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…
Apparently the relationship between believers was not reflecting “love thy neighbor as thyself,” and James attacked it head on. These people were not displaying fruits of righteousness (addressed last Friday), but instead were engaging in verbal attacks. “Wars and fights” paints a pretty ugly picture, doesn’t it? “Wars” referred to…
James was deeply concerned about splits in congregations. Desire for power and selfishness were driving wedges between groups of believers. He wrote of the difference between worldly and heavenly wisdom, shared the types of characteristics believers needed to pursue and practice, and then told his readers those acts would cultivate…
What a contrast we see here from the world’s wisdom of envy and self-ambition. Look at these characteristics… — Pure: rejecting anything that compromises the goodness of God — Peace-loving: committed to unity with fellow believers — Gentle: a willingness to meet others’ needs — Compliant: willing to defer to…
HYMN DAY! What a powerful message in this simple hymn by B.B. McKinney. “Let Others See Jesus In You” is written in such a way even a child can understand its meaning. And oh! how I pray that when I reach heaven’s gates, I will discover someone else is there…
Envy can rot the heart. Envy gives rise to selfish ambition, a desire to win at all costs even if someone else is hurt along the way. The focus is totally on self-gratification, self-recognition, self self self. The world certainly screams the message that “self” is most important. But James…
