Let Me Not Wander

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. (NIV) Firstfruits is a word that can be used to refer to first parts of a harvest that were offered to God. In a way, we are those firstfruits of His creation. Our lives are a living sacrifice to God. Consider Romans 12:1, Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. I would like to point out the beginning of this verse. It says, "He chose to give us birth..." In the NAS it puts that phrase like this, "In the exercise of His will He brought us forth..."That is probably a better translation of this phrase because of the use of the word will . In the original, that is the word that is used, and it means exactly that. God purposed to bring us forth. It was according to His will. Whether you would consider yourself a Calvinist or no...

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (NIV) Two things that I want to point out about this verse. The first is that all good things come from God. He is the source of good. As the Psalmist says, "Thou art good, Thou doest good." And this thought of God is essential to hold on to in those moments when things aren't good. Instead of blaming God, we need to see that He is using those things to build us up as humans. I would love to continue these thoughts on the goodness of God. Sometimes we don't acknowledge it enough, and when we do, we speak of it in a surreal sort of way. Almost as if God's goodness isn't the same as the real word goodness . The only other time that God's goodness comes up is when we are blessed in some big way or when we see God's hand of protection. These are most definitely good, and from the Father of the heavenly lights, bu...

Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. (NIV) Don't be deceived. The world is constantly trying to tell you the opposite to this. The world will tell you that sinful pleasures do not lead to death, but don't be deceived. James is saying this because there is a high propensity to deception in this area. This deception goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. "...surely you won't die!" says Satan. "Surely God will not kill you for eating of this tree." As the next few chapters of Genesis can attest to, that sin did most assuredly lead to death. It started with Abel, as the first murder victim, but then it just goes on. Especially when you get to the genealogies, he was born... he died... he was born... he died... A similar passage to this is found in Galatians 6:7-9 . It starts off, " Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. " This law of sin is like the law of gravity. If you jump up in the air, you may ...

Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (NIV) Sin always leads to death. No matter what lies your selfish desires tell you, sin will still always lead to death. It started in the garden when man first sinned. God warned that man would "surely die" if he ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. One of my Bible professors told me once that phrase, "surely die" could be translated as, "dying you shall die." When man sinned that first sin, he immediately became spiritually dead. Another immediate change was his physical body. He began to die physically. And if he did not repent and seek God in faith, that God is able to save him from these deaths, then man would eventually be sentenced to eternal death and judgment. Your own sinful desires will tell you otherwise. Your lusts will tell you that the way to really live is through these various avenues of worldline...

but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. (NIV) This is such an important concept to understand. Your temptations come from your own evil desires. If you spend all of your time focusing on your circumstances or the people around you or your genetics... then the battle will continue to rage. The phrase " dragged away " is one word in the original, and it is normally used in hunting situations, when one would draw out an animal from its hiding place. The word " enticed " actually means to bait . Your desires... your lusts... are drawing you out and baiting you to sin. I tried to think of a good way to word this, then JONO left a comment in the previous post that put my thoughts into words. "...probably even more than the devil or worldliness is Me tempting Me. The devil just exploits whats already there. The kingdom of Me has big eyes and loves to tell you what I have & what I can do.....as fast as I deconstruc...

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; (NIV) There are some important theological issues being covered in this verse. I am going to hit on them, but I am not going to go into detail... This is only a blog... right? :) God does not tempt anyone to do something evil. This is the first theological point. James' understanding of this comes from the second theological point in this verse, which is that God cannot be tempted by evil. If you understand what evil is, then this is an obvious conclusion. Like I said, I am not going to go into detail, but allow me to take a slight excursion here: Evil is anything that is not God. God must be God, therefore God cannot be tempted by evil. If God cannot be tempted by evil, then it would follow that He also would not be tempted to draw anyone else to evil. The important thing is to try to understand why James is bringing this up. A deep theological dis...

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (NIV) Have you ever heard the phrase, "...don't get the cart before the horse..."? It is used when people have the tendency to get things backwards, also because a horse pulled cart works great as opposed to a cart pulled horse. Well, some people have a tendency to do something similar with at verse like this. We must be careful to understand that Christ first loved us. If we love Him, it is because He first loved us, and we cannot get these backwards. So, in one sense, Salvation comes first. Before perseverance, there is salvation. Some read this verse and think that the crown of life is salvation. Like somehow, if we can persevere then we will receive salvation. But the crown of life is a result of salvation just as perseverance is a result of salvation. In this passage, James is writing as it happens. ...

For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. (NIV) The reality that is being taught here is not just directed at the rich. As the Psalmist says, You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath. Psalm 39:5 (NIV) This applies to us all. Our lives are passing so quickly, and our glory should not be in what we accomplish here. A big house, an established retirement account, a new car, even our kid's educations paid for! All of these things are temporary. One day you will breathe your last and these things will all be gone. Let your glory be in Christ. Let your glory be in what He has done in you. Don't glory in what you can make with your own hands. If you do, then you are no different than an idol maker who sits and carves out his idol, then turns ar...

But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. (NIV) I had to do a little digging on this one. In verse 9, remember that it was talking about a brother in humble circumstances. The word humble or low is the Greek word tapeinos , which is an adjective. So, the circumstances are low or humble, and the boasting that he does is literally in his height . The rich man is to also boast, but notice that his boasting isn't in his height, it is in his low position . That low position , in the original, is just one word; it is the word, tapeinosis . Look familiar? That is the noun form of the adjective that is describing the other man's circumstances. The rich man's boasting is when he is knows that ultimately he shares the same fate as the man who does not have. If a rich man can come in humility to Christ, there is a glory in that. By the way, I was studying the roots of the word that is translates as glory in this...

