The Book of James Rewritten In My Own Words

Chapter 1

James the apostle writes to the brethren. 

Hello.

Dear ones, when life is troubling in any way, when you feel surrounded by hopelessness and the world presses in all around, let your heart be filled with joy.  Exercising your faith in such circumstances builds endurance—like a long distance runner, you must practice.  You must build endurance so that you can be mature, that you can finish your race and not lack in energy throughout.  Joy comes in finishing, so be filled with joy at the prospect of being able to finish well.

            If you feel you don’t have wisdom, request it from your heavenly Father, who gives in abundance without a second thought; it will be given to you.  But ask as if you will receive it, don’t doubt for doubters are like a storm-tossed ship driven by gales of hurricane winds.  This is like being double-minded and unstable like a house with a shifting foundation, and this kind of person must not expect to receive anything, for what use is wisdom to such a person?

            Let the believer who is the least or in a poor circumstance boast in being lifted up and seated at the right hand of the Father, and the rich believer boast in being brought low in humility, for the riches they are used to will not be carried with them into the afterlife.  Their riches will disappear like a flower in the field, and they will be better to learn to not lean on them in this life, for amidst a busy life, riches can be lost in a moment.  The only one we can trust in is our Lord.

            Anyone who endures temptation is blessed with favor from God.  Such an overcomer who has stood the test will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.  No one should think that temptation comes from God—for God is disgusted with evil and would not dangle failure in our faces just to mock us.  But we are tempted by our own dark hearts, lured and enticed by the fleshliness of it; when desire is allowed to breed it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it matures, is the father of death.  Do not let your hearts deceive you, dear ones.

            Every time you find yourself giving generously or operating in any of the gifts, you are acting upon the inclination of the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, no shadowy places due to change, for He never changes.  These gifts are from him.  He gave us life to fulfill His purpose, so that we would be better than His first creatures, which fell to sin on the garden.

            You must make this your mantra, dear ones: be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.  For human anger does not produce God’s righteousness.  So rid yourself of this rank, rotten behavior which is detestable to God and submit to the fresh, sweet growth of the words planted in you, which has the power to save your souls.

            But you shouldn’t just hear these words and deceive yourselves into thinking you are growing.  You must also do what the words say to do.  If any just hear and don’t do, then they are like those who glance in a mirror in the morning and walk away without fixing their mussed hair, sandy eyes, and smeared mascara, going out into the world as if they were freshly done up.  But those that actually do the work and also persevere, these will be blessed in their doing, and also bless the heart of the Father.

            If any think they are a great follower of Christ, if any claim to be, and they do not bridle their tongues and let their hearts deceive them, their faith is practically worthless.  Faith that is attractive and sweet to God the Father is this: to care for those hurting, those lacking family and protection, those needing, those that no one else wants to care for, like orphans and widows, in their distress.  And also to keep oneself unstained by the delights of this world that our deceitful hearts lust after.

Chapter 2

My dear ones, do you really think you impress Jesus by showing favoritism?  For if a rich, attractive, and interesting person comes around and you show them great favor and deference, while you snub poor, unattractive, uninteresting people, do you not become like corrupt judges who, given bribes, will be convicted and thrown into prison?  Listen, my dear ones.  Hasn’t God chosen the poor to be rich in faith and to be heirs in the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?  But you dishonor the poor, in both material wealth and other attractions.  Isn’t it the rich people, rich in material wealth and other attractions, that are the ones that end up being oppressive?  Isn’t it a rich person who’d sue you for all you’re worth?  Isn’t it they that have time to make a bad name for you and the Lord God?

            You would do well to do what the words of God say.  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  But if you show partiality, you commit sin and will be taken to trial and convicted as a criminal.  For just by breaking this one part of the law, you have broken them all and will be put to death.  For the one who said not to commit adultery also said not to murder.  But if you do not commit adultery and murder, then you have still broken the word of the one who said it.  So speak and act like you are going to be judged by the one who set these laws of liberty.  For judgment without mercy will be given to you if you do not show mercy even unto these poor, unattractive, uninteresting people; mercy triumphs over judgment.

            What good is it, dear ones, if you say you have faith but do not have anything to show of it?  It is one thing to say you have faith, but you can truly prove you have it with action.  Can the idea of climbing up a rope ladder onto a ship save you from drowning in a shipwreck?  Or do you have to actually grab hold of the ladder and climb up?  If another believer lacks clothing and daily provisions and one of you says to them, ignoring their needs, “Go in peace, stay warm out there and I hope your dinner is awesome,” what is the good of that?  Just as shallow as that would be, so is faith itself without works.  It’s like a dead corpse without the life in it.

            Of course, someone would probably say to this, “I have great faith, and so-and-so has great works.  So it’s all good.  I spur them on, and they do.”  Show me your faith without works, I’d like to see it.  By my good works, I show you my faith!  You believe that God is the only God.  Good for you.  Even the demons believe this, and shudder at the great and terrible knowledge.  Do you want to be shown, you silly person, that corpses without life in them can’t go very far?  Abraham justified his faith when he was willing to offer up his one and only son as a sacrifice to God, by putting his faith into action.  Faith is brought to completion in works.  Because he believed God and put his faith into action, God called him his friend.  A person is justified by his works, not by his faith alone.  Rahab, a prostitute, was also justified by her works, for she welcomed messengers risking her life, and sent them out on a different road.  For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so is faith without works.  A dead corpse. 

Chapter 3

I don’t advise that a lot of you become teachers, dear ones, for not only do you have the responsibility of your own walk, but you will be held responsible for the material that you teach to others, and be judged in greater strictness because of your responsibility.  I know that everyone makes mistakes.  Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking could be called perfect, able to keep the whole body kept in check with a bridle.  It’s like when you put bits in the mouths of horses to make them obey.  With one fairly small tool, you can guide their whole bodies.  Ships, too, are guided by very small tools.  They are so large it takes strong winds to drive them, yet a tiny rudder will direct such a vessel wherever the captain directs.  So also the tongue is a small tool, yet it boasts of great exploits.

            How a great forest can be burnt to the ground by something as small as a spark or a bit of ash that has not been extinguished!  The tongue is like this small spark or bit of ash.  The tongue is capable of staining the whole body, setting afire the entirety of it so that it is subject to the fires of hell.  It’s so wild that none can tame it, us humans who have pretty much tamed every species of creature on earth.  It’s a restless evil, full of a deadly poison.  With it we can praise our most precious Lord and Father, and with it we also curse those made in his glorious image.  From the same place comes both blessing and cursing!  Dear ones, this ought to not be so.  Does a spring pour forth fresh water and bog water?  Can a fig tree grow olives naturally or a grapevine grow figs without someone to graft them on?

            Who among yourselves thinks you are wise and have a great understanding?  Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness towards others which is born of your wisdom.  But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t be boastful or false to the truth.  Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, and devilish.  For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and evil of every kind.  True wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good life results, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.  For those that sow peace where they go, for those that make peace, they will reap righteousness as a result.

Chapter 4

Where do conflicts and disputes among you come from?  Do they not come from your own dark hearts, the evil cravings that are at war within you?  You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder.  And you want something that is not yours and take it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts.  You do not have because you don’t ask.  You ask and do not receive because you ask with the wrong heart, so that you can appease your own dark heart’s pleasures!  Unfaithful cheaters!  Don’t you know that friendship with the world is like having an affair, cheating on the God that loves you?  So if you want to be friends with the world, you break his heart and incur his wrath.  Or do you think the scriptures say, “God longs jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us” for nothing?  But such a God that loves us understands our weakness, gives us all the more grace.  The scriptures say, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace the humble.”  Submit yourselves therefore to God, humble yourself before him.  Resist the devil and the desires of your dark hearts that he rises up within you, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and like a lover he will draw near to you with great joy!  Cleanse your hands, you who sin, and purify your hearts, those who are double-minded.  Truly lament your actions, weep and lay yourself low before God.  Let this repentance pierce your very soul so that you cannot even laugh or have joy because of your God-hurting actions.  Humble yourselves before God, and he will lift you up off your face like good king, and give you the princely seat he has promised.

            Do not speak evil against one another, dear ones.  Whoever speaks evil against another judges another, speaks evil against the law of God and also judges the law itself.  This exalts yourself (proudly) to the position of a judge.  There is but one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and destroy.  Who are you to try and take His place?

            Now, for those of you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go here, spend a year there, doing business and making money” as if you are god of the future.  You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring!  What is your life?  You are a like a morning mist which appears for moments and then vanishes once the sun comes out.  What you really ought to say is, “If the Lord wishes, we will do this and that.”  Make your plans as if God exists. Without figuring him into the picture, consulting him, you boast in your own arrogance and all such boasting is evil.  Anyone then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.

