The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
James 1-5
Act 3: God’s New Covenant People
Scene 4: Christ’s Church: God’s People Advance the Kingdom
Background Information: James 1-5
James, the half-brother of Jesus, didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah until after his resurrection. It would be difficult, to say the least, to believe that the one you grew up with was the maker of heaven and earth. After he witnessed the resurrected Christ, he became both a follower of the Lord and a leader in the early church. He wrote the book that bears his name just a decade or so after his brother and Lord rose from the dead. Martin Luther called James an “epistle of straw” because he believed it focused too much on works and not on grace. This shows that really smart men can say really dumb things. Far from teaching salvation by works, James teaches that salvation “works.” He never teaches that we are saved by our actions, but he teaches that salvation will show up in our actions. James doesn’t take issue with faith; he takes issue with “such a faith” that doesn’t lead to actions. Jesus taught many times and in many ways that true faith in him will change how you live your life. Paul wrote that we are saved by grace through faith, and not by works so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8). James is not contradicting Paul when he wrote that we are justified by works and not faith alone. (James 2:24). If we had a book called “Paul and James” that included a conversation between these two men, we would see that they were saying the same thing in different ways. Paul knew that mere human effort could not save because no one gave more effort than he did before his conversion. He knew that his own efforts could never have saved him, so he was laser focused on grace. James had also experienced this saving grace, and it had changed how he lived his life. So, for Paul the emphasis was faith’s foundation, and for James it was faith’s impact. You can fall off the wall in two directions. To fall off in one direction is to believe you can earn what is entirely a free gift. To fall off the wall in the other direction is to believe that this free gift of grace won’t lead to a life of faithful grit. James and Paul would agree on this: “you died to sin, how can you live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:2). James, in his down to earth, practical manner, tells us how to live in grace, not in the old, sinful way of life. His book is an epistle of gold.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 – “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” Ask God to use your life as a fragrant witness to the splendor of the gospel.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.