Week 8: James 4:1-11~Conflict

RECAP:
Week 1-Polka Dot
Week 2-not letting trials lead to sin
Week 3-not holding your faith in favoritism
Week 4-God's Word
Week 5-Faith and Works
Week 6-The Tongue
Week 7-Wisdom

This Week: Week 8--Conflict

When I prepared for today, I had to fall on my face before the Lord and pray for several hours that he would create in me a clean heart an renew in me a right spirit. I knew without doing so, I could not speak with you on the topic of conflict.

In James 4:1-11, James is writing to Christians and addressing a topic that is common in all of our lives.

From last week, we know what God has put in us when we were in the womb and we have a constant decision whether to live according to that or our sinful nature. In the past few months, however, I have witnessed firsthand just how innate our sin nature really is.

Example: My oldest daughter has twins and they can be the best of friends. One of them does happen to be more aggressive than the other and when she wants something that the other has, she takes time to wisely plot her strategy, circles around and swoops in for "the kill." Then, total chaos ensues. It truly amazes me because no one told them how to do this. They were born with it!

I asked who in the room has conflict? Pretty much everyone raised their hand. Who of you has conflict?

Unfortunately, it is just part of being human and we all encounter it every day.

In this passage we will look at three C's of conflict: CAUSE, CONSEQUENCE and CURE.

CAUSE
A friend once told me conflict comes from the struggle over 3 things:

1. Land
2. Money
3. Power

I asked the ladies if they could think of any others and we came up with quite a list!

• Stubborness
• Love
• Jealousy
• Expectations
• Pride
• Children
• Teenagers :)
• Selfishness
• Misunderstandings

What can you add to this list?

The scripture warns us of such causes.
Pride: Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes. Proverbs 27:20

James says the cause of our conflicts is our own pleasure and it wages war in our soul.

The greek word for "pleasure" is "passion". "Passion" means "desire".
There is a huge trend today that encourages everyone to "find their passion."

I can not help but think when I read this passage that finding "our passion" can be a great source of conflict in our lives. Once we find it, we have to protect it...UNLESS we seek what God has gifted us for and ask what HE wants to use from our lives. Otherwise, we might be finding ourselves sitting in the middle of unnecessary conflict. This can be very wearing! Remember: Passion for passion's sake is not good and will wage war on your soul.

Read Romans 7: 18-23.

Paul talks about wanting to do the right thing but his actions would be something totally opposite. I can testify. There would be times in my life that I would be talking to someone and know that God was making it clear to me to keep my mouth shut but I would just be sitting there and my mouth would open and out would come empty words. So many times when I would do that, the conflict would just go on and on. Praise God that He has given us His Spirit to help us overcome our weaknesses and fleshly desires!

James 4:2 continues to say that our own lust or desire causes conflict. It seems so often that we intentionally take matters into our own hands when we want something so much. We need to pray that the Lord will help us line up our actions with our heart, a heart towards Him.
I Peter 2:11 says lust wages war with our soul. Conflict is caused from being envious, wanting what someone else has. Example: If material things are what we are envious over we will find ourselves in endless turmoil.

CONSEQUENCES
Reason for consequences of our conflicts:

• We do not receive direction because we ask God with the wrong motives. We ask according to what we want so we can lavish ourselves instead of getting on our faces before God and asking what He wants.
• Not having godly friends and being friends with the world instead of God. Who do you want to be friends with? Godly friends are a great support and encouragement and are a must to growing in Christ.
• Lastly, James 4:5 says that a consequence is making God jealous. HE breathed life into you and He jealously looks upon you as His precious child.

CURE
 Submit to God, come near to God, humble yourself before the Lord. In other words, get on your face before Him. In doing that you will resist the devil, He will come near to you and He WILL lift you up! It is a promise.

I have encouraged all the ladies to spend some time before the Lord in prayer this week and to come back and share how it helped in their lives and conflicts. I encourage you to do the same and don't be scared to share it with us! Also, feel free to let us know if there is anything we can pray for you!

Week 7: James 3:13-18~Wisdom!

I apologize that the notes from week 7 are delayed!!!! Nonetheless, here they are. :)

Read James 3:13-18.

Wisdom is mentioned three times in this chapter and we are told that there are two kinds of wisdom.

1. Earthly wisdom
2. Heavenly wisdom

Dictionary definition of wisdom:
1. The ability to discern or judge what is true, right or lasting; insight.
2. Common sense; good judgement.
3. a. The sum of learning through the ages; knowledge.
    b. wise teachings of the ancient sages.
4. A wise outlook, plan or course of action.

James' definition of wisdom is in verse 17:
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

As I studied this in preparation for today, I had to look back over my life and examine the times I've exercised earthly wisdom and the times I've exercised heavenly wisdom. I am going to be transparent and share both with you.

Earthly wisdom- I am a mother and I admit that my motherly instinct is STRONG. My best friend has always told me that when it comes to my children, if something goes wrong, I go for the jugular. This is something I've really had to give to the Lord. One example of my earthly wisdom is when my oldest 3 were growing up and my best friend's child something to one of my children that just didn't go over very well. Frankly, it made me angry. Upon finding out, I immediately picked up the phone and told my best friend what happened. Ten minutes later,she and her oldest were at our door to apologize and work through the problem. Unfortunately, this encounter still resulted in a period of awkwardness on both of our parts for a bit of time afterwards. To this day, I acknowledge that the "the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God" (James 1:20) and I should've prayed and waited before tackling this specific situation.

Heavenly wisdom-  Since the death of my son and over the past 5 1/2 years, I've been weakend and grievous on my face before the Lord. At one point, the Lord strongly impressed upon my heart through his word that I am to enjoy my children and my grandchildren and He will take care of me. He's also shown me a lot about the beginning of heavenly wisdom. Consider this scripture:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments... Psalm 111:10

The beginning of wisdom is spending time in the Word (His commandments) so we can understand HIS wisdom.

Back to James' definition in verse 17:
There is a beautiful picture of the word "pure" which means "sincere." When they would make pottery in biblical times, they would put wax over any crack in a piece of pottery. When something was sincere, it had no cracks...therefore, no wax. What a picture of how our lives can be when we live according to heavenly widsom...sincere and without cracks!

On the contrary, earthly wisdom results in division, death and separation.

Remember: Yes, some people have been given more natural abilities in exercizing wisom but if we ask the Lord for His wisdom, anyone can benefit and receive it! Heavenly wisdom does not intentionally do what God has clearly said not to do.

Example: Read Genesis 3:6. Eve was told not to eat from the tree of understanding. She and Adam did not need that tree. They just needed God. BUT she took matters into her own hands and did what God had clearly told her not to do.

Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Psalm 51:6

He was putting His wisdom in us even before we were born! This was His design vs. our earthly wisdom of deciding to follow our own desires. When you've realized you've operated in earthly widom, ask Him for forgiveness and remember He's already put His wisdom in you!

Proverbs 2 tells us a lot about His wisdom. See verses 1, 2, 6, 10, 12 and 16.

Remember: To have wisdom, we must ABIDE in Jesus! That is the beginning.
The word "abide" means to "stay with."

Question: Is there anything standing in the way of you having a FULL relationship withthe Lord?

Pray: Open the eyes of my heart so that I may see the deep things of God.

Attributes: We made a list of the the attributes of heavenly wisdom according to the scriptures we read. Pray that the Lord would grow these attributes in you:

• Peace loving
• Considerate
• Submissive
• Good fruit
• Impartial
• Sincere
• Peaceful
• Full of mercy

I'm praying for each of you!

Love,
Glenda

Service and Outreach

Hey ladies!

We only have two weeks left and Imogene and I just wanted to spell out very clearly what service and outreach opportunities are still in the works for our two remaining weeks of mom's H2H. We know it's quite a few things and everybody can't do everything so please just pray about where the Lord wants you to contribute.  The bright side is we definitely have plenty of opportunities to bless people and be the hands and feet of Jesus! The items in red are especially important over the next couple of weeks.

SHERRY K.- Sherry K. (mH2H member and small group leader) is having surgery today (Mon.) on a brain tumor the doctor's discovered last week. Her family is in need of meals in the coming weeks. The web site to sign up for bringing Sherry and her family a meal is www.takethemameal.com. Please comment here if you are interested in blessing them in this way and we will email you the password to sign up take a meal. Please especially be praying for Sherry and her family.

Meal Mamas-our church has a meal ministry and is alway in need of homemade meals for the freezer so that they can bless families in need. Each Wednesday, we have pans provided for you to package your meal if you would like to participate. You can see the approved recipes and other details here on the Meal Mama blog. You can bring your meals to Bible Study on Wednesday and put them in the freezer in the Nursery Building. This is a continual need that you can be part of throughout the year!

Food Bank-our church's food bank is another continual need in which you can participate throughout the year to help families in need. As the holidays are approaching, the food bank needs our help even more. You can see the needed items and guidelines here. The Food Bank bin is located outside of the Discipleship Center. If it happens not to be there, you can bring your food to Bible Study and Amy A. will see that it is delivered to the appropriate place. This is also a great way to get your children involved in outreach. If so, we'd love for you to get creative and take a picture of your kid's w/ your food bank items and send the pictures to us so we can share them!

Nursery Worker's Gift- last week, we began passing around a card to sign and an envelope for small contributions (even as little as a dollar) to go towards a gift for our 4 Wednesday morning nursery workers. If you have children in nursery care, please keep this in mind when you come to study this week. It is the last time we will collect money because we will be presenting them w/ the gift on November 16 (the following week).

UPDATE and Change of plans:
Adopt a Family-Each Christmas, our church hosts an Adopt A Family program for families in need. Mom's Heart to Heart was going to adopt a few families as a service project this season. Unfortunately, the wish lists for our families will not be available before our study ends on Nov. 16. Therefore, the program has requested that we collect toys over the next couple of weeks in lieu of fulfilling the family wish lists. The program will use those toys to supplement and fill in gaps amongst ALL of the families. Sooooo....over the next couple of weeks if you could bring one toy (or whatever the Spirit leads), we will collect them and they will be donated towards this year's Adopt a Family! It is exciting that these toys will reach not just a few families but many!

