Tag Archives: the book of James

March 27
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“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”  (James 1:5, NIV)
Decisions.  Decisions.  Decisions.
Having wisdom makes the burden of making the decisions in our lives much lighter.  The source of wisdom is God, “who gives generously to all.”
The humorist Will Rogers said, “Learn from the mistakes of others; you won’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”  So true.
God’s wisdom is not derived from the collected errors of humanity, but from a perspective that sees all things perfectly.  Invite the wisdom of our heavenly Father into your decisions today.  – Luther
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December 7
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“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'”  (James 4:13-15, NIV)

The late French President Charles De Gaulle is famously quoted as saying: “The cemeteries are full of indispensable men.”

To guard against “overplaying” our hand in this life requires humility, which may be defined as saying, “God, you are God — and I am not.”

The continuous acknowledgement of God’s supremacy as we move from assignment to assignment, and task to task, takes nothing from us.  On the contrary, it gives each moment a will and a purpose that reflects the presence of the Almighty.  – Luther

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December 6
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“So then, if we do not do the good we know we should do, we are guilty of sin.”  (James 4:17, Good News Translation)

You will not find a more simple, direct, or pure definition of sin than what is written in today’s scripture verse.

This definition does not cover all sin, but it does address what we refer to as “sins of omission”: Knowing but not doing.  Following this principle, it might also be said that we sin when we have but do not share what we have with others.

James’ letter is, I think, the most practical book in the New Testament.  It addresses the common issues of our life as disciples of Jesus, and is well worth the 15 minutes or so it would take a slow reader (like myself) to cover its five, short, chapters.

James reminds us that we need not sin.  – Luther

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