“James: Chapter 1”
Of all of the people we get to study in the Bible James would be one of the most unique ones. He is the half brother of Jesus and writing the first book of the New Testament as a letter to the Church who is scattered all over about how to live out faith & facing various trials and persecution throughout all of Rome! James writes a blueprint for living out our faith as Christians! What can we learn from James 1 about living out our faith?
- JOY IN ALL THINGS (V.1-18)
- James writes first as a servant of Christ (not His half brother) which shows his humility from the beginning! He speaks of the maturity of the faith in a Christ follower shows in how they respond to adversity…not that we have to fake like everything is okay during the trial but instead that we have faith that God is working this to our good because we know that the Victory is already won in Christ Jesus! Our trials are not to be compared with others but instead to we are to look to God Who does not allow us to go through anything that He can’t redeem, heal and bring to fullness in Him beyond what we could ever ask for imagine. James is showing us that we grow through what we go through!
- CONVICTION ON ANOTHER LEVEL (v.19-27)
- This almost seems like a commentary on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). James is showing us that our words have the power to build up or destroy. In our social media world it is easy to make statements without thinking about the impact it has on others…yet that seems to be the first place we go with our words. And just like our words have impact on others, the Word of God has an impact on us when we hear it. In our world we think that Christianity is about saying a prayer, attending Church, and reading the Word…but we are compelled to act when we hear Truth! We are compelled to act as God calls (even if that acting is Him telling us to stay still we in obedience act by staying still)…being a light a dark world!
Take Away:
What is your default response to trials and trying times? How can you change your perspective and respond with joy?
In which area(s) of your life do you need to embrace the Word and align yourself with it?
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Tyler West 