Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Wisdom of James


Many teachers become not, my brethren, having known that greater judgment we shall receive, for we all make many stumbles; if any one in word doth not stumble, this one [is] a perfect man, able to bridle also the whole body;

lo, the bits we put into the mouths of the horses for their obeying us, and their whole body we turn about; lo, also the ships, being so great, and by fierce winds being driven, are led about by a very small helm, whithersoever the impulse of the helmsman doth counsel, so also the tongue is a little member, and doth boast greatly; lo, a little fire how much wood it doth kindle! and the tongue [is] a fire, the world of the unrighteousness, so the tongue is set in our members, which is spotting our whole body, and is setting on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by the gehenna.

For every nature, both of beasts and of fowls, both of creeping things and things of the sea, is subdued, and hath been subdued, by the human nature, and the tongue no one of men is able to subdue, [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison, with it we do bless the God and Father, and with it we do curse the men made according to the similitude of God; out of the same mouth doth come forth blessing and cursing; it doth not need, my brethren, these things so to happen; doth the fountain out of the same opening pour forth the sweet and the bitter? is a fig-tree able, my brethren, olives to make? or a vine figs? so no fountain salt and sweet water [is able] to make.

Who [is] wise and intelligent among you? let him shew out of the good behaviour his works in meekness of wisdom, and if bitter zeal ye have, and rivalry in your heart, glory not, nor lie against the truth; this wisdom is not descending from above, but earthly, physical, demon-like, for where zeal and rivalry [are], there is insurrection and every evil matter; and the wisdom from above, first, indeed, is pure, then peaceable, gentle, easily entreated, full of kindness and good fruits, uncontentious, and unhypocritical: -- and the fruit of the righteousness in peace is sown to those making peace.


James 3 - Young's Literal Translation

30 comments:

SCRIBE said...

Good Morning.... I pray the peace, Favor, Wisdom, Mercy, and Daily Bread of God to all on this day!

{Tell the truth and shame the enemy, for even the enemy knows when my truth is spoken, says GOD. SELAH… No matter what the cost, I have paid the price in full. I shall lead the exiles, runaways, and outcasts from under the yoke of captivity and slave mentality- beginning NOW! No stone shall be left unturned. How can one enter the strong man’s house and plunder all his possessions unless they first bind up the strong man? If the strong man is not first bound, then he will stand in dominion and exercise authority to protect his household because he has assessed the imminent danger to his loved ones and his home! Let not the strong man which binds up a brother or sister be his or her own tongue, for the power of Life and Death are in the tongue. SELAH…

Take heed of they who appear to walk upright, but harbor the spirit of resentment, contention, unholy anger, sowing seeds of discord among the brethren, malice, compulsive disorders, gossip mongers,talebearers, slander, testifying falsely against others, and slothfulness in the ways and things of GOD. Furthermore,those who LISTEN intently while evildoers whisper in their ears about fellow brothers and sisters, then fail to silence the matter by standing up for righteousness, they are guilty as well and are held accountable for being partakers in the iniquity of others. For one cannot gossip to a person who is not open to these things, unwilling to listen or entertain such matters! Let it not be wrongly stated that these exchanges are for the purposes of "praying / interceding" for another, when I- the Lord thy God regard it as all purpose busybodying. This, my dear people is a blasphemy, so concentrate your efforts on diligently attending the affairs of your own households, leading by example, and walking in the ways that honor me, as to not set up obstacles and stumbling blocks that can cause others to fall, says God. Selah...

My precious people are NOT to look among the brethren to determine and assess what others have, possess, and gifted to do then comparing their own livelihoods to that of their peers. If you are not faithful and careful to discover and cultivate those gifts that I have placed within you, then it is but foolishness to envy and become jealous over what others have. To whom much is given, much more is required. However, says GOD, I am the maker of the great and small. I am no respecter of persons, but the GOD who rewards faith in me and faithfulness unto me. Obedience is greater than sacrifice. Moreover, sacrifices of / in the flesh impose larger penances, which can prove to be quite painful, says GOD. Yet, the sacrifices that I delight in are pure sacrifices of Worship, Praise, and Thanksgiving, for these are but your reasonable services unto me, declares the Lord of Hosts.

Be not ruled by the flesh, says GOD, for the flesh is simply the packaging and selfish nature in which the soul and spirit resides. In all thy ways, acknowledge me and I will make thee wise, teaching my people how to keep yourselves pure and acceptable to me by way of the Holy Spirit at all times, says GOD. Tell the truth and shame the enemy, for the enemy shudders when my people walk in truth. Those who fail to make themselves available to me cannot expect a supernatural outpouring of the Holy Ghost in their lives, says GOD. I cannot pour anything into a closed jar. If a jar is already full and not pouring into others, then surely anything additional poured into it would be a waste and go unused if there is no else one around to benefit from the overflow, declares God Almighty.

