Opening Prayer
Holy Spirit, open my mind to your word. Help me to understand what it says and to be sensitive to what it means for my life. Amen.
James 1:1-12
This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings!
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
Points to Ponder
- What did you find most interesting or noteworthy about today’s reading—and why?
- What’s the key message of this passage (e.g., what might it be saying about God, what God does, or about his desires for us)?
- What does this passage say to me about how I might be a more faithful follower of God?
All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.