Home Not Heaven // Micah

James 1:12-13 “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”

The primary “temptation” James instructs us to “endure” is the one he talked about in the verses immediately proceeding, namely the temptation to allow material goods to take an improper place in our lives. Not only do we tend to worship money, use funds for selfish ends, and hoard resources intended for Gods work, but we then turn around and blame God for tempting us by giving money to us in the first place. The disease infecting our first parents, blame-shift sickness, is a virus now universally contracted.

James responds to those blaming God for their giving into temptations with three important truths:

God is impervious to evil and does not tempt anyone with sin.

Temptation comes from our lust to have it our way over God’s.

God grants endurance and reward to those who turn from evil to Him.

The fight against evil requires a commitment to truth and reliance on grace and comes with a reward for the steadfast. In Christ alone lies the truth and grace needed for salvation and the endurance leading to eternal rewards.

Lord, help us to see ourselves in the light of truth, confess where we fail, and endure in the grace found through Christ’s gospel. When we sin, may we remember that deflecting blame causes us to miss the fact that our temptations lie on the doorstep of Home, not Heaven.

- Micah McElveen

Excessively Generous // Micah

One of the most under-discussed attributes of God is His generous nature. This is a shame as this quality is so deeply ingrained in His core that it overflows into His conduct and profusely floods out of every pore of His being.

Consider just four out of a million implied acts, in creation. When furnishing His beings with a pool to swim in, he did not stop with a pond but orchestrated springs, creeks, lakes, rivers and oceans of a billion hues. More waters than one could explore in 100 lifetimes. For food, He did not stop at bread but produced a thousand varieties of meat, vegetables, fruits, grains and sweets. If that were not enough, He placed in the anatomy of man an ability not only to mechanically process sustenance but to experience the wonder of taste in ways that electrify the buds. In the garden, He saw man needed help and went beyond engineering a robotic assistant by forming an entirely capable, equally enlightened and superiorly attractive mate. To cap it off, He turns to His crowning creation with a sigh after saying, "What I have created is good," (huge understatement) and He gave them dominion over it all with unbroken access to Him. Really, isn't that a bit excessive?

Consider the cross. The ones in creation that He gave the most unearned favor to, squandered the gift. They, and along with all mankind, rebelled against Him and traded His magnanimous entrustment for a piece of fruit and a lie. Man's act unleashed evil, death, and decay to all parts of this once utopian earth.  Justice called for a consequence of the highest order. Wrath had to be poured out against the evil that now tainted the once pure. But... God GAVE. Looking at the rebels awaiting judgment, bound in chains earned by their own treason, God was moved to act in an over the top excessively generous manner. In place of the guilty, He offered Himself on the altar of sacrifice. In Jesus, He took the wrath due the rebels and offered undeserved pardon, relational renewal, and an eternal inheritance. Are you kidding me? Who takes an enemy and forgives, adopts then incorporates them into their estate planning, one full of eternal riches in glory? No words.

The more I consider my Jesus and His calling for me to follow Him, to emulate Him, the more I am sure it is a call for me to be Excessively Generous.

"You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich." I Corinthians 8:9

"Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus." I Timothy 1:14

"The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers." Psalm 37:21

- Micah McElveen

Generous to the Core // Micah

My wife waited tables in college. As the only Christ-follower on staff, she was constantly trying to share and show Christ to her fellow employees. Soon, she found her challenge was intensified by Sundays, as the worst tip window of the week was created by church goers out for lunch. They were consistently the stingiest bunch, and no staff wanted to serve them. This deeply bothered my bride and put an obstacle in the way to her evangelism efforts. Why? Because one of God's most prominent yet ignored traits, His generosity, was not being reflected by His people. God's intrinsic generosity instructs His constant and magnanimous gestures. God is a generous giver.

Creation is God granting life to all, while uniquely gifting man with His image. Salvation is God giving His only Son for the sake of mankind, the very ones who betrayed Him. Material blessing is God endowing humanity with resource to thrive, and in turn act out His character before men. In scripture, explicit references to God's generous character are only out done by implicit examples in which He walks the talk.

Whether it is time to tip the waiter, fill the offering plate, or draft our budgets, we must remember that He who calls us to give has given much to us. May we seize every opportunity to show and share the grace of Christ who is Himself generous to the Core.

"God created humankind in His OWN IMAGE, in the image of God He created them male and female He created them. God BLESSED them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply..." -Creation, Genesis 1:27-28a

"For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only Son that whosoever believes in His should not perish but have everlasting life." -Salvation, John 3:16

"You are the SOURCE OF WEALTH, you rule over all. You posses strength and might to magnify and GIVE strength to all... But who am I and who are my people that we should be in a position to contribute this much? Indeed, everything comes from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours." -Material Blessing, 1 Chronicles 29:12&14

- Micah McElveen