Kevin Taylor's Bible Study
Title:
James Chapter 1
by Kevin Taylor
The Book Of James!
God bless all of you.
Over the next few weeks we shall be taking a look
at the book of James. ‘James’ the half brother of Jesus between A.D. 45-48
wrote the book of James and it is jam packed with Goodies. May I encourage
you to read the book of James, it’s only five chapters and it is ‘easy reading’
for the newer Christians. The book of James is a book I turn back to time
and time again, and I always find something new. In every book in the bible
you will always find something new every time you read it no-matter how
many times you have read it before. That’s because God is revealing to you
new revelations of existing truth. In other words the things you are seeing
for the first time have always been there, it’s just that The Lord has chosen
to reveal them to you at this time because he treats us as individuals.
He teaches us at a pace he knows is best for us and that fits his divine
purpose, and one other thing, read what is written rather what you would
like to see written. Anyway, back to the book of James.
James 1 v 1 “James
a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which
are scattered abroad, greetings.”
This introduction is beautiful; he calls himself ‘A servant of God’ and
it is addressed to the “twelve tribes scattered abroad.” Whilst all the
bible is for you and I, it is important to take note of who it was originally
addressed to and what the writer is addressing at that time so that you
can take the message in context and then see how it relates to in the here
and now. The ‘Twelve tribes scattered abroad’ speaks to me of people of
god that are away from home. If they are away from home then it’s not unreasonable
to suppose that they are feeling a little ‘home sick’ and are missing their
true homeland. With this in mind it’s not surprising that James writes in
verses 2-4:
“Consider it pure joy, my brethren whenever you face trials
of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature
and complete, not lacking anything.”
James is building them up, he is encouraging them, he points them to the
fact that they will be better in the long run because of the trials they
are going through at the moment. He says that this testing will develop
perseverance, ‘don’t give up’ is the battle cry here, don’t loose heart
you will grow in maturity because of the present. The book of James is full
of encouragement, correction and enthusiasm, and James continues in verse
12:
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has
stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised
to those who love him.”
He goes on in V 13 “When tempted, no-one should
say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted with evil, nor does
he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he
is dragged away and enticed.”
All this and we aren’t even half way through the first chapter. In chapter
one, verses 1-18 the subjects being dealt with are ‘trials and temptations.’
If you or someone you know are dealing with the same sort of things, then
be encouraged in the same manner as they were. It’s good in times of trial
to turn to the book of James to be encouraged and corrected because when
under pressure, it is easy for our minds to wander off at all sorts of tangents,
and the word of God is like a compass to a ship in a storm, it will put
you back onto the correct heading. From verse 19 through to the end of the
chapter James is dealing with ‘Listening and doing’ and we will be taking
a look at this next time in James part two. So until then, May the Lord
bless you. love kev
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