the month in snapshots

the girls all dolled up for Easter!

a few candid shots of the little ones

Naomi loves snapshots with Daddy

Ash led the girls through some fun Earth Day Activities

I was on Glenway for work and decided to check out my old stomping grounds.
All the dormitories are gone; all that remains is President's Hall, the Worship Center,
and the library. 

family devotions: James 2.1-13

~ No Partiality ~

James 2.1-8

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

James is telling Christians, "Don't treat one sort of person better than other sorts of people." To do so is to show favoritism or partiality. James isn't, however, claiming that everyone is the same. It's ridiculous to say such a thing, when there are obvious distinctions between people. 

There are black people and there are white people. 
There are smart people and there are dumb people. 
There are beautiful people and there are ugly people. 
There are poor people and there are rich people. 
There are men and there are women. 

The Bible never tells us that there are no distinctions, only that all people in every distinction have the same worth and value before God. In Galatians 3.26-28, Paul says, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." In all the examples Paul gives, one of each pair is (in Paul's day and age, if not mirrored in ours) esteemed (and treated) as better than the other. Paul isn't saying that there's no such thing as Jew or Greek, or slave or free, or male or female; just look around and you'll see these distinctions everywhere. What Paul's saying is that in Christ, we are all equal. In Christ, our primary identity is that of brothers and sisters in the family of God. In every pair Paul presents, despite what society says, both are to be treated with equal value and worth. 

Men are not to be favored over women (though, in our day and age, the inverse may need to be emphasized); Greeks are not to be favored over Jews; free people are not to be favored over slaves. This is because Christians, regardless of their station in life, are all 100% children of God. We are all brothers and sisters on equal footing, with equal worth and value. None is better than the other, and it's important THAT WE LIVE LIKE IT. It's in our nature to treat some people better than others, but this part of our nature is sinful. God doesn't show partiality, and neither should we. We will come into contact with all sorts of people in the world and in the church, and we are called as Christians to love them regardless of their station in life (or even, dare we say it, their likability). None of us are likable all the time, but God loves us (and even likes us!) all of the time; and we need to reflect that love outwards to the world and especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

When we show partiality by treating some people as more worthy of our attention and love than others, we are sinning. James is quite clear about that. Instead of showing partiality, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. This command comes straight from Jesus; it's not just a cute, pithy statement. But what does it mean to love people? Christian love is rooted in self-sacrifice. It's about giving yourself to others, treating others as if they are more important than you. Christian love is about looking out for other peoples' interests over our own. Worldly love is based on feelings and infatuation, and it ultimately revolves around the self; this kind of love is about getting, not giving: "What does this person do for me?" When the person we love stops fulfilling us the way we want, the world says to walk away; but Christian love doesn't walk away, it just keeps on loving, it keeps on giving. What this means is that we're to treat others with kindness, respect, and value. We're to give of ourselves - our time, our energy, our money, even our own selves - to promote the wholeness of others. We're to love others the way God loves us, forgiving them and looking out for their best interests. And we're to do this even to those people in our lives who aren't likable; even more, we're to do this to our enemies. If we treat people according to how they love us, or how they benefit us, or according to what they bring to the table, our love is worldly in nature, and by definition it shows favoritism and partiality. Such a worldly love goes against what God demands of His people.

~ Sin, Transgression, and the Law of Liberty ~

James 2.9-12

For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point only has become guilty of all of it. For the one who said 'Do not commit adultery' also said 'Do not murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. Thus speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law of liberty.

James says that those who break one point of God's law become guilty of breaking all of it. Though he quotes the Mosaic laws against adultery and murder, he has in mind here the showing of partiality. Those who show partiality or favoritism are as guilty before God as if they'd committed adultery or murdered! 'Transgression' means breaking the law, but it's not the same thing as sin. All transgression of God's law is sin, but not all sin is transgression. To 'sin' is to 'miss the mark' of living - in thought and deed - as is fitting for God's image-bearing creature. This involves both things we do wrong and things we don't do that are right. Breaking even one of God's laws renders us guilty before God, the ultimate Judge. While God detests some sins more than others - He has a particular loathing, for example, of divorce, homosexual activities, and the abuse of children - ALL sin puts us in a guilty standing before God. The seriousness of showing partiality is emphasized by putting it on the same level as murder and adultery. 

James says that we are to speak and act (i.e. live) according to the 'law of liberty.' This law of liberty is elsewhere called the law of freedom or the law of Christ, and this law is, simply, the way of living that God expects of His image-bearing creatures. Thus James is saying, "Be watchful of the things you say and do, because you will be judged according to the standard that God has set." But why does James choose to call it the 'law of liberty'? Perhaps he wishes to distance it from the Mosaic Law; the Mosaic Law was given to the Israelites, and much of it has been abolished by Christ, since much of it was tailored towards keeping the Jewish people intact so that they would be ready when Messiah came. The 'law of liberty,' in contrast to the Mosaic Law, is all about ethics (the Mosaic Law, while containing a lot of ethics, also contained a lot of laws made redundant by Christ's sacrifice and the establishment of the New Covenant). The rules and regulations that Christians are to follow aren't meant to constrain us; they're designed to enable us to flourish. God designed us to operate in certain ways; there's a particular manner of life that is appropriate for human beings, and when we operate in contrary ways (by sin and transgression), we're dysfunctional and sabotaging our attempts at a fully-flourishing and abundant life. 

But why, again, does he call it liberty? Why is Christ's law - the law of the New Covenant - a law of liberty? Here, perhaps, our modern connotations with the word 'liberty' do us a disservice. Nowadays liberty or freedom are taken to mean a license to do as we please. This isn't what these words mean in the biblical sense. Look at it this way: in the days of great sailing ships, a ship was said to be 'at liberty' on the sea when it's sails were unfurled and it was running with the wind rather than against the wind. By running with the wind, the ship was able to reach its full potential; it was doing precisely that which it was designed to do. In the same way, human beings are 'at liberty' when they are reaching their full potential and living in the way that they were created to live. The 'law of liberty,' when embraced, leads to a fully-flourishing human existence; when we run against the wind of God's directives and design, we're failing to experience the life God wishes us to have.

~ Show Mercy ~

James 2.13

For judgment is merciless to the one who has not practiced mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

In Matthew 5.7 Jesus says that the merciful will be shown mercy. This is a thoroughly biblical idea: when the Final Judgment takes place, and we are judged for the things we did during our lives, the way we treated others will be taken into account. God will be merciful towards those who showed mercy to others, but he will strictly judge 'by the book' those who did not. This isn't to say, of course, that the merciful will be saved by their mercy (for salvation comes only through Jesus), but that the merciful outside Christ will be judged less severely than if they hadn't shown mercy (though their judgment will remain, unquestionably, a negative experience). Mercy carries a certain currency with God. He esteems mercy. Mercy is a reflection of God's own heart, and those who have not been severely dehumanized are able to show mercy. Christians, despite their state before conversion, are filled with the Spirit and enabled to show mercy - and God expects us to show mercy, because He has shown mercy to us. Our mercy towards others doesn't justify us, but it will certainly garnish us some rewards in the new heavens and new earth.

"What, though, is mercy?" If we are to show mercy to others, it'd be helpful if we knew precisely what 'mercy' is all about. Mercy is compassion or forgiveness towards someone whom you would be justified in punishing or causing harm to. Grace is different than mercy; it is 'mercy on steroids.' Mercy is sparing someone from something bad; grace is giving something good to someone who deserves the opposite. Mercy is the removal of a negative consequence; grace is both the removal of the negative consequence and the addition of a positive blessing. We can see how mercy and grace work differently by analogy. Say a man stands trial for grand theft auto, and his due penalty is five years in the state penitentiary. If the judge pardons him so that he doesn't have to serve jail time, the judge is practicing mercy towards the thief; but if the judge not only pardons him but also gives him a Mercedes free-of-charge, that's grace.

God shows us mercy by pardoning us our sin so that we don't have to pay for it - but then he goes a step beyond and shows us grace by adopting us as his children and gifting us with all sorts of spiritual blessings and making room for us in his new heavens and new earth. We as Christians have received mercy, so we need to show mercy. Remember how Jesus said that if we don't forgive others, then we ourselves won't be forgiven? The point he's making is that those who have been forgiven by God, and who know the depth of that forgiveness, have a natural (or should we say supernatural?) bent towards forgiving others, even when it hurts. In like manner, those who have been shown mercy by Jesus will be predisposed towards showing mercy to others. They will speak and act in a way that is consistent with what they claim to believe; those who trust in God, who are in Christ, will show mercy to others. Of course, they won't be perfect in showing mercy. Christians still sin, in this and other ways. But trust in the God of mercy drives us to show mercy, at least as a matter of principle. One who never shows mercy, or rarely shows it, is not one who trusts in Christ, and God will not judge that person with mercy.

family devotions: James 1.19-27

~ "Don't be an ass." ~

James 1.19-20

Understand this, my dear brothers: every person must be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish the righteousness of God. 

James tells us we are not to be quick to speak, slow to listen, and quick to get angry--a tall order, given that these qualities encapsulate our natural bent without God's Spirit working in our hearts. One might point out that we see Jesus being angry in the Gospels, to the point of turning over money-changing tables in the Temple and driving people out with a knotted whip, so how can anger be so bad? We're supposed to be like Jesus, after all! Here we must distinguish between righteous anger and ungodly anger (the latter being that which James is writing about). When we see Jesus 'over-reacting' in the Temple, that's righteous anger at work. Righteous anger doesn't express itself in a 'fit of rage'; Jesus' actions in the Temple were well-planned and well-executed (it takes a hot minute to make a knotted whip, after all). Jesus didn't act from a wounded heart; rather, he acted from a heart passionate for God and upset against injustice. In the later New Testament, we are given guidelines for how to live with anger: we can be angry if we do not sin, if we don't go to sleep with it, if it's anger from God and not man's anger, if it achieves righteousness, if it comes slowly. But in the words of Jim Wilson, "Do you get the feeling that if these qualifications are met, the amount of anger would be cut drastically?"

Ninety-nine percent of the time, we can assume that the anger we feel building up in our hearts isn't due to injustice ('righteous anger') but to being angry that our preferences aren't being met. This is ungodly anger, and it is naturally quick to speak, slow to listen, and quick to get angry. One of the worst kinds of anger is a 'fit of rage,' which, in the Bible, is seen as the exact opposite of how a Christian should be. Jim Wilson writes a poignant piece on this kind of anger:

A 'fit of rage' is an act of the sinful nature. We see it clearly in very young children. We call it a tantrum. As the child gets older, we might say in a tormenting way, 'Temper, temper, temper!' This does not normally moderate the explosion. Other expressions that describe fits of rage are 'losing it' and 'going ballistic.' These euphemisms for fits of rage are descriptive, but do not sound as sinful. 'Short fuse' is another euphemism for a person who is quick to anger. All of us know people like that. Some people take pride in having a short fuse. Their friends and relatives have learned how to walk softly or to give them a wide berth. These people terrorize their families or hold them hostage to their anger, which might erupt any time. The opposite of the acts of the sinful nature is the fruit of the Spirit. It is easy to see that self-control is the opposite of a fit of rage. But it is not the only opposite. A person in a fit of rage is not loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, or gentle. A fit of rage undoes all the fruit of the Spirit. This is why it is natural for a person not born of the Spirit.

When we feel anger bubbling inside us, we need to stop and ask ourselves, "Why am I angry?" Often we'll answer by focusing on an indirect cause--we're angry because someone stole our parking space, or the person coming onto the highway off the on-ramp is going ten under, or it's just slightly raining and traffic's bogging down. Often the indirect reasons will be far more personal, as anger is most ripe when it involves the people who are close to us. The direct reason, which gets to the core of why we're angry, is more often than not the fact that our preferences weren't met. My preference was getting that empty spot in the busy mall parking lot; my preference was keeping my speed up on the highway; my preference was traffic moving at a decent and respectable pace. What it boils down to is loving ourselves too much: "This isn't what I wanted, people aren't accommodating my desires, therefore I am angry." 