If there are still questions, please let us know so we can clarify!

Look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!
Imogene and Hannah

Weekly Update and Photos from Food Bank Service Project!

Here are our pictures from our service project this semester. You have all been little nuggets of joy in my day when looking at these little angels doing God's work.





Thanks to all the moms that came last week and we missed those of you that were not there. We had a couple of things take place that we want you to be aware of.

First we collected dollars for baskets to give to the childcare workers. If you would like to contribute you still can next week.

We are also going to be having a holiday potluck over our break at my house. We will be selling the tickets next week. So you can get them online or you can purchase next Wednesday.

http://www.centralchurchofgod.org/events-seminars/details.cfm/event_id/811

Music Monday and Service Project

Service Project ~

Please make sure to email me pictures of collecting food for the Food Bank.

imogenenoe@gmail.com

Food bank needs
http://www.centralchurchofgod.org/ministries/detail.cfm/min_id/20/min_cont_id/217

Food Bank Mobile - Click Here

Girl's Night Out: Recap

At the beginning of the summer, Musing Foodie, Carolina Clipper and I put our heads together and were mulling around having a blog GNO incorporating each of our individual blog's readers. We knew what we wanted to do and were excited about it BUT we were having a hard time getting the pricing and logistics juuuuust right. Just as we were getting ready to throw in the towel, I shared our vision with good ole Caroline Simas.

The Lord laid it on Caroline's heart to say, "Hannah! IIIIIIII will create a custom art piece incorporating scripture and IIIII will come share and teach your group how to create that piece." It was an amazing answer to prayer and above or beyond anything our minds could've conjured up!
So, I shared the idea with the women's ministry at our wonderful church and they not only were thrilled about the idea but wanted our Bible Study, mom's Heart to Heart to host it for alllllll the Women of Central.
Well, Thursday night was THE night and it was so fun to. There was something so refreshing about getting out of the "mom bubble" and being able to spend an evening with women of all ages and all walks of life. I was able to sit at a table with a beautiful, spunky lady in her 70s that reminded me sooooo much of my grandmother and I loved every minute. The only thing better would have been if my grandmother could have been there, too!

I was so busy that I didn't get many pictures but Musing Foodie catered a FABULOUS baked potato bar and smores bar and Caroline created a mixed media piece incorporating a choice of three scriptures.

• Women of Central theme verse: "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ."  2 Corinthians 2:15
• Roof with a View theme verse:  "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops." Matthew 10:27
• Mom's Heart to Heart Study of James theme verse: "Consider it all joy, brethren, when you encounter various trials" James 1:2

Here is my creation which I admit felt a little challenged and "special" when I compared it to the others. Once I got it away and on it's own, I was feeling just a tad more confident about it. :)

One girl who happens to be an art teacher got REAL fancy with it! Whoooo would've thought of a bird cage?!?!?

...and HOW about this BABY that could be our RWAV theme picture!?!!? I LOVE it!

Caroline took a TON of pictures and will be putting them on her blog soon so be sure to head over there to see them! Let's hear it for GIRL'S NIGHT OUT!!!!!

Any of you girls that were there and want to show and tell, send me your creations to roofwithaview (at) gmail (dot) com!

Tasty treat for the week: Apple Cake!

You know this cake must be good because I missed Bible Study due to sick kids and I got a phone call soon after Bible Study from a trusty friend that I would be getting the recipe via email and needed to make is PRONTO.

Low and behold, I made it today and she was right. I was not disappointed and you won't be either.

Thanks, Elizabeth S.!

Elizabeth says:

Apple Cake
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups peeled, chopped apples (I used Gala)

Sift together dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs through vanilla with electric mixer for 2 minutes.  Add to dry ingredients and stir just until combined.  Fold in apples.  Pour mixture into a prepared bundt pan and bake at 350 for one hour.  The recipe says to just dust powdered sugar over it, but I am an icing girl so... combine 2 cups powdered sugar with enough milk just to get the right consistency and pour over cooled cake.  Enjoy!

Love ya'll!!
Elizabeth :)

Week 6: James 3:1-12

To open, we sang this worship chorus. I love these words.

I will bless you, Lord.

I will bless you, Lord. 

With all of my praise,

I'll worship you always.

I will bless you, Lord.

Let your life be seasoned with salt – a picture that people will thirst after. Let your SPEECH be like salt.

Don’t desire to be a teacher – James points out the strict judgment that follows those who teach. You have to SPEAK it and walk it. Concentrate on what you say.

No one is perfect – stick to the Word, it’s perfect.

Glenda read dictionary definition of the tongue: fleshly muscular organ…humans use for articulating speech.

-          Has power

-          Has the ability to bless and curse

-          Can’t be tamed

Things we say that bring a curse 

Here are some things the ladies shared: 

-gossip

-complaints

-lies

-comparisons

-criticisms

-blame

Things we say that bring a blessing

The ladies shared:

-praise

-encouragement

-apologies

-affirmation

-thanksgiving

-truth

-hope

An example for us is the horse's bit and bridle. A horse's bit and bridle can be changed depending on its attitude – one even with spikes if needed. God can use the same effect on us – He doesn’t want to, but will use it as necessary to guide/change etc. If you are interested in watching a POWERFUL, real life visual of ourselves via a green horse being broken, I invite you to check out these amazing videos by Riding High Ministries. It is a beautiful illustration and you will never look at yourself and what God does for us in the same way.

