Apparently the people to whom James sent this letter were making their plans for travel and business and life in general without consulting God for guidance or giving a thought to His will for them. James reminded them—we might make our plans, but God directs our paths (might sound like…
Submitting to God, as we saw in yesterday’s verse, is the first step of Christian service. Fellowship with God doesn’t happen without effort on our part. Our crazy sin nature gets in the way. We must be intentional in practicing the disciplines of Christ-like living. Being humble is recognizing our…
My mother taught me that the devil couldn’t *make* me do anything; it was always my choice to do right or to do wrong. No excuses allowed in our house! LOL But she also assured me that when I made the right choice, I would have God’s strength to see…
HYMN DAY! Julia H. Johnston wrote “Grace Greater Than Our Sin” in 1910. Grace is available to all who believe! 1 Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! Yonder on Calvary’s mount out-poured– There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. Refrain:…
Sinfulness plagues mankind. But no sin is too big that it can’t be covered by God’s grace. God is able and willing to overcome human sinfulness. God has to resist the proud—the ones who say they can save themselves and don’t need to be instructed, who are scornful toward others…
James always pointed his readers to the sacred Scriptures for guidance and truth. He wanted his wayward readers to understand that the world was full of powerful temptations and many choices. Without God’s wisdom, our fleshly desires take control and tug us down pathways that bring us harm rather than…
It makes my heart hurt to think of how these very religious people pretended to love God but were entangled in an affair with the world. James’ language is very strong here concerning half-hearted commitment. In this time period, “friendship” carried a lot of weight. It meant being unified in…
I find it interesting that James didn’t tell these believers that God didn’t hear their petitions. God wasn’t ignoring them, but He was wisely withholding their requests. God knew these requests weren’t made to bring glory to Him or to advance the Kingdom; they were made out of selfishness. The…
HYMN DAY! “Purer in Heart, O God,” by Fannie Estelle Davison, is a fervent plea to seek and follow His will. Purer in heart, God, help me to be. 1 Purer in heart, O God, Help me to be; May I devote my life Wholly to Thee. Watch Thou my…
Something very sad happened in the midst of this conflict within the body of believers. They were so caught up in battling with each other, their prayer life disintegrated. Craving to please self became so intense they engaged in harmful behaviors. James told these people that they’d created such a…
