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17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Sometimes we want to think that the people in the Bible were very different than we are, that they possessed some extra ingredient that madeContinue reading “22Oct2008 James 5:17”

12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned. Our words need to match our actions. If we say we are going to do something, then we had better do it. If weContinue reading “21Oct2008 James 5:12”

5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. Look around you. Everything you see is perishable. Even as you look at yourself, you are perishing. What we see now is not going to last into eternity. I heard recently about our probable next presidentContinue reading “20Oct2008 James 5:5”

17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. This is so often our dilemma. We know what ‘right’ is, but we don’t do it. Instead, we do the ‘wrong’ in its place. This is not activity of kids exclusively. We adults engage in this same bait andContinue reading “19Oct2008 James 4:17”

3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. This is the evil, unspoken danger at the heart of the prosperity doctrine. They are not preaching that God wants to make you wealthy so that the world will be reachedContinue reading “18Oct2008 James 4:3”

17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. A belief that does not result in actions is not the kind of belief that will get us to heaven, let alone get us through this life. If our faith does not change our actions, it is notContinue reading “17Oct2008 James 2:17”

13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment! In this world where judgment is the standard, both personally and corporately, mercy gets a bad rap. From God’s perspective, mercy is a much greater power than judgment. Anyone can judge. It is so easy. AsContinue reading “16Oct2008 James 2:13”

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Self-deception is a powerful thing. I also think it is very difficult to truly pull off. I know for myself, even when I think I have pulled the wool over my own eyes, I still know I am pullingContinue reading “15Oct2008 James 1:22”

15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. As we consider the life-cycle of sin we understand that sin is an internal matter. But what happens from start to finish in regards to sin? Sin starts with a desire, a want, aContinue reading “14Oct2008 James 1:15”