More of James 2

So, I’m continuing my study of James, and I find it very interesting as I round out chapter 2. I’m in Daniel M. Dorinani’s book now (I go back and forth between the two), James: Reformed Expository Commentary. As I read this chapter of James, and then read the commentaries, I am struck by what seems to be James’ point. In essence, it appears to be that a faith without works is dead. As I digest it further, I surmise that he is not telling readers to go out and perform works to achieve salvation, but instead that good works are a natural result of our saving faith in God. Of interest to me were the 4 cases that Dorini points to in James’ chapter:

1) A faith that sees a fellow brother in Christ who is in need, but doesn’t help in some way, is dead (2:15-17).

2) Faith such as that of the demons, who believe God is one, is useless (2:18-20).

3) Works of faith such as Abraham’s, when he offered his son, prove that our faith is alive (2:21-24).

4) Acts of faith such as Rahab’s, when she cared for Israelite spies at her own risk, prove that our faith is real (2:25-26).

Doriani’s (2007) conclusion regarding these cases is this: that “the faith that justifies proves it is alive by its deeds. Conversely, faith without works is dead” (p. 82).

Again, I am very intrigued, and I know that there are those in the church (even brothers in Christ that I know now) who wouldn’t like this because it reminds them to much of what Paul warned of when he noted that we are saved by faith apart from works. However, as I noted above, I don’t believe that James is advocating that we perform works in order to be saved. Instead, he is trying to prove that works are a natural result of our faith (just as I stated above). Further, I think that he is speaking to people who call themselves believers, and in some manner urging them to introspectively consider what type of faith they have. The question posed almost becomes, “What type of faith do YOU have? Do you have a saving, living faith that is evident through your actions, or do you have a dead, shallow faith that is essentially useless to you, others, and God?” It’s kind of a scary prospect, and I have yet to read anything about what to do if you decide yours is the latter.

What do you think?

James 2: 14-26

I’m in a study of James right now. The following are some notes that I took after also reading a chapter in John Phillips’ book, Exploring the Epistle of James: An Expository Commentary. I just can’t stop thinking about this, and so I thought I’d share. I’m sorry if it jumps around a bit – they were notes I took as I was reading and reflecting.

The book of James brings balance to the debate between faith and works. In his epistle, James takes an approach less theological and more practical. He is not discussing imputed righteousness through faith. He is discussing the pragmatic application of faith – how Christians should live up to their faith / live out their faith. For instance, if we discern a need somewhere, we should pray about it. However, if we never act upon that need and our prayer, what good is our faith? If we can act, we should act! We must have belief that behaves. If we never act upon our faith, that faith is dead. James notes that even demons believe in God. Thus, it is not enough to simply believe. Demons have a real, true, active belief in God. Yet, it does not save them. On the contrary, ours must be a changing belief that moves us to good works. James warns that faith without works is as empty as death itself.

Chris

New Patio

So, can you believe it... the new patio is DONE!!! The construction crew showed up (a little unexpectedly) about 3 weeks ago, marked off the area, poured rock, and set the forms. We loved the shape, and so they poured the very next day. Immediately after pouring, they dusted it with color and then pressed in the pattern. They then let it dry for a day before coming back, brushing off the excess dust, removing the forms, and then cutting some lines. The last step was to seal it.

Once their work was done, ours began. I further sealed the edges of the patio. We then brought in 3 yards of dirt that Melissa and I had to move from the alley to the planters that surround the concrete. It was a LOT of work on a VERY warm day!!!

After that, I created a step for the walkway, put down some stepping stones that we had saved from our previous yard, and then my favorite part began... landscaping!!!!

Below are some pics of the new patio. Please keep in mind that our growing season out here is very short. That means that landscape plants are slim pickings this time of year, so there are LOTS of bare spots that won't get filled until next spring. Still, we really love both the way that the patio turned out, as well as the way the landscaping is starting to look.

... and now for the pics...




Here's the step and path I put in. The caps on the step don't fit perfectly yet. I still have to rent a saw to cut them down. The trellis is an old piece of a gazebo that broke years ago. Melissa saved the side panels thinking that maybe we could use them for something else someday. The vine is a wisteria.


Here's a wider view of the patio, including the new lawn that we put in. You may be able to click on the pic for a better view. Unfortunately, the workers nearly destroyed a good sized patch of lawn while doing their work the first day. They brought stuff to protect the lawn on subsequent days, but the damage was already done. I had to do some patching once they were gone, which is why the lawn seems to have patches of lighter green in areas.


Our seating area. (It was nice to bring the patio furniture out of the garage. We can get both cars in there again!) Take note of the tree in the back before going on to the next pic.


Our maple commands a pretty focal point in the new patio. Not only is it our shade, but the trunk sits squarely in the middle of the fence. Having to raise the soil level 8 to 10 inches to meet the new patio height also gave us the chance to do a little extra landscaping around the base of the tree. So, here you can see a wood violet and some miniature hostas that I transplanted from divisions elsewhere in the yard. The mushrooms are new... from a concrete place nearby. We thought they looked cool tucked between the roots of the tree.


In the old yard, I had a bunch of stepping stones that formed a path from the old patio to the garage door. In the new landscape, I've used about half of these as stepping stones around the grill (a place for me to stand while I cook). Here's one of those stones surrounded by some new ground covers (Irish Moss and Brass Buttons).


