The Book of James is filled with practical wisdom for Christians, calling us to live out genuine faith through good works, but it is also rooted in rich theology. James is that “how-to” book on Christian living.
Perhaps more than any other book in the New Testament, James emphasises the application of Christian belief.
Today's reading is James from chapters 3-5
This Portion of Scripture deals with:
- Our Speech
- How we should relate to the World
- How we should Pray
Chapter 3- Life and Death are in the POWER of the TONGUE
Encourages us to seek God's wisdom in the way we speak. In our speech.
James mentions the terrible consequences of speaking words that do not edify, but destroy: “The tongue is a fire, a world of evil. Placed among the parts of our bodies, the tongue contaminates the whole body and sets on fire the course of life, and is itself set on fire by hell” (3:6 AMP)
James also describes the tongue as: “… a restless evil [undisciplined, unstable], full of deadly poison.” (3:8) How can it be that we profess our faith on Sunday–for example- by praising our Father and blessing our brethren and the rest of the week we lie, we boast, gossip, judge, etc. James says it is contradictory, and it shouldn’t be this way! We’ve been redeemed from the power of sin! A great price was paid for our Salvation! We should reflect in our speech and all our ways that we fear God and we respect His precepts (3:9-10)
Chapter 4- On Becoming friends with the WORLD
Today’s society encourages us to live for our individual glory. It tells us that it’s not wrong to pursue a life dedicated to pleasing the lust of the flesh. A mentality of, “if it feels good, do it” is not only encouraged, but celebrated. We are fed lies that say we are god in our lives and it is us who deserves worship. And if we don’t agree with the sinful and destructive ways of the world, we are regarded as bigots and close minded. We are laughed at, ridiculed, and in some parts of the world even tortured and killed. It’s not a good feeling to be constantly told that our beliefs are wrong. To be ostracized from those around us. Standing in faith can be hard, especially when faced with persecution, or when the people you love and care about turn away from you. The pain is real, and so it’s easy to see why many Christians fall into the trap of compromise and spiritual adultery. But as James tell us in verse 4, “Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
Chapter 5- The Power of Prayer
James ends yet with another reminder to BE Jesus, not just admire or adore Him. When we pray the “prayer of faith”, we are not referring to the sick person’s faith, but the person who is praying. God heals, faith doesn’t, and all prayers are subject to God’s will. But our prayers are part of God’s healing process. That is why God often waits for our prayers of faith before intervening to heal a person.
Have a lovely weekend.
Angie