Journey Through The Bible (James 5)

My online study of James 5 continues….

* Hoarding wealth is prideful; it shows our dependence on ourselves and our money.
* Money and possessions do not make us more important than others.
* What’s the use of building wealth? It’s like a cow who is being fattened for slaughter.
* Being patient starts with realizing that there is an end in sight. It’s easier to be patient when we know when the end is. Christ’s coming is the end we should be focused on.
* Patience is realizing that we’re on God’s timetable, not our own.
* God’s way is rarely the quick way, but the complete way.
* Grumbling might get you temporary success (the idea of greasing the squeaky wheel) but it will cause bitterness in your heart.
* When we realize we’re not ultimately in control, we can stop trying to take charge of other people’s lives.
* We need to be patient with people and persevere in circumstances.
* A lack of patience will tempt us to lie.
* Anointing with oil in the name of the Lord is a symbol of fellowship between believers.
* We shouldn’t hide our sickness from other believers. We are told to share our burden of sickness. Don’t let pride cause you to hide your sickness.
* A prayer of faith doesn’t mean a person will ALWAYS be healed from sickness.
* When we feel guilt we should ask God to put a spotlight on our guilt. If it becomes clear why we feel guilt, we should confess our sin and seek forgiveness. If it is not clear, our guilt is coming from Satan.
* Our lifestyle powerfully affects the effectiveness of our prayers. You pray better when you live better.
* When we live a selfish life, we feel embarrassed or guilty to pray to God. Living a righteous life draws us to God.
* James reminds us the importance of committing to a life filled with prayer.

Merry Christmas

I hope and pray you and your families have a blessed Christmas day! And let us not forget the reason for the season… to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My Science Experiment

A T & T finally updated their cellular service in our city and upgraded to the faster “3G” data network.

When I first turned “3G” service on on my iPhone I thought it seemed my battery was draining faster than usual. I turned 3G off for a couple of weeks and decided to try it again today. What I wanted to do was listen to AOL Radio through my iPhone using the 3G network. In only two hours of use, my very warm phone (warm from extensive battery use) was down to only 20% battery life! (NOTE: I probably started with around 90 or 95%).

I’m going to try the same thing again tomorrow except I’m going to use WiFi instead of 3G and see what how much battery life I have left.

12/24/2008 UPDATE: Today I have listened to FOUR HOURS of AOL Radio via WIFI, plus watched 45 minutes of video (15 during commute and 30 at lunch), and I still have 50% battery. Clearly, 3G is a HUGE battery hog!!

My Playlist (12-21-08)

Although I don’t listen to a lot of music, here are the favorites on my current playlist.

Close To You by Maxi Priest
While I’m Waiting by John Waller (from Fireproof)
Hey Hey We’re The Monkees by The Monkees
Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey
Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
You Belong To Me by Grey Holiday (from Fireproof)

Journey Through The Bible (James 4)

I’m returning to my online Bible study where I left off this summer… James 4.

* Selfish desires bring discouragement to our lives. A self-centered person is miserable.
* We often ask God for what we want…. our selfish desires. Other times we don’t ask God at all because our pride fools us into believing we can accomplish things through ourselves. It breaks His heart when we don’t ask for His help.
* “The world” refers not to our physical world or the people in it, but to living a life without God.
* The root of conflict is our self-centeredness (trying to stay close to the world).
* We’re created to have a loving relationship with God. Having a love relationship with the world instead is, in James’ words, “adulterous.”
* We tend to compare our sin to other men and judge ourselves. We should ask God to help us see our sin as He sees it.
* God wants what is best for us because he loves us so much.
* Pride makes us self-centered and leads us to conclude that we deserve more than we have.
* Resisting Satan is done through the power of God; not through our own power.
* The devil will flee from us when we resist temptation; and he will continuously harass us when we don’t.
* God wants to lift us up and he will when we trust Him (submit to Him).
* How will God lift us up? When we: 1) Resist the devil; 2) Come near to God; 3) Change our external behavior; 4) Trust God (internal thoughts); 5) Be authentically sorrowful over our sin and the sin of the world.
* When we recognize our dependence upon God, he will lift us up. Our worth comes from God alone.
* When we judge other believers in a slanderous way, we are failing to submit to God.
* But if we judge other believers in a discerning way… to correct a believer who is disobedient… we are acting properly.
* Gossip may not seem like a big deal, but it usurps God’s authority and breaks the command to love other people.
* “God’s will” can be explained as response to having a loving relationship with God.
* We should always remember to seek God’s will. It’s prideful to live otherwise.
* Live life one day at a time seeking to live his plan for life. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t plan; it just means we shouldn’t plan without Him.

Gene Chizik

Well, as a diehard Cyclone fan, I can’t let the events of this past weekend go by without comment….

I’m deeply disappointed that Gene Chizik is leaving Iowa State. I believed in Coach Chizik and I admired his character. From what I could tell, he is a man of God (he fought against a secular faculty to make sure he got a chaplain on his coaching staff) and I love that a man with such influence was our football coach. I also think that under Coach Chizik’s leadership, our football team could have become a winning program.

That’s not to say it still can’t happen, but this could be a real detriment to ISU football. I hope AD Jamie Pollard acts quickly (I know he wants to) and is able to find a replacement whose faith is as strong as Coach Chizik’s.