Unless you ask God to help you with your tongue, you’ll never be able to manage it.

Another example: One "beautiful" Saturday, our family was sailing on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. We were very new at this activity but ‘thought and acted’ like we knew what we were doing. All of a sudden, a storm came out of nowhere and our response clearly indicated we had nooooo clue what we were doing. The sail was not tied down and was flapping all over the place. We almost capsized. Our lives flashed before our eyes. We were a sight!

We need to operate in God’s wisdom, not our own. Saying the wrong thing can cause turmoil. Use God’s word as your base.

Psalm 5:9 – What you do not want your words to be

You want your words to be authentic, reliable, trustworthy and bring encouragement.

Proverbs 12:18 – We want to have/speak words of wisdom – it brings healing.

Pray for the Lord to show you how to say things in a loving way (example of difficult situation where a sharp answer will turn other person away).

Ecclesiastes 3:7 – There is a time to be silent.

Matthew 10:19 – The Spirit has the power to give you what to say in all situations.

Ephesians 5:19 – A heart that loves God and knows God made everyone. Take what He’s done in you to minister to others.



Here is your homework for Week 7 and it is a GREAT passage on wisdom. I'm looking forward to next week!

A special thanks to Catherine C. who took excellent notes in my (Hannah) absence so that you wouldn't miss a beat!

Music Monday and Food Bank Needs

Food bank Needs ~
CENTRAL’S FOOD PANTRY NEEDS STOCKING
CHURCH-WIDE FOOD DRIVE • SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23
During both morning services, items can be brought to the
following locations: the Narthex, Kids Central, the Student
Life Center, the Discipleship Center and Central at Lake Park.
Please check food expiration dates carefully. Current needs
for our Food Pantry include: black beans, black-eyed peas,
kidney beans, pinto beans, green peas, rice, macaroni and
cheese, pasta sauce, brownie mix, cake mix, cookie mix,
canned tuna, canned chicken, as well as paper towels.

Have fun with this! I found a book at the library to help with teaching my children to help others. "Uncle Willie and The Soup Kitchen". Please list any others that you may have found.

Meal Mammas~

After cooking a meal myself the chicken requirements on the dishes may be a bit high. I use one frozen bag and it only had 8 breasts and worked out fine. So just make judgement call per recipe. PLEASE PLEASE read the instruction on packaging and delivering which is located at the bottom of each recipe.

Music Monday ~ What a great sermon on Sunday! If you missed visit site and watch or listen. His message of "go and sin no more" reminded me of this song! One of my old favorites!

This week's tasty treat~Sour Cream Coffee Cake

You know a week of Bible Study has not passed unless someone brought something that teasingly goes great alongside your cup of coffee. Here is what we grazed on this week. :) Thanks, Christine!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
3 Tbls brown sugar


Cream butter, sugar and eggs, fold in sour cream and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients

Spoon 1/2 batter into greased and floured 10" bundt pan (I use the flour Pam spray)
Cover with topping
Add rest of batter

Bake 350 for 50 - 60 minutes
Cool in pan almost completely

Week 5: James 2:14-26~ Faith & Works

I wanted to open today with this quote I saw online that made me think of our study.

As seen on Pinterest

RECAP:
In review, James has been speaking and encouraging the believer rather than trying to proclaim the gospel message to nonbelievers. So, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, God's son this message is for you!

1st week- Statement to the believer that your life will be polka dotted with trials. You can count on it!
2nd week- We talked about the fact that those trials will be beneficial to our character and be used in the lives of those around us. Do not let testing be time to fall into sin.
3rd week- We saw how important Gods Word is for our daily life.

Last week- We were encouraged to not be arrogant in our faith and to love everyone, never showing personal favoritism.

This week our faith is to lead us to action!

The Bible does tell us that faith in Jesus Christ leads us to Heaven. As we grow in that faith, our life will be fuller if we know the dimension Jesus intends for us. James 2:14, tells us that, as Christians, we are not be people that have faith and just sit still.

Last week, we talked about the man that looks in the mirror, is disheveled and does nothing about it. This man does not have a heart for God. I shared with the group that sometimes there is a man that looks in the mirror, doesn't like what he sees but can't do anything about it. Example-ME today! I am a creme fanatic and and have cremes for the dark circles under my eyes, to lift my skin...you name it. I have a creme for it. Sometimes, I even make cremes. Unfortunately, today, I was out of my cremes and I was having one of those "disheveled" days and couldn't do anything about it. BUT, I DO have a heart for God. Just wanted to make sure we don't mistake the two. :)

Verse 22 has another formula for us: Faith + Works = Faith made perfect.

Several years ago, there was a lady in a church where I taught a Bible Study that always sat in a room and studied the Bible. She would write everything she learned on notecards and study, study, study. Because of her head knowledge, she was asked to lead quite a few things but always declined. Unfortunately, several years later, she drifted away. What she knew in her head did not change her heart. Faith is not about knowledge. It is a head, heart and feet matter!

Faith only=empty and stagnant. REMEMBER: Even the demons believe and tremble!
Works only=empty b/c it is not the whole picture of a faith perfected (James 2:22)

The passage we read this week mentions the word "dead" twice in reference to faith only and/or works only. Dead=Ineffective! This makes me think of the saying, "what you do speaks so loud I can not hear what you say. "

So, in other words faith works (and I'm not talking "busy" work). You must let what you know in your mind (that Jesus died for you and when you came to Him you became a new person), what you have experienced in your heart (the way you view life now versus how you used to look at it), and let it set your feet in motion (responding to the needs around you as God prompts you).

It is not enough to just go about works or good deeds, we need to pray that God take our every moment to lead us to the situations where He wants us placed and how He wants us to be obedient. That will be an effective life and work.

The person that James uses as an example of faith and obedience is Abraham. In your homework, you read Genesis 22 and listed the things this passage said made Abraham a friend of God.
Here are a few things that the ladies shouted out:

• He responded to what God told him.
• He didn't procrastinate
• He was available.
• He was willing.
• He didn't complain.
• He didn't go to someone else to ask for their interpretation (LOVE this one).
• He wasn't "above" the test or too good.
• He was at peace.
• He didn't show anger.

The things I noted were:

• He knew when God spoke because he had a personal relationship with Him.
• Did what God said.
• God saw His faithfulness.
• He recieved reward and blessing.
• He was a man of faith - acted in faith - God rewarded his faith.
• He made himself available.
• He was obedient.
• He could not possibly see what was going to save him or his son.

Genesis 12:7 tells us that Abraham built an altar because God appeared to him. Scripture tells us that Abraham built a lot of altars but he kept on moving. He didn't sit still. Faith does not sit idle. Please don't mistake this, however, for doing any and everything that seems "good." Man's definition of  "work" is to labor. God's idea of works is an obedient and faithful heart towards Him. Three examples are:

1. Works that stem from obedience-These works are a result of a mind obedient to God. An example would be when we do something that God specifically directed us to do.
2. Works of a godly life- This is the act of of getting rid of ungodliness and all filth in our lifes. It is to live a life of integrity and morality.
3. Works toward others.

Until next week, let your faith transform your heart and keep your feet moving! I am praying for you.
Here is your homework for week 6.

Love,
Glenda

Glenda

Worship Music this Week!

Tasty treat for the week

If you were at Bible Study this past week (and even if you weren't), you no doubt want this recipe for some of the best pumpkin chocolate chip muffins you've ever had. Our dear Caroline brought them and the ladies couldn't get enough! She posted them on her blog here.

Week 4: James 2:1-13~Humility & Partiality

RECAP:

• James is writing to people of faith and talking to them about their faith.
• Chapter one says that our faith is foundational for dealing with trials in our life and that our faith will indeed be strengthened as we endure and come through trials and difficulties. Our faith will be the glue that gives us focus and stability in the midst of the storms that life will bring to each one of us.
• Chapter two tells us that people of faith should have an attitude of humility toward everyone.

Week 4~James 2:1-13
The picture from this week's passage is of a teacher in a sanctuary sitting in a chair and a poor man walking in and the teacher full of knowledge just sits in the chair making the poor man sit on the floor. From this passage are three points about humility which we will get to in a minute. First, let's talk about the definition of humility and go over a few scriptures.

Humility is not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.

I mentioned to the class that I am old enough to recognize when there a certain "buzz words" that run trends in Christian circles. These words come and go like clothing styles and basically mean nothing. A word I've noticed lately is "servant leader."  It may sound humble but beware of false humility. Basically, what this means is that person wants to be the leader and you be the servant. Jesus was not a servant leader. He was a SERVANT (Philippians 2:5-11) and THE picture of humility.

Last week we talked about the man that looks at himself in the mirror. Humility looks into the mirror and sees who we are in face of Jesus Christ. THAT is what effects who we are and how we act. Being "knowledgeable" is not the prerequisite for us to praised or exalted NOR whom we choose to associate...quite the contrary (James 4:10). Also, while it isn't necessarily bad to "have" things, the Lord doesn't lift up those with the most money, the best clothes, the most disciplined kids, the coolest friends, etc. (James 1:9).

Personal Reflection: As I was studying to share with you all, I stopped to think about times when I have not been humble and have showed partiality. This is a really hard thing to do because you must admit you were arrogant and wrong. The Lord instantly convicted me of when I was a young mom. I was a Bible Study teacher. My "circle" of friends were all Christians. My kids associated with my Christian friends' kids. My life "looked like" I thought it should. While my intentions were good, I was in a bubble and I became to narrow in my view of others. I did not notice those outside of my circle, reach out to the person in the room that no one was talking to or seek helping those poor in Spirit. I was just fine right where I was. Guess what happened? My husband came home and said, "We're moving!" Talk about an eye opener. :)

In the past couple of weeks, I have repeatedly shared the verse from Hebrews 4:15, "We do not have a high priest that can't sympathize with our weakness." This has been huge encouragement to me through my suffering and trials over the last 5 1/2 years which have given me greater compassion for those that have lost a child, a loved one or something they can not replace and are grieving . Let me tell you! I thought I knew what it was like to suffer in these ways before the Lord chose it for me. In hindsight, I knew nothing until I walked it. This is a strength no class, book or man can cultivate. You must live it and walk through it.

