God is Enough. (James)

Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. James 1:9, 10

The phrase “of low degree” means one in humble circumstances; one of lowly rank or employment; one in a condition of dependence or poverty. It stands here particularly opposed to one who is rich; and the apostle doubtless had his eye, in the use of this word, on those who had been poor. (Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible)

Position doesn't matter. What does matter is one's relationship with Christ and knowing that no matter the situation, God is enough. 

God is enough. 

Is that a true? Is God enough in my life? 

 This post is the continuation of my Study of Colossians. 

(https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6264278216784052618#editor/target=post;postID=7064583272095757173;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=18;src=postname)

And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power]. Colossians 2:10 (AMP)

"In Christ they find the satisfaction of every spiritual want" (Peake). There is no other place for Christ. He is first in time and in rank. All rule and authority comes after Christ whether angels, aeons, kings, what not. Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament

Satisfaction. Christ is all I need. But is He all I want? Am I satisfied with what Christ has to offer me? Think about that. Christ not only offered Himself as a sacrifice for my sins, He in His grace and mercy offers me His unconditional love, grace, and mercy. Is He enough? 

He should be. I should be content and overwhelmed with Christ Himself. Nothing more and nothing less. 

But that's just in the spiritual aspect, what about the physical? Christ is enough in that too. Or He should be. In light of eternity, what is important? I can't take things with me to Heaven. Anything I have here are earth, is from God. Those are blessings. 

And if SOMETHING, is more important than Christ, that THING has become an idol. Remember the 10 Commandments?

You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.

You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me. Exodus 20:3-5 (AMP)

No other gods before or besides Me. "Other gods"—anything or anyone on whom I place more importance than God and His Word. If THINGS, take precedent and are more important that the satisfaction I can find in Christ–then those THINGS are idols. And that's a dangerous precedent to set. 

Satisfaction. Christ alone. In order to be completely satisfied with Christ, I must be permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31; MSG)

Proverbs 10:22: Getting!

The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22

Makes one rich: to accumulate; chiefly (specifically) to grow (causatively, make) rich

Sorrow: pain, hurt

Rich. Money. Things. Accumulation. Getting. 

It's amazing how quickly our eyes focus on that word, "rich". Oh, if we only had more money, our lives would be so much better. Really? How much is enough? 

What does it mean to be "rich"? Who sets the standards for how much is enough? Does being rich only involve money and things? Do money and things really bring happiness and joy? 

When we focus on "getting", rather than God, we never seem to have enough and when we lose what we gained, we become discouraged and suffer loss. 

Yes, we are to work and strive—but not to the point where the "getting" outweighs God and doing what God wants. For when we are acting in accordance with God's will, He blesses us abundantly. And that doesn't mean that we will be rich by man's standards. Rather, we will have peace and contentment in God. 

Whatever we receive in the way of providence, has God's blessing in it, and will do us good. Cares, troubles, and difficulties come with all property not acquired in this way; but God's blessing gives simple enjoyment, and levies no tax upon the comfort. 

Adam Clarke Commentary

On what do I focus? The getting or the Giver? When my heart is permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG), then my focus will be on God and obeying His wisdom. 

Proverbs 3:1, 2: Abundance

My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Proverbs 3:1, 2

Not: always negates properly the word immediately following

Forget: omit, cause to forget, to mislay, i.e. To be oblivious of, from want of memory or attention

Law: Instruction

Let your heart: the inner man, indefinite, soul, comprehending mind, affections and will

Keep: Guard with fidelity, keep, observe

Commands: code of wisdom

Length of days: years of life

Long: revolution of time, many years

Life: physical

Peace: welfare, health, prosperity

They will add: more wisdom and prosperity than is reported

More than reported. Abundance. We always want more. We never seem to have enough. But are we wanting more of the "right things"? Once again we are told, and very clearly, that if we REMEMBER and COMPREHEND (in knowledge and actions), we will have ..... wait a minute. 

How is this true? I know many who followed God's commandments and did not have long life or wealth and prosperity, let alone and abundance of it. 

How is this true? Because we once again are looking at our personal standards, not God's. Too often we get a mindset of what WE think we need to be "prosperous". We think we know what "old age" is. However, we have to remember that what we THINK makes one prosperous and what we think old age is.... doesn't compare to what God thinks! 

Length of days. How long is that? I do not know. But I do know that no matter how long my life is on this earth, I have ETERNAL life through Jesus Christ! Now that is truly, "length of days  & long life". 

Peace, welfare, prosperity. I'm not rich, so where is my prosperity—and the "more than reported prosperity?" Once again, whose standard am using the measure? If I use the world's standard, I am very poor—extremely poor. Yet, but if I use God's standard... WOW, I am rich! 

