Prejudice and Favoritism

My brethren, pay no regard to people, show no prejudice or partiality. Do not attempt to hold and practice the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ together with snobbery!

For if a person comes into your congregation whose hands are adorned with gold rings and who is wearing splendid apparel, and say to him, sit here in this preferable seat! While you tell the poor man. stand there! Or, sit there on the floor at my feet!

Are you not discriminating among your own and becoming critics and judges with wrong motives?

Listen, my beloved brethren: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in the faith and in their position as believers and to inherit the kingdom which he has promised to those who love Him?

But you have insulted, dishonored, and shown contempt for the poor. Is it not the rich who domineer over you? Is it not they who drag you into the law courts?

Is it not they who slander and blaspheme that precious Name by which you are distinguished and called?

If indeed you really fulfill the royal Law in accordance with the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself, you do well.

But if you show prejudice and and favoritism for people, you commit sin and are rebuked and convicted by the Law as violators and offenders. ~ James 2:1-9

We all have preconceived ideas about people. We stereotype, and yes, we have all been guilty of showing favoritism. James is pretty clear in these Scriptures that prejudice and favoritism are sins.

It does not matter if a person is of a different class, race, or education. We are all equal in the eyes of God, and as soon as we step out and become judgemental and stereotype we are stepping into some serious sin.

Think about it this way:

God's chosen people were the Jews. When many of them rejected Him, He decided to allow us, the "Gentiles" to be grafted into the family of God. Christians are all adopted children. God looks past our faults, race, class, education, and sex. He looks into our hearts and loves us from the inside out for who we are and who we will become though Him.

We are all sisters and brothers. We are all children of the same Almighty God. We are all heirs to the same Kingdom. We should act like it. We should all be doing what Jesus said to do and Love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

If the Body of Christ will obey the Word of God, and begin to show love for one another, we will surely get the attention of this dark and lost world. Unfortunately, if we continue to back bite, gossip, judge, take offense, and allow favoritism and prejudice to rule us, we will remain ineffective for Christ and a joke to the world.

Love...Love...LOVE!

Let's pray,

Daddy God, thank you for grafting me in to your plan of Salvation. Thank you for choosing me to be Your very Own. Help me to look at others with Your eyes. Help me to look past worldly stereotypes. Help me to show love to my brothers and sisters. Help me to forgive and let go of offenses. Help me to not gossip and judge others. Help me to represent You in my walk. I love You, Lord! Thank You, for loving me! In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

In His Love and Service,
Lara ;)

Copyright © Lara Velez

True and Pure Worship

External religious worship, religion that is expressed in outward acts that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world. ~ James 1:27

The first part of this verse clearly explains that worship that is pure and pleasing to God is unselfish. It is when we care for those in need with our wallets, time, and actions that we are truly worshipping God.

The second part of this verse is very interesting to me. James just told us that we must take care of those in need in order to really be expressing true worship. However, there is a very important word after that, "and."

And to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.

Those of you who are faithful readers have heard me say that the Church as a whole is like a carbon copy of the world. The Church has embraced the ideas and ways of this world. As a body, we watch movies that we would never invite Jesus to come and watch with us. We read garbage gossip magazines that are filled with lies and information that is really none of our business anyway. We live our lives as "closet Christians." We tolerate sin to the extent of participation. We have become desensitized. We have forgotten our First Love.

God had this problem with the Israelites and I believe that what He said in 2 Chronicles 7:14 is fitting for the Body as a whole today.

If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven...and will heal their land.

Let's Pray,

Daddy God, help me to have the eyes to see those who are in need. Help me have the ears to hear when someone is in trouble. Help me to lay down my life for You. Help me to live my life as a testimony of Your Great Love and Mercy and not my flesh. Help me to turn from things that are unhealthy for my spirit and displeasing to You. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

In His Love and Service,
Lara ;)

Copyright © Lara Velez

The Tongue

If anyone thinks himself to be religious and does not bridle his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person's religious service is worthless. ~ James 1:26

The original Greek word for worthless in this text is mataios (mat'-ah-yos) and means; empty, profitless, an idol, vain, vanity.

