From James 4:1-12

James writes about some of the things leading his readers into sin, highlighting especially the things of the world that they are prioritizing higher than God’s command to treat one another well.  Now there is some clarification necessary here.  When James talks about the world, he isn’t talking about everything that is a physical part of creation.  He is using the world as representative of material things that draw people away from God. Things we are envious of, things we covet, things we want that we shouldn’t – these are things that we chase after.  As they become more important in our lives, keeping to God’s command to love our neighbor seems to become less important.  This results in quarrels and fights.  If God remains the most important thing in our lives, His command to love our neighbor overcomes anything that would have us treat them as less.

A related topic that James takes up here is in v. 11 when he tells us to “not speak evil against one another.” This echoes a deeper understanding of the eighth commandment.  We are called to put the best possible construction on the things our neighbors say and do, assuming the best we can of them and speaking accordingly.  Or in other words – if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God graciously sets our priorities for us.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to act and speak with kindness towards others.

Topics to Pray About                                                               

• Thank God for the gift of His Law.
• Confess to God the times where you don’t treat your neighbors as well as you should.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to conform you to Christ.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

From James 3:1-12

I once took a class on adolescent psychology that had a research component.  The brief study I did was on the moral development that happens during puberty.  Each participant was given a scenario where the owner of a drug store was selling a life saving drug for a hundred thousand dollars, even though it only cost him a few dollars to get.  The husband of a dying woman can’t afford the medicine, so he steals it.  The question is then “was stealing the medicine wrong?” Interestingly, younger kids said yes but the older teenagers said no.  When asked why, the younger kids said that stealing was wrong and the older teenagers said that stealing was wrong, but what the drug store owner was doing was wrong, so the theft was justified.

As we get older, we get better and better at justifying things that are wrong and sometimes we call that wisdom. We are called to be holy and perfect, and just because we won’t succeed doesn’t mean that we should content ourselves with doing wrong.  We should rely on the Word of God and use all the gifts He gives us to try and do the right thing – whether we can justify the wrong thing or not.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God graciously gives us pure wisdom from above.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to resist the temptation to justify doing the wrong thing.

Topics to Pray About                                                               

• Thank God for the gift of His Word.
• Confess to God the times where you do things you shouldn’t because you can justify it.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to conform you to Christ.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

From James 3:1-12

It is much easier to say something than it is to do something.  For an extreme example, I can say that I will run a marathon and all it takes is a few seconds.  Actually running a marathon on the other hand takes several hours by itself, not to mention months of regular training and careful diet.  In these verses from James, we see a similar acknowledgement when it comes to sin.  It is easier to curb sinful behavior than it is to tame the tongue and avoid saying the wrong things, simply because things are easier said than done.  And the tongue can do serious damage to relationships, just like sinful actions can.  James suggests that what comes out of our mouths is a reflection of what is in our hearts, saying that a salt pond cannot yield fresh water.  If our hearts are in the right place, destructive words won’t come out of our mouths.

There are some cultures in the world where in a conversation there will regularly be long pauses (5-7 seconds – and if you don’t think that’s really long, try waiting 7 seconds before responding the next time someone asks you a question) between one person speaking and the next person speaking. That kind of conversational pace allows you to (1) make sure the other person is really done speaking and (2) really think about the words that you are going to say and make sure they align with how God would have us talk to each other.  That isn’t the conversational pace in America though, we might be lucky to have one full second in between speakers.  That doesn’t exactly give you time to think through your words, so what comes out is almost always just an automatic reaction.  So if we want to tame our tongues, we have to make sure our automatic reactions, our instincts, are in line with what God calls them to be.  And we get them there through repeated and consistent exposure to God’s Word and God’s people.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God graciously used His Word to bless us.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to form our character so that our words reflect our faith.

Topics to Pray About                                                               

• Thank Jesus for His words of promise while He was here on earth.
• Confess to God the times where your words aren’t what they should be.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to conform you to Christ.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

From James 2:14-26

There is only one requirement for eternal salvation, belief in Jesus Christ the Son of God, in His death, and in His resurrection. We do nothing to earn our salvation, we don’t have to be good enough, we don’t have to do enough good deeds, there isn’t some moral quota we have to fill – we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

That isn’t to say that our actions don’t look different as a result.

It’s critically important that we don’t fall into the trap of thinking we have to be good enough to earn our salvation, but James also reminds us that our genuine faith will play out in the real world.  If we believe in God the Father almighty, we believe that He loves us so deeply that He sent Jesus to die for us, and we believe that His Word is true and good – the natural response is obedience.  The examples that James uses are example of people who had faith and who’s faith was evidenced by their actions.  For some more mundane examples we can think about it this way.

If you genuinely believe that something is going to explode, then you’re going to make sure you’re clear of the blast zone.

If you genuinely believe that Josh Allen is the best quarterback in the NFL, then you’re going to draft him early for your fantasy team.

If you genuinely believe that a certain food is good for you, then you’re going to eat it.  If you genuinely believe that a certain food is bad for you, then you’re going to avoid it.

If you genuinely believe that Jesus is Lord, then you’re going to be obedient to His Word.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God graciously forgives us based on grace and faith alone.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to live out our faith through our thoughts, words, and actions.

Topics to Pray About                                                               

• Thank Jesus for His unconditional love for us.
• Confess to God the times where you don’t let your faith impact your daily life.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to conform you to Christ.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

From James 2:1-13

The way the world operates consistently asks “what do I get out of it?” There’s always a consideration for how something could benefit us in the future.  If we do something for someone else, very frequently the thought (whether that’s spoken out loud or not) is what they can do for us somewhere down the line.  If we do a job on a volunteer basis, the thought is how that experience or demonstration can give us a leg up in the future.  And if that is such a consistent line of reasoning for us, it shouldn’t really surprise us when there’s a temptation to treat people better if they’re able to respond generously in kind.

James recognized this temptation and made it very clear that it’s inappropriate for that kind of partiality in the church. We should not favor people who are more affluent, we should not favor people who are wealthier – we are called to treat everyone according to the love that Jesus has for them, the love that drove Him to the cross for them. That doesn’t depend on how much influence they have, that doesn’t depend on how much money they have, that doesn’t depend on where they live or who they are friends with.  And if Jesus loves them regardless of all that, so should we.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God graciously loves us, regardless of our life circumstances.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to reflect Christ’s love to all the people around us.

Topics to Pray About                                                               

• Thank Jesus for His unconditional love for us.
• Confess to God the times where you show partiality.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to conform you to Christ.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious