Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
Today we are going to change gears for a while and talk about a topic that affects everyone’s life at some point or another: Anger.
People tend to think anger is a bad thing but actually, anger itself is nothing more than an indicator like a gauge on the dashboard of your car. The problems that we have with anger are manifested in how people react to it.
So what causes anger?
Continue reading “Anger’s Cause — Jonah 4:4”
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
How do you tell if the light is on or off when the refrigerator door is shut? Answer: You can’t. It is not possible to prove a negative.
How do you prove that there is no green cheese on the moon? Answer? You can’t. Until you look under every single rock on the moon, you cannot prove that there is no cheese there.
Continue reading “James 2: 20-22 – Proving a Negative”
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Where do we start here? What is faith? Is faith alive? How can faith be dead? What is James talking about here?
James uses a word that gets everyone’s attention. “Dead” is a word that everyone understands. Dead is dead. From a worldly point of view, a dead body isn’t going anywhere under its own power. Dead means there is no life in it. Dead means that it is, like Beethoven, decomposing.
As a metaphor for faith, “dead” brings to mind something without life or motion. A dead person or animal ceases to have any worth.
Continue reading “James 2: 17 – Checkup Time”
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
In today’s world, we have a homeless crisis. Hopefully, if someone in the future reads this post, they will be surprised by this idea. In the future God has planned for us, homelessness is not a thing. Sadly, today it is a thing. A big thing.
When people come to Christ, we come from all walks of life. Sometimes we come with no worldly possessions. Other times we come with much more than we could ever use. Sometimes, like Job, Christians with possessions and money lose it all. Sometimes events overtake us and we are in need. Great need.
If a brother or sister in Christ is without clothes or food, what do you do?
Continue reading “The Question – James 2: 15-16”
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
The human mind contains an incredible array of built-in abilities. One of those abilities is being able to recognize faces.
Faces are especially interesting. A person’s eyes are incredibly unique and able to convey hundreds (maybe thousands!) of expressions. The rest of our face frames the eyes and adds more information to our expressions.
Continue reading “Mirror Mirror – James 1: 23-24”
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
Today we jump back into James, chapter 1. James has been instructing us about trials and testing. He then mentions the importance of believing in God if we want to receive anything from Him. Almost instantly he starts putting the “rich” in their place, and then he explains the difference between being tempted by our own desire and being tested by God. At this point, he takes a breath and says, “Don’t be deceived…”
Continue reading “Blindness – James 1: 16”
…but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Inside each of us is a monster. In this passage, James gives the monster a name. He calls it, Desire. This particular monster has a twin, whose name is Desire, too. This other desire is good. The Good Desire longs to be with Jesus and do his will. The Bad Desire… Well, Bad Desire is one that leads us away from God’s will.
The monster named Desire is hard to recognize because it is so adept at changing size and shape. Look around inside your head and your heart. Are you burning with desire? Is there something you want more than anything else? Is it a good desire or a bad desire? When we are content, Desire shrinks down into the shadows. Desire hides, but it never leaves.
Continue reading “A Monster Named Desire – James 1: 14-15”
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone…
Let us be clear on this point: Tempting and testing are two different things.
Testing is a processed used to measure or strengthen. (e.g. – I took a test to see if I qualified for a job I wanted. See James 1: 12)
Tempting is an attempt to entice a person to do what they know is wrong. (e.g. – A coworker tried to tell me it is okay to steal supplies from work.)
God is okay with testing people. Testing has a wide range of uses in the Bible. God is not okay with people doing what they know is wrong.
James is clear on this point and we need to be, too.
Continue reading “Tempting or Testing? – James 1: 13”
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Why do we receive the crown of life? Is it something that we earn? Is it something that we can earn?
James’ letter stands out as unique in the New Testament. James presents a “no-nonsense” approach to believing in Jesus. But remember, James himself is unique.
No other New Testament writer grew up with Jesus in the same family. No other writer knew Jesus as a child. No other writer gave Jesus such a hard time when he was alive – before his resurrection. James carries a special perspective on Jesus and a special kind of guilt for his past behavior.
Continue reading “Trials – James 1: 12”
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
James has just written that God is generous in giving to those who ask for wisdom. He makes the point that God is not looking to find fault. God simply wants everyone to have wisdom.
But then James adds this little caveat: “.. you must believe and not doubt…” He compares someone who doubts to a wave on the sea, tossed around by the wind first one way and then another. So what is he talking about?
Continue reading “Opposites – James 1: 6”