What Did James Mean?

I have been reading and studying through the Epistle of James for the past couple of weeks. My pastor assigned this to me. Well, it's not like that. I am actually taking a class here at the church that our pastor is teaching and he assigned a project to everyone in the class.

The assignment was to read through James and this past week we were to look back at the original language of Greek to decide the EXACT meanings or at least the original intention of the text of the first 8 verses.

Wow, Pastor Paul, that was a big assignment. I did have fun, but I also will admit that since I was preaching in Pine this weekend, I took out two birds with one stone so to speak.

I discovered that when James was talking about trials in chapter one he was more than likely making reference to the persecution of the early church.

I can't help but know in my heart of hearts that while James' original audience were the believers who were scattered, that God also intended quite beautifully you and I in that equation as well.

So since I have not been persecuted lately, I have to wonder that 'trials' would have to include the testing of my faith through temptations that constantly flood path.

The fact remains that trials or testing, whatever they are, ultimately lead to the same valued purpose for believers today that they did a couple of thousand years ago: our maturity and completeness in Christ which is mentioned in James 1:4.

I am glad that God has not appointed me to have to face death for my faith, however, I am thrilled that He cares enough about maturing me and bringing me to completion in His Son Jesus, that He has allowed me to be tested, to prove my faith.

I have also discovered that although we do call these trials "testing", the results are not for the benefit of God, but for myself.


-John M.

Tough Question – 2

The last time I made an entry into my BLOG (about two weeks ago) I made an attempt to answer what I called a tough question. Since then I have not been able to stop thinking about the possibility of addressing other tough questions.

Today I am going to look at another issue or question that I have been wrestling with this past week: “Is It Possible to Sin While Dreaming?”

I have to admit that my first snap answer was no. Then I began to think it through and thought that Dreams are thoughts and therefore the person thinking those thoughts while awake and asleep is the same person.

Then, I started researching on the internet other opinions, and I got really confused, because even though there are only two possible answers, yes or no, there were lots of different explanations for each of the answers.

So I finally decided to do what I should have done in the first place: go to the Word of God.

In Genesis Joseph was given the ability to understand dreams in their truest sense. As a boy he dreamed of his eventual dominance over his older brothers and he came into a place of power and privilege. He interpreted dreams for people from prison to the palace.

His ability afforded him safety and turmoil. When he honestly and correctly answered the cup bearers dream in prison, the cupbearer saw that his dream of a vine and grapes and a cup meant that he would be restored to his position. This eventually led to the Pharaoh catching wind of and employing his ability.

Regarding the Pharaoh dreaming of skinny cows and fat cows, this proved to be a critical God-send and foreshadowing of both famine and plenty in the land. The correct interpretation and eventual submission by the Pharaoh, protected Joseph and the Pharaoh as well as Joseph's family.

Joseph was right to admit that interpretation of dreams belongs to God, but there is no doubt that God gifted Joseph to see these true meanings. In addition to that, people are the ones doing the dreaming.

Ok, by now you’re asking what this has to do with sinning in dreams. The fact remains that dreams occur in our minds while we are asleep and the dreams relate to what is going on in our minds during our waking hours. I realize at this point you may be tempted to say that my scripture reference is a stretch, but hear me through.

Answer this question honestly; do you remember that last time you had a vivid or memorable dream? Do you recall that there were some very significant events taking place in your life whether that day or in recent days? For example: what happened in your dream life the last time you watched a scary movie? What happened in your dream life when you had a traumatic event take place in your life, (death of a loved one, loss of job, revelation of a major illness, etc.)? The answer is simple, the sleeping mind is still the same mind you use while you are awake.

You see, it is clear that what we are doing during the day effects what we dream about at night. This is where it gets really interesting; I would venture to say that you have participated in some serious activities in your dreams that you would never have done while awake. No need to state the obvious.

This is evidence that we believe we’re free to get away with things in our dreams that we may never risk while awake.

Stay with a bit longer: This is why I believe Jesus addresses the issue that if you look upon a woman to lust, you have committed adultery with her in your heart. Matthew 5: 27-28. The point that Jesus is making is that Sin has taken place and it took place in the heart (mind).

Some would argue ‘no harm no foul’ but we have to realize that Jesus’ death on the cross was not just for sins that brought harm physically, but because of sin, period.

With all that said, I have to recognize that there is an aspect of involuntarism involved in dreaming. I am also admitting that I do not understand the psyche of the human mind in a way that would give me authoritative carte blanche.

The Old Testament law addresses both unintentional and intentional sin and how the practice of sacrifice deals with each. God designed the law as a stand in until His ultimate Grace through Jesus could be applied by the cross, but the fact remains that God has made provision for both because both exist (intentional and intentional).

All in all there is so much more to this that cannot be dealt with in a daily BLOG entry by a guy who never created the mind in the first place. In other words, since I did not invent the human mind, I would have to refer to the manufacturer. In this case that detailed manual from the creator is called the Bible. (Tongue in Cheek)

Jeremiah 17:9 says that “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?” So I have no choice but to ask God, the designer, this one simple thing on my behalf that David asked for himself in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me.”

Do I believe that a person can sin while they are dreaming? Yes. Do I believe they go to sleep with that intention each time? No. What we ponder or allow our minds to rest upon during the day will surely influence what it thinks and acts upon at night.