Chapter 5

Now for those of you who are rich and trust in your riches, you should prepare yourself for the heart-break that is coming.  Your stored-up riches will rot and your clothes will be eaten by moths when you are gone.  Your gold and silver piled high will rust, and their rust will be evidence against you, will eat your flesh like fire.  You laid up treasure for the last days, but when you are dead, it does you no good!  If you have cheated anyone, the Lord God has heard their cry.  While you lived on earth in luxury and pleasure while others suffered, you fattened your heart for the day of slaughter only.  By doing wrong to others, by not using your wealth on those, you have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

            Have patience, then, dear ones, until the day that God comes back.  Farmers wait for their crops to grow, until it receives all the rains needed.  You must also be patient in this season.  Strengthen your hearts, build up your endurance, for the coming of the Lord is near.  Dear ones, do not grumble against one another, do not sin against one another with your mouths so that you will be judged.  See, the Judge is standing at the entranceway.  As an example of suffering and patience, dear ones, look to the example of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord, those who died long before their prophetic words were fulfilled.  Indeed we call them blessed for their endurance, and their prophecies came true.  You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

            Above all, dear ones, do not be so that you have to swear or make an oath to make people believe your word.  Let your ‘yes’ answers be true and your ‘no’ answers be true too, so that you may not fall under condemnation for your idle, lying words.

            Are any among you troubled, hopeless, or feel surrounded by the pressures of this world?  They should pray, go to the God who has power to give strength and provide.  Are any having a great time, glad at the blessings in their God-blessed lives?  They should praise God, sing forth songs of praise to lift up His name and thank Him for His blessing.  Are any among you ill in either soul or body?  They should call the elders of the church to pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.  The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up.  And lastly, but not the least, anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven, if they come before the Lord in the humble spirit that God loves.  Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed.  The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.  The prophet Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain.  Just like he prayed, there was a great drought for three years and six months.  Then when he prayed again, the heavens gave rain.  The same God that helped Elijah is the God we worship and pray to; remember that.

            Dear ones, if anyone of you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death

Confessions Of A Martha...

Luke 10: 38 - 42 (NIV)

 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”   41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42 begins the story of two sisters, Mary and Martha.  Each has a drastically different personality and response to the situations in which they find themselves.  Martha is busily trying to prepare dinner for thirteen men (perhaps more, if she was preparing dinner for herself and her sister, as well as their brother Lazarus) while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to what he has to say.

I’d like to point out that I have heard many sermons and read many Bible studies on these two sisters, but it almost always seems the case that we are told to be like Mary.  Jesus himself told Martha, “Mary has chosen what is better.”  Isn’t that enough to show us to be like Mary?

Even more so, if you read John 12:1-8, we see the same two sisters and Jesus and two very different responses to him.  This is the infamous scene about the woman who pours expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and wipes his feet with her hair.  (Not to be confused with the sinful woman, commonly thought a prostitute, who does something similar in Luke 7.)  Jesus replies in verses 7-8 “Leave her alone…  It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.  You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”  Mary had, once again, made the better choice. 

Where, might you ask, was Martha during this exchange?  John 12:2 says, “Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor.  Martha served…”

Martha obviously was a go-getter, a task-oriented person, one who was not afraid of a large task (cooking and serving more than thirteen men).  But why was Martha so bad?

Was Martha really ‘bad’?

In Mark 9:35, Jesus tells his disciples, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”  If you go by this definition, one could almost argue that Martha was far better than Mary… in both instances Martha was serving everyone, including Jesus.

Exploring this concept further, one might also conclude that God made Mary and Martha, each with their individual personalities and talents.  God made Mary a people-person and Martha a task-oriented person.  I don’t think that God makes people who they are and then punishes them by telling them they aren’t good enough for him…  That is mostly to answer a few sermons I’ve heard stating that true followers of Christ have people-oriented personalities and people with task-oriented personalities need to change themselves in order to please God.  (I am not stating that people who follow Christ should not love people… loving people and having a people-oriented personality are two different things.)

