The views of Luther and Calvin regarding the relationship between Paul and James - this is not merely a matter of historical curiosity. Rather, it points towards a way of overcoming the evangelism - social concern polarization. Both Luther and Calvin were committed to the principles of “grace alone”, “faith alone”, “Christ alone” and “Scripture …
Continue reading Berkouwer on “‘Luther and Calvin’ on ‘Paul and James’”
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4). We read the words, "Consider it pure joy... whenever you face trials of many kinds", and …
Ezekiel 38:1-39:29; James 4:1-17; Proverbs 28:7-17 God’s Word speaks of His judgment upon sin (Ezekiel 39:23-24). It also speaks of His great salvation from sin (Ezekiel 39:25-29). “Scripture says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble'” (James 4:6). God’s Word speaks of the choice placed before man – obedience or disobedience, blessing or …
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into …
Journey through the New Testament: James God’s ‘Word’ is ‘planted in us’ so that we may become ‘doers of the Word, and not hearers only’ (1:21-22). The Gospel turns the world’s values upside down - the ‘poor in the world’ are ‘rich in faith’ (2:5). We are not to be controlled by the world’s way …
Continue reading The Gospel turns the world’s values upside down.
The gospel is to be believed - and it is to be lived. We are to hear the word of God - and we are to do the word of God. This is the message of the letter of James. We are to be practical Christians, men and women who live for Christ in our …
Continue reading We’re Heirs Of God’s Kingdom. Let’s Walk The Walk – Not Just Talk The Talk!
My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins (James 5:19-20). We are not to keep our faith to ourselves. …
Continue reading Responding to God’s Word (53): Lord, I’m coming home.
This letter has a very practical message. It is concerned with living the Christian life, living in a way that pleases God, living with a consistency between what we say and what we do. James emphasizes the need for wisdom. He emphasizes that we are to seek wisdom from God (chapter 1). True wisdom is …
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). In our journey through …
Continue reading God’s Word still speaks to us (20): Strengthened by the Lord
Ezekiel 32:1-33:20; James 1:1-27; Psalm 127:1-5 God’s Word must be spoken as a Word which calls for a response. The prophet is to “warn the wicked man to turn from his ways” (Ezekiel 33:9). He is to declare that “the Sovereign Lord … takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that …
Ezekiel 33:21-35:15; James 2:1-26; Psalm 128:1-6 The Word of God speaks clearly about sin and judgment - “See, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep” (Ezekiel 34:20), “judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful” (James 2:13). God’s Word also gives to us great promises. …
Continue reading God wants to bless us. How much do we want to be blessed by Him?
Ezekiel 40:1-49; James 5:1-20; Psalm 130:1-8 The prophecy spoken by Ezekiel has its ultimate Source in God Himself - “the hand of the Lord was upon me” (Ezekiel 40:1). He goes on to describe “visions of God” (Ezekiel 40:2). To speak the Word of God faithfully requires patience. There is not always evidence of great …
Continue reading Preach God’s Word – and pray that men and women will be brought back to the Lord.
Ezekiel 36:1-37:28; James 3:1-18; Psalm 129:1-8 The Breath of God (the Spirit of God) brings life (Ezekiel 37:9). When “the tongue ... is ... set on fire by hell” (James 3:6), the words which it breathes out will be “full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). How important it is that we keep on praying, “Breathe on …
"My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins" (James 5:19-20). It is a great thing to rejoice in God's salvation. We give …
Ezekiel 38:1-39:29; James 4:1-17; Proverbs 28:7-17 God’s Word speaks of His judgment upon sin (Ezekiel 39:23-24). It also speaks of His great salvation from sin (Ezekiel 39:25-29). “Scripture says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (James 4:6). God’s Word speaks of the choice placed before man - obedience or disobedience, blessing or …
Continue reading Less pride, more humility – and more of the grace of God
"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him" (James 1:12). The crown of life: How wonderful this is! There will come a time when all our trials will be behind us. All …
“You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:2) - This is a call to prayer. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:3) - This is a call to seek God's glory.
