November 20, 2025
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:10 ESV). James instructed believers to humble themselves before the Lord with the assurance that God would lift them up. Humility was not merely an attitude but an intentional posture of submission to God. The corollary was seen in the broader context, for James
November 19, 2025
“But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8 ESV). James used very strong language to describe the destructive potential of the human tongue. He compared it to a small rudder that steered a great ship and a spark that set a forest ablaze. He
November 18, 2025
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror” (James 1:23 ESV). James compared a person who heard God’s Word without obeying it to one who looked carefully at his natural face in a mirror and
November 17, 2025
“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:18 ESV). James wrote to scattered Jewish believers who were enduring trials, temptations, and the danger of being “led away” by sin’s deadly deception. In the immediate context, he had
November 20, 2024
“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4 ESV). Who did James accuse of adultery? Wasn’t it those who claimed to be Christians and therefore members of the Bride
November 19, 2024
“You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. … For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” (James 2:24, 26 ESV). At first glance, this statement about faith from James seems to contradict Paul’s letters to the Romans and
November 21, 2023
“You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.” (James 5:8 NLT). As the farmer patiently waits for the rain and the harvest, so James called believers to be patient and courageous until the Lord’s return. For the Lord’s coming is near. How near? No one knows, except the
November 20, 2023
“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (James 4:17 NLT). There are sins of commission and sins of omission. The first is to commit a sin by breaking a law, and the second is to omit to do the good thing that was within your power
November 18, 2023
“My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?” (James 2:1 NLT). The apostle James wrote that believers should not show partiality to some over others. He especially had in mind those who were favoring the rich over the
November 17, 2023
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (James 1:5 NLT). It seems self-evident that the one who lacks wisdom would ask the all-knowing God for help. Yet, asking God is often the last choice, rather than the first. Prayer is