About 3 years ago, we bought this wind chime at a local artists' fair. We loved the sound it made (I think they call it a Cathedral Chime), and it's had a place in the garden ever since. After the new patio was completed, I had a really hard time figuring out where I wanted it to go. It had to be somewhere where we could enjoy the sound, plus it is a little long so it had to have good clearance. Then, while pulling out the patio furniture, I found this hook ... and it occurred to me: the tree!!! It might look a little odd in this picture, but when you're sitting there it seems just perfect!

Well, that's the new patio... at least so far. One of these days, maybe some of you can come and enjoy it with us.

Chris

Summer Garden Pics

Here's a few pics that we took around the garden this week.


This is an old, rusty pagoda lantern that we put out in the garden each year. Here, it's resting among a bunch of miniature hostas under our Japanese Maple. On a calm night, we'll sometimes light the candle inside. It casts a neat light.


It might be a little hard to see, but the real focus of this pic is the small tile at the top of the trellis on the fence. This tile was a keepsake that we bought in Vermont on our way back from Ben and Ruth's wedding. It always makes me think of Ben and Ruth... we love you guys!





This is our Japanese Maple. Sitting at the corner of the back and side yards, it has a very focal spot in the garden. This is our 3rd year with this one... and I'm amazed it's survived! It originally shaded the fountain in our raised planter... the one we had to tear out to make room for the new garage. It was then transplanted into a temporary planter to weather this last winter... which proved to be a doozie! I was AMAZED when it began leafing out this spring. Then, as if to really tempt fate, when we tore out the temporary planter to make room for the new patio, we had to transplant it yet again into this spot. A heatwave hit 3 days later and I thought it would die for sure (they aren't the most sturdy trees in this area). However, it continues to surprise me!


We've posted pictures of this birdbath before, but I really love this spot in the garden, so thought I'd post another. It's surrounded by Irish Moss, some hostas, a red coral bell, and a white peony (the large plant).

New Lawn

So, it's about 2 weeks later than we were hoping for (due to weather), but we finally have a new lawn in the backyard. The crew showed up on Friday to lay the sod. It looks great, but we can't walk on it now for about 2 weeks ... which is killing us! However, we did manage to put some block edging around it over the weekend, and then brought out some of our yard art/lighting. Here are some pics:


This one is of the "new" backyard area that once was parking. Wow - what a difference!!! We still have some planting to do along the fence and in that corner between the fence and the garage, but we've put a few pieces of yard art there to "hold the space" for now. :-)


This shot was taken from around the area of our backdoor. You can see the new lawn and the edging we put in. We love the curves! The dirt area at the back is where we hope to someday put a patio. Right now it's just dirt and concrete bricks/blocks. The stack of blocks in the back corner is where we put our temporary bed to house plants during the winter (plants that were in the bed we had to remove for the new garage). Those plants have now been incorporated into some of the new beds along the house that were created when we put in the new walks (more on that below).

No gazebo yet. Since we have yet to put in a patio, we're not sure where to put it. (It's currently being stored in my parking space in the garage.)


... and of course, here are our transplants from the temporary bed we created to over winter plants taken from the formal bed we had to demo. When we tore out the bed and transplanted everything into their temporary home (including the red Japanese Maple in the top corner of this picture), I wasn't at all sure what would survive ... if anything. However, when things thawed here, and once the weather started warming up, I was VERY pleasantly surprised! Not only did about 90% of the material survive, but it was also thriving! Now that they are in their more permanent homes, they still seem to be doing very well!


Of course, what's spring without pulling out more of the yard art that we've collected over the years! Here you can make out a birth bath, a decorative trellis (actually a salvage piece), and a pagoda. If you click on the picture, it should enlarge a bit, and you may also see a solar light and a decorative iron hose guard.

Anyway... that's our update for now. Lord willing, we'll have the funds to put in a patio before the end of summer (maybe in time to actually enjoy it this year!). If that happens, we'll post more pics.

God bless everyone!

Chris

Spring Morning on Lake Michigan

Anyone who knows me should know that I love mornings, and I love walks! So, now that it's warmed up a bit, I've begun waking up early a couple of mornings a week to walk Nala out along the lake. These pictures were taken last week, first thing in the morning as the sun was rising, and just after a quick spring storm.


The sun rising over the zoo.


Some cool clouds heading out over the lake after our quick storm.


The sun rising over Lake Michigan.

Concrete work

How do you make yourself VERY appreciative of concrete sidewalks in your yard? Try not having them... add 2 dogs ... dig up your lawn (so that it's just dirt), and then add Wisconsin spring weather (just for kicks)! What does that recipe give you? Wall to wall mud, mud, dirt, and more mud!!!

... and that's just what we've had after our garage construction project tore the backyard apart, and after a much anticipated spring thaw.

However, with the thaw has come what Wisconsinites not so lovingly term "construction season". However, in our case construction season is very welcome. Why? Well, because it means that we can begin replacing the concrete in the backyard! Here's a few pictures:



Here's a view of the new walkway and the back door of the house. The nice thing about doing this work is that they are re-grading as they go. Prior to this, the walkways were sunken below ground level, cracked and broken in many places, and the cause of much water seepage into the basement. While we don't expect this to completely eliminate the problem, it should at least help.


This is a long view of the yard. The nice thing about this shot is that it shows both the nice curves of the new walkway as well as the newly "captured" area of the backyard. That entire area closest to the new fence used to be our parking spots. Now, it's usable backyard space!


I've saved the best for last. I call this "the best" because it gives us a glimpse of what the new walks will look like once we've also landscaped. This picture is of the side yard which has so far escaped all of our construction relatively unscathed.

CK