Category: James

To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

James is a Jew.

I just wanted to say that because as a Gentile, I sometimes forget that the Jews are still God’s chosen people. Both Matthew and Mark record the story* of the Gentile woman who wanted Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus responds by saying, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24b) Her response demonstrates that she, too, has faith in God and because of her faith her daughter is healed. Jesus’ response demonstrates that he loves all people.

Continue reading “Heritage – James 1:1b”

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…

I’ll begin this meditation by sharing how I see Scripture.

The first time I looked at the book as a child it seemed to me to be an insurmountable mountain. Such a big volume! So many words!! Later, while in high school, I took up with our local Young Life group and was challenged to read the whole Bible. (Just three chapters a day and you can read the whole thing in a year!)

In college, I majored in Religious Studies for a year at a secular university. At the time, I had no idea what I was getting into. The secular mind looks at every such book as an artifact of the past, a historical relic. The challenge for the secular mind is not to understand the Bible but to dissect and bisect the text into little pieces. Then, as though one had the omnipotence of God Himself, decide which bits should be believed and which should not.

Continue reading “Brothers – James 1:1”