Tag Archives: James

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. The trustworthiness of our words is the focus of today’s verse. Some have drawn from this passage that we should not take an oathContinue reading “13Dec 2010 James 5:12”

15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” There is a wonderful freedom when we realize that we are not in charge of our lives. So many people have an inflated view of their own importance. They have been singing their own tuneContinue reading “11Dec 2010 James 4:15”

8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Come near. There is something about getting close, very close to someone else that can be both comforting and disconcerting. When our kids get close to us, we feel warmth. When aContinue reading “10Dec 2010 James 4:8”

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. I think this kind of wisdom comes when we fail in our own strength and come to rely on the Lord. When we fail, it knocks the pride rightContinue reading “9Dec 2010 James 3:13”

10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. James writes in this popular passage about our inability to control what we say, that two very different types of speech come from us. With our mouth we worship and with our mouth we also put down people. ThisContinue reading “8Dec 2010 James 3:10”

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. We might word this differently in our day and age. We might say that a body without a brainwave is dead. We are an age that thinks if we can’t measure something, then that something doesn’t exist. We even measureContinue reading “6Dec 2010 James 2:26”

21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. The life of a Jesus-follower is one that has two parts. We must reject the evil and accept the Word. I really wish this was a onetime event.Continue reading “5Dec 2010 James 1:21”

5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. How we handle wealth (and poverty) has an impact on our eternity. How we handle wealth is an indicator of our spiritual state. It is like a thermometer in a turkey, popping when it is done. IfContinue reading “17July2010 James 5:5”

27 Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James is not giving us a two step solution to salvation. He is not giving us a new way to please God. HeContinue reading “13July2010 James 1:27”

12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who live him. Perseverance! I hate that word. I don’t want to persevere when I am in a trial. I want the trial to simply goContinue reading “12July2010 James 1:12”