Jogging Through James

For the Audio Version on YouTube, click here -  James 5:13-20 For the Audio Version on SoundCloud, click here -  James 5:13-20   James 5:13-16 13  Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.  14  Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  15  And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  16  Confess  your  trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  After warning the believers against swearing by anything in earth or in heaven, James then begins to conclude his letter with some very specific instructions pertaining to various situations they might find themselves in. He begins by telling those who are going through any kind of suffering, to pray. While this might s

  For the Audio Version on YouTube, click here -  James 2:14-26 For the Audio Version on SoundCloud, click here -  James 2:14-26 James 2:14-17 “ What  does it  profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?  15  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,  16  and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what  does it  profit?  17  Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” After addressing the issue of partiality to the rich and discrimination against the poor, James then turns his attention to another very important aspect – one that is being misunderstood in The Church even today – it’s the aspect of faith. When the word, ‘faith,’ is used, there can be different understandings of the word that spring to mind. Some understand faith to refer to one’s level of belief in God, to the point of seeing miracles

  For the Audio Version on YouTube, click here -  James 1:26-2:13 For the Audio Version on SoundCloud, click here -  James 1:26-2:13 James 1:26 26 “ If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion  is  useless.  After speaking about trials, seeking wisdom, money, temptations and obeying the word of God, James now turns his attention to what it means to be religious or in other words, a person who considers himself a true believer, living out his faith in every possible way. He says that if anyone considers himself religious, then there’s one very strong evidence of that – it’s the way one communicates. He will be able to control the use of his tongue. He uses the word, ‘bridle,’ as that was something that everybody would have been familiar with, since horses were used much back in the day, and a horse was controlled by a bridle that was connected to the bit in its mouth. In other words, James was saying th

  For the Audio Version on YouTube, click here - James 1:16-25 For the Audio Version on SoundCloud, click here - James 1:16-26 James 1:16-18 16  Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.  17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18  Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. James had just said that God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone with evil. Now James cautions the believers to not be deceived by people who teach falsely about God. There was deception in the early church as there is today as well. In fact Jesus told the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares because He knew that there would be deceivers in the church. (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43). Once we allow ourselves to get deceived concerning the nature of God, it’s only a matter of time before we get back into our old life of si