An example from my own daily life: one afternoon Zoey got home from school and I had just picked up some Subway for lunch. I felt ravenous, and I desperately wanted to chow down. Before I ate, however, I needed to help Zoey knock out her homework (if we don't tackle it immediately, she'll get into the rhythm of play-time and it'll be like pulling teeth getting her back into 'school' mode). Zoey is very particular about the way she does things, practically borderline O.C.D., and that afternoon she was taking an ungodly long time to get her things done. I was hungry and grouchy, and I snapped at her to the point where tears welled up in her eyes. Not a good moment for me. Immediately I knew I'd messed up, and I took a few breaths and confessed my sin to her, informing her that it wasn't right for me to get angry with her just because I was grouchy. She forgave me and we went about her homework with absolutely no problems. To this day she remembers that moment (but thankfully she remembers my confession of sin more than the outburst itself; it's good to show your children that you're not perfect and to confess your sins towards them). The reason I got angry was because my preferences weren't being met; that was not righteous anger, and when such anger wells up inside us, we must fight it with self-awareness and prayer.

~ Doers vs. Hearers ~

James 1.21-25

Therefore, putting aside all moral uncleanness and wicked excess, welcome with humility the implanted message which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the message and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, because if anyone is a hearer of the message and not a doer, this one is like someone staring at his own face in a mirror, for he looks at himself and goes away and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. But the one who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues to do it, not being a forgetful hearers but a doer who acts, this one will be blessed in what he does.

James just wrote about how we need to forsake the natural inclinations of our sinful self (to be quick to speak, slow to listen, and quick to get angry), and now he exhorts the recipients of his letter to embrace and live in accordance with the good news of the gospel. The Good News is that the kingdom of God is available to us, that in Christ we can live and breathe and participate in God's kingdom, and in order to do so we need to put into action what it means to be kingdom-minded and kingdom-focused in thought and behavior. Christianity isn't about rules and regulations, but it is about living as is fitting for human beings created in the image of God, and that takes self-reflection and self-determination: the willingness to acknowledge the true state of our hearts and the work of the will to pursue higher things. That is the gist of what James is saying, but we would do well to unpack this further.

"What is the implanted message we are to receive?" James is speaking of the gospel, the Good News, and here we must give clarification. A lot of people think the good news is that "Jesus died for our sins." But saying that is like saying the point of a car is having an engine. The purpose of a car is getting from point A to B, and the engine makes it run; similarly, the gospel is about the availability of reconciliation with God and life in His kingdom, both now and forever. The forgiveness of sins and the breaking of the power of sin over our lives, which is available to us because of Jesus' death and resurrection, is necessary for our reconciliation with God and life in His kingdom. The Atonement is the engine that drives the good news of the availability of the kingdom. The point of the Good News is that we can have a relationship with God in Jesus. The point, it must be said, isn't doctrine. It isn't about learning new things, though that's part of it. Sadly a lot of Christians are devoted to biblical teachings rather than Jesus as a person; this is a dry Christian existence--it is a sort of faith by which we are saved 'by a hair'--and it doesn't translate into a changed life.

"How might we deceive ourselves?" Many of those who put doctrine before Jesus seem to live double lives: a pious life in the public eye and deep-seeded sins behind closed doors. This is because mental assent to doctrine doesn't get to the heart, and it's from a transformed heart that we are able to walk in God's ways and obey all Jesus commanded. In Matthew 7.15-23 Jesus says that on the Last Day, many will be dismayed. There will be many who did all the right things, even super religious things, who will be cast from Jesus. "Depart from me," Jesus will tell them, "for I never knew you." Being a Christian, a disciple of Jesus, involves the heart, and even the right religion can be used for the wrong reasons: even in our divided culture and the mockery often leveled against Christians, the United States remains a strongly Christian nation, and being a Christian is often part of the cultural fabric. A cultural Christianity will perform the right actions to be seen as upstanding in the church community; it can be embraced from reasons other than the heart. But it remains the heart that matters: "Are we devoted to the Living Lord, as a person, or to the teachings of Christianity?" Are we giving mental assent to a particular worldview, or are we trusting in Jesus and pursuing him? We must examine ourselves, for we are great at self-deception. We unwittingly believe the best about ourselves, and at times we must assume the worse. The proof of our faith is in the pudding:

Do our lives show the evidence of the Spirit's work?
Are we producing, in increasing measure, the fruit of the Spirit?

If we claim to belong to Jesus, but he is not at work in our lives, then we may be self-deceived. It happens a lot, and the consequences will be dire for those blithely ignorant of their self-deception. Thus it is worth a warning that is echoed by St. Paul in 2 Corinthians 13.5: "Examine yourself, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" It is also echoed by St. Peter in 2 Peter 1.10-22: "Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election" (emphasis mine). James, Peter, and Paul all had something to say about this. We'd do well to pay attention.

"What is the perfect law of liberty?" The law of liberty is something that Christians 'look into', or meditate upon. It is the way of obedience that Jesus calls us to, but because 'liberty' is often used for 'freedom' in modern parlance, equating it with obedience doesn't feel natural. It is this misunderstanding of liberty that makes James' terminology confusing. Though 'liberty' has become synonymous with moral freedom and autonomy (doing what we want when we want and how we want to do it), this is a new definition of the term, a modern way of understanding it. Liberty in the biblical sense is the type of liberty spoken of by sailors. When a ship is 'at liberty', it is 'free' in that it is sailing with the wind rather than against it. The wind is filling its sails, and it's maximizing its power. It's sailing the way it was designed to sail. True liberty isn't living life however the hell we please; it's about having the power and ability to do what we were designed to do, and that liberty is found in trusting and obeying Jesus. This is what we, as God's image-bearers, are designed to do. To not trust and obey Jesus is to sail against the wind, or crosswise to the wind, with the result that we are, at the least, blown far off-course from being the people we were created to be - and at the worst, we flounder. Doing the 'law of liberty' is doing as God commands, so that we live as we are designed to live. And living this way leads to blessedness.

