You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Back in the early days of this study I told the story of a toy firetruck I received for Christmas as a very small child. However, there was an aspect of that story that I didn’t share…
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. This second verse of chapter four continues on the theme of conflict among the brethren that James began in the previous verse. But before we dive into that,…
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? During the War of 1812, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry won a decisive victory over the British Navy on Lake Erie. His communication of that victory to his superiors has become the stuff…
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. There is a story my Dad tells of his growing up years, one that…
For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. In Greek mythology the story is told of twin giants, named Otus and Ephialtes. Together they were called the “Aloadae”, after their father, Aloeus. These two enormous brothers were ambitious and aggressive. At one point they even tried to storm Mount Olympus…
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. Many…
This week we’ll bite off a lager piece of James than usual, just because this section contains variations on one common theme. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My…
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. When we arrived home to Brazil, a little over four weeks prior to the time of this…
See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. In last week’s devotional we noted…
Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts…