God Speaks
Faith Should Be Demonstrated By Actions, For Example By How One Controls Their Tongue
Verse of the Day: Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. (James 3:13-14 NIV 2011)
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We Respond
James 1
Reflection: The book of James is a great study contrasting the responses of two types of people to the testings, trials, and tribulations of life: people controlled by the culture, their own sinful nature, and Satanic forces versus people controlled by their “new self” in Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the word of God. The first contrast is found in chapter one, verse one where James, a half-brother of Jesus and a leader of the early church in Jerusalem, humbly introduces himself as a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. Next, he tells his readers to “count it all joy” (KJV) when they are confronted with various trials and temptations. This is in stark contrast to people’s natural reaction to moan, complain, or angrily blame someone else. God’s purpose for these difficult situations is to cause us to grow in trustful endurance so that our faith in God is fully developed, perfect and complete, needing nothing else. The wisdom we need to face life is available to us if we just ask God our Father. He won’t shame or chide us like the culture does. Instead of boasting in ourselves and our accomplishments, we should boast only in what Jesus has done for us, is doing in us, and will do through us to benefit other people and God’s kingdom. If we don’t give in to the temptations that come from the culture, satanic influences, or our own sinful natures (never from God), but stand firm in Christ, God, our loving Father, will give us good and perfect gifts and make us His prized possession. He will train us to be like Himself, “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” (James 1:19 NLT) The culture says, “It’s okay to go to church or read the Bible, just don’t practice it in public or on the internet,” but true religion according to James (and the rest of scripture) is to actually take care of orphans, widows, and those truly in distress and to refuse to be corrupted by the world.
Use this link to view a video summary of the book of James.
Prayer: Thank You, LORD, our great teacher, who tests our faith in many ways. This testing is to prove to us that our faith is genuine, reliable, and complete. It can bring us immense joy when we fully understand this. If we don’t understand, we can come to You and ask for Your perspective. You promise to explain without belittling us; however, we must trust You completely and not waffle back and forth. You promise that whoever stays steady and keeps on loving You during the test will receive a special reward, the crown of life. Although You test us, You never tempt us to sin. We do that ourselves when we pay more attention to our own human desires than to Your Spirit within us. That wrong attention leads to sin which leads to death (in some form or fashion). You are the ultimate source of every generous act and perfect gift, even our turning to You to receive the new birth. In our relationships with other people, You want us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger doesn’t accomplish Your righteousness. You’ve told us that our lives can be cleaned up by paying attention to Your words and really doing what You say. This includes looking after orphans, widows, and people truly in distress and by staying pure in thought, word, and deed. All for Your glory, LORD. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask the LORD to show me the joy He wants me to find in the midst of or as a result of my current difficult situation and thank Him for it.
- I will trust God to give me the wisdom I need to face the problems of life.
- I will practice being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry especially as I relate to the people I encounter every day.
- I will try to demonstrate true religion by doing as God directs me to help orphans, widows, and people truly in distress.
James 2
Reflection: James chapter 2 can be summed up by saying, “You say you have faith, so prove it by the good works that you do for others.” This letter of James doesn’t leave the reader wondering what he meant but gives practical examples, including two from the Hebrew scriptures: James 2:2-4 points out how we should or shouldn’t treat the rich and the poor at our meetings. James 2:5-11 explains why. James 2:14-16 examines another practical example, specifically helping someone in need, not just brushing them off. James 2:17-20 develops the premise that faith without works is useless. James 2:21-26 gives the scriptural examples of Abraham and Rahab. James 2:26 concludes by saying, “Just as the body is dead without breath [or spirit], so also faith is dead without works.” (NLT)
Prayer: Thank You, our God and Father, that although You choose to show favor to Your children, You do not “play favorites.” You tell us not to do so either. We are not to “play up” to the rich or put down the poor. We are not to prejudge or show partiality. What really matters to You is for us to be rich in faith and to love You and other people self-sacrificially. Help us to live out the statement “Mercy triumphs over judgment!” Help me to demonstrate my faith in You by how I act, especially toward other people, not by favoritism but by honest, self-giving love. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask God the Holy Spirit to monitor my life and keep me from showing favoritism.