We all know that the tongue is a dangerous weapon. It can cause the same kind of destruction that a catastrophic category five hurricane can...and worse. The words we speak are either life or death. They cannot be taken back, and they are more powerful than you or I could ever imagine.

As Christian Mothers we can destroy our children's self esteem, courage, performance, happiness, stability, and future. We can do all this with the words we speak to them day after day. When we take our frustrations out on them, when we expect more than they can give, anytime we speak negative words to our children we are harming them. We are creating scars that a lifetime will not heal.

I know this from personal experience. Throughout my entire childhood my Mother blamed me for everything, and spoke very cruel things to me. She continues to use her words to this day to cause me pain. As an adult I now know that she has many issues, and only when she makes the choice to submit her mouth to God will she change. However, the words spoken to me as a child and teenager, and young adult still ring in my ears. I must call out to God, and quote Scriptures with my mouth in order to get through those dark moments.

I share this with you because we must be very careful how we speak, and what we speak to our children, as well as others. We must not be foolish and let our tongues run rampant. We must learn and train ourselves to be slow to speak and quick to submit our mouths to Jesus Christ.

There is another harmful consequence to letting our tongues run wild. That is what James is trying to tell us. He makes it clear that when we allow our tongues to be used as a destructive force we are no longer effective in our ministry or service for the Lord.

And trust me that does not mean you must be working in a church. As wives our ministry is our husbands. As Mothers our ministry is our children. As Christian women our ministry is to the Lord and being an example for Jesus to a very dark world.

Letting our tongues run amuck will destroy anything we are trying to do as a wife, Mother, and Christian woman. It is very important that we be very careful and choose our words with wisdom. I know that I want to train my daughters up to be well balanced women, who love the Lord, have a great self-esteem, confidence, are strong, and know how to use their tongues to speak life. I'm sure that you want the same thing for your children.

The only way we can do this is to model it before them. To show respect to our husbands with our actions and words. To discipline them with love and not verbal abuse. Finally, we must walk the narrow road in front of them and show them how it's done.

The tongue is an issue I can just keep going and going on like the Energizer Bunny. LOL...I will stop here though. We will talk more about the tongue another time....

Let's Pray,

Daddy God, thank You for giving me a tongue. Thank You for entrusting me with a very powerful weapon. Forgive me for the times that I have abused that trust. Forgive me for the selfish, unkind, hurtful, and destructive words that I have spoken to my husband, children, and others. Help me to learn and train myself to use my words to produce life in the lives of others. Convict me strongly when I even begin to use my words in a way that displeases You. Thank You, Daddy God. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

In His Love and Service,

Lara ;)

Copyright © Lara Velez

Be Doers of the Word, part two

For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his own natural face in a mirror.

For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like.

But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the law of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer who obeys, he shall be blessed in his life of obedience. ~ James 1:23-25

The word blessed is the same as from verse 12.

Blessed - makarious (mak-ar'-ee-os): supremely blessed, fortunate, well off, happy

Again we can see that God never asks us to do something that will not benefit us in some way. In this case we can hold onto the promise that when we live out loud and become active doers of the Word we will be supremely blessed. Notice how it doesn't just say blessed. It says SUPREMELY blessed.

When we live our lives as "closet Christians," and never stand up for the Truth, we are hindering what God wants to give us. What could we possibly gain by being fleshly people pleasers? We will gain nothing but sorrow and disappointment. We will train our children to be fleshly people pleasers too, and never have all that Jesus died to give us.

Instead let's stand together right now as a force. As Moms on a mission for Christ and not only become SUPREMELY blessed, but raise God pleasers. Won't you join me?

Let's pray,

Daddy God, Precious Daddy, thank You so much for always having benefits to a life of obedience. I want this promise. I want to be SUPREMELY blessed. I will not settle for less. I want my children to be SUPREMELY blessed. I will train them up so they can be equipped to be a You pleaser and not a man pleaser. Thank You so much for sending Your Son to die for me, and for Your Life giving Word. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

In His Love and Service,

Lara ;)

Copyright © Lara Velez