No matter what the circumstance or situation, I am far greater. Therefore, let not appearances determine how you exercise your faith. There is nothing hopeless if hope still resides in me- the Lord Jehovah God.

Let everything that have breath Praise Ye' the Lord. May the words of the mouth and meditation of the heart prove pleasing and acceptable to ME at all times, for I alone am the Lord Almighty and worthy of all praise, honor, and glory. Rejoice, for I have come to set the records straight and the Houses in order...

Selah...Amen.

Unknown said...

Thank you, Holy Spirit, that the wildly wavering ship of my life and the fires my tongue have set can be put out, set straight and arranged in order by Your great and mighty loving hand.

Where would I be without You? Thank you, dear firstborn brother Jesus, that I am set free from considering "this" and can set my eyes on my "after" each day.
ILYLord!

NTL said...

I'm speakin' out good vibrations...

Anonymous said...

I became very ill yesterday afternoon, to the point of not being able to walk or see without great difficulty, nearly impossible, also very nauseous, chills and weakness. It is all gone this morning, Thank God in the Lord Christ Jesus.
This sickness did not come until after I posted yesterday. Thanks to everyone for your prayers. BTW I read your post on my blog N1L this morning Donald, I could not read either yesterday, Thank you.
If I have been corrected then I take it gladly in spirit, but with great difficulty in the flesh. If I have been attacked the Lord will deal with it, He said “vengeance is mine, I will repay”. As Bishop always says “its all good” and as I always say “God is Good all the time, and God is God all the time”
I love the Lord and all He does for me.

Peace,
Dennis

NTL said...

pastor dennis,

what is N1L?

NTL said...

pastor dennis,

not one lost, that is cool.

Be blessed today in all you do.

Anonymous said...

NTL...The name of my blog is NOT1LOST it is also on blogger http://not1lost.blogspot.com/

Peace Bro,
Dennis

Linda Luke said...

OMG I need one of those somedays! I seek to let my words be pleasing to Him but Praises to Him that when they're not Avatar as you said that 'He can set straight and arrange by His loving hand.'

Makes me want to bounce to the moon Scribe!

Great to feast some Heavenly preparations with you this morn!

Love you all to 'peaces'!

Have a grand day!

Anonymous said...

When I first logged on to read the blog this AM, the hallelujah chorus was playing. Now that brought me into focus right away. Then while reading the entry from the teaching of James on the tongue, the thought of the tongue kindling a fire came back to me.

Certainly fire can be either destructive or beneficial. There is also the new realities made by each of us, who have experienced what seemed to be a destructive fire at the time, that have built a better structure to support the flame of a fire that has the potential for greater benefit to all that partake of its energy.

The warmth of a beneficial fire draws the soul in need of comfort to it.

During my years as a firefighter there was the obvious reaction, by those of us trained to do so, to change the emergent situation of a destructive fire by first getting it under control and then extinguishing it. There is more to extinguishment than just suppressing flame production. It requires tedious raking through the remaining coals and wetting them to the point they are cold. This is the only sure way to prevent the fire from emerging out of deep seated coals that are not easily seen without the effort of uncovering them.

The beneficial fire used for heating and cooking is most effective after a foundation of heat producing elements has been established. This is true of heat being utilized from any source but the description of building a fire from wood best describes the process of care reqired to construct a stable base of coals supporting a beneficial fire. There is a step by step, similar to going from glory to glory, process by starting from small flame production to the greater but the key is to watch for the beginning of coals falling from the small fire to begin the foundation of a supporting coal bed before adding the next larger pieces to the fire. These pieces must be arranged to allow the induction of air to create a drafting effect that brings fresh oxygen into the process and allows the heated gases to rise or else the original fire will simply smother and become ineffective. The fire is cared for until the desired amount of heat is being produced to start the cooking or warm the originator of the fire.

This is one of the best understandings that I have of just what Jesus meant by those who believe on Him doing greater works than He did.

Jesus was the Word made flesh that originated the fire. We are made one with Jesus by the power of the Holy Ghost to continue the building of the fire with the proper use of our words.

James, speaking from the knowledge of what can be caused by uncontrolled fire, described words being spit out that start dammaging wild fires. These fires require us to act in ways to bring them under control and if not completely extinguished may spout out their dammaging effects again at a later time.

The better way though is to build our fire on the foundation of God's Love revealed as the Word and then care for it with the guiding breath of the Holy Ghost so that it will build into an energy producing fire that will give warmth to our entire world.

God so loves this world that Jesus was given to it even before it was created to provide the original building block for the siblings following the First Borne to add the energy produced from their own love to the building of a continuous fire for the purpose of glorifying the All Consuming Fire.

Now if that last paragraph sounds like a run on sentance, it was meant to be.

May the Holy Ghost who enlightens reveal to my heart any wild fire started by the improper use of my tongue and equip me with the right direction for completely extinguishing the dammage if needed.

