Category: Bible (Page 34 of 357)

I find wonderful promises in the Bible about approaching God. But the condition of my heart often obscures the view. James wrote about this problem:

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

I embrace the first line—come near to God and he will come near to you—without considering the requisite accounting of my attitudes and actions. Drawing near to God involves a serious look at my sin. Not merely a nod, but fully facing both my active rebellion and passive resistance to his ways.

The Lord is never far from any of us, but only the humble experience his presence. When I lasso my straying heart, humble myself and ask for forgiveness, then I create conditions conducive for the Lord to draw near.

James 4 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Amin Hamid

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

The Bible says that if any of us lacks wisdom we should ask God who gives generously. But how do I know if God answers?

The evidence emerges in the ways godly wisdom presents in my life. The Holy Spirit’s work surfaces humility, thoughtfulness towards others, compassion and empathy. Wisdom from God leads me to do to others as I would have done to me.

Envy, running over people to get ahead, hypocrisy and pride mark this world’s wisdom. Look out for number one, get all the attention you can, drink in entertainment and enjoy yourself. But James calls such attitudes earthly, unspiritual—even demonic. They lead to disorder, dysfunction and corrupt practices.

Pray for wisdom. Trust the Lord to answer in his time, then watch for the good ways wisdom from God presents in your life.

James 3 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Ahmed Zayan

Thomas Jefferson famously took a Bible and whittled it down. Using a razor, Jefferson sliced out miracles and references to the supernatural. He preferred a sanitized Jesus, focused more on moral principles than divine inspiration. Ironically, Jefferson failed to pay attention to even the scraps of Jesus left in his hands, fathering children by at least one slave and keeping numerous others in bondage.

People who twist the words of Jesus to meet their own ends never follow where the teachings of Jesus actually lead.

Jehoiakim, king of Judah, also took a razor to words from God. When presented with a scroll from Jeremiah the prophet, the king had it read by a secretary in his presence. Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them in the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, not did they tear their clothes.

Worse than destroying the scroll, Jehoiakim ignored the warning contained within. The king scorned the Lord and his prophet, even trying to arrest Jeremiah. Jehoiakim burned the scroll hoping to spoil the message. But slicing away the God-parts failed to remove God.

I’m left to wonder—what sections of Scripture do I slice away? What passages do I reject as culturally inappropriate? Which lines do I choose to forget? The Bible remains a formidable book. The hard parts push me beyond my zone of comfort. As I linger in its pages I learn of our amazing God, discovered better with a pen to underline than a penknife to cut out ideas I find disturbing.

Jeremiah 36 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Steven Weeks

Sometimes I have not because I ask not. Such is the case with wisdom. James encouraged his readers looking for more to go to the source:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

When I cannot see through the mists, I should appeal for help from the Lord. Who better to ask?

Then I must remain open to his mode of answering. Perhaps the Lord will send a lightning bolt to carve instructions into my driveway. More likely I’ll hear from a friend, or a catch a line in a sermon, or a Bible passage I’ve skimmed dozens of times in the past will suddenly shine.

God dispenses wisdom in myriads of ways. But to get some I gotta be humble enough to ask.

James 1 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Nathan Jeon