Accessible Answers // Micah

James 1:5-7 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord..”

The whole counsel of God speaks to the fact that wisdom is both essential and accessible. While this passage emphasizes the means by which we access wisdom, it does so with an underlying assertion that drives the quest. Before we unpack keys necessary to unlocking wisdom’s treasures, we must first esteem it as valuable, for no man asks for a thing until he is convinced he is in need of it.

But just because something is essential doesn’t mean it is easy to access. After all, one of the most deflating things in life is to long for something you never lay hold of. In James 1:5-7, our hopes are raised as we find wisdom to be attainable. Two keys emphasized in our text speak to the posture required for one looking for Heavenly insight. Humility is a prerequisite, for we must believe we need God’s wisdom and be willing to admit we are not self-sufficient. Admitting our need and our inability to solve problems alone is humbling. Once we hit our knees we must grab hold of faith, trusting that the One from whom we ask can indeed answer.

Father God, We know you are the One who is maker of Heaven and Earth and you are capable of granting us the insight we need. Please provide us the wisdom for life’s challenging questions, making the Answers Accessible.

- Micah McElveen

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

Unavoidable Penetration // Micah

Coffee in hand, I sat in my living room meditating the day in. This particular morning, my routine was filled with a fanciful thought, “What if darkness persisted this time?” As I peered out my window, nature was aligned with the reality that apart from light darkness is comprehensive. It does indeed entirely saturate all things under its cloak. And dark it was, so dark that I momentarily questioned whether our garden, which is just a few feet away from the window, was actually still there.

My left brain knew for a fact that the sunrise was coming, but my right brain played with the thought. I took that musing into the morning's study and ran across...

John 1:4b-5 "...His life gave light to everyone. The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out."

As I meditated on God’s life giving truth, time passed until something happened. A ray, then another, started to penetrate the darkness. As dawn appeared, the light of the Son began to break through and a greater reality was unveiled. You see in the presence of light darkness always gives way. Darkness is rendered helpless against the elements found in light and eventually, it entirely yields to its superior and unavoidable penetrative power.

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

John 12:36a “'Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of the light…’"

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

- Micah McElveen