Rich? Yes, rich. For I have PEACE knowing that I am a Child of God, the King of kings. I am rich, knowing that the God who created everything, loves me. I am rich, because God supplies each need I have ACCORDING to HIS WILL—to accomplish HIS plan! 

Abundance. Yes, abundance. It's all a matter of perspective—whose standard is used the measure. And if I am REMEMBERING and GUARDING/OBSERVING WISDOM—then I'll be using the right standards to measure! 

Abundance. It's easy to miss if one's perspective gets skewed. To keep the right perspective and a heart must be permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG)—and only then will one see and enjoy the abundance God provides!

Enjoy the Full Toy Box

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 16. Here is what I learned.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage. Psalm 16:6 (AMP)

My home is surrounded in beauty; You have gifted me with abundance and a rich legacy. Psalm 16:6 (VOICE)

·My share in life has been pleasant [The boundary lines fall for me in pleasant places]; my ·part [inheritance] has been beautiful. Psalm 16:6 (EXB)

.....Therein he solaced himself on earth, and delights himself in heaven; and he asks no more "GOODLY HERITAGE" than that his own beloved may be with him where he is and behold his glory. All the saints can use the language of this verse, and the more thoroughly they can enter into its contented, grateful, joyful spirit the better for themselves, and the more glorious to their God. .......Mr. Greenham was bold enough to say, "They never felt God's love, or tasted forgiveness of sin, who are discontented." Some divines think that discontent was the first sin, the rock which wrecked our race in paradise; certainly there can be no paradise where this evil spirit has power, its slime will poison all the flowers of the garden. The Treasury of David

Discontentment robs us of so much. When we are busy wishing for what we don't have, we miss enjoying what we do have. How many times to I act like a 5-year-old? I have a toy box full of toys, but I want that “new toy”. When I get that new toy, I play with it for a few seconds, only to realize it’s not as fun as I thought it would be, so it goes in the toy box with the other toys. And my attention is turned to the next new toy.  Always wanting, never satisfied, and never enjoying the fun the full toy box could provide. 

God blesses me with so much. When I spend time thanking God for what He’s given me, and enjoying the God’s blessings, I’m contented. But when I ignore what God provides and look at what I think I want, or think I need, my discontentment grows, and can often turn to bitterness and envy. 

To create a positive day, I need enjoy the full toy box that God and enjoy the contentment that grows from being thankful to God for His gift of a rich legacy. 

Do I really value God’s Word?

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 19. Here is what I learned.

The Word of the Lord is worth more than gold, even more than much fine gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey straight from the comb. Psalm 19:10 (NLV)

They are ·worth [desired; coveted] more than gold, even ·the purest [fine] gold. They are sweeter than honey, even the ·finest honey [droppings of the honeycomb]. Psalm 19:10 (EXB)

Desired: greatly beloved, covet, delectable thing, great delight, desire, lust, precious (thing).

Gold: gold as wealth.

Fine Gold: refined, pure gold.

Much: in abundance, enough, exceedingly, full, greatly.

Sweeter: sweet, sweetness.

Honey: honey, made by bees.

Dripping: flowing honey, honey from the comb, the purest honey. 

Honeycomb: the bees natural storage for the honey.

God’s Word. Do I value it? Do I give it the respect it deserves? 

If I do value God’s Word, then there should be a desire.... an overwhelming desire... to hear what God has to say. Then that desire would translate what I read into action. 

Wealth: abundance, affluence, assets, belongings, bounty, capital, cash, commodities, cornucopia, dough, estate, fortune, funds, gold, goods, holdings, lap of luxury, long green, lucre, luxuriance, luxury, plenitude, plenty, possessions, profusion, property, prosperity, prosperousness, revenue, riches, richness, security, stocks and bonds, substantiality, treasure, worth.

Gold, the purest gold. Far better than the purest gold. Highly valued. 

How do I know if I really value God’s Word?

First, do I take time to read it? Am I satisfied with 10 minutes of reading a few verses? How much time do I spend doing other things that have no real value... like watching TV? How often do I rearrange my schedule so that I can watch a certain TV show? And then consider the morals that show taught. So many of the TV shows on today, are filled with examples of sin—yet, I sit and watch them for hours.  I’d say , if I have time to watch (and fill my mind with ‘trash’) than I have time to study God’s Word. So, the question remains.. “Do I really value God’s Word?” 

Secondly, do I obey God’s Word? If I value something, I cherish it. Reading God’s Word is a great place to begin, but if I really value God’s Word, I’ll want to make it part of my life and allow it to change me into the person God wants me to be. 

And lastly, do I share God’s Word with others? Remember those TV shows that I rearrange my schedule to watch? I talk about those with others... and they have no eternal value. If really think that God’s Word is worth more than pure gold, shouldn't I want to share my “riches’ with others? 

The only true way to create a positive day is to make sure that I really value the richness of God’s Word.