Beth Moore's "Mercy Triumphs": The Book of James

Every time I listen to Beth Moore, she makes me laugh, touches me to tears with her stories, and always leaves me feeling uplifted. I think our ladies’ Bible study has done almost every last one of Beth Moore’s Bible studies sometime during the past 20 years. This week, we just finished her latest study, called Mercy Triumphs, on the life of James (the brother of Jesus) and the book of James in the Bible. Beth definitely has a way with words, and as I reviewed my scribbled notes from the margins of my workbook, I thought some of her quotables would be worth sharing with you…coupled with my latest attempt at using my macro lens on some of the billions of snowflakes that are blanketing our backyard at the moment. Please excuse the pictures where they aren’t crystal clear…I will get better over time (hopefully). Also,  please excuse me if the quotes aren’t always completely word perfect. They’re as close as my secretarial skills allow, but I’m afraid those are unlikely to improve much over time! 

“Don’t try to grace yourself out of obedience; if you don’t do it, then you don’t believe it.”  “Joy is your birthright in Christ. Through pure obedience we reclaim our joy.” “God will reboot your hard drive. Healing goes from our mind to our body. If we’re in bondage, we have unbelief. We live out what we believe. We can break free by faith.”   “Heap up all the broken pieces of life and give them to God. This is wholeness…’You can have the whole thing, Lord…please fix me!’”  “God will take our pains and turn them into passion. You can live with pain more than purposelessness.”  “Trust God with your anguish, and he will birth something precious in you.”  “Moral of the story: Want to teach? Prepare to apologize a lot.”  “Pride is the graveyard of the believer, but insecurity is the psych. ward.”  “Our culture is mass producing narcissists. It you’re not fighting it, you’re doing it. Yield to God but stand against sin.”  “There’s just no high like the Most High!”   “There is rarely nothing you can do. Being still and knowing He is God is a long shot from nothing. Trusting in a God you cannot see is a long shot from nothing…holding your tongue…being patient…counting it all joy…submitting…confessing sin…resting in Christ…and hear this one really loudly:  praying is a long shot from nothing.”  “How to have a healthy soul: 1. Lose the victim mentality 2. When you’re feeling powerless, don’t let anyone tell you there’s nothing you can do. 3. LIVE LIFE WITH GOD.”  “If we’re willing, God is our song when we are happy, our escape when we are tempted, our hope when we’re despairing, our joy in tribulation, our strength in weakness, and our immortality in dying. Ultimately, He Himself is our health.” “Our sufferings etch engraved invitations to intimate places with God.”  “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”  “Impression without expression causes depression.”  “Immunity from community means no ministry.”  “If a person doesn’t want to get well, stop trying to help.” “If your help isn’t helping, then stop helping. The best help sometimes is to stop trying to help.”  “If you’re going to err, err on the side of mercy.”  “Have solid—but generous—boundaries.”

We’re going to be starting another 12-week study this week, and I’d love for you to join us if you live in the GR area and have some discretionary time in your daily schedule. If you’re interested, please let me know, & I can give you details!

Just like the billions of snowflakes that fall—all unique and beautiful—God showers us with countless good and perfect gifts from above. They all come down from the Father of Lights, who never changes or even shows a hint of turning away from his love for us! (Thoughts based on James 1:17) However,  I’m thankful that His gifts and purposes are eternal and don’t melt like the snowflakes!

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