Patient in Suffering (Pt.1)

(Part 1)

“Dear brothers and sisters,  be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door! For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.”-James 5:7-12

Waiting! Does waiting weary you? It does me sometimes. I am not going to lie, I am not very good at waiting. If I pull up on a drive thru at a restaurant and there are more than three cars in line…I just pull off. When I am ready to go and my wife and the girls are still getting ready, I pace around the house like a nervous nelly until they are ready to go. When I am at the doctor’s office and my appointment is at 2 p.m. and it’s already 20 minutes pass that time, I get a little irritable. I guess that is why this passage is so difficult for me. To be quite honest, I struggle to see the spiritual significance of having to wait. 

Funny thing is the Bible is packed with stories of people having to wait. Time and time again from captivity to exile, to simply waiting on the Messiah to come; waiting emerges as a key theme throughout the Bible. The reality is that each of us spend significant seasons of our lives waiting for something: waiting to get out of school, waiting on job offers, waiting on test results, waiting to close on your first home, waiting on a dying loved one to pass or waiting on a child to be born. Whether we like it to or not, waiting shapes us. God uses that time to work on our inner man. 

Consider the farmer. James uses a farmer waiting patiently on the rain to come as an example of how to conduct ourselves as we wait:

“Dear brothers and sisters,  be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.”-James 5:5-8

Something to keep in mind as we consider this passage is a thought I read in a commentary:  “If the rain doesn’t fall, the crops don’t grow. Rain becomes a matter of life and death. Without the rain the farmer and his family may not have a source of income. Without the rain, the farmer has no guaranteed way of keeping his family alive. And yet James says, the farmer waits patiently”. 

Farmers know it’s a process and don’t expect a harvest in two minutes. It takes a lot of faith to bury your future in the dirt and trust God for a harvest that you cannot see. Then have to wait through a process of growth to reach it’s fullest potential.

How patient would you be in that situation? Patience would not be my immediate response to those circumstances. How many of you would become frantic, try to control something out of your control-by worrying, and perhaps take your anxiety out on those around you. Waiting does not always bring out the best in us.

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church

Stop emboldening your mistress (Pt.2)

Part 2 

“Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”-James 4:5-10

God is not interested in divided loyalty. He is filled with jealousy for us. We are not just a good friend, we are in covenant with Him. Being a friend of God was an Old Testament idea, we have moved out of the friend zone and are now espoused to Him. He expects us to see worldliness just as He does; as an enemy of our relationship with Him. 

So how do we correct divided loyalty? We need to deal with our pride. Pride is at the heart of every sin. It is a deep satisfaction with ourselves that causes us to choose to make certain that our needs are met before any other needs are considered. It causes us to see lack in a relationship that we are established in and look to another to fill that gap. The answer to pride, however, is humility. It is esteeming others better than ourselves and considering the needs of others along with our own. 

We also correct divided loyalty by resisting the devil. We stop flirting with his ideas and notions. We stop entertaining his advances. Too often we wrongly convince ourselves that we are in control and attempt to manage our involvement in the world, believing that we can keep ourselves from crossing the line between sin and holiness, when in reality we have already compromised our faith by believing that Satan can be tamed like a lion in  a cage. We don’t resist him and so in kind he does not flee from us, but remains near to us waiting on an opportune time to test us. 

To correct divided loyalty we have to come close to God! We must spend time with Him and not with our mistress in worldly pursuits. When we draw near to Him, He promises to draw near to us. We cannot pursue two things at once. We can either pursue Him or we can pursue the things of this world. 

We must stop the love affair that we are having with this world both physically and emotionally. James said that we need to wash our hands and purify our hearts. We must wash our hands of the relationship we have nurtured with this world, because each time you participate in worldly things you embolden your mistress. The world will never believe that you are serious about being faithful to God, when you keep showing her attention and spend time pursuing her. 

We need to weep and repent over what we have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. We need to be grieved by it or we will never truly be free from it. If we don’t see it the way God sees it, we will entertain it again. If we do not see it as an enemy, we will leave ourselves open for another affair. 

We can be a friend of this world, but when we do we position ourselves to be an enemy of God. We need to deal with our divided loyalty. We need to deal with your pride. We need to stop entertaining the devil’s advances. We need to spend more time with God and less time with this world. We need to repent and weep over some things we’ve been doing that have emboldened worldliness!