Even Jesus, in Luke 4:42-43, turned away people-interaction for the task he had at hand.  He went away to a deserted place to spend time with God and crowds of people came looking for him.  To sit at his feet like Mary, and also to be healed and blessed.  They wanted him to stay forever, and I am sure Jesus in his physical form would have loved to sit and minister to everyone eternally.  However, he told them that he had a purpose—he had to walk the path set before him so he could ultimately redeem everyone everywhere from their sins and be able to minister to everyone eternally.  He had a task to complete, and that was more important than physically ministering eternally to those gathered.

So why then was Martha so bad?

It is very interesting if you read earlier in John, prior to the dinner at which Mary anointed Jesus’ feet and Martha served.  John 11:5 says (Ace emphasis added):

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

It is interesting that it says ‘Martha and her sister’ and not ‘Mary and her sister’.  Furthermore, if you read on through John 11:27, you see further interaction with Jesus and Martha.  I particularly love verse 20, which says:

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

Not only did Jesus love Martha, but Martha also shows a love for Jesus in her actions.  To put it in context, Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus had just passed away.  Mary was probably home mourning, but Martha, in her time of need, ran to Jesus.

No, I don’t think that Mary is any more “good” than Martha, and I certainly don’t think that is the case in Jesus’ eyes.  After all, he died for both all the same.  But there are some interesting case studies in the Bible of certain people that won God’s friendship and confidence more than others.  Noah walked with God, John was the disciple Jesus loved.  I think God has the same father’s love for all of us, and when Jesus died he had all of us on his mind, even though that is a hard concept to grasp.  Our minds are so finite, and God’s love so vast.

I think that this might be the case with Martha, though.  That she was one of those people that won Jesus’ friendship in a way like the apostle John.  Why else would he have loved “Martha and her sister and Lazarus”?

Of all the people to invite Jesus in, Martha was the one.  She invited he and all of his disciples and decided to exert herself by serving them all.  Jesus said in Luke 9:58, “…the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”  I’ve never been homeless, but there have been times where I have not thought there was a safe place for me to sleep, and it was horrible.  Jesus had no home.  I am not sure where he and his disciples slept most of the time.  It must have been a relief to Jesus’ physical body to be invited into such a home as Martha kept, and the disciples were probably anticipating a home-cooked meal.  Martha’s heart was certainly in the right place when she opened her home to them.

Or was it? 

Jesus said, “Mary has chosen what is better.”  Was he ungrateful for her hospitality?  I doubt it.  Jesus probably saw her servant’s heart and loved her for it.  But do you think he truly came to her house just for a place to rest and eat?  I doubt that too.

It seems to be a common theme that Jesus came to eat or spend time with people to bless them, the sinners and tax collectors. Zacchaeus is a good example.  No, I doubt that Jesus the Son of God, who could turn stones into bread if he wanted or feed five thousand with a few fish and some loaves of bread, would have thought of just staying at Martha’s for a little while to eat her good cooking.  Perhaps that’s what his disciples thought about.  But the main point is that Jesus was fully capable of providing for their physical needs as well as their spiritual needs. 

Martha thought that if she didn’t cook, everyone would be hungry.  Well, the reality is that if she would have spent time with Jesus, as he really desired of her, he could have fed them all with a miracle.  And we could have been reading about the miraculous supper or something like it, instead of Mary choosing better while Martha was stressed out in the kitchen and then made a scene about Mary not helping her.  Sure, Mary ought to have been helping.  But Jesus did not come to cause strife to the family household, to stress Martha or Mary out, or to sample Martha's cooking.  He just wanted to touch their hearts.  That’s why it was the better choice. 

What about you?  Are you running around, stressing yourself out over something when you ought to be letting Jesus minister to you?  Are you far too busy with things that are unimportant?  Are you “worried and upset about many things”? I must confess I am a very task-oriented person and since I like to plan ahead I also worry a lot, and this message has really spoken to my heart.

Jesus says in Matthew 11: 28 -30:

28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

If you find you are a Martha, rest easy—Jesus loves you just as you are.  Jesus doesn’t want you to be Mary, he simply wishes you’d make the choice she did.  He longs for you to spend time with him, to let him minister to you.

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  He also loves you.

Unstoppable

Luke 9:49-50

New International Version (NIV)

 49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

   50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Two simple verses.  John, the disciple that is frequently mentioned as the ‘disciple whom Jesus loved’, tells Jesus he and the others caught some outsider driving out demons.  They tried to stop the man, as he wasn’t one of the group.  Jesus, in turn, gives them an answer:

“Do not stop him.”

