James—The Big Picture

James is one of my favourite books of the New Testament. I have been working for some time to memorize all five chapters. One thing that helps is to understand how each section flows logically into the next.

Have you noticed how easy it is to isolate a verse? It's like handling a piece of a puzzle. Oh, I know. We go back to check context with the chapter and surrounding passages, but to get the BIG picture...

Well, for myself, I wanted to look at the big picture of the book of James. I thought I'd share it with you in case it is helpful.

James, though a brother of Jesus, sees himself only as a servant of God and Jesus. He writes to Christian Jews scattered and persecuted in various nations.

James begins and ends his letter by encouraging the believers to persevere in spite of the suffering, because it is the means to maturity and completeness in their faith. The good that is promised is worth the struggle and the waiting. (James 1:2-4, 12; 5:7-11)

When believers find they lack wisdom (are incomplete), James admonishes them to ask God. Since wisdom is God's will for His children, doubting He will give it is a sign that a man is "double minded" in his walk.

Temptation is not from God. Good gifts are from God. If we are led astray by "gifts" of temptation, we are deceived and will miss God's perfect gifts. God "does not change like shifting shadows."

We need to repent of the sins of tongue and life that we've committed. The cure to avoid future temptation is to study and apply God's Word. Our relationship with God will be evident by our care of the helpless and our purity from worldliness.

Wealth is often in the hand of the oppressor (James 2 & 5). Yet even in the hand of a believer, it should never lead to special treatment by other believers. The rich should be humbled knowing their riches will not last and are not what is ultimately important (2:1-5; 1:9-11).

All people should be loved as we love ourselves. No favouritism allowed. Showing favouritism is breaking a the law of God. Breaking one law makes us guilty of breaking the law of God. Instead, we should show mercy to all, and God will judge us mercifully.

Is it possible to be saved by faith and not show it in how we live? NO! Faith that is not accompanied by action is dead...not really faith at all. Even the demons believe in God.

Watch your tongue. Nothing destroys or leads someone astray easier than the wagging tongue. It is inconceivable that a mouth that truly praises God can also slander other humans who God made.

Envy and selfish ambition are of the devil, signs of disorder, and seeds for evil practice. God's wisdom will show by a life that's "pure, peaceloving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."

When we pursue selfish ends, God will not answer our prayer. Fights and quarrels amongst God's family are signs of selfish ambition. We need to repent and seek God. If we resist the devil, he will flee from us as we submit and humble ourselves before God. If we continue to slander and judge each other, we should fear God's judgment.

If God tells us to give or to do something, we should not put it off. Don't say that after you accomplish X,Y, & Z, you'll have what you need to obey God. Putting off what He asks of us is sin.

God's judgment will come on oppressors. Be sure to be waiting for God and not oppressing your brothers and sisters in the faith. Instead, pray for yourself, praise God, and pray for others.

Rather than condemning brothers and sisters for their weaknesses, we should confide in one another about our struggles (be a "safe place" for other believers to be honest about theirs), so that we can pray for one another. If we do this, we will be healed from sin's strongholds. What could be greater than rescuing a fellow Christian from the deadly spiral of sin!

In summary, watch your tongue and watch your life; don't trust in riches (your own or somebody else's); do not slander or condemn a believer in your thoughts or conversation, but show mercy as you desire God to be merciful to you; depend on God for all you need and let His life flow through you producing godly works.

And finally, never give up living the truth! Christ is coming soon!

Counterfeit Goods

We live in a world of counterfeits and generics. Sometimes these are as good (or better, if you consider price) than the original. Sometimes you pay more in the long run by cutting corners.


In the spiritual realm, a good counterfeit does not exist.

James, in chapter one verse twelve, encourages the Christians, to whom he is writing, to perserve and endure the trials they face because of the reward God has promised...a crown of life.

The very next paragraph, James warns them against accusing God of tempting them to sin. He states emphatically that God neither tempts nor is tempted by sin. But we, as humans, are tempted and dragged away by our desires.

The next paragraph again James seems to change topics as he reminds them that good gifts come down from an unchanging God.

These paragraphs may seem unrelated until you pick up the common thread: what is the gift we should desire?

In a world where believers could lose everything for their faith, it must have seemed especially tempting to take the easy road sometimes, to give in. Grief and trouble greeted them; discouragement whispered in their ear. If they could reach for something to give them relief, maybe they should take it as a sign that it is what God wanted for them.

James said, no. They should endure the pain, the hardships, the loss because the gift ahead of them would be far better than anything they could imagine. He reminds them that the counterfeit good, that shines so brightly before tired eyes, is not from God and, therefore, will reap pain without reward.

The same is true for us. So often impatience makes us attempt to find our own good for our life. If God hasn't brought us a spouse, maybe dating an unbeliever or giving in before marriage seems acceptable. If God doesn't provide an abundance of money, maybe we need to find a way to provide it for ourselves. If God doesn't give us a home, a car, nice things that we think will make us happy, we just put it on credit.

The result? Baggage, heart ache, debit, regret...

Every good and perfect gift comes from above. If God does not provide it, we need blind trust to wait on Him. Either He will or, for reasons our 3 lbs of brain can't comprehend, it is not good and perfect for us.

If you've blown it, He can use and will forgive you when you turn back to Him. But when it comes to following God, cutting corners can kill you...or at least destroy the good and perfect plan He has for your life.

Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:16-17)

Wait for His good and perfect gift. Don't settle for counterfeit goods.