- I will perform a random act of kindness toward someone regardless of their economic or social status.
- I will go out of my way personally to help someone of a different race, ethnicity, or social or economic status than myself.
- I will ask God to bless someone of a different race, ethnicity, political, social, or economic status than myself and then seek to build an honest, mutually supportive friendship with them.
James 3
Reflection: James continues expressing his concern for the church in general, particularly Jewish believers in Christ, because he knows that culture best and pastors the church in Jerusalem. First, he addresses those who would be teachers and then the need for control of the tongue. He uses various real-life examples to illustrate how powerful this small member of our body really is: the bit in a horse’s mouth; the small rudder on a large ship; and the tiny spark that ignites a raging forest fire. Many types of animals can be trained, but the tongue is much more difficult to tame. The human tongue inexplicably seems to spew out both good and evil. The same tongue can be used for both blessing and cursing. James seems to wonder, “How can this be? How can both fresh and salty water exist in the same pool?” Verses 13-18 are a very compelling statement regarding wisdom, where it comes from and what it looks like.
Prayer: Dear Father God, You hold those who speak (as they lead and/or teach Your people) to a higher standard. James gives us many examples of how destructive the tongue can be, despite its small size. You are the One who created my tongue. Please help me to control it. Fill me with Your wisdom and understanding. In these days of rapid, wide-spread communication through the internet, social media, smart phones, and live streaming, it is more important than ever that we have Your wisdom, help, and direction. Help me to recognize faulty human and/or demonic speaking (or writing) based on thinking that is selfish, jealous, boastful, envious, power-seeking, deceptive, or outright false. Instead, may I convey words and thoughts that are from You (pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere). May I be an ambassador for Your kingdom who sows peace and reaps righteousness. For Your glory, not my own. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask the Holy Spirit to monitor my mouth and help me to speak only words of wisdom that come from God (not just my own human ideas).
- I will memorize James 3:17-18 and use this passage on wisdom to guide my speech, writing, and teaching.
- I will willingly and faithfully teach my own or other children or adults as God directs.
- I will be impartial and sincere, especially if I am called on to make some kind of judgment (ex. jury duty or a family dispute).
James 4
Reflection: This chapter presents the three enemies of the believer in Christ and how to deal with them. These enemies are the flesh (one’s personal human nature), the world (the system of thinking and/or feeling that opposes God), and the devil (Satan and all his forces and schemes). The first enemy James addresses is the flesh. His example of a problem in this area is quarrels and fights, especially among believers. James says that the problem begins in our own hearts when we don’t get what we want or our own way. This leads to temper tantrums or to coveting (inordinately desiring what belongs to someone else) to the point of scheming, harming, or killing them to get it. We don’t have what we want because we don’t ask God or trust Him to provide what is best for us. Even when we do ask, we do so with wrong motives. We only want, whatever it is, to please ourselves, not God or others. The second enemy James mentions is the world. James indicates that following any attitude, action, or ideology that opposes God is considered adultery in His eyes, thus an enemy of God. Once God has graciously placed His Holy Spirit within us (because of our faith in Jesus and what He has done for us) we should be faithful to Him. If not, God will oppose us. If we humble ourselves before Him, God will give us grace. This is how we deal with the third enemy–the devil. We draw close to God, deeply sorry for the way we have offended Him by our sin. If we humble ourselves before God, He will restore us to our place of honor. We are not responsible for or have any right to judge other believers. God knows everything about them and has the power and the right to save or destroy them. We don’t know the future (only God does), so we can’t boast about our plans. We need to trustingly ask God what He wants, then obediently do whatever He says. To do otherwise is sin.
