New Living Translation
http://www.newlivingtranslation.com
(I used bold on the verses)
1 This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing to the "twelve tribes"—Jewish believers scattered abroad.
Greetings!
Faith and Endurance
2 Dear brothers and sisters,* when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
9 Believers who are* poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, "God is tempting me." God is never tempted to do wrong,* and he never tempts anyone else.14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
16 So don't be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.* He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.*18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.*
Listening and Doing
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.20 Human anger* does not produce the righteousness* God desires.21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
22 But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.23 For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
26 If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Footnotes: | |
| 1:2 Greek brothers; also in 1:16, 19. | |
| 1:9 Greek The brother who is. | |
| 1:13 Or God should not be put to a test by evil people. | |
| 1:17a Greek from above, from the Father of lights. 1:17b Some manuscripts read He never changes, as a shifting shadow does. | |
| 1:18 Greek we became a kind of firstfruit of his creatures. | |
| 1:20a Greek A man's anger. 1:20b Or the justice. | |
There is nothing I can really add here. James does such a great job explaining, I'm just gonna tell what The Holy Spirit has placed on my heart:
James 1:2-8: Life is hard; don't let it get to you. (Haha, look who's talking)
Anyway, life can be so great in the midst of all the junk we get thrown at us. Take the time to talk to God, ask Him to show you all the beauty that has been hidden in all that junk. And even though it feels like God isn't there, HE IS. Our own doubt drives us away, whether intentional or unintentional. God is just as close when you experience the best times of your life as He is when you are in the BIGGEST funk in your life. Just remember these verses and James' words of encouragement and wisdom. That's why they are in the Bible. :)
James 1: 9-18: Don't get me wrong, these are great verses too, but the Holy Spirit wanted me to focus on the first and last part of the chapter.
James 1:19-27:
Verse 19: this is SO OPPOSITE of American Culture---we are BUSY, BUSY, BUSY. We are slow to listen, fast to speak and fast to get angry. What can you do in order to do what James advises? We need to take advice from other cultures around the world, who apply this better than we do.
Verses 20 and 21: James states this SO plainly, but yet it is so hard to accomplish. 1 recommendation: Take time to focus when you are getting angry. What caused you to be angry? When you start to feel angry, pray to God to take it away from you. If you really want it taken away, God will cast it away from you. And if you keep finding that you are angry and certain activities: stop the activity. If it's a person, talk to that person, take them aside, when you aren't angry and talk to them to help them understand what makes you angry: they probably don't even know they are making you angry.
Verses 22 through 26: Have you taken a good look at Christianity and churches lately. This is EXACTLY what's happening. You have Pastors/Ministers preaching to thin air. They don't even practice what they teach. No wonder non-Christians wonder what we are REALLY doing. We (Christians) are the biggest HYPOCRITES in the world. How can we expect to gain people for Jesus? How can we expect to do ANYTHING if we DON'T DO ANYTHING? If this message is convicting you, GREAT!!! (It's convicting me too!) What are you doing to do to remember to "practice what you preach" or practice what was preached to you? How are you going to remind yourself that you are the biggest hypocrite and that you need to pray to God to help you help others for His sake?
Father God, we pray that you SHOW us what we are doing wrong or not doing at all. Father we ask you that you REMIND that You WANT us to do things for you. Father, we ask that you FORGIVE us for not doing what you have commanded of us through our pastors and others You have used to try to get our attention. Father, we ask that You be with us every step of the way. We will fall, please forgive us for that and help us to do what You want us to do. In Jesus' name. Amen!!
Verse 27: Do you know who is doing this the best? The Mormons!! "And they aren't even My Children!!" (Holy Spirit direct quote....question it all you want. I'm just the messenger here.)
Now go and DO SOMETHING for Christ!!
No comments:
Post a Comment