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October 29 - James 1 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello, friends, it's Sean. Here it is, Wednesday, it's the
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  29th of October. And thank you for tapping on
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  play and inviting me into your busy old days so that you and I
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  can read God's Word together. And today we are all rubbing our
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  hands together, opening up our Bibles, flicking through the
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  pages late into the New Testament, and we are landing on
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  the book of James. Oh, the book of James.
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  You need to know something about me.
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  I am a big fan of the theology of Martin Luther.
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  He is my man. I'm literally holding in my
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  right hand a little Playmobil figure of Martin Luther who sits
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  beside my monitor on my desk. He is the only thing other than
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  the essentials that sits here. He inspires me to grab hold of
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  God's gift of grace to me. And he really didn't like James.
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  He looked at James and he said it's all about what you have to
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  do. It's not about the grace of God.
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  It doesn't talk about Jesus. It's got no kind of overarching
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  Christology. It is just giving instructions
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  for a faithful life. So he called it the Epistle of
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  straw. He thought it was empty and not
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  worth a whole lot. But sorry Martin, I'm going to
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  have to disagree with you here. This is a glorious book that
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  just speaks so practically written by a James.
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  There were 4 main Jameses of the day, but kind of the balance of
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  scholarly opinion would say it's James Jesus brother who was
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  indeed the leader of the church at that time in Jerusalem.
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  And he writes this to the Jews spread around the diaspora.
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  So Jews everywhere to encourage them to live in this way that is
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  consistent with this faith in Jesus and not just have this
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  cosy belief in their heart that doesn't actually shape their
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  lived lives. So it is a wonderful reminder
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  and instruction for us as we live in a very comfortable world
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  where we can relegate our faith to be a quiet little internal
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  process that doesn't affect us too much.
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  So with that in mind, let U.S. Open up and read together James
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  chapter 1. This letter is from James, a
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  slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  I'm 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 when your endurance is fully developed,
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  you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
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  If you need wisdom, ask our generous God and He will give it
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  to you. He will not rebuke you for
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  asking, but when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God
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  alone. Do not waver, for a person with
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  divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is
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  blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to
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  receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between
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  God and the world. They are unstable in everything
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  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 has 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 and it's beauty fades
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  away. In the same way the ritual fade
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  away. With all of their achievements.
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  God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.
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  Afterward, they will receive the crown of life that God has
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  promised to those who love Him. And remember when you were being
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  tempted, Do not say God is tempting me.
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  God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts
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  anyone else. Temptation comes from our own
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  desires, which entice us and drag us away.
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  These desires give birth to sinful actions, and when sin is
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  allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
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  So don't be misled my dear brothers and sisters.
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  Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from
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  God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.
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  He never changes or casts A shifting shadow.
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  He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true word, and we
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  out of all creation became His prized possession.
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  Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters, you must
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  all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
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  Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.
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  So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives and humbly
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  accept the Word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the
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  power to save your souls. But don't just listen to God's
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  Word. You must do what it says,
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  otherwise you are only fooling yourselves.
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  For if you listen to the Word and don't obey, it's like
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  glancing at your face in a mirror.
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  You see yourself walk away and forget what you look like.
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  But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you
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  free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard,
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  then God will bless you for doing it.
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  If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you
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  have a fool in yourself and your religion is worthless.
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  Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means
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  caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to
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  let the world corrupt you. Jesus, as we begin this journey
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  through James with this mountain of instruction on how we can
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  live godly lives, where our lives are in congruence with our
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  faith, and that that makes a difference.
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  Jesus, I pray that you would never allow us to take our eye
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  off the prize, which is you and your grace, your sacrificial
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  death for our inadequacy. And that it's only through you,
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  Jesus, through what you have done for us and who we are in
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  the light of everything that you have done for us that brings us
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  whole and acceptable before our Father in heaven.
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  So we just thank you, Jesus. We thank you that you have made
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  this all possible. We thank you that it's through
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  everything that you've done that we are made whole.
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  And that this transformation changes more than just our
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  hearts, but changes our lives as well.
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  So here we are. We give you our hearts.
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  We give you our lives. Use them for your glory and your
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  Kingdom and your name. We pray Jesus, Amen.