Now, for our three main points about humility...
1. As Christians our attitudes are not to be of superiority but humility. We should never be so arrogant about what we know or have which in turn keeps us from loving someone that is not a believer or does not know or have all we have. Every person and people group need to know Him-- not just people in our circles.

2. Treat everyone with honor especially the poor. Love your neighbor as yourself. We have to remember that this is not just the financially poor person but the spiritually poor person. REMEMBER how poor of spirit you were before you asked Jesus Christ into your heart and life.
Read Matthew 5:3 and see that the very first beatitude is about the poor in spirit.
Read I Corinthians 1:27 and see God's systems and perspective are way different than ours. He considers poor rich. It is a matter of the heart and if the man with money places more loyalty to his money than Jesus, he is to be considered poor.

3. Let faith make your motives pure. Pray that God give you His mind about the people and world around you. Remember:

• You were poor in spirit before Christ. For a perfect picture of this look at Zach. 3 and the man in Joshua's vision. It is a perfect picture of who we were before Christ and who we are after asking Jesus into our lifes.
• Alot of these people were poor because of Christian persecution and no fault of their own yet the rich believers were taking them to court for unpaid debts. It is important that we not make assumption about someone's state and let our main priority be love and bringing people to Christ. If we willingly show partiality to the rich over the poor we have a false value system and are in sin. God honors the poor and weakness of man, in fact He uses it to glorify Himself. Read Luke 12:19-21 and Matthew 25:31-40.      

Time for us to break out and not be fearful! Faith prompts action so let's continue to pray that God shows each of us a person or circumstance where He wants us to extend kindness. It can be an encouraging word, a step to mend a relationship, a meal taken to a sick friend and the list goes on and on. Take action this week and share what happened! I am praying for you.
Here is your homework for next week.

Service Projects for Families

We are having a blast with these service projects in our home. At the last study we discussed collecting food items for the food bank and cooking for families in need. Here are some fun things to do to help with this project. I have a 2 and a 4 year old and I let the 2 year old color the box and sign. Then I let the 4 year old create this mobile.


Click Here for Mobile Instructions
http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/detail/food-bank-mobile-lesson-plan/

Cooking Plan ~
Here is the site for the recipes if you are willing to cook a meal for a family in need.
http://www.mealmammas.blogspot.com/

We will have the pans each week at study for you to take.

PLEASE SEND ME PICTURES SO WE CAN MAKE A VIDEO OF THESE PROJECTS AND SEE YOUR CHILDREN!
imogenenoe@gmail.com

Couples Night Out

http://www.centralchurchofgod.org/events-seminars/details.cfm/event_id/775

Click Here to Register for this fun event for you and your husband!

Worship for the week (and a tasty treat, too!)

P.S. We opened our time together in week 3 (notes below) with this beautiful worship song. Talk about chillbumps when you hear a room full of women singing "Jesus. Jesus. Jesus." and "Glory to you in the highest place." It was an amazing way to settle our hearts before digging into God's word.


And in case you feel like you want part of your worship time to entail baking in the kitchen, a sweet girl brought us an A-MAZING snack to enjoy during our time. The girls were oooohing and ahhhhhing and there were literally 5 crumbs left at the end. Make this ASAP (while singing "Jesus" at the top of your lungs, of course). You won't be disappointed and everyone will LOVE you. Trust me and don't even attempt at making this healthy. You will ruin it.

1 box of Betty Crocker Butter Pecan Cake Mix
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of oil
5 eggs

Beat these ingredients together w/ a hand mixer. Then add:
1 can of Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 tsp of Almond flavoring ( I do it to taste and always use more than this)
Mix again w/ hand mixer. Pour into a greased bundt pan

Bake at 325 for 70 min

Don't fill pan to full it will overflow the recipe usually makes a little more than the bundt pan holds.

Week 3: James 1:18-27

Hi, Ladies!

We are excited you've  joined us for another week! Today, we are going to talk about how God's Word is personal to us. But, first let's RECAP:

Week 1: Our life is promised to be polka dotted with trials, but in the end, there will be one big beautiful, complete picture made out of all different sizes and polka dots.

Week 2: Do not let your trial lead you into sin!

Week 3: YOU are HIS chosen instrument. Instead of committing sin, be busy getting rid of sin in your life which leads to the notes from today...

Today, we talked about the picture of three different types of people.

1. First, there is the person that knows God's word but never acts on what he knows in his head.

2. Then, there is the person that looks at his disheveled face in the mirror, walks away and does nothing about it. It is easy to concentrate only on yourself and not do anything about what you see.

3. Lastly, there is the man that thinks he is religious. This person goes through the motions and is more concerned about his actions than his heart.

For each one of these types of people, James points them back to the Word. We do not want to be like any of these people and HIS word needs to be the first thing we run to, hear and put into action.

Since today's topic was His Word, I shared the scriptures that have been important to me at personal, pivotal moments through my life up until now.

