Go and Do, Day 15 Choose your side. Read James 4:4-6. James has just finished saying that sometimes we pray for the wrong things. Sometimes we ask God for things that are really more about our own selfish desires than they are about God’s desires for us. As a result, we have these 3 verses. James wants us to understand that we cannot be friends with both God and the world. We must choose a side. Either we are going to be desiring the things of the world, or we will be desiring after God. Either we are longing for the things of this world or we will be longing…

Go and Do, Day 14 “But I want it!” Read James 4:1-3. Many a mother has heard that phrase screamed by their toddler when passing through stores. Many a teenager has made this statement. Many an adult has said this in their heart. We want what we want, and we want it now. James wants us to understand that God is the one who supplies all of our needs. We are to come to God when we have things that we need, and God will provide for us. However, sometimes the things that we ask God for really aren’t things we need. It doesn’t stop us from asking for them,…

Go and Do, Day 13 What does wisdom look like? Read James 13-18. Wisdom can often be something that is difficult to describe. We understand that it means someone who knows a lot and does the right thing, but how do you define what it means to be wise? James helps us understand the difference by giving a definition of wisdom. Godly wisdom is pure, peaceable, full of mercy, submissive, considerate, impartial, and sincere. These might not be words that you would necessarily use to describe wisdom. We normally think of wisdom as intelligence, but these characteristics are critical in understanding what godly wisdom is and what it looks like.…

Go and Do, Day 12 Pick one. Read James 3:7-12. James continues talking about the influence and impact of the tongue. Such a small thing has such an incredible impact. Here, James discusses the fact that we can use the same tongue to do incredible and phenomenal good in the world, and yet we can also use it to be unspeakably evil to others. We use our mouth and our tongue to praise God and to bless him. And yet we also then use it to curse other people. James recognizes that this is not how things should be. He continues to share the importance of being consistent in our…

Go and Do, Day 11 The power of the tongue. Read James 3:1-6. James understands just how powerful the tongue is. The things that we say have incredible influence over both our own thoughts and the thoughts of others. We can use this power intentionally and thoughtfully and do incredible amounts of good with it. Or we can be thoughtless, mean, cruel and do tremendous amounts of evil with it. Do we understand the power that the tongue has? Are we intentional about how we speak and the words that we say? We must understand that words spoken cannot be retracted. People remember the things that are said that impact…

Go and Do, Day 10 What does it take to have complete faith? Read James 2:20-26. James continues his argument that faith and works must go together. Today we see him give two separate examples. Both of these people were mentioned in the Old Testament. Both are also mentioned in Hebrews, chapter 11 in the famous hall of faith chapter. Abraham and Rahab. One, an icon of Jewish and Israelite historical value, the other a prostitute. Both we see had faith and believed, and both took action based on their faith. James wants us to understand the importance that yes, their faith had to come first, but they’re faith couldn’t…

Go and Do, Day 9 How do your beliefs translate into action? Read James 2:19. Just this one verse today, but it’s a good one that is left in with all the discussion regarding how your faith should translate into works. Here we see that belief and faith are not te same thing. James says that the demons actually believe in God. They believe, but the only action that produces in their lives is a trembling. They have sense enough to tremble, but they don’t turn in repentance. Their belief doesn’t grow into faith. Their faith doesn’t blossom into action. What comes from our belief? What does it produce in…

Go and Do, Day 8 Is your faith on life support? Read James 2:14-18. Here, James makes his most direct statement yet. Faith that does not produce works is dead. James indicates that if we are not actively demonstrating our faith, then it’s not real and alive within us. When we take a look at the faith we have in Christ, how tangible is that faith? Can we examine it based on our actions? Do we make decisions and take steps based upon the faith that we say we have in Christ? If the answer is no, we have to conclude that our faith may be on life support. We…