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. (NIV) To properly understand this verse, you need to take a peek at the next verse. Once you do, the meaning of the " humble circumstances " becomes clear. We have shifted slightly in this passage to the topic of money. But it is not a complete shift, because as many of us would attest to, money is a trial in and of itself. This verse reminds me of how God seems to enjoy turning everything upside down... or maybe it is upside up. Maybe we have things so twisted and distorted that it only seems that way to us. Regardless, in this case, the low is really high, and the high is low. This verse is speaking of a Christian brother, who James is telling that he has the ability to boast in something. Even though most would say that this man has nothing to boast about, the "humble circumstances" can be defined as, "barely off the ground". Yet James says that even though he is barely...

he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. (NIV) "Double minded" is literally "two souled" . The soul in the Bible is the seat of affections or desires. It is the wellspring of all that you want. The man of two souls is unstable because he is torn on the inside. We all struggle with that inner battle. Paul talks about this in Romans 7:14-25 , but we need to take this verse in context. This is not talking about a Christian man who is battling the inner man, this is talking about a man who is not steadfast in his faith in Christ. He has never taken that stand of faith. He is a doubter, he expects nothing from the Lord, nor should he. These are the kind of people that you need to steer clear of. Their instability that is caused by their lack of faith causes them to seek to control everything themselves. This usually leads to actions that have no care or concern for others, and they usually leave a path of destruction behind them.

That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; (NIV) This is one of the reason's why I love the book of James. He gets right to the point. The person who does not have faith, should not expect to get anything from the Lord. That is very blunt, but it is a reality. The challenge with a verse like this is to apply it to your own life. Because if you do have faith (which you can't be a Christian without it) then you should be expecting things from the Lord. What are you asking for from Him? Where is your heart when you come to Him?

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (NIV) From the previous verse we learned that when you are lacking in wisdom, you should ask. God is a generous God who gives to all who ask, and He does not show favoritism. You do not have to meet some quota of goodness or righteousness before you can ask God for wisdom, or anything else for that matter. If there was a quota, you would never meet it anyway. The word believe here is normally translated as faith , and the two words are closely related. When you ask God, you must believe that He can deliver. We see this so many times in the gospels when the people come to Jesus and ask for healing. So often Jesus will say to someone, after they are healed, "...your faith has made you whole." The faith must be centered in Christ himself. It is not to be centered on what you want God to do. Many people make that mistake, they start praying and a...

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (NIV) Much of the book of James does not require much explanation. He writes in such a straight-forward style. I like to read through a verse, then try to re-word it in a way that it is easier to understand, but with this verse, the meaning is plain. This plain meaning leaves a person facing the real issues, which is what James wants anyway. The real issues have nothing to do with what kind of Biblical scholar you are, or what a wonderful theologian you have become. The real issue has to do with what you are going to do about what you just read. We all lack wisdom, so when you encounter a verse like this, you should be moved to do something. Ask for wisdom today. You need wisdom, and God gives wisdom generously. He also gives this wisdom to whoever asks, there is nothing you have done that will prohibit the asking of wisdom. If you turn away from whatev...

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (NIV) This goes right along with what I was saying in the commentary on the previous verse. Perseverance is one the most key essentials to true Christianity. In this verse you can see that perseverance leads to Christian Maturity, but it is only a whole or complete perseverance that will do this.

because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (NIV) I have come to believe that perseverance is one of the key components in true Christianity. The one who sticks to their faith in Christ, and does not fall away, is the one who is exhibiting true faith. Faith that falls away isn't real faith. Notice even in this verse that perseverance springs from a tested faith. It reminds me of a chemical reaction. To the eye hydrochloric acid and water look the same, but if you drop a cut penny down in the acid, it will have a reaction with the zinc in the penny. The penny will begin to bubble, producing hydrogen. If you drop a penny in water, nothing noticeable happens. The same is true of faith. The person with faith, when the trial is added to their life, it produces perseverance. This why it is called the "...testing of your faith..." A similar passage to this one is I Peter 1:6-9, In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may ...

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, (NIV) The word pure could also be translated all or all kinds or every kind . You could say, "Consider it every kind of joy possible when you are facing trials." There are some who believe that a Christian's joy isn't real joy. They believe that real joy and happiness comes from that self-indulgent lifestyle. They believe that the world offers real joy, and what these Christians are experiencing when they have joy is some kind of weak alternative. This is exactly the opposite of the truth. The joy that Christ offers is the real stuff. Notice also two additional things. First, notice that this multi-faceted joy is not dependent on what is happening. This joy takes place in the middle of trials, in fact, in the middle of various kinds of trials. The world can't offer this. Reality shows us over and over that the world falls short in offering any lasting joy or happiness. Things seem...

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings. (NIV) James, the earthly brother of Jesus, did not believe in Him (consider John 7:1-5 ). He was a skeptic all the way to the end of Christ's earthly ministry, I am sure, all the way to the cross. Most believe that it was the resurrection that changed his mind, but regardless of what finally brought him to Christ, here he is now, attaching the title of Lord and Christ to his brother. Before I did into this chapter of the Bible, I don't want to skim over the significance of this initial statement. James the skeptic is not a fervent believer, and he writes one of the most practical books in the Bible. Notice also that James only claims servanthood. The fact that he was Christ's earthly brother isn't even mentioned here. As James titles himself, he sees himself only as a servant to this great Lord. How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as servant?...