placed back into the oven . The character of a person is also checked by thumping.
Been thumped lately?
Late-night phone calls.
Grouchy teacher.
Grumpy moms.
Burnt meals.
Flat tires.
Youve got to be kidding deadlines.
Those are thumps. Thumps are those irritating inconveniences that trigger the worst in us. They catch us off guard. Flat footed. They arent big enough to be crises, but if you get enough of them, watch out!!
Traffic jams
Long lines
Empty mailboxes
Dirty clothes on the floor ..Thump. Thump .Thump Thump.
How do I respond?
Do I sing, or do I thud? Jesus said that out of the nature of the heart the mouth man speaks. (Luke 6:45) Theres nothing like a good thump to reveal the nature of the heart. The true character of a person not in the momentary heroics, but in the thump packed humm drum of todays living.
(From On the anvil by Max Lucado)
Application:
How do you respond when you are thumped from people at work, school family, or people at the grocery store? Your initial reaction during these times reflects who you are. What responses need to be changed? Make changes today!
Just a little testimony I thought of that goes with this. When I became a new Christian I still had a real bad temper (That I am delivered of now praise God!) But anyway I was making a salad and tossing it up in a plastic bag well God was really working on me then and I was trying to be sensitive to his leading anyway the bag came open and all the stuff flew out! (THUMP!!!
) The old me would have sreamed and yelled and blamed everyone in the house for that, but I didn't I stopped and thought what should I do, that was a big step for me back then so I just said oh well and cleaned it up. Well I have come a long way since then and have been thumped several times since. Can any of you share a time when you were thumped and overcame it? I would love to hear about it.
Situation:
James knew that Christians scattered all over the world would face challenges to their faith. If they were to remain faithful, their beliefs needed not only to be intellectual, but also very practical. He urged his readers to put their faith into action.
Observation:
Go allows tough situations in out lives to refine us and bring us closer to Him. We should approach these times with a right attitude and seek wisdom from God.
Inspiration:
When the potter bakes a pot, he checks its solidity by pulling it out of the oven and thumping it. If it sings its ready. If it thuds its placed back into the oven . The character of a person is also checked by thumping.
Been thumped lately?
Late-night phone calls.
Grouchy teacher.
Grumpy moms.
Burnt meals.
Flat tires.
Youve got to be kidding deadlines.
Those are thumps. Thumps are those irritating inconveniences that trigger the worst in us. They catch us off guard. Flat footed. They arent big enough to be crises, but if you get enough of them, watch out!!
Traffic jams
Long lines
Empty mailboxes
Dirty clothes on the floor ..Thump. Thump .Thump Thump.
How do I respond?
Do I sing, or do I thud? Jesus said that out of the nature of the heart the mouth man speaks. (Luke 6:45) Theres nothing like a good thump to reveal the nature of the heart. The true character of a person not in the momentary heroics, but in the thump packed humm drum of todays living.
(From On the anvil by Max Lucado)
Application:
How do you respond when you are thumped from people at work, school family, or people at the grocery store? Your initial reaction during these times reflects who you are. What responses need to be changed? Make changes today!
Just a little testimony I thought of that goes with this. When I became a new Christian I still had a real bad temper (That I am delivered of now praise God!) But anyway I was making a salad and tossing it up in a plastic bag well God was really working on me then and I was trying to be sensitive to his leading anyway the bag came open and all the stuff flew out! (THUMP!!!
) The old me would have sreamed and yelled and blamed everyone in the house for that, but I didn't I stopped and thought what should I do, that was a big step for me back then so I just said oh well and cleaned it up. Well I have come a long way since then and have been thumped several times since. Can any of you share a time when you were thumped and overcame it? I would love to hear about it. 
