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Daily Bible Reading (Wednesday, November 1st)

4

James 1 (ESV)

 

Greeting

James, a servant[a] of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Testing of Your Faith

Count it all joy, my brothers,[b] when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass[c] he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[d] 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Footnotes:

  1. James 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
  2. James 1:2 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 1619
  3. James 1:10 Or a wild flower
  4. James 1:17 Some manuscripts variation due to a shadow of turning

4 Comments

I was reminded in vs. 13-15 that my sin comes from my own heart. While it is easy to convince ourselves to pass the blame, or excuse our sin as due to our circumstances or upbringing or personal characteristics (all of which ultimately lay the blame on God, our Sovereign Creator), this passage makes it clear that the problem is me indulging my own sinful desires. I am responsible. But thankfully we have a Savior who forgives and cleanses when we turn to Him in repentance and faith.

Verses 19 and 20 are often used in counseling people in relationships, especially husbands and wives. We are told that we need to listen more, speak less and be slow to anger. That is certainly true counsel and there would be many other Scriptures to support that teaching. However, it seems that these verses are not referring to relationships with other people but our relationship with God and, in particular, His Word. Verse 21 starts of wth 'therefore' and goes on to tell us to put aside sinfulness and in meekness receive God's Word. Is it possible that I, especially in times of trials, can not really listen to God and be too quick to voice my ideas about what is going on and actually get angry about what is happening to me> Oh yes! My relationship with God is most important and it is good for me to be quick to hear what He says while being slow to speak and slow to anger.

Verses 2-4 and verses 12-15 have settled with me quite well. I realize it remains amongst this sanctifying process that tests may emerge for the glory and pleasure of our Lord Jesus Christ. But I myself also have realized that with my words I can feed into the test so I need to be careful when being tested because the allurement of the temptation can get the betterment of my desire (lust) when I am not being obedient and remaining steadfast in the gospel which initially brings about the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5). Also taking to heart Galatians 5:17...so thankful for the Holy Spirit’s interceding and helping me through this spiritual maturity process as well as men’s group within the church...

James letter is jam packed with challenging applications. One that stood out to me today is for me to be quick to hear and slow to speak and slow to anger. I need to listen to others more intently and be more measured in my words.

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