This past Sunday, we concluded an amazing series on the book of James. James has always been a special book of the Bible to me. When I was in high school, my student pastor challenged me to memorize the entire book. I took the challenge and God has been speaking through His Word to my heart ever since. James is powerful because it is so practical. The book was a letter written by James, the half-brother of Jesus. He pastored the Early Church through tremendous growth and subsequent persecution. His nickname was “camel-hoofed knees James” because he prayed so much that his knees became deformed and looked like camel-hooves. Wow!
James starts off by telling us to “consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds knowing that the testing of your faith develops perseverance…” This has always been in the back of my mind when I face struggles, and yet it is still a challenge. I’m not there yet to consider hardships pure joy, but the older I grow in the Lord and in my faith I do see God’s Sovereign hand always redeeming and restoring what I thought was terrible at the time. This has given me more peace when trials come. I hope my faith can mature to the point where I do consider whatever I am going through “pure joy.” I have a ways to go and a ways to grow. Instead of looking back and seeing God’s hand of blessing and deliverance when I encounter challenges in life, I am trying to look forward in faith knowing that God will bring good.
James then calls us to live out our faith in the every day of life. He says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” It is one thing to talk about faith and another to put it into practice. Now, we all know that good deeds do not save us - Jesus saves us. But, good deeds are the evidence that we are saved. James says, “What good is it my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?” Our faith is seen in what we do. So, can people see our faith in the way we live? There is an old saying, “You may be the only Jesus some may ever see.” or “You may be the only Bible some may ever read.” What do people see when they look at our lives? Do they see the world or do they see Jesus?
James says our faith shows us in our words. He talks a lot about this - “taming the tongue.” The words of James in this area of words have always been something God has used in my life. It is so easy for me to become frustrated - in traffic, at home, at work, in life. I’m not very patient (although I do think I have grown a lot in this area once I had kids :)). But, I often think about taming my tongue. Saying words of blessing instead of saying things that are not helpful. “THINK before I speak” (go back and watch the sermon on James 3 and you will see what I mean). As I have grown in my faith, I do want to use words like “I love you,” “I forgive you,” and “I believe in you,” more. I want to praise Jesus and bless and encourage others with my words.
James concludes with three vital areas that show us if we really do have faith - money, suffering, and prayer. How we handle money shows our faith. Do we tithe? Are we generous? Is our faith in money or in God? Also, how we handle suffering. We will all go through hard times, but how Christians how hard times should be different from those who don’t know Jesus. And, finally, our prayer life. Are we praying bold prayers? Are we praying for others to come to know Jesus? Are we praying for miracles or are we settling for the ordinary? There is power in prayer and confession, and God wants us to experience the fullness of His healing and joy!
It is one thing to read the book of James - so loving, strong and beautiful. It is another to hear sermons on the book of James - to be challenged and encouraged. It is another thing to memorize the book of James - always having God’s Word in your mind and heart. However, as James would say, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” There comes a point where we have to put God’s Word into practice. We have to live it out in our daily lives. Our marriage, our kids, our friends, our work, our school, our politics and our everything else. This is our time. We all get one shot at life. Let’s not waste it or miss it. Let’s be doers of the word and not hearers only. This is where we see God grow our faith and do miracles. Let’s pray, speak and live out our faith fully for the glory of our great God. Let’s learn from James and live like Jesus.
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