Category: James
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Glorious Friendship
James 2:23 “Abraham believed God . . . and he was called a friend of God.” Abraham was called a friend of God. It’s hard to determine which is the more magnificent aspect of this statement: the condescension of God or the elevation of Abraham. Think for a moment about your best friend. Why is that…
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Do You Believe What God Has Said?
James 2:23 “Abraham believed God” The Bible tells us that Abraham believed God. Of course, like many people, Abraham believed there WAS a God. He also, again like many people, believed certain things ABOUT God. But what set Abraham apart from the crowd, even the so-called “believing” crowd, was that he actually believed what God…
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Wisdom from Above
James 3:17 “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” When someone approaches you with a concern or complaint, especially if that concern or complaint is about you or something you have said or done, what’s your reaction? Are you…
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The Law of Liberty
James 2:12 “the law of liberty” Do you know what a paradox is? One dictionary defines a paradox as “a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.” The Bible is full of such things. For example, in Matthew 5:6 Jesus tells us…
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A Living Faith
James 2:14-16 “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for…
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Freedom of Choice
James 2:12-13 “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” I’ve heard some form of the following question many times over the course of my life: “Why would a loving God send anyone…
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The Royal Law
James 2:8-9 “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” Do you love your neighbors? ALL of them? And so, we might ask, as…
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The “Prosperity Gospel”
James 2:5 “Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” One of the verses that should sound a death knell to the “prosperity gospel” is the one above from…
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Active Listening
James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Have you ever heard the term “active listening?” If you do an internet search, you’ll see much about it. One website described it this way, “Active listening is a helpful skill for any worker to develop. It helps you truly understand what…
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Swift to Hear
James 1:19-21 “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” One…
To Encourage You 