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church

Stop emboldening your mistress! (Pt.1)

Part 1

“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”-James 4:1-3

As I was studying James this I week, I was reminded that life is about two paths. There are always two choices, two directions, two options that we can choose that determine our destiny in life. Over the past couple of weeks we have talked about the contrasts between earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom, however throughout the Bible we see this concept of two play out in many ways: light vs. darkness, life vs. death, sowing vs. reaping, the narrow road vs. the broad road, spirit vs. flesh, and found vs. lost. 

Each of these represent an on ramp onto a path that has a very specific destination-heaven or hell. Which path we are on is based on the decisions that we make. Decisions that draw us near to God or that separate us from Him. 

What James discovered and so eloquently penned for us is that the greatest obstacle to us having a vibrant, intimate, meaningful relationship with God is ourself. There is in each one of us a desire to know God that is tempted by the intense desire to please ourselves. This pursuit of wealth, pleasure, and personal gratification is what we commonly referred to as worldliness. James has a lot to say about embracing worldly things: 

“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.”-James 4:4 

Adultery? Spiritual adultery, as mentioned in this passage, is when a person breaks their vows to love and serve God and follow idols instead. To have an affair with worldliness is akin to having a mistress that estranges us from God (our first love). Do you see two paths emerging once again: spouse and mistress? God is jealous for you! He wants our undivided loyalty and faithfulness and regardless of how many times that we confess to love God, when we pursue worldliness we are communicating a completely different story. We are communicating a love of self and worldly pursuits. 

“Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.”-James 4:5 

James declares that you can choose to be friends with the world, but the consequence of that decision is that you become and enemy of God. Too many of us today want to be both friends with God and friends with this world. That is why God uses a marriage relationship to make this analogy. When a mistress/lover is introduced into a marriage relationship, that individual is poised to destroy a covenant established by God. They have become an enemy of your marriage, your spouse, and you. That is a friendship that cannot be sustained or maintained. No right minded individual is going to say that you can remain friends with your mistress and remain in right relationship with me. Yet, each time we dabble in the things of this world, we embolden our mistress. As long as you continue to show her attention, she lives unconvinced that she is no longer important to you. 

That is precisely what God is shouting from the rooftops. You cannot remain in a relationship with this world and remain in a right relationship with Him. Many have convinced themselves that friendship with both is possible. Why? Because they do not see themselves in covenant with God. They see ourselves as friends with God and it makes no sense to them that they have to reject worldly things. They believe we can be friends with both. However, God is not interested in divided loyalty. 

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church 

True Wisdom (Pt.2)

Part 2

“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”-James 3:17-18

When it comes to knowledge, we signify what we know by the degrees hanging on our walls, the certifications in our portfolios, and the experience recorded on our resumes. However, James states that we signify wisdom by living an honorable life, doing good works, and operating in humility:

“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.”-James 3:13

So what does the wisdom of God look like? According to James the wisdom of God is first of all pure, meaning that it is motivated correctly. It is not rooted in our own selfish desires, but birthed out of a loving relationship with God. It is peace loving meaning that it looks to foster and maintain unity.

Wisdom is also displayed through gentleness, meaning that it is free from a controlling spirit always looking to build rather than divide. The Wisdom from above, as described by James, is also characterized by a willingness to yield to others, esteeming others better than oneself.

This wisdom is full of mercy, accepting that others are not perfect and is made known through good deeds. Wisdom is more than just words, but action. Godly wisdom does not show favoritism. It is not swayed by position, power, or wealth and it is always heartfelt and sincere.

Those who operate in Godly wisdom sow peace in order to reap righteousness. Yes, they are concerned about the outcome, but they are also concerned about how you get there.

No discussion, however, of wisdom is complete without an understanding of Proverbs 9:10:

“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”

We cannot disconnect heavenly wisdom from a healthy reverence and fear of the Lord. He is the originator of all truth. He is the force behind all creation and all created things. He is the sustainer of all things. Knowing God is pivotal to our understanding of how to apply knowledge. True wisdom begins and ends with God!

Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church

True Wisdom

(Part 1)

“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”-James 3:13-18

There is a quote that many of you may be familiar with that originated with Francis Bacon, but was used on several occasions by Thomas Jefferson: “Knowledge is power.” We live in a day and age where the pursuit of knowledge is valued. There seems to be a rush to know more, discover more, and experience more than any other time in history. The prophet Daniel saw these days coming when he wrote:

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”-Daniel 12:4

Interestingly enough, however, God never instructed us to make accumulating knowledge our primary pursuit. According to Proverbs 4:5 were are to: “Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of My mouth.”

