Alex Tran

Dear Alex,

It’s not that complicated.  Sometimes I wish I could take that brain of yours and drop kick it a couple blocks. I almost did it once. Once in awhile I let myself think that’ll actually knock some sense into you. You’re lucky I’m a patient God.

Anyway, let me try to help a son out. It’s time for a little father-son talk.

I remember in kindergarten and 1st grade you were in remedial math and reading classes.  Look at how far you’ve come! I’m proud to say you lived up to the Asian stereotype. You are good at math! And look next to your bed.  How many books do you have down there? 11. Yes, I count the hairs on your head and the books by your bed.

Learning takes time. But it will be worth it.

Don’t worry kiddo.

Love,
God

I got my report card today.  I flunked.  Pretty badly.

James says if you need wisdom, ask for it (James 1:5).  He also says not to doubt you’ll receive it when you ask for it (James 1:6).

The visual he uses of a person doubting works pretty darn well in my case.  Like a wave toseed back and forth.  One day you think God is telling you to go this way, the next day you think he’s telling you to go the the opposite way.

A butterfly flaps its wings and all of a sudden what you once believe God spoke clearly and audible about must have just been indigestion. It was your “fleshly self” that was speaking.

James 1:8 is another good description of where I’m at.  Double-minded and unstable.  You’d think having two minds would make you smarter.

Nope.

That second mind is about as useful as a wart growing out of your right foot’s ring toe.

I read in Ecclesiastes 4 this morning.  Up until this point in the book, King Solomon has gone through a list of things that are “meaningless” to him.  It’s a pretty interesting list including: everything (yes, he says everything), wisdom, pleasures, folly, toil, oppression and even friendliness.

You’ll notice that even things we would consider good (e.g. wisdom and friendless) are meaningless.

What seems to be the prevalent theme so far is while everything is meaningless, the only thing left to enjoy is a man’s work.

But that poses a problem.

Ecclesiastes 2:24 (NIV)
²⁴ A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. […]

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13, 22 (NIV)
¹² I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. ¹³ That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.

²² So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work […]

If that’s the theme, it seems to contradict Ecclesiastes 2:17-23 where King Solomon says even our work is meaningless.

So how is it that our work is meaningless, yet we are supposed to find satisfaction in it?

The key is to notice what type of work is meaningless.

Work is meaningless when we see it as a “task of gathering and storing up wealth” (Ecclesiastes 2:26).  2:17-23 says we can’t take what we work for with us when we die.  We’re forced to hand it over to someone else.  Therefore, it is worthless for us to be working for materialistic, earthly or financial gain.

Work that is not meaningless, however, is “from the hand of God” and “endures forever.”

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 (NIV)
24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, ^25^ for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?

Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NIV)
14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.  […]

It is important that the work of our hands are actually the hands of God and not our own. This is the only type of work that will endure forever, change lives, leave a legacy and impact the world.  It is only the type of that will give us true satisfaction and enjoyment.

How’s your work life been lately?

Proverbs 22:17-19 (NIV)
17 Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise;
apply your heart to what I teach,

18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
and have all of them ready on your lips.

19 So that your trust may be in the LORD,

These verses could easily be put together into a three point sermon.  Here, let me do that for you . . . ;)

1. Apply

James 1:22 teaches us not to just listen to the Word, but apply it.  What’s the point of reading if we’re not going to apply it to our hearts?  Heck, I got issues!!!!  I need a band-aid and triple ointment sometimes.  That junk doesn’t work if you don’t apply it.

Let God work his mojo.  Filter what you read past your eyes and into the depths of your heart and its current condition.  It’s okay to be real with God.  Really, it is.

2. Keep

James goes on to say a man who _continues_ to read/apply the Word will be blessed (James 1:25).  Don’t be like the man who looks in the mirror and forgets what he looks like.  When you apply a verse to your heart, be sure to also keep it close. This is really when the essence of the verse (and God) will begin to soak into your life in a way that sticks.

3×5 note cards are dirt cheap.  Write the verse down.  Tape it to your steering wheel or something.  Figure out a place where you will be by yourself regularly for at least a few minutes a day.  That’s where you need to put the verse and marinate on it each day.

3. Be Ready

This is the fun part.  Be ready to share the verse with someone.  Or how God has used it to encourage you.  Seize any opportunity during the day or week. You will be amazed at the affects both in your life and in others.

God wants us to share the Good News!  So let’s have His Word “ready on our lips.”

This post is part of a series on a commentary I am reading on the book of James.  For a brief introduction, please read the first post in the series.

It would seem the academic type (e.g. scholars, theologians) aren’t super impressed with the book of James.  Martin Luther called it the “epistle of straw.” Others don’t think it represents “the essence” of the Christian faith.

More on this in a later post.

Despite those negative remarks, it turns out James is uber-popular among the general population and one of the most quoted New Testament books.

Do any of these verses ring a bell?

James 1:5 (NIV)
⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

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

Here are the 3 big reasons why James is so popular.

1. James is practical

No other book in the NT has a higher percentage of direct commands, orders or instructions.  Sometimes you can read a book in the Bible and scratch your head wondering what you’re supposed to be getting out of it (e.g. Leviticus).

Not so with James.  He pretty much spells out exactly what you should be doing.  The two verses above are great examples of that.

2. James is concise.

Less is more.  That’s the way James rolls.  One sentence, one point, move on (kind of like the book of Proverbs).

3. James uses lots of metaphors and illustrations

That makes his teaching easy to understand and remember. Stuff like a man in a mirror (James 1:23) or a spark setting off a forest fire (James 3:5) help give a visual parallel to the teaching.

Easy to read, easy to understand. I can appreciate that.  ;)