Present with God

PwG: In His Disclosure by Doug Rutter

James 2

This episode comes from a meditation project I'm doing in the book of James.

"I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high." -Leviticus 26:13

"For I, the Lord your God, hold your hand..." -Isaiah 41:13

"give thanks in all circumstances..." I Thessalonians 5:18

"I am the LORD, you healer..." -Exodus 15:26

This same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:19

"Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up they saw Jesus' glory..." -Luke 9:32

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." -Romans 8:1

"where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." -2 Corinthians 3:17

​The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We don’t know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. -Romans 8:26

​Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me. -Psalm 25:7

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." -Galatians 5:25

​"If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust." -Job 34:14-15

"who are you that you are afraid of man who dies...and have forgotten the Lord." -Isaiah 31:12

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." -Proverbs 3:5

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you." -I Thessalonians 5:18

"let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith" -Hebrews 12:1-2

"Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." -Habakkuk 3:18

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." -Psalms 23:4

"A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?" -Proverbs 20:24

"If these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful." -1 Peter 1:8

"My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:17

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." -Colossians 3:23

"I will boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me." -2 Corinthians 12:9

"I have said these things to you; that you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. -John 16:33

"You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing." -Psalm 145:16

"For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. -2 Peter 1:16

"we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus" -Hebrews 10:19

Jesus knows the struggle do the right thing, that’s why the grace He offers is so Amazing. Jesus doesn't minimize our struggle. We shouldn't minimize His grace.

God gets the last word...it’s Jesus. Hebrews 1 tells us that Jesus is God's final word to the world. When He comes, He is a living declaration by God to the world. In Jesus, God tells us: You are not forgotten. You are not alone. You are not ordinary.

God transforms our weakness and our shame into His power and His glory when we fully trust in Him. There are few phrases more affirming and liberating than the four words that Paul writes to Timothy, “I am not ashamed.” (2 Timothy 1:12) When we rebuke the presence of shame in our lives, we claim our true identity. Shame attacks the very idea of who we are. The voice of shame can be paralyzing and debilitating and the longer we have listened to it, the harder it is to reject its accusations. However, we can follow Paul’s path to liberation when we claim the same elements of identity-preserving confidence that he lists after his 4-word declaration. "I am not ashamed."