James 5:7-8 After Jesus’ ascension, his disciples were assured that he would return. The messengers said: “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but some day he will return in th...
James 4:13-14 James’ readers would have immediately understood his description of the eager business person. At the time, markets were opening up all around the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. There were endless opportunities to set...
James 4:11-12 Of course, we all know that we shouldn’t speak evil against one another. But it can happen so subtly that we often don’t spot it. Inevitably, within a church or any other community, there will be conversations about people. Those co...
James 4:6-7 We are right to think of God as being incredibly loving, forgiving and generous. But we must not lose sight of the fact that he is also a God who hates. The writer of Proverbs makes a list of the seven things that he detests: “proud e...
James 4:2-3 My wife and I have three children. I am well used to them asking me for things, and I am really pleased that they do so - even more now that they are adults. However, there are limits to what I am happy to give them. That’s not becaus...
James 3:18 There’s a big difference between peace loving and peace making. Surely, we all love the idea of peace. But peacemakers are those who are willing to do the tough job of getting involved in situations where there is no peace, in order to...
James 3:17 I wonder what sort of person you would most like to be. I suspect many of us would love to look something like James’ description here of a wise person. He has spent the last few verses talking about those destructive attitudes which c...
James 3:1 Teachers have an incredibly important role in the life of the Church - and that was especially true in the early Church. On a number of occasions, Paul referred to them as having one of the three most prominent ministries, alongside apo...
James 2:19-20 James was clearly sick and tired of people who thought that having faith was all that mattered. Here he launches a full-scale attack on that point of view by pointing out that even the demons believe in God. Their belief is so stron...
James 2:15-17 There have always been people who suggest that James and the apostle Paul disagreed with one another. Paul was absolutely clear that no amount of good works could ever earn us salvation. In Ephesians 2:8 he says: “For it is by grace...
James 2:13 Mercy lies right at the heart of God’s dealings with us. Because we have sinned against God we have no right to expect anything other than condemnation. That’s what justice would demand. But God has decided that justice should be set t...
James 2:1 It’s hard for us to imagine the social tensions with which the early Church had to live. The majority of Christians were poor, and many of them were slaves. Imagine the potential difficulties if a slave owner then became part of the chu...
James 1:27 The question of what genuine faith looks like is one that we meet in both the Old and New Testaments. The prophet Amos spoke powerfully about the rich people in his society who were so pleased with themselves that they were sure God wo...
James 1:26 James was deeply concerned about people who were phoney. They did religious things and made a good first impression but, in fact, their faith did nothing to affect their actions. And he was famously concerned about the abuse of the ton...
James 1:23-24 My ability to forget things constantly amazes me, but it probably shouldn’t. The brain decreases in size in our 30s and 40s and, more rapidly, in our 60s. Norman Wisdom, the much- loved comedian and actor, said: “As you get older th...