"What does it mean to be blessed?" It's been said that to be 'blessed' is to be happy, and that's not far from the mark. All of us are in search of what the Greeks called eudaimonia, a concept that is often translated as 'happiness' but which is more closely aligned with fully-flourishing human living. Greek philosophy sought how one could best live a fully-flourishing existence. This ultimate state-of-being is what the Jews called 'blessedness.' Blessedness, then, is what we all pursue throughout our life--'the search for joy,' as one theologian put it--but it is found only in Jesus. In Luke 11.28 Jesus says that blessedness is found in him and, more particularly, in following him. To follow Jesus is to accept him as your Master and give yourself to him as his student. A disciple of Jesus is nothing less than Jesus' student--or 'apprentice' or 'padawan'--who is actively and determinedly learning how to live from him. The followers of Jesus were called 'Disciples' until about a decade after Jesus' ascension; then they started to be called 'Christians' (or 'little-Christs') because they aimed to live as he lived and do as he did. The Christian life--the life of discipleship to Jesus and life in him--is the Good Life. Pursuing worldly things--the pride of life, the lusts of the flesh, and the lusts of the eyes--doesn't provide the fully-flourishing life, only cheap imitations of it. But living in God and for his kingdom opens the door to a life of love, joy, peace, and contentment. It was this very fact that made the early church so appetizing in a culture hostile to God. Christians were radically different, living like their Master and bringing him into all walks of life, and people saw the beauty and goodness of that life and craved it for themselves.

~ True Religion ~

James 1.26-27

If anyone thinks he is religious, although he does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

In the previous verses James warned against self-deception and urged his hearers to find a fully-flourishing life in obedience to Jesus. Building upon the reality of self-deception (believing we are Christians when we're not), James links a refusal to 'bridle the tongue' (to keep watch over the things we say) with self-deception; he does this because watching over your words is one of the first things submission to Jesus results in. At the same time, bridling the tongue and taking care of those in need and being unstained by the world are not 'Christian laws' by which we're saved but signposts to what it looks like to live in obedience to God in his kingdom. True religion, then, shows itself in trying to live a life that pleases God.

Much has been said regarding self-deception, and all of us struggle at times to not say things in anger or to gossip or slander others. We may be nervous in asking ourselves the right Christian: "Am I a Christian?" It's a good question to ask; indeed, it's elemental to examining ourselves to see if we are 'in the faith' as we claim. It isn't a question we should fear, for the 'litmus test' of belonging to Jesus (of being saved) is simple: "Am I trying to follow Jesus?" Remember that the name 'Christian' (found only three times in the Bible) was coined to describe those who strove to live like Jesus and obey his commands. The term refers to a disciple, or student, of Jesus, so to ask "Am I a Christian?" is to ask "Am I a student of Jesus trying to learn from him how to live?" There is a difference between a 'cultural Christian' - one whose religion is a cultural 'boundary marker' in which he finds his place in society - and a disciple of Jesus. The cultural Christian may go to church and do very religious things, but his heart isn't upon Jesus; a disciple of Jesus may struggle to go to church and may suck at doing religious things, but he is actively relying upon Jesus and learning from him. You can be a good disciple or a bad disciple, but you'll still be a disciple--so long as you're actively trying to learn from him and obey him. 

family devotions: James 1.13-18

~ A Word on Temptation ~

James 1.13-15

No one who is being tempted should say, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is dragged away and enticed by his own desires. Then desire, after it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is brought to completion, gives birth to death.

James advises Christians on the nature of temptation and sin. When we are in the midst of trials and difficulties, when we are suffering or stretched thin or at the end of our rope, we're more inclined to turn to things that will harm us rather than help us in our effort to cope. It is easier to obey God and withstand temptation when things are going our way; it's fitting, then, that after writing about how we ought to endure trials, James talks about temptations. I've noticed in my own life that when things are hard, my desires for wrong things seem to magnify.

Sin is the transgression (or breaking) of God's will in thought, word, or deed. When we're physically born, we inherit from Adam a sinful nature with a propensity to sin. The one word that best characterizes sin--the flesh, our human nature--is selfishness. The sin of Adam centered on setting his own will and interests against God's; and that's been the center of sin ever since. In Mark 7.20-23, Jesus makes it clear that our basic problem isn't what's outside us but what's inside us; in other words, sin isn't just something we do, it's something we are. This is why the Apostle Paul can say in Romans 7 that, outside Christ, we are 'enslaved to sin'; even if we desire to do good, we're unable to do so. The best of our deeds are stained and spoiled by the selfishness and sinfulness that runs like sap through the marrow of our bones. Jesus' death on the cross attacked sin in two primary ways: first, through his death we are forgiven of the guilt we've acquired by our sin; and second, when we participate in his death and resurrection in baptism, our enslavement to sin is broken, and we're given the Holy Spirit. We are reborn spiritually and given a new heart, but that doesn't mean we won't have evil desires. It means that, over time, God works in our hearts so that we desire sin less and less, and he enables us, through the empowering presence of the Spirit, to resist sin and obey God. 

Temptation is not evil desire; it is what happens when evil desire meets opportunity. We are tempted when we have the opportunity to satisfy a sinful desire. When that desire begins to bubble up inside us, we need to kill it then and there. We must turn to God in prayer and remove ourselves from the opportunity to sin if we can. If we linger on the desire, and tease ourselves with it, the end result, almost always, is that we give in to those desires. When we give in to those desires, we sin, and the consequence of this, according to James, is death. Sin is harmful, sowing death and decay, and it does this in three particular ways:

First, it is because of sin that we suffer physical death, as we see in the narrative of mankind's fall from the glory of God in Genesis 3. 

Second, it is because of sin that we suffer spiritual death: sin separates us from the holy Creator. When we become Christians, the guilt of sin is forgiven and its enslaving power is broken, so that our relationship with God is restored; however, if we as Christians persist in sin, we will experience an anemic relationship with him. We cannot expect God's peace and joy and abundant work in our lives if we persist in sin. 

