From The Mouth . . . Series

Straight from the Mouth

James 1, Romans 5:3-5, 8:31-39

September 8, 2024

Back in the Vietnam war era, the White House Press Secretary was Ron Zeigler. During a press conference he made a statement that was proven to be false that very night. When he was asked about it the next day, Zeigler stated, “That statement from yesterday is no longer operative.”

I love it! That’s all you have to say. “That’s no longer operative.”

Imagine trying that with your spouse? You come home late. You said 5 PM, and now it’s 7:45. You didn’t call or text. When she asks “What happened?” You can respond by saying, “Well, honey, those statements I previously made are no longer operative.”

Someone try it out and let me know if it works.

Your kids come home from school and they tell you they have no homework. When you ask about grades, they tell you they’re great! When the report card comes . . . and it’s not good ----- and you ask “what’s going on?” They’re reply, “Well . . . those previous statements are no longer operative.”

My point is we put spin on so much of what we do. We see it all over. The greatest example was from the movie Forrest Gump. How many of us were amazed to see Forrest with different presidents and more. And it looked so real.

It’s amazing what we can do with the right amount of editing

Do you ever get tired of the spin? Even buying a used car is no longer a used car, it’s a pre-owned vehicle. As if someone broke it in for you.

And now, we’re moving into the hard hitting election season, and nobody looks forward to the spin the candidates are going to put on everything.

Do you ever just wish someone would tell it like it is? Just lay it out there. We can handle it. Don’t airbrush it. Don’t clean it up. Don’t edit it. Be straight with me.

Just lay it out there and let me work with it from there. That’s exactly what James does in the Bible. He’s a no nonsense kind of guy. He’s going to lay it out there, take it or leave it.

Over the next weeks, we’re going to look at the book of James in a new way. Since recently doing a Bible study in James, I believe James gives it to us straight and we’re going to look at what he’s saying and who we’re called to be. We’re going to look at Christianity with no spin.

What does it really mean to be a follower of Christ? That’s the question before us. And maybe this is partly to prepare us for the election season, so we can speak with power, but with grace and love.

In James 1, James tells us - - -

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

A little context here. James was the brother of Jesus. He wasn’t just a follower or a disciple. He was a brother. He wasn’t one of the 12 disciples because early on Jesus’ brothers didn’t believe He was the Messiah. Later, at some point, James became a true follower of Jesus.

In fact, 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that after Jesus was resurrected He appeared to James in person. And James was a follower and leader in the church in Jerusalem.

Most of the New Testament letters start out by giving thanks. But James skips that and gets right into it. He starts talking about trials and temptations. He tells us - - -

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

James is saying, “Life is hard. You’re going to face trials and temptations. You’re going to face hard stuff. So, how do you deal with it?”

That word trial is fascinating in the Greek. It can be translated as trial, or if used differently, it’s temptation. It’s the same word, but it depends on you, which way it’s interpreted.

Sometimes a trial will happen and God wants to use that trial. It could be difficulty with your spouse or kids. It could be trials at work. Maybe it involves your health. Possibly it’s a financial trial. Any kind of trial will do. God is going to use that to bring something good into your life.

But also in the midst of that trial we can begin to give into temptations. Maybe you’re experiencing the pressure of a trial, and temptation jumps in, maybe to drink again. Maybe to have an affair, maybe to cheat in school or do something unethical at work. Possibly, it’s unresolved feelings and there’s a mess of anger flaring itself.

All of these things come into our lives and in that sense the trial becomes temptation. It all depends on how we respond to it.