Renew The Mind; Transform Your Life

Philemon is a loving account of the transformation of Society that Christianity provokes.
Slaves become free, even as the free become servants to Christ.

These readings were one of my daily readings for the excellent Read Scripture app.
I wholeheartedly recommend this structured way to enjoy reading through the whole Bible.

The image of Philemon and Onesimus was sourced from here:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philemon_and_Onesimus.jpg

I'm not certain of the pronunciation of either 'Philemon' or 'Onesimus'!!

Whatever we do, let's do it, as Paul says here, "...for love's sake..."

As we come to the conclusion of the book of James, the rich once more are the target of his focus.

James tells us to be humble and don't grumble!

Persevere, become resilient, and, echoing chapter 1, move towards perfection through patience, and elsewhere in James through controlling what we say.

Our "Yes!" needs to mean what it says.  Integrity is an essential part of the Christian character... the Character of Christ.

We also have a 100% expectation of healing when the elders of the Church pray over any sick Christian.  Now there's a can of worms!  Let's not shrink back from what the Bible explicitly declares: "The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective."

For me, James, as in Proverbs and the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7) are full of 'stuff you can do'.

In chapter three, we hear again the importance of character... and character expressed through what we allow out of our mouths.

Jesus, of course, has much to say on the topic of what we say.  If our Heavenly Father can create the universe by the Word that proceeds from His mouth, and if He watches over His Word to perform it, and if the angels harken unto the voice of His Word... clearly words matter.

Are you creating fresh water blessings in your life?  Or are you experiencing the bitter water through what you allow to come out of your mouth?  One of the first Godly ambitions I recommend to any Christian are to:

• Store up the Word in your heart - get that treasure in there
• Speak out the Word from your heart - get that seed out there!
• Watch over your words so that you don't dig up your seed!

Remember John the Baptist's earthly dad - who was struck dumb after the revelation of John's birth.  He was unable to dig up his crop by words of unbelief.  Without faith it is impossible to please God, and if you are struggling to believe at the moment, take a proverbial vow of silence and stock up on the Word instead of confessing your circumstances.

By far the best book I read at Bible College (other than the Bible) was the double volume of, "Poet and Peasant," and, "Through Peasant Eyes," by Kenneth E Bailey.
It's an exploration of some of Jesus' teaching through a cultural and literary perspective.
That's a very long-winded way of saying, Kenneth brings the parables alive in a new way for me.

In this sermon, I share some of his insights into the so-called 'Parable of the Prodigal Son' - which, it transpires, turns out to be the Parable of the Two Lost Sons.

For me, it was life-changing.
I trust it will become so for you too.

Neil 'Lex' McKee

Are you ready to wage war against double-mindedness?
All double-standards begin with double-mindedness.

The Christian Way is to be single-minded, devoted to God and thus to our 'neighbour'.
In fact, James is expanding upon the power of the twin-commands:

• Love God with everything you've got: mind, body, soul, spirit, strength, thoughts
• Love Your Neighbour As Yourself.

...except James does not spare the rod and thus 'spoil the child' (the emerging mature Christian in us.  Consider his words that blister the conscience.

"To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin."

Also, for those of you who like to spot the links to other wisdom literature, we have references to Proverbs 3:34 here and a link to Ecclesiastes: "For you are a vapour that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away."

Deo volente - God willing

FEEDBACK
Friends, I'm publishing almost in the dark here.  I can see when there is interest in the podcasts.  We went from almost nothing to over a 1000 downloads in a matter of days.  I can guess at the reasons for this but I don't know for certain.

The last two chapters of James are recorded with less reverb.  I don't know whether you prefer the Church-like reverb of chapters 1-3, or the style of most of the podcasts here.

If you'd be kind enough to let me know, I'd be grateful.
My email is [email protected]

Thank you
Neil 'Lex' McKee

The wonderful book of James is rooted deeply in Matthew chapters 5-7 - the Sermon on the Mount - and in the book of Proverbs.  This is why you can find these resources as downloads here too.

To understand James, you need to immerse yourself in 

• The Book of Proverbs, and
• The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7

For that reason, these resources are also available here on this Podcast.

In another powerful and punchy episode, James makes it clear we are not to show favouritism to those who may do us 'good' - i.e. the rich.  In fact, James says the equivalent of, "Wake up!  Look at your experience!  Isn't it the rich who oppress you?"

We also have the most significant reason why so many Christians live a life without spiritual success: faith without corresponding action is... dead.  It's the same as the body apart from the spirit.  Take MASSIVE action on your faith and you will experience MASSIVE results.