This leads to the third type of death: it affects our quality of life. Sin naturally sows death and destruction; it steals our peace and joy, it brings all sorts of problems into our lives, and it strains our relationships. Truly, obeying God isn't just good for our souls; it's good for our lives, as well. 

~ God Provides ~

James 1.16-17

Do not be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of change. 

In our family we thank God for our food at every meal. Lately this traditional practice has come under attack by non-Christians who say we shouldn't be thanking God for our food; we should be thanking the farmers. What these critics fail to see if that the food on our plate is indeed from God, even if God delivers it through farmers. We believe this because God sustains the universe and keeps everything going. Hebrews 1.3 tells us that God upholds the universe by the word of his power; thus everything from galaxies to microbes, and the ecosystems on which the 'circle of life' depends, is sustained by the Creator. If he were to step back, to remove his sustaining hand, everything would fall apart. One theologian puts it this way: 

"As human beings, we take the predictability of the created order for granted. When we go to bed, none of us expects that the sun might not rise the next morning. We plan for the future and expect the future to be there when it is time to act. We take steps and never think that we will disintegrate into millions of whirling atoms and fly off into space when our feet hit the ground. Everyone expects the world to hold together today, tomorrow, and throughout the rest of their lives. Despite its claim of scientific infallibility, naturalistic materialism ([the idea that] the physical universe is all that there is) provides no basis for any of these assumptions. If everything arose by chance, everything could fall apart tomorrow by chance. One random atom or 'maverick molecule,' as Dr. R.C. Sproul has said, could throw everything back into chaos. Naturalistic materialists who rely on the continuing existence and regularity of the natural order for their study and experiments betray an awareness of God that they are suppressing (Rom. 1:18-32). Only the Lord's sustaining hand gives us reason to depend on the regularity of the natural order."

The food on our plate, the air in our lungs, the water in our cup, all of these are good and perfect gifts from God--and they are gifts not only to his children, but also to those who disbelieve him, those who mock him, even those who hate him. This just goes to show God's great love even towards those who would sooner see God eradicated than worship him. In Matthew 5.45 Jesus says that God 'causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust.' Jesus is speaking of what theologians call 'common grace': God provides the things people need without them having to earn it. This showcases God's love and mercy now, and on the day of judgment it will make the judgment of those who have rejected God all the more severe, for they bite at the hand that feeds them. Even those who don't believe in God, even those who have set themselves against him tooth and nail, live and breathe and have their being in him. Because of our sin, God would be just in refusing us rain or sun or the necessities of life; thus when he provides even for those who loathe him, it's an act of grace.

~ We are the First Fruits ~

James 1.18

By his will [God] gave birth to us through the message of truth, so that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

James says that Christians--those who are born again in Christ--are a kind of first fruits of God's creatures. His meaning needs a lot of unpacking, and the first step is to jump back into the Old Testament. Israel was divided into twelve tribes, and one of these tribes, the Levites, were tasked with being the priests of God's covenant. They were the ones who served in the Jerusalem Temple and in the outlying towns and villages. They didn't work run-of-the-mill jobs, so they needed to be supported by their fellow Israelites. In order to accomplish this, God ordered the Israelites to give the 'cream of the crop' to the Levitical priests. Their best products - the 'first fruits' - were to be given to the Levites so that they could be sustained as they operated as God's priests. When we come to the New Testament, the phrase is picked up in light of what Jesus has done on the cross.

Jesus' death isn't just about forgiving sins. He didn't die simply so that we could go to heaven when we die, though that's a huge bonus and the climax of it all. Jesus died and rose again to inaugurate the 'New Creation.' When God created the world, it was good and free of sin. When sin entered the world, creation was subject to decay. When Jesus died, he defeated the very evil that subjects creation to futility; when he rose again, he showed that not only had evil been defeated, but new creation had begun. God's ultimate goal isn't to scrap the physical world; it's to renew it. In this vein, when we are regenerated, or born again, we become part of the coming renewed world. We ourselves are renewed, and we are tasked with bringing new creation into every sphere of our lives. God's mission is to recover and restore all that was lost in the Fall, and it begins with us.

A question must be asked: "To what, exactly, are we restored?" The answer is found in the first chapters of Genesis. When God created mankind, he created us to be his image-bearers. An image-bearer, in the ancient near eastern world, was one who was tasked with another's identity and power. For example, when the King of Assyria sent messengers out to his provinces to speak his words and do his bidding, they were his image-bearers. In the same way, God has created us to be his image-bearers: we are the ones tasked with speaking his words and doing his bidding. In Genesis, Adam and Eve are tasked with carrying the Garden into the wider, wild world. As Christians, our mission as God's image-bearers is to proclaim the gospel and live 'new creation' lives. The Christian code-of-ethics isn't just a list of do's and don'ts; it isn't about following arbitrary rules; it's about how to live the life of the new creation in the here-and-now, and when we live a life of obedience to God, we are showcasing what genuine human living looks like, and we are acting as signposts to the new world order that has been steadily advancing through our world since Jesus' resurrection.

As first fruits, evangelism and the Christian life take on a more vibrant meaning. Evangelism is telling people about Jesus, summoning them to faith and repentance so that they can be part of God's new creation. The Christian life is a signpost to God's future, a testament and declaration that God's kingdom is alive and well and moving forward. It is also a word of judgment on those who still live in the throes of the world and the defeated evil one.

"How does this tie into what James has already written?" James has talked about trials and temptations; specifically, how God uses trials to work in our hearts and lives, and how temptation must be resisted. We are the first fruits of God's creation; as such, trials are one of the main 'sharpening tools' God uses to fashion us into the image-bearers he created us to be, and as first fruits, we are to resist the temptation to sin and pursue obedience to God. We are to recognize who we really are in Jesus and live like it.

family devotions: James 1.1-11

~ Welcome to Hard Times ~

James 1.1-4, 12

James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. Greetings! Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you encounter various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing... Blessed is the person who endures testing, because when he is approved he will receive the crown of life that [God] has promised to those who love him.

