Pastor Joe

James 2:5-6
5. Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
6. But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
We often think that the blessed are rich, but James reminds us the poor have an advantage really. They may well spend more time thinking about God and the Bible, and wind up getting saved.
Are we blessed? Do we know Jesus as our savior?
Update- Kyle had a test yesterday-results later- kidney stone?
Turn your clock back Sat. night-PASTOR JOE

I have 2 grandsons-both precious and spoiled. Kyle is 13 and has cp. Today I will take him to have a test for kidney stones-please pray for him, Michele and Justin. Also pray for Nana and Pops=PASTOR JOE

James 2:2-4.
2.For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3. And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4. Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
Am I impressed by by fancy clothes? Are we impressed by by things, and forget God loves everyone, even the down and out.
While some things reflect values and blessings, we need to never forget God loves everyone, even us.
God I am not better than anyone else, just different. Help me to love like You do-PASTOR JOE

James 2: 1. My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
Are we biased? Do we treat people differently? Do we have special kinds of people that we love more or only?
I am so glad Jesus loves us one and all. God loves everyone- never forget John 3:16.
Lord help me to love people-just like you do- everyone-PASTOR JOE

JAMES 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
How does one know that they are very religious? The strange answer is- how many people do you visit, especially widows and orphans.
We may quickly reply- I am too busy. We may say why should I visit them? But God gives it to us a the measure of our religion.
The second part of the answer is how different are we that worldly people? Do we dress different? Do we talk and act different? Do we love different things?
So let me ask the question- How religious are we?
Think about it- PASTOR JOE

James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
What we say and how and why is so very important. Did you hear that? Please do. It is so important!!!
We have a useless religion if we don't control our tongues.
So a word of warning- we need to be careful what we say.
I will be preaching more about this in James 3 Sunday night.
Have a good one PASTOR JOE

At Paula Dean's

At Uncle Bubbas
It is true that Pastor's, too need to take some time off- we vacationed 5 days in Savannah with Dot and Harold-Louise's sister and her husband. Here are a few of the 88 pictures I took. Enjoy-Pastor Joe

James 1:25 25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
The NLT helps us here- 25 But if you keep looking steadily into God’s perfect law—the law that sets you free—and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
1. God's law is perfect. Never ever forget that.
2. God's law sets us free from sin and wrong.
3. God's law sets us free to live a great life.
4. We need to remember what God's law says.
5. We need to do as it says.
6. Then God can bless us as we do what we do.

Have a great one-PASTOR JOE

I did enjoy the vacation in Savannah, and I went with some of my favorite people in the world-My wife, her sister Dot and her husband Harold. We were there 5 days and 4 nights. We enjoyed great sights and great food. I will share some pictures on Thursday's blog.
We worshipped Sunday at Victory Baptist Church in Savannah. What a blessing that was.

James 1: 22-24. 24. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
God calls us to be doers, and not just readers. We are to be doers of the Word of God. Do we live as the Bible teaches?
Do we look into the mirror, and quickly forget what we really look like. Do we quickly forget what the Bible says?
ThinK on these things and have a great one- PASTOR JOE

I am off to Savannah for a few days vacation-will try to blog from there-behave-PASTOR JOE

James 1:22-23- 22. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
We all are doers. The question is what are we doing. and why?
Do we live as the Bible says? Why not? It is the best way to live now.
The world needs to see us living for Jesus. Let's get with it- PASTOR JOE

James 1: 21. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
We need to do our part in becoming more like what God wants us to be. There are some things we need to stop. We must put forth an effort to get rid of some bad habits.
Then, there are somethings we must do:
We must humbly allow the Word of God to become an important part of our lives.
We must realize the role of the Word of God-it leads us to know how to be saved.
How good a christian are we? Think about it- Pastor Joe

James 1: 19 & 20.
19.Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
We christians are family.
We need to listen much more.
We need to think before we speak, and not say too much.
We need to not have a quick temper.

20. For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
A person right with God will not be an angry person. Too many seem mad all of the time- God help us.
Have a great one-hope you enjoy these blogs-PASTOR JOE

James 1: 17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
God loves to give us good things. We realize that all things are not good, but God gives us good things. We often decide to go after bad things, and pay for it big time later.
God give me what You want me to have and help me to use it to glorify You-PASTOR JOE

James 1:15-16
15. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
16. Do not err, my beloved brethren.
We demand what we want, and it leads to getting out of the will of God and into sinful activities. Sin leads to death. To not do God's will leads to death- both spiritual and physical.
Need I repeat- SIN LEADS TO DEATH- think about it-PASTOR JOE

James 1: 13-14. 13.Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
We like to blame God for bad things, but the truth it is us that make the bad decisions, and suffer because of our sins. It's our bad.
So accept the fault, and stop the blame game-repent and ask forgiveness and move on-PASTOR JOE

James 1: 12. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Tested, yes. Life is a test-how are we doing?
Tests come, decisions are made, we are proven and improved. God rewards and blesses. God keeps His promises. And we learn that we really do love God.
Wow! We have much to think about from this one verse-apply-PASTOR JOE

James 1:9-10
9. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
10. But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
To God we are not valued by our bank accounts, but by how we live our lives.
Life gets by fast, so live now for the Lord, and make each moment count for Him- PASTOR JOE

James 1:7-8
7. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Belief is important- you bet your soul. If we don't believe God will not answer our prayer, He will not.
Some have a hard time making up their mind. To delay is taking a foolish risk.
Is God God? Does He love us? Does He desire to bless us?
Ask Him: trust Him- PASTOR JOE

James 1:5-6
5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
God, what do you want me to do? God guide and teach me your will, plan and purpose.
God,I believe You love me and desire the best for me, and I desire to honor You. I trust You, Lord.
Is that our prayer? PASTOR JOE