Christine's Blog (2,610)

What’s in your Heart? (segue from James 3—the heart that drives the tongue)

Little girls practice drawing hearts, have you ever noticed that?  I am not sure why it is not something boys do . . . but there…

We consume a lot of fruit in my home – though by far, the most sought-after fruit by all of us is the apple.  Danny likes the Gala, while Dean, Dylan and I usually prefer the Fuji.  I have been thinking about it--do we even know if it was an apple that Eve plucked, took a bite of, and gave to her gullible partner, Adam?  No matter, it seems so innocuous,…

My roses have already been hard-pruned, and are now leafing out, any danger of frost having passed . . . you see, California sport gardeners—those of us who garden for hobby and enjoyment—have gotten an early start this year.  We really have not experienced much cold weather, especially in Southern California.  Ha, the other day, I came in out of my backyard…

James passionately describes the destructive power of our tongue, of our unguarded words in the first half of James, chapter 3.  And writes, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”  B…

You got a chance to read James 3, (http://pastorwoman.com/ReadArchive.aspx?id=837) I trust, a…

We turn the page, and read what our Lord’s brother has next to say to us.  Read with care:

1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.…

James points to a prostitute to make his point.  In the midst of his discussion about faith and works, and to corroborate his point that the authentic Christian has some sort of ‘works’ in his life, he uses Rahab as his illustration.  Take a look:

Abraham believed God, and it was credited to…

Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging…

James' mood makes a decided shift--he seems frustrated with being unable to make his point to these new Jewish believers, with regard to the discussion about faith and works—he wanted them to GET IT . . . their conduct simply had to line up with the faith they claimed to have!

In James 2, verse 19 we see James' mood…

I recently mentioned the reading of a great book as a wonderful way to stimulate your thinking and grow your mind.  Now I am more than halfway through BONHOEFFER: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas, and I read something that gripped me, and I thought perhaps, just perhaps, it might you.  I have been reading this book at the gym, and I read this passage, then I reread it, then I…

What is a conundrum?  [Another lesson plucked from the study I wrote on James a few years back … the balance between faith and works from the second chapter of James]…

Last night on television I saw an advertisement for Scientology … one of our culture’s greatest dupes to entice people to grow wiser and actually increase their ‘IQ’… Of course, it also entices folks to spend a lot of money to do so, because a ‘follower’ has to work with an auditor on his e-meter (similar in function to a lie detector machine), to achieve next levels as he moves to remove the…

I memorized the following verses from the Living Bible when I was 11 years old:  “From James, a servant of God to Jewish Christians scattered abroad, Greetings! Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow and don't try to…

Before we move on to Paul’s letter, Colossians, and a new format for Morning Briefings, I would like to invite you to refresh yourself with where we have been, since we began our journey together, almost four years ago, now?  My beginning briefings emanated from the book of James, a brilliant, masterful letter written to Jewish Christians.  It is filled with wisdom that has…

Back in September, we began studying Paul’s letter to the Philippians, though now ‘it is finished’ . . . we have come to the end.  What a letter it has been!  I feel like I learned more about Paul’s softer side, as he expressed his love for his Philippian brothers and sisters repeatedly and in several different ways.  Everything Paul lived for…

Nobody mourned its impending death . . . no one talked about how much it would be missed.  No billboards or television commercials warned of the void it would leave . . . yet, just like that, it has almost vanished as a viable connection of hearts, of happenings and goings-on, as exchange of cordialities, and recording of historical events—it is the irreplaceable hand-written letter.…

Mind the Storehouse of your Mind.  Philippians 4.8

Paul was just published in the ladies’ magazine, Good Housekeeping, did you see it?  In a section about prayers to refresh your life, Paul made the cut with Philippians…

And once again I find myself wishing I could time travel . . . wishing I could go back to that night . . . that holy night when the shepherds found their way to the stable, found their way to Jesus.  As I arrange the pieces of my Nativity, this is what I see:  Mary and her babe ~ Joseph, trying to catch a much-needed nap ~ a few animals ~ and off to one side sits a group of…

You know the scene. . . the shepherds are outside watching their sheep, when suddenly an angel appears to them, surrounding them with the light of God's glory--no doubt, the sky just lit up--if any are dozing, they aren't any longer--they are scared! Like all the other times when angels appeared to deliver a message--it was frightening, and so, the first words uttered by the angels are, "Do not…