Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
As I begin today’s email, I want to take a moment to remember a precious Brother in Christ, Sol Pitchon, who went home to be with our Lord Jesus recently. I can’t say enough about Sol. He is a precious, dear Brother in Christ. Sol, from the first time I met him in a Christian business group meeting over 13 years ago, emanated the love of Jesus Christ. I always, and I mean always, enjoyed my time with him. He truly blessed my life and the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Sol was the owner of New Life Solutions, a pregnancy and abortion-counseling ministry founded by him in 1985. Sol and the wonderful people of New Life Solutions shared, and share, the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all the young women they counseled and counsel. Many, many gave their lives to Christ and are raising children in the love and nurture of Jesus. I can only imagine the celebration that erupted when Sol entered Heaven. How awesome. Though I/we/many will miss his presence here, we’ll all be reunited and together for eternity with our Lord and our Father. I so look forward to that day. Please pray for Sol’s wife Terri and his family. I know they are excited for him but at the same time miss him. Bless you precious Brother. Well done in your service to our King. See you soon.
This week we are looking at James 1:6-8 which will finish our study of James 1:2-8.
James 1:6-8
6 But let him [us] ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
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.
When we ask God for His wisdom to help us with whatever situation we are facing, we must ask for it in faith. In other words, we must be “fully persuaded” that what we’ve asked for will be given us. If we doubt or have unbelief when we ask, His Word in James 1:7 is very clear we will NOT receive God’s wisdom.
There are only two states in which we, as Believers, can exist. Faith or fear. There is no third state, no grey area, no compromise. You either believe or you don’t. I like things that are simple and straightforward. God never complicated faith. Man did with Satan’s help.
Let me ask you this. Does James 1:6 say, “But let him who hasn’t done a bad thing today, yesterday, or this week ask in faith….”? No. Remember, earlier in our study I shared with you James wrote this book to Believers, not the unsaved. If you are a Believer, are all your sins, past, present, AND future forgiven already by the redemptive acts of Jesus Christ? YES. There is NO argument about this. When God looks at you, does He see the sin you committed today or yesterday? No. The blood of Jesus Christ WASHED away all your sin. But Larry, I John 1 tells us to confess our sin and that if we say we have no sin we are liars. Yes, it does, but it is not talking about eternal forgiveness of sin. This is already done by the finished works of Jesus Christ. I John 1:9 tells us to confess our sin each day so Satan will not have legal grounds to accuse us of sin, enter our domain, and corrupt our thinking and faith. It keeps Satan from attacking you with condemnation. Condemnation will lead you to a feeling and mindset of sin, inferiority, falling short of God, not being worthy, being powerless, and thinking that God won’t do something for you because you’ve sinned. This is ALL false.
Romans 8:1-2
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
When you made Jesus Christ your Savior and King, all condemnation was removed. Jesus took all condemnation on Himself at the cross. Notice Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore NOW no condemnation….” When is “now?” That’s right. It’s always “now.” Romans 8:1 tells us the secret to having victory over condemnation in your life: walk in the Spirit standing on what God’s Word says about you; not what Satan is trying to convince you of such as failure, sin, being unworthy, or not qualifying for God’s promises because of sin. Every time Satan tries to condemn me with a sin I committed that day or in the past, I rebuke him with Romans 8:1-2. It works. It frees me from the condemnation that used to paralyze me and make me feel I couldn’t expect a blessing from God. You know what that really is? It is pride. Yes, I’m thinking, ignorantly, that it’s what I do that justifies me before my Father. The reality is it has nothing to do with what we do, have done, or will do. Our works don’t qualify us. What Jesus did qualifies us. When you finally grasp this, it will take a HUGE burden off your shoulders. No wonder God tells us in Hebrews 4:16 to come with Jesus to His throne of grace BOLDLY. We can be bold because of what Jesus did for us. This is what Romans 8:2 tells us. What Jesus did for us is called the “Law of the Spirit of Life.” When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Law of sin and death is removed from us and replaced with the “no condemnation” Law of the Spirit of Life. I hope and pray you are able to grasp this in the Spirit.
Notice in James 1:8 it speaks of the “double-minded man.” “Double-minded” in the Hebrew language is “two-souled.” In other words, a double-minded man is a man with two souls: a soul of faith and a soul of fear. The Holy Spirit, through James, is telling us God can only deal with a single-souled man of faith. This is emphasized earlier in the Scriptures in Hebrews 11:6.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him [God]: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
God never, ever stops loving us. But just as we are as parents when our child does something wrong, God is not pleased with us. Don’t mistake God not being pleased with us as Him being angry or with Him going to punish us to teach us a lesson. This is taught in many places, and it is a LIE from Hell. All of God’s anger against man was placed upon Jesus at the cross. Jesus paid the price for us. Don’t let fools teach you that God places sickness on some people to teach them a lesson, to punish them, to draw them nearer to Him, or for Him to get the glory when they are healed. Sickness is of the curse. God has NOTHING to do with the curse. In fact, the very reason He sent His Son was to redeem, or purchase, us from the curse and eternal death or damnation.
James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17 makes it perfectly clear, beyond ANY shadow of doubt, God ONLY gives good and perfect gifts to us. Is sickness, financial struggles, addiction, fear, anxiety, mental anguish, etc. a good and perfect gift? Of course not. Notice it says in James 1:17 that God is NOT variable, neither does He even turn, even the slightest, from what His Word says. If God blessed you one moment, then gave you sickness another moment, isn’t that variableness? In making you sick wouldn’t God be turning away to the left or right of His promise or blessing that you are healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ (I Peter 2:24)? Of course. We need to start rejecting these lies and telling the Truth of God’s Word. Too many Brothers and Sisters in Christ are struggling in the bondage of wrong doctrine, wrong believing, wrong teaching and their life doesn’t resemble the Jesus Christ of the Scriptures. Their lives represent the lives of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes – having a semblance of Godliness but no power and no fruit. This is not our Father’s best for us.
In wrapping up our high-level study of James 1:2-8, let’s remember God has commanded us to be joyful in all situations knowing if we’ll ask and receive His wisdom in faith, we’ll come through EVERY single situation victorious. God NEVER means for you to be defeated in any battle. The war is won already by Jesus Christ. This doesn’t stop Satan from believing, pridefully, he still has a chance. God has given YOU complete control and power over Satan and his evil spirits – just as Jesus exemplified while He was on earth. But you have to step up and take the authority and power given you and exercise it in faith through confessing and decreeing God’s Word over any situation you may encounter.
Romans 8:37
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him [Jesus Christ] that loved us.
What a beautiful verse. Read the preceding verses. No matter what comes against you, and Satan will, you are more than a conqueror through Christ. Being “more than a conqueror” in this verse means you get to enjoy the spoils of Jesus’ victory without having to fight the battles. Isn’t this awesome!! So, quit crying, whining, complaining, condemning, and suffering needlessly and learn why you can come BOLDLY to the throne of grace with Jesus at your side. And do you want to know exactly what God, the Father, says to you when you approach His throne of grace? You’ll find it in Matthew 20:32.
Matthew 20:32
And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?
This is written in old English. In today’s parlance, it would be written, “what would you have Me do for you?” No condemnation, no punishment, not angry, not mad – just wanting us to allow the Holy Spirit to grow the faith inside of us so we’ll boldly ask, expect, and receive all the promises of God – in this life on this earth. We won’t need them in Heaven.
Walk with the heart of the Lamb and the attitude of the Lion – that of our Jesus.
In Christ,
Larry