It is important to be reminded that it is possible to be knowledgeable, yet not be very wise. It is possible to be brilliant, but have no common sense. Knowledge is an awareness or familiarity gained by education or experience. Wisdom is the soundness of action or good judgment with regard to the application of knowledge. Just because I know it, doesn’t mean I know how to apply it or use sound judgment in it’s application.

In James 3, the writer is making a distinction, not between good and bad knowledge, but heavenly and earthy wisdom. God does this because He is far more concerned with us understanding the application of knowledge than simply accumulating of a mass of intellect:

“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.”-James 3:13

If we are wise and understand God’s ways then we will prove what we know by living an honorable life, doing good works, and operating in humility. All of which have to do with application.

“But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.”-James 3:14-16

Bitter jealousy, selfish ambitions, boasting and lying! These are also expressions of wisdom. However, they are not God’s kind of wisdom. James describes them as earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. Meaning that they are rooted in man’s desires, disconnected from God, and driven by demonic interest. When applied they create disorder and spawn evil of every kind.

Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church

Is your faith any good? (Pt.2)

(Part 2)


 “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds. “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?”-James 2:17-20

Just to show you how they had already begun to interchange the terms, look at the next line: “You say you have faith for you believe that there is one God.” They are trying to make the argument that they have faith because they believe something. So James throws them a curve ball: “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”

Does that mean that demons have faith? No! James is pointing out that believing in something does not necessarily equate to having faith in it. These demons may acknowledge God, but they certainly did not live according to His will and His ways. James calls this kind of faith dead and useless. In fact, it isn’t really faith at all. Faith is putting what you believe into action.

“Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.”-James 2:21-24

It is faith accompanied by action that makes our faith complete. Notice how beliefs led to faith; but it wasn’t faith until Abraham acted on it: “Abraham believed God (heart knowledge), and God counted him as righteous because of his faith (He acted on it.).”
It wasn’t faith simply because he believed it. Faith isn’t complete until we act on it.

We can verbally affirm that we believe something, but never really exercise any real faith in that area:

I can say that I believe in evangelism, but never demonstrate any faith in that area by witnessing to something and sharing the good news with them.

I can say I believe in tithing, but never demonstrate any faith in that area by giving.

I can say I believe in healing, but never demonstrate any faith in that area by coming forward to be prayed for or praying for someone else’s healing.

In reality, those areas of our faith are dead (incomplete); not because we don’t believe it, but rather because we are not acting on it. James cautions us that such faith is dead and lifeless:

“Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.-James 2:26

Is your faith any good? What areas of your faith are lying dead because of inaction? Let’s pray that God will breath new life into those areas and that we will once again put feet to our faith.


Pastor Scott Burr

Is your faith any good?

(Part 1)

“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?”-James 2:14-16

As I was reading the book of James, I started wrestling with the differences between belief and faith. We have, so often, interchanged those words that I fear we have blurred the lines and have grown to see no real distinctions between the two.

Even our secular definitions of the two words seem to carry that same nuance:

Belief: something that is accepted, considered to be true.

Faith: strong believe or trust in someone or something. (Faith is characterized as a strong belief.)

The danger that we face with aligning the meanings of these two words is that a belief requires no action. It only requires our approval or agreement. It is internalized and although it may, at times, impact our thinking and behavior; it doesn’t necessarily need any other expression.

James recognized this tendency developing in the church. There was a lot of approval or agreement (verbally) with the things being taught and expressed, but there was little application taking place. People believed it, but they were not acting on it. That is the point that James begins with here in James 2. What good is it to know and even verbally affirm that the hungry need fed and the homeless need clothed and sheltered, but do nothing to help them.

What good does that do? More importantly, If that is faith, is our faith any good?

 “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds. “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?”-James 2:17-20

Real faith will always produce action. James goes a step further and declares, in fact, if it does not produce it is dead and useless. That makes sense right? Dead things don’t reproduce. How can you know that what you confess to believe is truly alive in you if there is no visible fruit of it in you life?

The super-spiritual among us would say, “Some people have faith, others have good deeds.” The argument being that the two can somehow be separated. James declares that real faith always manifests itself with action.

Pastor Scott Burr