At our church, we’ve just started a series on the book of James. James is one of my favorite books in the Bible because it’s just so chock full of useful and applicable lessons. One other thing I really love about the book of James is that it’s just so easy to understand and comprehend (minus a conflicting and partially confusing view of faith vs. works, but we’ll get to that in another post I think) because it’s not super deep and it’s not full of stories. It gets to the point. As someone who is newer in my faith journey, I can surely appreciate that (and as someone who enjoys bullet points and lists, also). Even though it was written well before our time, it is just as relevant today as it was when it was written. If something can stand the test of time like that, it’s worthy of a blog post, in my opinion.
Don’t expect anything earth-shattering here—I’ve come to the realization that in the span of time since the Bible was written, anything that can be said about everything written in there, has likely been said, billions of times over.
James is the quintessential little bro. Growing up in my family (and still, perhaps?), there’s always that competition of who the favorite is. When one does something, inevitably, the others have to try to one-up it to get that coveted (though according to my mom, non-existent) “Favorite Child” title. Well, I’m guessing that there was no chance that James was going to earn that spot, and since James was not a believer in Jesus as Savior until after his resurrection, I’m not even sure that James was all that impressed by his big bro.
All that said, in the first chapter, James tells us that when the times get tough, to remain faithful and loyal to God. To rely fully on Him, and not have half-hearted faith. Another big thing in the first chapter that we focused on during Sunday’s sermon was being a “doer” and not just a “hearer.”
“The bible doesn’t change you just by looking at it….application of the Bible, and the power of
the Holy Spirit is what changes you.” -Pastor Bobby
It’s not enough just to know the Bible, or read it. Listen to the Word, hear it. You can’t just be a casual observer and sideline cheerer. That’s not how any of this works.
“The enemy doesn’t have to get you in the headlines if he can just keep you on the sidelines.” -Pastor Bobby
There’s plenty of people who come to church on Sunday, smile, sing, listen to the sermon and then walk out and close up their hearts until the following Sunday. Do not be one of those people. Be the game changer. Don’t just read the map, follow the directions. While it can be hard in today’s world sometimes, the message, directions, the path—couldn’t be more clearer.
It’s literally there, in black and white. Or red if you’ve got a Bible that changes the color of the font when Jesus is speaking (or maybe some other colors if you’re fancy, but you get the idea). While sometimes the specific steps may not be crystal clear, the outline is right there. Scripture doesn’t tell us just to read the words and leave it at that. James tells us “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves (1:22).” Let’s not fool ourselves. There’s enough people in this world who are going to try to (and some successfully) fool us. And that’s also what the enemy wants. He wants us to give up because it’s inconvenient or sometimes not easy. Or we’re too busy. Remember that this is 2023. If you’ve lost your way, you don’t even need the printed out MapQuest directions (paper Bible). You’ve even got access to GPS or Apple Maps (Bible apps). Pull out those bad boys, refocus, re-calibrate and MOVE.
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