May all who feel the effect of my fire be warmed and fed with warmth.

May we all be properly utilized in the building of a fire that brings the most glory to the Originator of it, in Jesus name, amen.

JB

Anonymous said...

JB,
I just read your post, and once again I am intigued by an insghter who can see beyond the norm, and who so elequently can bring it to understanding, to be enjoyed by all who read it.

Lise said...

Awesome, JB!

Word ver: 'fully'

May we fully understand the power of the tongue, and use it for edification rather than condemnation...

Linda Luke said...

NAILS IN THE FENCE

Please make sure you read the last sentence.


There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.


He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.


The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.


The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, 'You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But it won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Remember that friends are very rare jewels , indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.'

Anonymous said...

Today, unbeknowing to the masses, is World Toilet Day. It has been requested, that if it is that you send cards, that they are, flushable...

Linda Luke said...

ooops...rec'd this in an email and I deleted the last sentence...and just realized that I left in 'please read last sentence.'so for it to make sense...


..it is 'Please forgive me if I have ever left a 'hole' in your fence.'

Anonymous said...

Pastor Dennis glad you are doing better.

Bishop first pic very intense.
Barbed Wire around the tongue, Kinda makes me think about the tongue being a two edge sword.
Reading today's was like reading Shakespeare (Need Simple Minded Read). Basically What I got was watch the words of your mouth.

After being in emergency Fri.
I am doing so much better.
I am changing some of my lifestyles. I think it has also had an strong effect on my husband. He also is ready to change his lifestyle.
Friday was a real wake up call.
Thanks You to everyone who had me in prayer.

Anonymous said...

OOPS - Thank You instead of Thanks You

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

Wow, I didn't mean to shut everyone up with my Scripture today! Really people, it's OK to talk...

Donald said...

I've been trying to compose something all day Bishop.
That part of that scripture about the rudder steering the ship crosses my mind often since I see ships almost every day and have been involved in the shipbuilding industry for decades.
Actually, I've had the scripture on my mind almost all day.

Donald said...

So what's with the capitol letters on the names?

Donald said...

Uh, let's make that capitAl letters.

NTL said...

donald, are ya'll gonna make it here this weekend?

Anonymous said...

We have to do more than exyst, we have to love, to live, or we have to love to live. (emphasis on the commas)

word ver...exyst...

Donald said...

NTL, I hope with everything in me to be there this weekend.

Anonymous said...

Bishop, we continue to pull things out of you. Today, I pulled out my School of the Bible workbook. Before I pulled it out, I said to myself I need to go over the things in it to refresh my mind. I read over the 7 agreements again. I am reminded once again that I am hearing God's voice. I am in the right place at the right time. I've been so uptight lately, saying things I haven't said in years. Out of the same mouth we Bless God and curse. For a while now I've been asking myself, what wrong with me? I'm nore crazier today than yesterday. Circumstances sometimes can drive people another way. I constantly have to tell my self. Hey, Come back! That's what lead me to open my workbook today. I just needed to reminded of How much power is in the word of God. I was truly Blessed by the word spoken tonight. Thanks, Bishop I needed to be reminded. I'm telling you! C.I.T.N. is like a big magnetic that carries forces of good that will attract all kinds of people. I believe we're a group chosen to bring peace on the earth.

Anonymous said...

Bishop,
Hey. I'm butting in on the blog to share an awesome testimony.

This customer of mine owed me $2400 (which I very much could use). I left a million messages. He wasn't calling me back. Yada Yada Yada. It was a huge pain.
So he finally wrote me a check...
and then it bounced...
I was mad. I was MAD.
I called him twice but he didn't answer... I was still MAD.
So I went outside and tried to chill out. I started talking to God and then asking Him what I should do... and I felt Him say, "pray for him to be blessed. Then he will get the money... and you will be paid through this."

and I thought... Man... that's a new way to look at things.

So I did. I prayed for him.

Two days later he called and said he had the money. I picked it up from him today, and he was VERY thankful for me showing him patience and not giving him a hard time (of course I never got in touch with him when I was MAD) (PRAISE GOD).
I asked him how things were going and he said, "things have actually picked up. As a matter of fact this big job came in that will help me finacially get through the winter months."

and I thought... WOW... now that looks like God.

GOD IS GOOD!

and I am now BETTER!

Unknown said...

I've wondered about the caps, sometimes no caps, too, Donald.

Very cool, chad!

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

Thanks, everyone...

Donald, the CAPS are a mystery...I didn't change any settings...I don't know why the letter changed...

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

letterS changed

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

That's cool, Flower...someone else told me nearly the exact same thing after church last night...

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

P. Chad...that's a good report, but I don't know why you would call it "butting in" on the blog...

I'm frankly surprised that you're not on here all the time! What's that about, anyway?