Posts by Hoover Church of Christ

He Gives More Grace

“For we all stumble in many ways,” James wrote (3:2). Amen to that. Most Christians I know are painfully aware of the many ways we fall short. Some failures are obvious; others are tucked away in the corners of the heart where no one else sees. But we know. And God knows. If you’ve spent any time in James 4, you’ve noticed he doesn’t exactly ease into things. He comes out swinging. He accuses his readers of wanting what they…

Cheating on God

If you’re squeamish about a little PG-13 spiritual honesty, you might want to bail now. James didn’t exactly specialize in soft landings. He called things what they were, with no euphemisms and no polite throat-clearing. And he certainly wasn’t afraid of hurting feelings if it meant waking people up. Case in point: this line probably stung like a slap in the face, and James knew it would: You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is…

Why God Might Not Be Answering

Most of us would like to believe that God says yes to all our prayers. But he doesn’t, at least not in the way we want or when we want. You’ve felt that, right? James says one of the reasons is uncomfortably simple: You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your pas-sions (James 4:3). I can look back on specific seasons when I felt like God was ignoring me. I begged him for…
eye

Can I help you get that out of your eye?

This passage has always convinced me that Jesus had a sense of humor. If what he’s saying wasn’t so completely serious, it’d be downright hilarious.  Try to visualize the image he paints:  Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that…
Poor male beggar asking for charity money and help

Penniless

I was getting off the interstate a while back when I saw a man at the bottom of the exit ramp holding a “NEED FOOD” sign. I’m always stirred by different feelings when I see this—compassion, a bit of guilt, curiosity, shame. Why doesn’t he have food? Should I give him money? But it’s also interesting to recognize that this is the image Jesus used to start the most famous sermon ever preached. Most people in his nation thought the…
Faith

Prayer works

Maybe you’ve occasionally wondered if there’s any point in prayer. Does it work? Is God listening? Does he even care? Whenever I start doubting, I go back and reread James. Here are a few translations of the end of James 5:16: ‎The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (ESV). The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (NKJV). The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much (NASB). The prayer of…