Tag Archives: James

“Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.” (James 5:10, AV) I remember in my first church receiving one of those less than gracious email diatribes. It was down right hurtful. I had poured my heart out into this coupleContinue reading “Persevering in Suffering (James 5:10)”

“Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.” (James 5:9, AV) One of the most difficult things for me in the pastorate was to endure the grumbling of parishioners in the congregation. It did not happen a lot, at least to my knowledge, but it didContinue reading “Do Not Grumble (James 5:9)”

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.” (James 5:7, AV) One day it seemed like I spent an eternity in a fast-food line. Under my breath, IContinue reading “Patience (James 5:7)”

“You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.” (James 5:5, ESV) One of the wealthiest men I ever personally knew drove a two-year-old Buick sedan. There was nothing special about the car. In fact, it was quite plain. He lived in aContinue reading “Hedonism (James 5:5)”

“Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.” (James 5:4, AV) In my days of employment, I have worked for good employers and othersContinue reading “Abuse Cries Out (James 5:4)”

“Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.” (James 5:2–3, AV) There is a television show called “Hoarders” thatContinue reading “Wasted Resources (James 5:2-3)”

“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.” (James 5:1, AV) In 1843, Charles Dickens wrote a novel titled, “A Christmas Carol.” I remember watching the film adaptation of the story on television every year at Christmas time when I was a boy. The main character,Continue reading “The Passion Problem (James 5:1-6)”

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17, ESV) In 1983, the Lord saved me as I read a Gideon Bible in a Minneapolis hotel room. Shortly thereafter, I visited a church of another denomination. When I entered the church, in the narthex,Continue reading “The Omission Problem (James 4:17)”

“As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” (James 4:16, ESV) In my first church experience, I remember a preacher once said, “The letter ‘I’ is in the center of the word ‘sin.’” His point was that there is a problem with “I.” I incorrectly interpreted that statement to meanContinue reading “The Problem of I (James 4:15-16)”

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14, AV) When I was a boy growing up in Pennsylvania, I spent a lot of time outdoors, even in the winter. We wouldContinue reading “Brevity of Life (James 4:14b)”