In these verses James tells us that we should 'consider it all joy' when trials come our way, because trials are God's way of working in our lives and hearts to transform us into the people He desires us to be. When he writes of 'trials,' he isn't writing about supra-spiritual realities; trials don't need to be 'spiritual' in nature; indeed, they are most often the simplest difficulties that all flesh-and-blood humans face. Difficulties with work, strains in interpersonal relationships, and car troubles are all 'trials' that God uses to bring about changes in our hearts. God is sovereign, and in His wisdom He uses various trials to produce specific changes in our lives. Just as diseases need different medicines to be treated, so it is with different sins. If we are prideful, God will humble us; if we love money, He may take it away; if we put our own desires before Him, He may thwart our plans. When trials come, we ought to ask ourselves, "What kind of work is God trying to do in my life?"

When trials knock on the door, we mustn't fear them as a shot in the dark that has escaped God's oversight. God is in control, and any trial we face He has either orchestrated or permitted. While such trials are judgments and 'shots across the bow' for those who don't love Him, they are discipline for those who do. God's ultimate goal for us isn't that we are happy, or content, or satisfied; His goal isn't that we acquire all our dreams and goals. His aim isn't to make our lives a rose garden experience. Many Christians falsely believe that because God is their Father, His greatest ambition is the happiness of His children; but as any parent knows, a mother or father whose chief aim is to make their children 'happy' is no good parent at all. Parents are tasked with raising their children to be wholesome, functioning members of society. Parents are tasked with 'training up' their children so that they are able to do the work assigned to them, to enable them not only to 'handle' the real world but to thrive in it. In the same way, God's goal for His children isn't their happiness but their thriving as human beings in both this world and the next. Just as a father uses discipline to correct bad behavior and to keep children moving in the right direction, so God uses trials to sharpen us and hone us into the people He created us to be. 

In Romans 8.29 Paul tells us that God's goal for His people is that they be conformed to the image of His Son; in other words, that we become Christ-like. Throughout the New Testament Jesus is portrayed as the 'true Man', the man who fully embodies, and thus reveals, how mankind is designed to function. Paul isn't saying that God's goal for us is that we become mini-saviors; no, he's saying that God's goal is that we emulate Christ insofar as he shows us what genuine human living looks like in a fallen world. In Galatians 5.22-23 Paul writes about the 'fruit of the Spirit'; these nine attributes--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control--are hallmarks of what it looks like to live as God intended us to live from the very start. These are not, as we all know from personal experience, our default characteristics; indeed, they are antithetical to the sinful nature which we carry around like a cackling old hag on our shoulders. It is through spending time with God, soaking up His Word, bathing in His Spirit, and worshipping and communing with the saints, that He works changes in our hearts so that, in ever increasing measure, we reflect more and more His Son and holy, genuine human living. Trials, James says, are one of God's preferred tools to bring us ever nearer that goal of genuine human living.

James says that when trials come our way, we are to respond with endurance. This means that we don't despair or give up; we do the hard work that endurance requires; we don't lose hope in God; we believe that God is at work for our good; and we endure the trials in prayer and patience. As we endure, God works in our heart, and when we come out the other side of the trials--whether in this life or the next--we will be better for it. Remember that God's ultimate goal is to change us from the inside out, and that God uses trials as a tool to bring this about. This is, in a sense, how it works: imagine you got a new job, and it's tough learning the ropes, a real struggle. You endure the first couple weeks, but then it gets easier. It isn't long before it's second nature, and you've become a solid, skilled worker. God wants to build us into solid Christians who are skilled at living holy, God-honoring lives.

Let's be honest: we dread trials, in whatever form they come.

We don't like being sick, or needy, or alone.

It's easy to grumble and complain when things are hard.

It's easy to lose sight of God who is constantly watching over us.

But when we come to grips with the fact that hard times and difficulties are actually God's kindness towards us, we can respond not with complaining but with rejoicing. It is a kind and loving parent who disciplines his children; in the same way, God is kind when He disciplines us. Isn't it peculiar how we say parents who let their kids run amuck are not good parents at all, but when God uses discipline in our lives, we're so ready to question His love and fatherhood over us? James says that the one who endures trials is 'blessed'; he's saying that those who endure are favored by God, and the blessed life is, ironically, the happy life. There's a myth that says the Christian life is boring, but Psalm 1 tells us that the Christian life is actually the blessed life. It is only in Christ--in being reconciled to God, to finding our footing as human beings, and living as human beings were designed by God to live--that we can experience true human living. Christ offers us a life of joy and peace that transcends the nitty-gritty hardships we face on a day-to-day basis; and not only this, but Christ promises us an inheritance in a newly-created universe. The psalmist tells us that there's no rest for the wicked; the life of the wicked is marked by turmoil, strife, and restlessness. When the wicked experience deep-seeded joy and peace, it is fleeting; their lives are marked by exhaustion and emptiness, or at least they will be in time. 

~ A Word to the Wise ~

James 1.5-8

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him as for it from God, who gives to all without reservation and not reproaching, and it will be given to him. But let him ask for it in faith, without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed about. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 

James' basic idea is that we need wisdom to endure the trials that come our way. 'Wisdom,' in a bare-bones generic sense, is knowing how to live well. The wisdom James speaks of is more specific: this wisdom is the knowledge that God uses trials to shape us into the people He wants us to be, and it is knowing that God is in control and trusting that He's working for our good. 'Our good,' of course, isn't 'our happiness,' in the sense that He's always working behind the scenes to make our dreams come true; 'our good' is our development into human beings who live as we are created to live. God is eager to give wisdom, James says, but we must not only be sincere to receive it; we must also ask! 