Sweet Dreams..... ZZZZZzzzzzzzzz

-John M

Tough Question (revised due to typo's)

Have you had opportunity for someone to ask you a question you think you should already know the answer and in reality you freeze up for a moment with that deer in the headlights look?

This happens to me a lot, mostly because I am easily confused by slick questions.

There are a lot of "spiritual" issues with which we may have an opinion and yet there seems to be no Biblical reference to back up these beliefs.

It's easy to start believing that that rich people won't go to Heaven and the poor are a 'shoe-in', but the Bible does not say that the rich will go to Hell, only those who do not believe.

You may also believe that living in a house with a street number of 666 or stepping of the elevator on the 13th floor of a building is bad. The black cat that ran in front of you this morning as you walked under a ladder after breaking a mirror, won't have as profound an effect we may think. So stop looking for pennies facing up and don't worry when you break shoe lace, it's all going to be ok.


On the other hand, we do face some seemingly unanswerable questions such as:

• "Does the Bible teach about believing in ghosts or demons roaming about?"


• "Can a person actually sin in their dreams?"

-and here is one that sounds simple but can still catch you off guard

• "Why not baptize infants?"

On the surface an evangelical New Testament believing Christian would say babies should not be baptized. We would argue that baptism is not "salvific" in other words getting dunked won't get you through the pearly gates.

Christians can argue that there is really no difference between sprinkling a baby and calling it baptism and "dedicating" that same child before a congregation to the Lord. I would argue that if this is the case then why use an ordinance such as baptism to promise that you will pray for a child and bring them up in the way of the Lord? Baptism clouds the issue.

So what is the point of baptism in babies? Good question. Before you think I have stepped off the deep end and become a flaming liberal, allow me to clarify from the beginning that I do not see baptism in anyone as legitimate without faith and since babies have no way of expressing it, let alone understanding it, infant baptism is ludicrous and unbiblical at best.

But in all fairness, lets take a look at the Word of God:

The New Testament talks about several occasions where the act of Baptism was a result of faith. In other words, baptism did not precede believing.

With regard to Lydia and the Philippian Jailer in Acts 16, these are two examples where faith (belief) precedes getting baptized.

In vs. 14 the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to the message Paul was preaching. In other words, Paul was preaching, Lydia heard the words and responded and then she was baptized; regarding “her household” there is NO indication that she had infants or even small children. Scripture does not even indicate she was married; “her household” could have been her servants. the fact that he was a business woman and a ‘dealer in purple cloth’ is all the information we are given to work with.

Later in the same chapter Paul and Silas were in jail and had been singing and praying and they were obviously vocal about it because the scripture said that the other prisoners were listening to them. At midnight there was an earthquake and their chains were broken and the doors were opened. When the dust cleared the jailer thought for sure that everyone had escaped so he was ready to take his own life, but Paul spoke up and said they were all still there.

The jailer asked ‘what must I do to be saved'. It is important to know that since the jailer had been there all along, he was an audience to the singing and prayer and obvious conversation regarding the Gospel, so it was only natural that he ask such a question. Paul's answer was simple yet concise: ‘believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved', then the statement followed 'you and your household'. The same applies to the Jailer's household, if they believe they too can be saved. In scholarly circles this is called a "PRESUPPOSITION". The obvious fact that his household was saved and baptized meant that they must have also had faith. They had to, because scripture indicates in other passages that faith is a requirement for salvation and baptism follows as an act of obedience and identification.

Later after the Jailer helped Paul and Silas to get cleaned up he and his family were baptized. Obviously they must have believed in the Lord Jesus as well. The scripture once again does not indicate that there were infants in the household, this is where many make an mistaken assumption; household does not instantly imply infants.

The ultimate point is that the two requirements of salvation are faith and repentance: Romans 10:10 clearly states: “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” As is the case with infants they are not capable of either one; however many young children can and do come to salvation in Christ because they have heard the Gospel, realize their sin, repent and believe. Its as easy as ABC Admit ~Believe ~Confess(Commit)

-John

City Slickers

Our youth Boys had a great finish to their "Call Of The Wild" - Start2Finish class.

Our boys enjoyed several events that helped them to bond and refocus their attention on the Creator as the Giver of all good things.

The first weekend was Called "R.O.C. The Canyon" and was a play of the Rock the Canyon event and the "R.O.C." (Relying On Christ) theme for our student ministry. We dropped the boys off at the bottom of the Snake River Canyon at the Centennial Park and told them to hike out. They met at the top of the canyon quite conveniently at the IHOP for milkshakes and Bible Study led by Larry Kelley.

Week two was the "Tour De Twin" where we biked across Twin Falls from "Old Town" through Rock Creek Canyon to the Rock Creek Park where we enjoyed an open pit fire Hot Dogs and a Bible Study led by myself.

Week three was called "Wild West" and we met at the Jerome Shooting Range where we shot everything from paper targets to skeet. We fired shotguns, .22 rifles, and several high powered rifles afforded to us by John Christlieb. Our Bible study was led by Mike Mathews who also served as our range boss keeping everyone safe.

Our final week we travelled to Declo for what we called "City Slickers". Here we were given an opportunity to be "cowboys" for a day. We branded over 30 head of cattle (calves), gave them their 'Shots' as well as depriving a few of their manhood as it were. Dennis Bortz led the Bible study as well as providing the cows. The above pictures are some of the evidence.

I can't wait to see what gets planned for next year. Maybe we'll head to the mountains for a few days and rough it in the wilds.

-John M