JAMES 1 (HCSB)
Greeting
1 James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:
To the 12 tribes in the Dispersion.
Greetings.
Trials and Maturity
2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 An indecisive man is unstable in all his ways.
9 The brother of humble circumstances should boast in his exaltation, 10 but the one who is rich should boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will wither away while pursuing his activities.
12 A man who endures trials is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
16 Don’t be deceived, my dearly loved brothers. 17 Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. 18 By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the first fruits of His creatures.
Hearing and Doing the Word
19 My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, 20 for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you.
22 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works—this person will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religion is useless and he deceives himself. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 14-15 & 19): God, please forgive me for giving into my own selfish desires, sin, and not focusing on you. Also, please forgive me for not being "quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger." These are both things I have struggled with for so long that have caused so much pain for myself and others. Please cleanse and forgive me of these sins.
PROMISE (verse 12): We are blessed to endure trials, because when we allow God to get us through them, He promises to bless us with the crown of life!
ATTITUDE (verse 19): Please continue to work in me, Father, to help my attitude always remain as "quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger."
COMMAND (verse 22): We must be DOERS of the Word and not simply listeners. Help me to be more of a doer and less of a listener when it comes to Your Will and Your Word, Lord.
EXAMPLE (verses 2-4): We will endure trials as the testing of our faith produces endurance and we must allow God to work through us in those trials so that He can complete His work in us for that trial to mature and complete us.
*DAILY NOTE: This was not a strong journaling experience for me today because I read through the chapter several times to truly understand it all and, to be quiet honest, I was not "fully present" as I should have been. I wanted to start here for two reasons:
1) It's the start of the book, so a great place to begin my blog.
2) It gives an example that it's okay not to be extra wordy and involved, because at least you are spending time in relationship with God.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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