James says we need to ask 'in faith'. This means that when we ask God for wisdom, we must trust His promise that He will give us wisdom; it means we must trust that He will give us wisdom. To ask 'in faith' is to believe in God's promise and to trust Him to be faithful to that promise. James warns that the 'double-minded' man won't receive anything from God, and that such a person is unstable in all his ways. To be 'double-minded' means to have one eye towards God and the other on the world. Many Christians will take God only insofar as they're able to retain those 'precious sins' that they feel they just cannot do without. When we harbor sin in our hearts, we're not cutting ourselves off from the salvation found in Christ, but we are certainly sabotaging our own growth as redeemed human beings, and we are effectively isolating ourselves from God. Imagine that our spiritual life, which comes from God, is like water shooting through a hose; God is the spout, and we are at the end of the hose, drinking up His water. When we cling to those sins that so easily beset us, we are essentially putting a cinch in the hose's line, so that the water we receive from God is basically a trickle. No, our salvation is not in jeopardy (we're saved not by what we do or don't do but by our faith in Jesus), but the quality of our life as Christians (and the quality of our lives in general) suffers. James warns that when we have one foot in God's camp and one foot in our own, we can't assume that God will answer our prayers for wisdom. 

~ The Futility of Wealth ~

James 1.9-11

Now let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his high position, but the rich person in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a flower of the grass. For the sun rises with its burning heat and dries up the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is lost. So also the rich person in his pursuits will wither away.

Christians come in all shapes and sizes, and some are poor while others are rich. There are lots of false ideas when it comes to Christians and wealth. Some people believe that there is no such thing as a 'rich Christian'; Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God, but seeing as he was likely speaking of a narrow gate in the city of Jerusalem rather than a sewing needle, his point isn't that it is impossible but that it is difficult. Other Christians believe that God rewards faith with money; how much money you have, then, is a reflection of how much God favors you. In reality, faithful Christians can be either poor or rich. The money one has in the bank isn't reflective of one's status before God. In the Corinthian church we see some members who have lavish estates and others who are practically homeless! God blesses some people with a lot of money and entrusts them to use that money wisely for God's glory and the benefit of His people. 

Why, then, would Jesus say that it is difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven? Simply put, it is quite easy to fall in love with money. It's been erroneously said that money is the root of all evil; no, it's the love of money--the devotion to it--that is the root of much evil. James is writing to Christians from all walks of life, and he tells the poor Christians to boast in their spiritually high position--they are children of God with an inheritance preserved for them in the coming new world!--and he tells the rich Christians to boast in their 'humiliation', for in the gospel they've come to see that money isn't all it's cracked up to be. Wealth is a temporary thing; it may make life easier in a lot of ways, but it's ephemeral, a passing phantom, here one minute and gone the next. It's a very unreliable god.

James says that the rich person 'in his pursuits' will whither away. He isn't speaking here of rich Christians who use their monetary gifts to bless God's kingdom and His people; rather, he's speaking of those who make money their god, their ultimate aim and pursuit of life. A lot of people make money their god, and other people make different things their god. Our worldly culture is permeated with the pursuit of the gods of Freud, Nietzche, and Marx: sex, money, and power. We pursue these things (and others) with the wrong idea that they will bring us happiness. The reality is that none of these things bring happiness. Those most successful in these pursuits--from Egyptian pharaohs to 21st-century CEOs--report that their lives, though looking outwardly successful and lavish, are filled with emptiness, exhaustion, and restlessness. When we pursue things other than God--whether our pursuits are focused on sex, money, or power; or on love, or fame, or even the acquiring of the American Dream--we are pursuing our own kingdoms rather than God's kingdom. This is a huge part of what it means to be a fallen human being. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve pursued knowledge of Good and Evil in the hope of becoming like God; at the Tower of Babel, we tried to usurp God's throne and take it for ourselves; and in our day-to-day lives, even to this day, our natural bent is to make God a puppet and try to play His strings to our benefit. 

We hope that by pursuing these worldly and fleshly passions that we will find ourselves, but the reality is that when we pursue these things, we become enslaved to them. We actually lose ourselves in the process. The only way to truly find ourselves is to find ourselves in God. This makes sense: after all, we were created by God, and as His image-bearers we thrive when we're plugged into Him and living as He created us to live. Our thriving comes from living as we are designed to live. Real human thriving--along with meaning and purpose--comes from being a part of God's family and living for Him rather than for ourselves. But what does this look like in practice? 

It means obeying God even when we don't want to.

It means putting other people before ourselves.

It means living a life of selflessness and sacrifice (a life of biblical love). 

It means putting aside our own ambitions for God's ambitions.

It means conforming to the image of Christ.

It means embracing the trials that sharpen us into the people God wants us to be.

True human thriving--what the Greeks called eudaimonia, which they made the ultimate goal of philosophy and of living--is found only in submitting to God and His will for our lives. True human flourishing isn't found in acquiring wealth, sexual exploits, or powerful conquests. True human flourishing isn't found in the American Dream. It's found only in submitting ourselves to God and living the way He has intended us to live from the start.

Dino of the Week: Spinostropheus

Type Species: Spinostropheus gautieri

Classification: Dinosauria – Saurischia – Theropoda – Ceratosauria 

Time Period: Middle Jurassic

Location: Africa (Niger) 

Diet: Carnivore 

In the Middle Jurassic, Saharan Africa was a lush mosaic of woodlands, rivers, and lakes – and the lithe, agile predator Spinostropheus hunted among the forests and waterways. It was by no means the largest predator in its environment; that title went to its contemporary Afrovenator, which grew to about thirty feet in length. Spinostropheus’ length is hotly debated: in 2010 it was estimated at around thirteen feet in length (about half that of Afrovenator); in 2012 the length was pushed up to twenty feet; and in 2016 it was estimated to be around twenty-eight feet in length, on par with its contemporary. Most scientists tend towards the original estimate, picturing Spinostropheus as a smaller predator in its environment. 

Its prey is unknown, as the Saharan fossil record for this period consists of much larger sauropods and theropods. The fossilized scutes of an unnamed early thyreophoran have been discovered in the region, and so early armored ornithischians resembling Scutellosaurus or Scelidosaurus – both of which were present nearby in North America just a handful of million years earlier – seem to have called the Sahara home. Spinostropheus, being quick-footed, likely preyed on these agile early ornithischians; it may also have preyed on smaller terrestrial creatures like mammals, lizards, and perhaps even crocodylomorphs. Spinostropheus is considered one of the earliest ceratosaurs (the lineage that would lead to the infamous Ceratosaurus in the Late Jurassic), and it resembled an earlier, smaller version of the Late Jurassic Elaphrosaurus. 

Dino of the Week: Spinophorosaurus

Type Species: Spinophorosaurus nigerensis

Classification: Dinosauria – Saurischia – Sauropoda - Gravisauria 

Time Period: Middle Jurassic

Location: Africa (Niger) 

Diet: Herbivore 

The sauropod Spinophorosaurus was discovered in the late 2000s. The remains of two individuals were discovered in what had been, during the Bajocian-Bathonian stages of the Middle Jurassic, a river-valley system of lakes and rivers. Spinophosaurus was one of the first dinosaurs to have its skeleton 3D printed, and these prints were used to test locomotion and movement (by which it was determined that it was a high browser) and to experiment with different sauropod sex positions (naughty but fascinating!). Spinophosaurus reached thirty-eight feet in length, stood thirteen feet tall at the hips, and weighed around seven tons. It had tall shoulders and an elevated neck, giving it a vertical rather than horizontal posture (akin to the later Brachiosaurus and its contemporary Saharan sauropod Atlasaurus). Its braincase was short, deep, and broad, and it shows similarities between basal sauropodomorphs and more derived neosauropods. Its teeth were spoon-shaped and had large denticles at the top of the crown, an ancestral feature found in sauropods. Its neck is one of the most completely known among sauropods, and it contained thirteen vertebrae. The dorsal vertebrae had multiple air-filled internal chambers, something found in more derived sauropods such as the titanosauriforms and mamenchisaurids (two families which evolved them separately in cases of ‘convergent evolution’). Its tail was powered by strong musculature and had a rear section that was rigid due to long, overlapping chevron bones. 

Most artistic depictions of Spinophorosaurus (such the one below) depict it with two symmetrical pairs of long, sharp spikes reminiscent of those seen in the Jurassic stegosaurs. When Spinophorosaurus was uncovered, skeletal elements interpreted as a left and right osteoderms were found. These bones had a roundish base from which a spike-like projection protruded; the inner surfaces were rugose and concave. Although these bones were found in the pelvic region, the first scientists to study this sauropod believed that in life they were positioned at the tip of the tail, much like the later Shunosaurus had a tail club. However, this interpretation has recently fallen out of favor. Though the stiffening of Spinophorosaurus’ hind tail by elongated chevrons is observed in armored dinosaurs bearing clubs or spikes, Spinophorosaurus’ hindmost caudal vertebrae were likely too small to wield the weight of such a weapon. Later scientists pointed out that the osteoderms were not truly symmetrical and slightly differed in shape; this indicates that they didn’t form a pair but were more likely the mirror-inverted counterparts of one another. What, then, were these bones about? The current theory – embraced by further study in both 2015 and 2018 – is that these elements, which were found under the scapula, belonged to Spinophorosaurus’ clavicle. Although the image of a spike-wielding sauropod in prehistoric Saharan Africa is a wonderful one, it may not be reality. 

Dino of the Week: Jobaria

Type Species: Jobaria tiguidensis

Classification: Dinosauria – Saurischia – Sauropoda - Gravisauria - Eusauropoda

Time Period: Middle Jurassic

Location: Africa (Niger) 

Diet: Herbivore 

In the Middle Jurassic, Saharan Africa was a lush mosaic of woodlands, rivers, and lakes. One of the prime tenets was the primitive sauropod Jobaria. This sauropod was discovered in 1997 when a local Tuareg tribesman showed paleontologist Paul Sereno and a team of nineteen scientists a collection of strange bones that the Tuareg tribes-people associated with a mythical monster named Jobar. The exposed bones comprised a nearly complete skeleton that was part of a larger mass graveyard containing the remains of numerous adults and youngsters of a hitherto-unknown sauropod. One juvenile specimen bore bite-marks on its ribs that fit the teeth of Afrovenator, a prime carnivore of Jurassic northern Africa. An adult Jobaria grew to seventy feet in length head-to-tail and would’ve weighed up to twenty tons. The neck was relatively short with twelve vertebrae (more derived sauropods had eighteen or nineteen); the tail, too, was relatively short, and its vertebrae were simple, lacking the complex projections, scoops, and air-filled cavities of many later sauropods. The hind legs were strong enough to enable it to rear up on its hind legs to eat higher leaves, which it stripped with its spoon-shaped teeth. Jobaria’s position in the sauropod family tree is debated; some scientists consider it part of the ‘macronarians,’ giant sauropods distinguished by long necks and large snouts, while others consider it a ‘survivor sauropod’ that didn’t belong to any of the main sauropod families but which was a leftover of earlier times in sauropodomorph history. 

Dino of the Week: Afrovenator

an Afrovenator goes for a swim in the Middle Jurassic Sahara

Type Species: Afrovenator abakensis

Classification: Dinosauria – Saurischia – Theropoda – Carnosauria - Megalosauroidea -  Megalosauria - Megalosauridae - Megalosaurinae

Time Period: Middle Jurassic

Location: Africa (Niger) 

Diet: Carnivore 

In the Middle Jurassic, Saharan Africa was a lush mosaic of woodlands, rivers, and lakes – and the African hunter Afrovenator was at the top of the food chain. Our knowledge of the theropod Afrovenator comes from a single specimen discovered in 1990. It was a remarkable find, for the skeleton was almost complete; all that was missing was the lower jaw, some ribs and vertebrae, and the toe bones. It prowled the woods and rivers of the prehistoric Sahara, and its bite marks have been found on the fossilized ribs of a juvenile sauropod Jobaria. Its similarities to the later North American Allosaurus indicate the close proximity of northern Africa and southern North America during the Bathonian. Afrovenator was more lightweight and fleet-footed than its North American cousin, and its arm bones were longer and more slender. Afrovenator grew up to thirty feet in length, and its strong hind legs were built for active hunting. Its tail was stiffened by overlapping bony struts, and its skull was low and lacking ornamentation. Its jaws were filled with long, blade-shaped teeth it used to slice into prey, and its long arms were capped with vicious, curved claws designed for catching and holding prey.