To The Word – Day 173

₁From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:

Greetings to all God's people scattered over the whole world.

₂My brothers and sisters, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, ₃for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. ₄Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ₅But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and graciously to all. ₆But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind. _7-8People like that, unable to make up their minds and undecided in all they do, must not think that they will receive anything from the Lord.

₉Those Christians who are poor must be glad when God lifts them up, ₁₀and the rich Christians must be glad when God brings them down. For the rich will pass away like the flower of a wild plant. ₁₁The sun rises with its blazing heat and burns the plant; its flower falls off, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way the rich will be destroyed while they go about their business.

₁₂Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him. ₁₃If people are tempted by such trials, they must not say, “This temptation comes from God.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. ₁₄But people are tempted when they are drawn away and trapped by their own evil desires. ₁₅Then their evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

₁₆Do not be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters! ₁₇Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning. ₁₈By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures.

₁₉Remember this, my dear brothers and sisters! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. ₂₀Human anger does not achieve God's righteous purpose. ₂₁So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.

₂₂Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice. ₂₃Whoever listens to the word but does not put it into practice is like a man who looks in a mirror and sees himself as he is. ₂₄He takes a good look at himself and then goes away and at once forgets what he looks like. ₂₅But those who look closely into the perfect law that sets people free, who keep on paying attention to it and do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice — they will be blessed by God in what they do.

₂₆Do any of you think you are religious? If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless and you deceive yourselves. ₂₇What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.

₁My brothers and sisters, as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, you must never treat people in different ways according to their outward appearance. ₂Suppose a rich man wearing a gold ring and fine clothes comes to your meeting, and a poor man in ragged clothes also comes. ₃If you show more respect to the well-dressed man and say to him, “Have this best seat here,” but say to the poor man, “Stand over there, or sit here on the floor by my feet,” ₄then you are guilty of creating distinctions among yourselves and of making judgements based on evil motives.

₅Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! God chose the poor people of this world to be rich in faith and to possess the kingdom which he promised to those who love him. ₆But you dishonour the poor! Who are the ones who oppress you and drag you before the judges? The rich! ₇They are the ones who speak evil of that good name which has been given to you.

₈You will be doing the right thing if you obey the law of the Kingdom, which is found in the scripture, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” ₉But if you treat people according to their outward appearance, you are guilty of sin, and the Law condemns you as a lawbreaker. ₁₀Whoever breaks one commandment is guilty of breaking them all. ₁₁For the same one who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Even if you do not commit adultery, you have become a lawbreaker if you commit murder. ₁₂Speak and act as people who will be judged by the law that sets us free. ₁₃For God will not show mercy when he judges the person who has not been merciful; but mercy triumphs over judgement.

₁₄My brothers and sisters, what good is it for people to say that they have faith if their actions do not prove it? Can that faith save them? ₁₅Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don't have enough to eat. ₁₆What good is there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!” — if you don't give them the necessities of life? ₁₇So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead.

₁₈But someone will say, “One person has faith, another has actions.” My answer is, “Show me how anyone can have faith without actions. I will show you my faith by my actions.” ₁₉Do you believe that there is only one God? Good! The demons also believe — and tremble with fear. ₂₀You fool! Do you want to be shown that faith without actions is useless? ₂₁How was our ancestor Abraham put right with God? It was through his actions, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. ₂₂Can't you see? His faith and his actions worked together; his faith was made perfect through his actions. ₂₃And the scripture came true that said, “Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.” And so Abraham was called God's friend. ₂₄You see, then, that it is by people's actions that they are put right with God, and not by their faith alone.

₂₅It was the same with the prostitute Rahab. She was put right with God through her actions, by welcoming the Israelite spies and helping them to escape by a different road.

₂₆So then, as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without actions is dead.

₁My brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others. ₂All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being. ₃We put a bit into the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, and we are able to make it go where we want. ₄Or think of a ship: big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go. ₅So it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things.

Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame! ₆And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself. ₇Human beings can tame and have tamed all other creatures — wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish. ₈But no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. It is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison. ₉We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse other people, who are created in the likeness of God. ₁₀Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen! ₁₁No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening. ₁₂A fig tree, my brothers and sisters, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water.

₁₃Are there people among you who are wise and understanding? They are to prove it by their good lives, by their good deeds performed with humility and wisdom. ₁₄But if in your heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, don't sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom. ₁₅Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic. ₁₆Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil. ₁₇But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. ₁₈And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.

₁Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you. ₂You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it. ₃And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures. ₄Unfaithful people! Don't you know that to be the world's friend means to be God's enemy? People who want to be the world's friends make themselves God's enemies. ₅Don't think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, “The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires.” ₆But the grace that God gives is even stronger. As the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

₇So then, submit to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you. ₈Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites! ₉Be sorrowful, cry, and weep; change your laughter into crying, your joy into gloom! ₁₀Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

₁₁Do not criticize one another, my brothers and sisters. If you criticize fellow-Christians or judge them, you criticize the Law and judge it. If you judge the Law, then you are no longer one who obeys the Law, but one who judges it. ₁₂God is the only lawgiver and judge. He alone can save and destroy. Who do you think you are, to judge someone else?

₁₃Now listen to me, you that say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to a certain city, where we will stay a year and go into business and make a lot of money.” ₁₄You don't even know what your life tomorrow will be! You are like a puff of smoke, which appears for a moment and then disappears. ₁₅What you should say is this: “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” ₁₆But now you are proud, and you boast; all such boasting is wrong.

₁₇So then, those who do not do the good they know they should do are guilty of sin.

₁And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you! ₂Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. ₃Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches in these last days. ₄You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty. ₅Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter. ₆You have condemned and murdered innocent people, and they do not resist you.

₇Be patient, then, my brothers and sisters, until the Lord comes. See how patient a farmer is as he waits for his land to produce precious crops. He waits patiently for the autumn and spring rains. ₈You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord's coming is near.

₉Do not complain against one another, my brothers and sisters, so that God will not judge you. The Judge is near, ready to appear. ₁₀My brothers and sisters, remember the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Take them as examples of patient endurance under suffering. ₁₁We call them happy because they endured. You have heard of Job's patience, and you know how the Lord provided for him in the end. For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion.

₁₂Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Say only “Yes” when you mean yes, and “No” when you mean no, and then you will not come under God's judgement.

₁₃Are any of you in trouble? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. ₁₄Are any of you ill? You should send for the church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil on them in the name of the Lord. ₁₅This prayer made in faith will heal the sick; the Lord will restore them to health, and the sins they have committed will be forgiven. ₁₆So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect. ₁₇Elijah was the same kind of person as we are. He prayed earnestly that there would be no rain, and no rain fell on the land for three and a half years. ₁₈Once again he prayed, and the sky poured out its rain and the earth produced its crops.

₁₉My brothers and sisters, if any of you wander away from the truth and another one brings them back again, ₂₀remember this: whoever turns a sinner back from his or her wrong way will save that sinner's soul from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.