College

At this point in my life, confidence was a HUGE issue for me. When I read this verse, it changed my life to realize that my confidence does not come from anything about myself but it comes from God alone. HE is my confidence. What freedom!

Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.  2 Corinthians 3:5

Young Mom
I remember being broke and living in an apartment in Witchita, KS. We had a four year old and an infant, My husband worked all the time and was never home but always wanted everything very neat and tidy. I vividly remember vacuuming the floor (while resenting my clean and organized husband who wasn't there) and this verse spoke to me.

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.
Colossians 3:23

When I came to the realization that I was vacuuming my floor and taking care of our home for THE LORD and not Preston (man), my resentment was removed and I actually started having a good attitude. This was life changing for me.

Mid-adult (30s/40s)

I think every mom reaches the point where they feel like their only identity is being a mom. I was definitely struggling with this very thing at this point in my life when the Lord showed me, through this verse, that He has given me gifts (other than just being a mom) and He chose me to use those gifts for Him.

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit... I Corinthians 12:8

Grieving mom

The morning after my 25 year old son died, I sat in the glider in my bedroom and opened my Bible. This was the verse that immediately popped off the page at me.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.

For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior...Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you... Isaiah 43:1-8

I sure wish I could post the video we shared in class of our friend, Stacey, that is living in China sharing the polkadots from her life and what the Word means to her. Unfortunately, it's sensitive material. It sure was great to pipe her in all the way from China, though. Let me know if you are interested in a copy and we can get it to you.

What are scriptures that He has spoken to you in different phases of your own life?

Remember: the most important resource we have as we walk through trials is His Word!

You can print out your homework to prepare for next week's study here. Also, remember to add a polkadot (trial) via posting a comment here so we can be praying for you!

Testimony of Trial

A timely testimony of trials . . . and perhaps an album to help you get your praise on even in the midst of your own trials!

Week 2: James 1:13-18

Recap from last week:
James 1:1-12

TRIALS(vs. 2) +TESTING (vs. 3)+PERSEVERANCE(vs.4)=MATURITY(vs.12)

These factors are controlled by God.

THIS WEEK:
Read James 1:13-18.
TRIALS=TEMPTATION=SIN=DEATH
Do not let your TRIALS (verse 13) make you fall into TEMPTATION (verse 14) causing you to SIN (verse 15a) which will bring about DEATH (verse 15b).

These factors are controlled by man.

Key Words:

• Tempt=try, test, prove or solicit to evil
• Desire=longing 

When a longing is not fulfilled, it can lead to annoyance and annoyance can lead to bad decisions OR taking matters into your own hands.
Examples of taking matters into your own hands as you face trials:

• Bad marriage=adultery
• No money=stealing
• Telling the truth is too painful=living a lie

With these things in mind, we are going to focus on the three characterisitcs of sin: Its ORIGIN, the ACTION of it and its EFFECT.

1. The ORIGIN of sin is often "longing" for something else or our own evil desire. This is conceived in our hearts and often becomes temptation. We must take responsibility for it and "check it" before it progresses.

2. The ACTION of temptation takes birth as sin. A picture of this would be a hunting/fishing metaphor in which we are lured or dragged away by the thing that we have a desire for and decide to take matters into our own hands in order to achieve that desire.
3. The EFFECT of sin leads to death.

Related verses:
Romans 6:23
This verse is a beautiful picture of the death that sin causes in stark contrast to the gifts that God gives through Jesus. This is also a reminder that we are to look to God for gifts (usually the last place we go and where we spend the least amount of time) rather than to friends (usually the first place we go and often where we spend the most of our time). My partner shared a saying our pastor often shares that she has written in her Bible: "Go to the THRONE instead of the phone." This is an especially important reminder for us as women.

Isaiah 6:1-8.
These verses are a beautiful picture of the awesomeness and greatness of God! Why wouldn't we want to go to him first? In verse 6, Isaiah is crying out "WOE IS ME, FOR I AM RUINED!" because he had sinned. Then, as a sign of God's healing, Seraphim came to him with with a burning coal which touched him and his sin was purged (forgiven).

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
This verse highlights that bad company corrupt good morals. One commentary said that affliction from the outside is to be endured. Temptation must be resisted.
Proverbs 25:19
Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.

Questions:
What exactly does it mean that He is the "Father of Lights" (verse 17)?
The word "Father" means "creator." 1 John 1:5-7 goes more in depth as to what it means that the "Father of Lights is no variation or shadow of turning" which means there is not even a shadow (aka ZERO darkness). He is LIGHT!

What does it mean that we might "be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (verse 18)?

Just as we are to tithe with the "first fruits" of our labor or crop, our lives are to be like HIS first fruits.

A girl in our study brought this helpful print out that will give you an even deeper insight into firstfruits. I'm not sure of the resource or I would certainly credit it. 

Conclusion:
This brings the verse 2 Chronicles 16:7-9 to mind which also ties into an illustration from last week about relying on the Lord vs. relying on man--David and Goliath (David feared the Lord and Goliath feared his circumstance).

verse 7- Asa relied on man and the army escaped from his hand.
verse 8- Asa relied on the Lord and a mighty army was delivered into his hand!
verse 9- ALL that matters to the Lor is that your heart is completely HIS. If it is, here are a few of many examples of how he can use YOU!

