"The Perfect Law That Gives Freedom"

Scripture: James 1:25
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it- not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it- they will be blessed in what they do.

Observation:
First, I am looking at the word "freedom." In general, when I think of the word "law," I don't associate it with freedom.  I think of law as a limitation… quite the opposite of freedom.  But that's because I am thinking of law from the standpoint of a rebel's heart.  When I was a teenager, my curfew seemed like a limitation.  But, now that I am a mother myself, I see curfew as a boundary of protection.  Because I have taken on the viewpoint of the law-maker, I see the love behind the law.
God gave us his "perfect law" for the same reason.  His law is life-giving not limiting.  Jesus was the fulfillment of God's perfect plan and His law was simple: Love!  There is so much freedom in that law. Now, he did give us other rules, expectations, and insights into how God intended things to be, but his highest priority was that simple.
The word "perfect" can also be translated as "complete."  In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."  In other words, God knew that the Old Testament law was not complete.  But it was imperfect by design.  It pointed us towards our need for a savior.  And Jesus came as the completion of that law-- the perfecter of His plan.

Application:
Just like I had to take on the viewpoint of my parents before I could understand the love behind curfew, I need to pray for God's perspective on his perfect law.  When I tell Clark not the fly off the top bunk using his Superman cape, it's not because I want to limit his freedom.  (Instead, I am protecting his freedom not to spend the night in the emergency room.)

As I fall more and more in love with My Savior, I see how much life and freedom is found in every command that Jesus gave us.  I see that it was all based on one thing… Fulfilling a plan to point every heart towards heaven.  And I desperately want to be part of that plan.  That's where we are going to experience God's pure and definition of the word "freedom."

Prayer:
Lord, you are amazing!  Thank you for a law and a freedom so perfect that I can't even comprehend them.  As I draw closer to you and as I "look intently" at your Word, help me to see the life, love, and freedom that you planned for me.  Help me to fall more and more in love with you and your way of doing things.  Help me to LOVE well!  In Jesus' name!  Amen!

Today is Part 2 of a 4 part series looking at James 1:25.  If you missed it, check out yesterday's post.  And please stay around for parts 3 and 4.
Part 1: Looks Intently
Part 2: The Perfect Law that Gives Freedom
Part 3: But Doing It
Part 4: They Will Be Blessed

Confident in this…
Miranda

"Looks Intently"

Scripture: James 1:25
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it- not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it- they will be blessed in what they do.

Observation:
This one verse is so jam packed with truths but I want to start at the very beginning with the words "looks intently" today.  Weird question… Do you know what a tadpole looks like?  Yes?  Well do you imagine in your head a real tadpole or the drawing of one that you studied when you learned about life cycles?  Probably most people see the drawing.  But my little sister, Katie?  I guarantee she sees the real thing.
When we were little, we stayed in a motel in Costa Rica where there were live tadpoles in the swimming pool.  And my sister "looked intently" at them for hours!  The Hebrew translation of that phrase is literally "to stoop down to look." The image of those tadpoles is seared into her brain.
However, the image I have of that memory is watching my sister from a distance.  I can picture her little brown ponytail with goggles wrapped around it, bobbing up and down on the stairs, as she corralled and studied the tadpoles.  But I didn't stoop down to look.

Application:
When it comes to God's Word, do you "stoop down to look" or do you gaze from a distance?  Consider how my memory was affected by my proximity to the tadpoles.  What is your proximity to the Word?  It's not impacting in the same way if you're simply observing as someone else interacts with it.

Prayer:
Lord, you are awesome!  Thank you so much for preserving your truths in your Word.  Help me to "look intently" at your Word, to "stoop down to look" at it.  I want to see your truths for myself.  Reveal them to me, Lord.  And help me to share those truths with other people.  In Jesus' name!  Amen!

I'm going to stick with this same verse for a few more days because I feel like there is a lot more to pull out of it.  Stick around as I "look intently" at:
Part 1: Looks Intently
Part 2: The Perfect Law that Gives Freedom
Part 3: But Doing It
Part 4: They Will Be Blessed

For anyone who hasn't been following my GroupMe for the past few months, I use the SOAP Method of Bible study a lot of the time.  I also think it is helpful to use brightly colored pens in my journal to mark up notes like you see above.  If you have questions about how to structure a quiet time, please feel free to ask.  This is by no means the only way.  It's just one that has worked well for me.

Confident in this…
Miranda

Starting Up Again

For the past few months, I've been keeping a journal of my quiet time and sharing it with a group of girls (mostly from Faith Promise but some not) using the GroupMe app.  My goal in starting this was to model a quiet time for my 8th grade girls.  However, several of them do not have access to the app and others have asked if I could write a blog so that it could easily be shared with friends.  So that's exactly what I'm doing.  I originally started this blog several years ago as a resource for the first small group I worked with.  When I moved to work with this group of girls, I stopped updating.  Today, I'm cranking back up the "Confident in This" blog.
Confident in this…
 Miranda