“But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.” – James 3:14 Pastor Douglas Twitchell wrote the following about envy: “Every morning my mom would toast up and butter a big old stack of toast and put it […]
‘In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.’ Romans 12:6 A fascinating study was done on divergent thinking—which is thinking outside the box. The results? 98% of children between three and five years old scored in the genius category for divergent thinking. Between eight […]
“but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” – James 1:14-15 In the book about “Searching for Jesus’ Path of Power […]
“Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” – James 3:18 In the book “The Magnificent Story”, James Bryan Smith writes: “From 1992 to 1995 the world witnessed one of the worst civil conflicts, the Bosnian War. Three factions, each tied to a religion (Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats, […]
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” James 4:1 Alisa D. Bowman describes the daily “bathroom counter war” she had with her husband. He liked a completely cleaned counter, she liked two objects on the counter: her toothbrush and facial […]
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” – James 3:13 Daniel Grothe, in his book “Chasing Wisdom” gives an analogy of wisdom and jazz: “All great jazz musicians have at least 3 […]
“Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” James 3:1 Anoop Shankar is a former West Virginia University and Virginia Commonwealth University medical professor. He allegedly provided false information to immigration authorities, forged signatures of […]
“But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” – James 2:18 Ulrich Zwingli was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. He attended the University of […]
“Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You […]
“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.” – James 2:1 On March 12, 2020, Rose Wakefield stopped for gas at Jacksons Food Store in Beaverton, Oregon when Nigel Powers, the attendant on duty at the time, was pumping gas for other drivers but refused […]
‘The king said to me, “What is it you want?”’ Nehemiah 2:4 The rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls began with two questions the king asked Nehemiah. The first question was ‘What is bothering you?’ Nehemiah 2:2. The second question was ‘What is it you want?’ Nehemiah 2:4. Nehemiah replied, ‘… send […]
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” – James 2:12-13 In her book “In His Image”, author Jen Wilken writes: “My husband, […]
“Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you [from us], so that you may be zealous for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I […]
‘The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.’ Romans 1:17 The story has been told of a mother who said to her son, ‘It’s time to get up and go to school.’ He replied, ‘I’m not going to school today!’ His mother said, ‘Why not?’ He replied, ‘Because […]
‘”Your prayers and your acts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God.”’ Acts 10:4 God told Cornelius that his prayers had gone up as a memorial before him. Memorials are usually built for people who are dead and gone. What a great promise this is. Even after […]