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"Wisdom's True Children"

Chapter three has been a 'ripper' of a chapter. By that, I point to the straight trail through the woods that James has cut. The rotten and dead trees, underbrush, and weeds of a bad forest have been cut out to expose what could be a bountiful harvest in the field of any life lived before the Lord in the way that He wants. It was Jesus who pointe out that God makes it rain on the Good and the Bad. But, as James is striving to teach in this letter, it is ...

"Abraham: part two"

So we come to Genesis nineteen and the destruction of Sodom. As Abraham gazed somewhat westward, he might have seen the aftermath of the destruction and the downfall. His heart was heavy for Lot, maybe he said a prayer for Lot and his family. This was the second time that Abraham had had to struggle to save Lot. The first time had been in the face of armed conflict, now it was judgment on the city from God Himself. This was the same God that Abraham had a covenant ...

"Abraham, Part One"

In the last part we looked at Job and how the concept of 'mediator' was used in his story. Job wanted someone that would provide a place for him to present his case and who could 'make' God listen to Job's side of the story. In the end, Job becomes a mediator for his friends, and restores them to God's fellowship. Job offers prayer for them to be restored, and God listens to that prayer. It could be said that Job learned a new way to mediate and to trust God ...

"Overview: Block 2"

Okay, we come to what I consider the second major section of the letter, and of chapter one. The main aspects of Listening, Hearing/Reading, and Doing will lead us into a larger application in Chapter two. Chapter two will concern itself with 'How We Treat Others', but a theological sidelight for us will be 'Faith vs. Works'. The problem of preferential treatment in fellowhips was a big one in James, and he presents a point of view, from an Apostle, of it's ...

"Law, Sin, and Flesh"

In any serious study of scripture, the commentator, as an exegete of the written word, must rely on his view of Hermeneutics. This is simply how we view and interpret scriptures. As a reader, you must always read a verse in context and consider it from the view of how the thought is used in the contextual flow of the passage. One good example is in Acts14:

"Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."

Now, we ...