"“We both had dreams,” they (the butler and the baker) answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”" (Genesis 40:8). The interpretation of their dreams didn't come from Joseph. It was given to Joseph by God. There's an important …
James 5:19-20 The Problem - "if one of you should wander from the truth" The Returning - "if ... someone should bring him back" The Blessing - "Whoever turns a sinner away from his error will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." Does God have a message of hope for …
"There is a time for everything ... " (Ecclesiastes 3:1). In life, we have happy times - and we have hard times. In our happy times, we feel like we are being blessed by the Lord. We say, "Thank you, Lord, for our happy times." What happens to us when the hard times come? Do …
Ezekiel 32:1-33:20; James 1:1-27; Psalm 127:1-5 God’s Word must be spoken as a Word which calls for response. The prophet is to “warn the wicked man to turn from his ways” (Ezekiel 33:9). He is to declare that “the Sovereign Lord … takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from …
We look at Jesus' birth. We look at His baptism. We see the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes upon Mary, and Jesus is conceived. The Holy Spirit comes upon Jesus, and His public ministry is set in motion. After Jesus' birth, Satan tries to destroy the work of God. Herod tries to do away …
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created" (James 1:17-18). God's Word encourages us to have …
Do we have faith? – Let us commit ourselves to a life of holiness. What blessings are given to those who draw near to God - ‘Your God... will come and save you’ (Isaiah 35:4). The Good News of Christ comes to us as a call to faith - ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and …
What blessings are given to those who draw near to God! What blessings are given to those who draw near to God - ‘Your God... will come and save you’ (Isaiah 35:4). The Good News of Christ comes to us as a call to faith - ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be …
Continue reading Third Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 35:1-6a,10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11
His word is in my heart like a fire (Jeremiah 20:9). What is it that keeps the fire burning? It's the power that comes from God. It's the power of the Holy Spirit. He (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11). You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and …
Continue reading How can we become more on fire for the Lord?
Ezekiel 32:1-33:20; James 1:1-27; Psalm 127:1-5 God’s Word must be spoken as a Word which calls for response. The prophet is to “warn the wicked man to turn from his ways” (Ezekiel 33:9). He is to declare that “the Sovereign Lord ... takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they …
Continue reading God speaks to us – and he’s waiting for our reply.
“The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17). What is wisdom? Is it about how much we know? What is wisdom, if it doesn’t change the way we live our lives? We may know a lot without becoming more the …
James 1:1-27 Lord, there seems to be nothing but hard times. What are we to do? We turn to You. We ask You, “Lord, what are You teaching us?” You’re teaching us to trust You. You’re teaching us to be changed by You. Even when everything seems so hard, help us to pray, “Your will …
James' attack on "dead faith" (G. C. Berkouwer, Faith and Justification, 137) and his protest for faith as "a truly experienced reality" (136), which dominates the whole of life, does not conflict with Paul who speaks against the works of the law but not against the works of faith.
JAMES 1:1-27 - Even the most difficult times can have a godly effect on us – when we ask God for wisdom: ‘Lord, what are You teaching me in this?’ (2-5). Humanly speaking, we may be ‘in humble circumstances’. Spiritually speaking, we are in a ‘high position’ (9). Our position is to become even higher …
Continue reading Even the most difficult times can have a godly effect on us.
"Love one another" (John 13:34); "Pray for each other" (James 5:16). Jesus loves us. Jesus prays for us. If we are to follow Jesus, we will love one another and pray for one another. May the love of Jesus fill our hearts will love for one another. May the prayers of Jesus for us encourage …
Continue reading More love, more prayer, more power, more peace, more joy
Ezekiel 33:21-35:15; James 2:1-26; Psalm 128:1-6 The Word of God speaks clearly about sin and judgment – “See, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep” (Ezekiel 34:20), “judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful” (James 2:13). God’s Word also gives to us great promises. …
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4). Joy and suffering: we tend to think of the two as opposites. James tells us not …
Ezekiel 40:1-49; James 5:1-20; Psalm 130:1-8 The prophecy spoken by Ezekiel has its ultimate Source in God Himself – “the hand of the Lord was upon me” (Ezekiel 40:1). He goes on to describe “visions of God” (Ezekiel 40:2). To speak the Word of God faithfully requires patience. there is not always evidence of great …
The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God" (Psalm 14:1). To many people, in today's world, this would seem to be a very arrogant assertion. What are we to say about this? We could begin by going to the words of Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of …
Continue reading Seeking wisdom from God and receiving wisdom from him
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up" (James 4:10). In his "Sermon the Mount" (Matthew 5-7), Jesus begins with a series of sayings, known as the Beatitudes. In the third Beatitude, Jesus says, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). Meek - what does this mean? …
Wisdom Seeker
Following Jesus while Seeking Joy and Contentment in the Christian Life
In The Beginning Man Tried Ascending To Heaven via The Tower Of Babel. Now He Tries To Elevate His Existence To A Heavenly State of Consciousness Thru The Use Of Hallucinogenic Drugs. And, Since The 20th Century, He Continually Voyages Into Outer Space Using Spacecrafts. Prayer Thru Christ Is The Only Way To Reach Heaven.
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There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "...truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity--it is simply true and that is the end of it" - Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” - Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
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