Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / June 19 - James 1

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June 19 - James 1 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's shown here. It's Wednesday, it's the 19th of
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  June and here we are at the beginning of a new day and a new
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  book of the Bible. We are jumping forward a whole
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  lot of years and we are arriving somewhere between the late 40s
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  and the early 60s AD here we are in Jerusalem.
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  Here we've got this early church gathering together and who
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  should rise to be one of the leaders but James, Jesus brother
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  James, There are a few Jameses, but most people agree that this
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  was Jesus brother and he is this moderating unifying leader of
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  the church. And here he writes this letter
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  that we're going to read together, this letter that got
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  sent out of Jerusalem to all the Jews who had fled from Jerusalem
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  and ended up all over the known world.
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  And so he writes this as an encouragement to stay true to
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  their faith and not just to to believe it, but to live it.
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  And so this is often seen as a counterpoint to all of Paul's
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  writing, which is all about focusing on our hearts and our
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  faith and our justification through what Jesus did.
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  James gets practical and James encourages people to live a
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  certain and while some people have got quite uptight saying
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  that he puts way too much emphasis on things that we do
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  and not what Jesus has done for us.
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  Really what James is doing is not usurping Jesus sacrificial
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  death to save us but he is saying if your faith is real
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  then let us put Jesus at the centre of our lives and live
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  accordingly. So let us read together this
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  book of James. It's a short one, there's only 5
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  chapters and we shall begin today reading together James
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  chapter one. This letter is from James, a
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  slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  I am writing to the 12 tribes Jewish believers scattered
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  abroad. Greetings, dear brothers and
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  sisters. When troubles of any kind come
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  your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy for
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  you. Know that when your faith is
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  tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
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  So let it grow. For where your endurance is
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  fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing
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  nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our
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  generous God and He will give it to you.
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  He will not rebuke you for asking, but when you ask Him, be
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  sure that your faith is in God alone.
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  Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled
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  as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
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  Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
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  Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are
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  unstable in everything they do. Believers who are poor have
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  something to boast about, for God has honoured them, and those
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  who are rich should boast that God as humbled them.
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  They will fade away like a little flower in the field.
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  The hot sun rises and the grass Withers.
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  The little flower droops and falls.
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  It's beauty fades away in the same way the rich will fade away
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  with all of their achievements. God blesses those who patiently
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  endure testing and temptation. Afterward, they will receive the
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  crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
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  And remember when you were being tempted, Do not say God is
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  tempting me. God is never tempted to do
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  wrong, and He never tempts anyone else.
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  Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and
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  drag us away. These desires give birth to
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  sinful actions, and when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth
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  to death. So don't be misled, my dear
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  brothers and sisters, whatever is good and perfect as a gift
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  coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the
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  lights and the heavens. He never changes or casts a
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  shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by
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  giving us His true word, and we, out of all creation, became His
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  prized possession. Understand this, my dear
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  brothers and sisters, you must all be quick to listen, slow to
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  speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the
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  righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and
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  evil in your lives and humbly accept the Word God has planted
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  in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
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  But don't just listen to God's Word.
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  You must do what it says, otherwise you are only fooling
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  yourselves. For if you listen to the word
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  and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a
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  mirror. You see yourself walk away and
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  forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into
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  the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says
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  and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for
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  doing it. If you claim to be religious but
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  don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself and your
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  religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the
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  sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in
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  their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
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  Well Lord, if this isn't enough just to blow anyones mind, I
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  don't know what is. That we would be chosen as your
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  prized possessions. That you, the glorious God of
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  the universe, choose us to be the apple of your eye, to be
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  what gives you a spring in your step.
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  That's us. Well, that's amazing.
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  That is amazing and we are so grateful that you would just
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  love us like you do, and I just pray that you continue to
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  transform us. Transform us so that our lives
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  would reflect what our hearts believe.
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  That you would continue to transform us from the inside
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  out, not that you would shape our behaviours and that you
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  would shape our hearts, make them more like yours.
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  And through that transformation, while our lives will be
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  transformed and renewed. So we come before you.
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  We lay all of our own desires down where all of our sinful
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  ways come from. And we pray that you would have
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  your way and that your Spirit would dwell powerfully in us,
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  shaping us, shifting our hearts, breaking down those stubborn
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  barriers that we put in the way so that we can live lives
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  focused on your Kingdom priorities because we love you.
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  We are so grateful for you and all that you've done for us.
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  And we pray all of this in the name of Jesus.
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  Oh man.