The "Prosperous Life" fades away... The Book of James Bible Series

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Hey There, Friends!

Welcome Back to our Study through the Book of James! If you've missed our first few posts, you can catch up by reading them HERE! (--scroll through to the bottom of that post to find the List of Linked Posts in this Series!)

I hope you are enjoying going through James with me ever so slowly... verse by verse! 

Let's dig into the Word and help build each other up!

Our verses today are JAMES 1:9-11! Let's read together!

Let's dig in first, reading these verses in The Passion Translation Bible:

"The believer who is poor still has reasons to boast, for he has been placed on high. But those who are rich should boast in how God has brought them low and humbled them, for all their earthly glory will one day fade away like a wildflower in the meadow. For as the scorching heat of the sun causes the petals of the wildflower to fall off and lose its appearance of beauty, so the rich in the midst of their pursuit of wealth will wither away." (The Passion Translation)

Now, this is counter-culture for SURE, right? I mean - most of the leanest times in my life where the paycheck was non-existent or just wouldn't stretch as far as we needed it to, I can promise you --I didn't feel like boasting because we had been 'placed on high.' 

Of course not! 

HOWEVER, it helps to remember this verse is talking more about how - AS BELIEVERS, we have a heavenly inheritance that we can look forward to and count on!

Empowered by Confident Faith - The Book of James Series

Welcome Back to our Book of James Series!

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Hello there, Sweet Readers!

Welcome to the third installment of our Study through the Book of James! If you missed our first couple of posts, you can catch up by reading them HERE!

As I stated last time, my hope for this series is to have interaction in the comment section... I'd love for you to read along and then share your own thoughts, insights, prayers, or questions! 

Let's dig into the Word and help build each other up!

Our verses today are JAMES 1:5-8! Let's read together!

Let's dig in first, reading these verses in The Passion Translation Bible:

"And if anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it! He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures but he will overwhelm your failures with his generous grace. Just make sure you ask empowered by confident faith without doubting that you will receive. For the ambivalent person believes one minute and doubts the next. Being undecided makes you become like the rough seas driven and tossed by the wind. You’re up one minute and tossed down the next. When you are half-hearted and wavering it leaves you unstable (restless, disengaged). Can you really expect to receive anything from the Lord when you’re in that condition?" (The Passion Translation)

Now we know if a verse starts with "And" it may be a good idea to go back a verse or two, right?  We did just cover the previous verses, but that was a couple of weeks ago. So verse 4 reads: "And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking." and then we move on to the "And" in verse five. So as you are walking along this process of missing or lacking nothing, if you find Wisdom is still playing hard to get --simply ask for it! 

Listen... in our Western culture where we put a HIGH value on education, we tend to want the wisdom first.  

A Little Valentine Fun... a Wisdom and Love Giveaway!

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Hello, Friends!

Well - I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was reading Joyce Meyers' newest release, In Search of Wisdom, and when I was done I would post a book review and host a Giveaway!  Since we are so close to Valentine's Day as well, I thought I'd throw in a little book called Love Letter from the Heart of God! 

See? Wisdom and Love! 

Perfect timing!

Simply enter below for a chance to win these two books! 

Sunrise... a Five Minute Friday post.

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Here we are, on a Saturday morning... and this post right here already surpasses all of our posts in 2020! In other words... It's only February and I'm already crossing off a goal for 2021!  Maybe next week, I'll even make it over to the Twitter Party for the FMF Community! (#fmfparty). 

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat. I then add graphics and format a bit, but the actual writing stops (or at least is given an asterisk!) when my timer goes off! 

Today, our one-word prompt is: SUNRISE

{GO!} 

Sunrise...

I see the word prompt and I think immediately of the Hope I feel whenever I see the sunrise. (Which, to be honest, is not every day because -well, I am a fan of sleep!) But it's such a tangible glimpse of Glory and the Hope that comes with a brand new day!

As much as we love to go to the beach --(and we do!)  We are on the West Coast and mostly, we watch the Sun SET into the ocean and praise God at the sheer beauty. We rarely get up early enough to go watch it rise.  Watching the sun SET is powerful, too. Still filled with glory and satisfaction. 

God is so smart.  

How wise we would be to start and end each day,

simply receiving the gift He gives us through His creation!

"But as for me, your strength shall be my song of joy. At each and every sunrise, my lyrics of your love will fill the air! For you have been my glory-fortress, a stronghold in my day of distress." Psalm 59:16