Matters of Faith

Reverend J. Loren Russell

James 4:1-6 NJKV

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

When present day readers of the scripture examine the context, we sometimes find ourselves asking about the relevance and applicability of the word in contemporary times. We find ourselves asking, “What About Today.” 

Our ancestors who wrote the scripture were living in a world quite different from the world we know today. I do not think they could have imagined the technological advancements and modern conveniences we have made from their time until ours. If any of them could step out of the pages of history and into this contemporary era, they certainly would not recognize anything, but they would be astonished at the similarities of the human condition. They would see wars, people killing people, adultery, and blatant enemies of God. They would see that the people of today are just as disconnected from God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit as they were in their time.

The brother of Jesus wrote this epistle somewhere between AD 48-62. Times were quite different in terms of the environment, but remarkably familiar in the character of the people. Sin was rampant and self indulgence was the order of the day. Prayers were going up, but the blessings weren’t coming down. Times were tough, but grace was available. I believe James was aware that he was writing to a much wider audience than the people of his time. After all, he himself was not a believer until the ascension of his brother. He understood that it can take time before it reaches it’s intended audience, but he was confident that it would reach them.  

More than 2,000 years after James lifted his prophetic voice, it still echoes in the hearing of saints and sinners alike, at least those who are seeking their soul’s salvation. It was true yesterday, it’s still true today, and will be true tomorrow. Those who make themselves friends of the world are enemies of God. God still yearns to give us grace so that we walk through the day with humility and face each day with joy.

So, when someone asks, “What about today?”, a full biblical answer might be:

“God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  Whatever today brings, God supplies grace—but it flows to the humble heart.

Be blessed!

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Reverend. J. Loren Russell

Luke 18:10-17 NKJV

 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 

And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

I Googled an artificial intelligence (AI) overview for a description of an authentic person and found the following: “To be an authentic person, you need to know yourself (self-awareness), own your choices (self-acceptance), and align your behavior with your values, which involves listening to your inner voice, being honest (even when vulnerable), and acting in ways that feel true to you, rather than just pleasing others or trying to be perfect. It’s a journey of consistent self-reflection and mindful action, focusing on internal alignment over external validation.”

There is value to this definition that applies to the concept of being your authentic self, or answering my question, “Who are you?”

In the text, we see the Pharisee, the publican, and the Disciples. All of them are behaving in ways that are contradictory to those titles. Job descriptions do not define who you are, only what you do. Neither of these two men or the Disciples are behaving as their titles would suggest.

The problem with both the Pharisee and the Disciples was that they both thought it was about what they did and not who they were! Both the Pharisee and Jesus’ Disciples  wanted to be recognize based on the things that they did; the Pharisee because of his big “I”s (“God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”), and the disciples because of what they were doing…, hanging out with Jesus.

Of the publican, Jesus compares him to the Pharisee and says, “this man went back to his house forgiven, and not the other man. For whoever makes himself look more important than he is will find out how little he is worth. Whoever does not try to honor himself will be made important”(NLV). To His Disciples, he offers a real-life illustration of authenticity by receiving little children; “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein”.

Jesus is not  looking for a made-up character fashioned out of all the traditions in society. He’s looking for the REAL you! The child that still lives in each and every one of us! 

Who are you?

Be Blessed!

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Reverend J. Loren Russell

Luke 19:1-8 NKJV 

Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today, a person has been saved in this house. This man is a Jew also. 10 For the Son of Man came to look for and to save from the punishment of sin those who are lost.”

I went to a fast-food drive through the other day. I was somewhat distracted as I listened and spoke on a conference call while ordering. I thought the voice on the other end of the order kiosk said $7.62. I prepared myself as I approached the mobile window with the exact change, only to be told that I misunderstood. The actual amount was $17.62, not $7.62. While my hands-free phone was muted, I snapped at the young lady, “I only ordered a salad and chicken tenders”! “What do you mean $17.62”? “How much does 4 tenders’ cost”? “I don’t want that”! “Give me the money back”! 

I fumbled to find a $20 bill to replace the $5 bill I initially gave her. As I impatiently handed it to her, she accepted it with a puzzled look on her face. After all I had said, “I don’t want that”! “Give me back my money”! She politely handed me back five single dollar bills, to which I said, “I want a five-dollar bill, not five singles. That’s why I gave you two single dollars”. After handing me my salad, and me snapping, “Where are the tenders?”, she reaches behind her and hands me another bag with the tenders inside. She asks, “barbecue sauce”?, to which I respond, “No! Honey mustard”! 

This very patient and accommodating young lady looks at me and says, “You don’t have to be so mean”. I looked closely and saw a tear roll down her cheek. 

I drove out of the line, unmuted myself, resumed my participation in the meeting, and proceed to my destination – home. But the Holy Spirit was not pleased. I felt this strong compulsion to find a place to park in the snow-filled street and go back to apologize to that young lady. I thought otherwise and kept on my way. Traffic in the accumulated snow of the city streets was very heavy. I was delayed significantly, and a car traveling in the wrong direction almost hit me. It was then that I realized this was more than a feeling, it was an order. I had to go back and apologize. I had to go back and see if I could make it right. 

When I got back to the restaurant, I found a parking spot, sat in the car another 15 minutes until the meeting was completed. I took a picture of a beautiful drawing of a child named Faith from my trunk, rolled it up, and went into the store. I motioned to the young lady to speak with her. Before she got to the counter, I was apologizing. She came around the counter, thanked me, and extended her arms to give me a hug. I gave her the picture and asked her to please accept it as my way of saying that I am so sorry to have behaved so ignorantly and to have hurt her feelings. She graciously accepted the gift and the apology. 

This may not have been as dramatic as Zacchaeus’ commitment to give half of his wealth to the poor or restore fourfold to anyone he may have overcharged on their taxes, but it was just as transformative for me. There is nothing like being convicted of having done something wrong and going back to make it right…, not to make you feel better, but because it is the right thing to do.   

Be Blessed! 

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Reverend J. Loren Russell

Romans 12:1-3 NKJV 

I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. ³ For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

People invest in stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities (gold, silver, platinum, pork bellies, sneakers, oil, gas, and anything else that has a limited supply and a high demand). Everyone who makes an investment expects that there will be some sort of return on that investment (ROI). Some investments have spectacular returns, while others, to coin a phrase, “go belly up”, and fail to yield any positive return. The text presents several spiritual investments that have great return on investment. 

The text opens by pleading (“beseech”) its readers to present themselves before God as bodies that have been committed to the Lord – holy and acceptable. There is an implied reasonableness of this investment by the  statement, it will make them holy and acceptable to God. That benevolent statement, by inference, is the evidence of a reasonable expectation of a positive return. 

The second investment with an expectation of a great return is non-conformity with the world. It says that there will be a substantial return on investment by having a transformed mind. God orchestrates the transformation of the investor that results in a total conversion on the inside that will be evident on the outside. The positive return for the investor is a knowledge of the will of God  – all that is good, pleasing, and perfect in His sight. The implication is that the change will be so dramatic that it can be shared with people throughout the community. 

This leads to the third return on investment; a humble and contrite spirit that is a by-product of the amount of faith the Lord has deposited into the life of the investor. 

An investment in the Lord thy God is a win-win situation with the absolute best return on investment. If you read verses 4-21, you will find that the ROI is not something that is received when you become a child of eternity, it is promised in your lifetime to make you more than a conqueror, it promises to give you the ability to overcome evil with good.  

Be Blessed!