The disciples at the beginning of Luke Chapter 9 had all been recently sent out to practice what Jesus had demonstrated, incredible miracles and feats.  They went out filled with power and authority given to them from on high. 

Some time thereafter Jesus took the three disciples Peter, James, and John, his inner sanctum of friends, up to a mountain-top to pray.  There, the three saw Jesus lifted high and shown to be who he is—the Son of God—in a great and powerful way.  The other disciples, mind you, were not privy to this glorious moment.  They were still somewhere down off of that great mountain-top experience. 

Luke 9:37-43 give some insight into what the rest of the disciples were doing.  It appears in verse 40 that a man begged of the remaining disciples to cast a demon out from his son.  They were slaving away while a precious few of their bunch received all of the glory and attention and privilege above.  To make matters worse, they were unsuccessful at driving out the demon, which scripture shows is generally not a pretty sight.  Fortunately, Jesus came just in time to save the boy, and the disciples.  I wonder what Peter, James, and John thought at that moment in time, or if they, too, had tried and were unsuccessful in casting out the demon. 

The Bible doesn’t record the thoughts or feelings of the “left behind” disciples or how incredibly humbled or stupid they must have felt, or how they might have been jealous at not being included in the transfiguration scene.  But verses 46 thru 48 show that there must have been some sort of tension between the three and nine remaining disciples.

Verse 46 states that an argument arose among them as to which one was the greatest.  I am sure that the “left behind” disciples were thinking Peter, James, and John must be better than them.  Or even worse, Peter, James, and John might have got to thinking that they were better than the rest because of what they saw.  Jesus knew their thoughts and brought all of their pompous, selfish human desires to light in verses 47-48 by stating something contrary to human nature:

“…The least among all of you is the greatest.”

I am sure this statement made those “left behind” disciples feel the love Jesus truly had for them, and brought humility to his three closest disciples, if they had pride swelling in their hearts!  I often wonder, however, which disciple was the least among them at that time.  Was it, perhaps, Judas, who Jesus knew would betray him?  It is hard to think of any lesser disciple.  And yet the Great Shepherd would leave the ninety-nine for the least of men who were lost.

Coming back to the opening verses, however, we have a revelation of hearts, both human and divine.  In verse 49 John brings a complaint to Jesus—a man who is not even the least of the disciples is casting out demons in Jesus’ name. 

At some point between the argument of who was greatest and John’s complaint, the disciples together (perhaps humbled and brought back to unity) found one lone man declaring Jesus’ name and doing the work of the kingdom.  This man was so obscure that he is not even named in scripture, but I think perhaps from the reaction of the disciples, and what Jesus replies, this man must have been successful.  It is very ironic that the disciples found a man not in their circle of friends who was successful in something they were publicly humiliated for because of their own failure.

The point, however, is that the man did not physically follow Jesus like the twelve.  He didn’t see Jesus transfigured.  He may have sat in the crowds, listened to Jesus’ teaching, and then took to heart the kingdom of which Jesus preached.  But he was not a disciple, never invited in.  Jesus did not ask him to take Judas’ place, even though Jesus knew Judas would betray him.  We do not know if Jesus even spoke to the unnamed man who cast out demons. 

Perhaps he did.  I sometimes wonder, if when Jesus went out to pray by himself, if he ran into this unnamed man, had an unrecorded life-changing encounter with him.  Or did this man, who never spoke with Jesus, merely have great faith to cast out demons in his name?  Whatever the case may be, he was successful at casting out demons when the “greater disciples” (because they were least) were not.  And the greater disciples (greater on human standards, John included) tried to stop him because he was not one of them.

The interesting thing is that Jesus spoke up for the unnamed man and said words I wish he’d say about me—

“Do not stop him,” … and basically (Ace paraphrase), “he’s on our team.”

What about you?  Do you feel small, insignificant?  Unnamed and unknown like this random man casting out demons in Jesus’ name?  Are you not one of the “great ministers” whose names are known in every church, and even in secular circles?  Do you compare yourself to them and feel insignificant?  I want to encourage you today that God says of you—

“You are great to me.”

The man casting out demons in Jesus’ name was not named in the Bible, but his testimony to faithfulness was recorded there, and I am sure his actions are recorded in God’s Book of Remembrance.  What about you?  Even Jesus had something to say about his testimony.  I believe he says the same thing of you, though.

He says of you—

“Do not stop him.  He’s on the team.”