Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. James then talks about controlling horses and ships with very small items. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! - just like a bit for a horse and a rudder for a ship. And the tongue is a fire (tell me about it), the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. If the devil cannot get you to do wrong, he will get others to say evil things about you. All creatures of nature have been tamed by man. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. Father help us to allow the Holy Spirit to control what we say; to speak forth uplifting things and not those that drag people down. Continue to bless the reader and his/her family.

  Good morning. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. We commented on this last time. Let not many of you become teachers knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. It is bad when you have wrong beliefs; it is worse when you share those beliefs with others, hoping they will also believe like you do; it is the worst thing possible when you elevate yourself into the place of a teacher, training others to share the same wrong beliefs that you have. The lawyers and Pharisees did the same thing. They came under strict judgment; and so will you. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man able to bridal the whole body as well. “Out of the heart the mouth speaks“. We all have let things slip that we wish we had never said. You want to be the best of the best? Then watch what you say! Father help us to not dwell on ev...

  Good morning. Continuing with Abraham offering up his son on the altar: you see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works (corresponding actions), faith was perfected (brought to completion); and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.“ (that would seem to imply that if Abraham had not offered up his son, that he would not have been considered righteous) And he was called the friend of God. He was called the friend of God because he trusted so much that God was going to fulfill His promise that through his son Isaac he would be called the father of multitudes even when it looked like there was no way it could happen. He did what God was going to do thousands of years later with His Son, Jesus. Father help us to exercise our faith in such a way that we will be called Your friend.

  Good morning. You believe that God is one (there is one God). You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. Is that part of your “I have faith“? If so, it’s not very convincing. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? That seems a little less harsh than saying that your faith is dead; but the end result is the same. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? Here is another place that Paul and James seem to disagree majorly. Paul says that we didn’t do anything to obtain our justification. It too was a gift of God. Possibly it was because Abraham was before the cross. No one had obtained justification for him, nor anyone else at that time. And so it was necessary that he do something to obtain justification (just as if he had never sinned). Father help the reader and his/her family to continually show faith that is living and not useless.

  Good morning. If a fellow believer has needs, and you say to them “God bless you – have a nice day”; what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. They are both just a lot of hot air. Someone may well say, “you have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works“. Of course you cannot “show your faith“ without doing something to corroborate your statement. It is like Jesus with the paralytic who was let down through the ceiling. “Which is easier, to say your sins are forgiven, or to say rise and walk”. Anyone can say “your sins are forgiven“, and no one except perhaps the person himself will know whether or not his sins are forgiven. But if you say “rise and walk“, he better rise and walk or you will be denounced as a fraud. Anyone can say they have faith and no one will know whether or not it is a true statement; but if you have works (corresponding actions), everyone will know you have fait...

  Good morning. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. That seems contradictory, a “law“ of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; Mercy triumphs over judgment. That seems to go along with “Judge not, lest you be judged“. Now we come to the section that seems to divide James versus Paul - works versus faith. What use is it, my brethren if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? That is a legitimate question. People today say that they are Christians, but their words and actions seem to contradict that. Just because you say you are a Christian, that does not mean that you are going to heaven. Your words and actions should confirm that. But is that what James means by “works“, or does it have to do with works of the law? Instead of the word “works”, a notable evangelist said that the phrase “corresponding actions” should be used. Can faith without corresponding actions save anyone? Fathe...

  Good morning. Continuing with the way you treat the poor versus the way you treat the rich in church: if you are fulfilling the Royal law according to the scripture, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself“, you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. This is a clear example where James talks about things concerning the law. I have questions about his using this throughout the book. Is he simply writing this because he is writing to Jews who knew and understood all things about the law, and is using the law to illustrate principles of Christianity? Or is he writing this before he came to a full understanding about what it meant to be saved and to live under grace? Depending on which “expert“ you consult, there are differing views about when the book of James was actually written. My question is, was it written befo...