Prayer: You, O LORD, are the only one who has the correct perspective and the right to diagnose the cause of the social turmoil of my life and culture, especially among Your people. You say that the source of our problem is our inner passions, our evil desires. We are coveting what others have, even to the point of murdering them or their reputation. When I pray, I may (knowingly or not) be asking with wrong motives. Sometimes I’m just trying to fit in with the “cool people,” to be a friend of the world, yet this chapter says that to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God. You, however, have put Your Spirit within me to give me grace. If I humble myself and submit to You, You promise that I will be able to resist the devil, and he will flee from me. I am determined to draw near to You so that You will draw near to me. I wash my hands in the soul-cleansing blood of Jesus. I purify my heart and mind with the clean water of the Word of God. I am truly sorry for my sins. Don’t let me judge anyone else. You are the only one who knows all the facts and implications. Only You, Lord God, are able to judge correctly and save or destroy with proper judgment. Only You know the future and the right thing to do. I so often sin by not carrying through on Your directions. The only thing I can do (in regard to that and any other sin) is to admit it and claim the grace and forgiveness made available to me by the suffering and death of Jesus on my behalf on the cross. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask God the Holy Spirit to show where these three enemies are attacking me and how to defeat them.
- I will humbly confess my sins before God and receive the forgiveness, cleansing, and restoration Jesus has provided.
- I will make a list of scriptural truths I can use in resisting Satan.
- I will praise God for His mercy and grace, daily.
James 5
Reflection: This chapter presents the three enemies of the believer in Christ and how to deal with them. These enemies are the flesh (one’s personal human nature), the world (the system of thinking and/or feeling that opposes God), and the devil (Satan and all his forces and schemes). The first enemy James addresses is the flesh. His example of a problem in this area is quarrels and fights, especially among believers. James says that the problem begins in our own hearts when we don’t get what we want or our own way. This leads to temper tantrums or to coveting (inordinately desiring what belongs to someone else) to the point of scheming, harming, or killing them to get it. We don’t have what we want because we don’t ask God or trust Him to provide what is best for us. Even when we do ask, we do so with wrong motives. We only want, whatever it is, to please ourselves, not God or others. The second enemy James mentions is the world. James indicates that following any attitude, action, or ideology that opposes God is considered adultery in His eyes, thus an enemy of God. Once God has graciously placed His Holy Spirit within us (because of our faith in Jesus and what He has done for us) we should be faithful to Him. If not, God will oppose us. If we humble ourselves before Him, God will give us grace. This is how we deal with the third enemy–the devil. We draw close to God, deeply sorry for the way we have offended Him by our sin. If we humble ourselves before God, He will restore us to our place of honor. We are not responsible for or have any right to judge other believers. God knows everything about them and has the power and the right to save or destroy them. We don’t know the future (only God does), so we can’t boast about our plans. We need to trustingly ask God what He wants, then obediently do whatever He says. To do otherwise is sin.
Prayer: You, O LORD, are the only one who has the correct perspective and the right to diagnose the cause of the social turmoil of my life and culture, especially among Your people. You say that the source of our problem is our inner passions, our evil desires. We are coveting what others have, even to the point of murdering them or their reputation. When I pray, I may (knowingly or not) be asking with wrong motives. Sometimes I’m just trying to fit in with the “cool people,” to be a friend of the world, yet this chapter says that to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God. You, however, have put Your Spirit within me to give me grace. If I humble myself and submit to You, You promise that I will be able to resist the devil, and he will flee from me. I am determined to draw near to You so that You will draw near to me. I wash my hands in the soul-cleansing blood of Jesus. I purify my heart and mind with the clean water of the Word of God. I am truly sorry for my sins. Don’t let me judge anyone else. You are the only one who knows all the facts and implications. Only You, Lord God, are able to judge correctly and save or destroy with proper judgment. Only You know the future and the right thing to do. I so often sin by not carrying through on Your directions. The only thing I can do (in regard to that and any other sin) is to admit it and claim the grace and forgiveness made available to me by the suffering and death of Jesus on my behalf on the cross. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask God the Holy Spirit to show where these three enemies are attacking me and how to defeat them.
- I will humbly confess my sins before God and receive the forgiveness, cleansing, and restoration Jesus has provided.
- I will make a list of scriptural truths I can use in resisting Satan.
- I will praise God for His mercy and grace, daily.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.