Please let us know what questions you may have or even any prayer requests that our study may pray for YOU!

Until next week, RESIST temptation and God bless you!

"For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." 2 Chronicles 16:9.

Week 1: Intro to James, James 1:1-12

Welcome!
We are so glad you are checking out our Study of James online. We had a GREAT first time together this morning and are so excited about what the Lord has in store. We sure wish you could have tasted the special polka dot cupcakes made just for us by Cake Girl Bake Shop! DELISH.

Weekly Details
Please be sure to see the tabs on the menu bar above so you can print out each week's homework for your own personal binder (if you wish) and I will post my study notes here each week. We would love for you to chime in via the comment section because we can all benefit from what the Lord is revealing to you personally.

Today's Notes
The notes today are based upon this printable.

Before you get started reading today's notes, sit down and read James 1. Write down what you see that stand out to you or things you would like to understand more.

James was written by James, the brother of Jesus. He is writing to Jewish Christians scattered thoughout the country. It is not an evangelistic letter or. In other words, it is not calling people into a relationship with Christ. Rather, it speaks to those that have already made a personal commitment to Christ.

If you have never made a commitment to Christ you can do that right now by praying this prayer:
"Lord, I come to you and ask that you forgive my sins and come into my heart and life and make it what you want it to be. Thank you that my sins were covered by your blood from the cross."

If you have already prayed that prayer, listen to what God wants to say to you as you study the book of James.

Read James 1:1-12

James is encouraging us to count it all joy when we encounter trails. Now, look at verse two because I want to show you something. My translation says:
"Consider it all joy my brethren when you encounter various trails."

joy= means calm delight

Consider= think about

Encounter= not engulfed by

Various= polka dot

Allow me to paraphrase:

"Calmly think about your life being polka dotted with but not engulfed by trials."

That is right! It is a guarantee that your life will be "polka dotted" with trials, but you can still have joy without being smiley and bubbly 24/7 AND God will not allow you to be engulfed by those trials.

I am old enough to know without a shadow of a doubt that this is true! To represent, I wore a polka dot belt to our study today. :)

When you get to the end of this life, your life will be a beautiful picture of polka dots, and you will be able to look at each dot, and say, "God taught me this in the midst of that dot," or "He got me through that dot," or "I see why that dot is there now!" Please see the tab above to add your own polka dots(s) to our banner via the comments. This banner is hung in our Bible study room and will become one big beautiful picture made up of our individual trials. Praise His Name!

James tells us what to do when a trial comes upon us and we need to pay attention to the following.
1. Pray for wisdom and knowledge. Do not panic or retreat! Come to God almighty and pray that He give wisdom and knowledge about what He wants you to see, do or say.

Read Psalm 111:10
Proverbs 2:1-8

2.  Go to God FIRST. Paul says in scripture that he prayed the eyes of his heart would be opened by God so he could understand the mysteries of heaven. We are to do the same thing. It is easy to go to friends, counselors, etc. first but we must go straight to God. Don't we often go there last when nothing else has worked? He will answer us when we call to Him alone.
3. Go to God in faith. James uses the word "faith" twice in this passage. When we look at it, we see we have to be a person of faith. We must believe that He will hear us and accomplish His purposes in our lives. Faith means that we do not come to Him in doubt. A doubting person is a man with "two minds" or "two souls". We are to love God with our one heart, soul and mind. When we do come to God, we see that He is generous to hear us and give us all we need to get through any thing this life has to offer.

Remember
Your life has power because of the Resurrection!

Read Philppians 3:10.

James 1:2 says the man that perseveres under trial is blessed.

•  Blessed=happy

We can be happy in the midst of our trials because we know the ONE that will bring us through.

Until next week, it is my prayer for you that you love the Lord God with all your heart, soul and mind!

Homework
Here is the printable to do ahead of time so you will be all ready for next week's time together!

Study of James Beginning!

We are so excited that it is TIME for the Study of James to finally begin. I don't know about you, but for me, it couldn't be more timely. We will begin meeting (physically) tomorrow morning. If you can't join us personally, do not fret! The notes, homework and GIVEAWAY will be posted here by tomorrow evening. So, don't delay. Will you commit to join us for these 10 weeks? If so, comment here and let us know. We're looking forward to walking through the scripture with YOU!

Dessert & Coffee-Come join us!

You have 7 more days to get your $2 tickets for this fun night of dessert and coffee with other mom's just like you! The coffee is Tuesday night, August 30 from 6:30-8:30. Don't delay. Get your ticket now!

Fall Bible Study for Moms!

Moms Heart to Heart- Bible Study and Fellowship for Moms

September 14 - November 16, 2011
9:30 – 11:30 am
Family Life Center- Room 106
Leader: Glenda Parrish

A Study of James

The book of James makes it clear that we are not to be surprised when we encounter various trials. Many of us are encountering unprecedented trials. The direction and insight given in this book will encourage us as we walk through the days ahead. This bible study will include fun outside events for moms and kids.

Childcare is available for children ages 8 & under by reservation only.
Click here to register now!