“Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'” (ESV – Read the chapter)
How do you make plans? How attached to those plans are you? What James offers here is a reminder that all of our plans must be made contingent on what the Lord has planned. All of them. We can strive for whatever we want, but nothing will happen that He does not allow for some reason. The question then becomes: What does God have planned? Read the rest…
“For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to also bridle his whole body.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
There’s an old playground saying that’s used as a defense against being called a mean name. You’ve probably said it before: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” It’s a smart retort in the face of an ugly word, but it is entirely false. Read the rest…
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Do you read the Bible? You obviously do at least a little bit since you’re reading this. Reading the Bible is pretty enormously important, but not by itself, as James makes clear here and throughout his letter. If we do not also “do” the Bible, it has profited us exactly nothing. Read the rest…
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…” (ESV – Read the chapter)
This is a rather jarring beginning to a letter. Count it all joy when you experience trials. Really?!? ALL joy? How? Why? Read the rest…
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Temptation is everywhere we look. The Siren song of sin sings sweetly at every corner. Sometimes it feels like all we ever do is drift from one temptation to another. And yet, Paul’s observation here is true and powerful. I think there are several things we can say about our efforts with the Spirit’s help to walk in the righteousness of the Lord based on what Paul says here. Read the rest…
The Nexus 