James 1:19-27 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is James 1:19-27. Let’s go!
James 1:19-20 (NIV)
19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
On verses 19-20: Jesus came to give us life to the full (John 10:10), especially in our relationships. If we want to experience the full and “righteous life that God desires” for us, we need to follow God’s way of handling relationships. That includes being “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (v19). Often it is our failure to manage our anger in appropriate and healthy ways that causes destruction in our relationships.
James 1:21-22 (NIV)
21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
On verses 21-22: From verse 21 we learn that God’s Word is our life saver. It has the power to save us from our sins and also to save us from the unnecessary destruction that our sins (or as verse 21 puts it, “moral filth and evil”) cause in our relationships. To experience the saving power of God’s Word, we need to “humbly accept the word planted in you” (v21). What does it mean to “humbly accept the word planted in you”? It means not just listening to the word, or reading it, but doing what God’s Word says. Are you someone who humbly accepts God’s Word planted in you? Are you a doer of God’s Word or a hearer only? If you want to experience the saving power of God’s word at work in your life, be a doer of God’s Word.
James 1:23-25 (NIV)
23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror
24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.
On verses 23-25: God’s Word is not just my life saver. God’s Word is also my mirror. It shows me who I really am in a world that tries to define me in all sorts of other ways. Only by looking at God’s Word do you see who you really are: that you are loved by God, chosen by Him, priceless and precious in His eyes, made in His image, a masterpiece, gifted, born with a destiny, cherished by the Father, forgiven in Christ, empowered by His Holy Spirit, just to name a few. That’s why at Thrive we like to say, “This is my Bible. It is God’s Word. I am what it says I am, I have what it says I have and I can do what it says I can do.” When you read God’s Word and don’t do what it says, it’s like forgetting who you really are and being someone who you are not. But when you read God’s Word intently and persistently
Indeed how I read and hear God’s Word. Do I do so intently and persistently (v25)? Or do I do so passively, lazily and sporadically? How much blessing is in my life will be directly related to how well I hear, read and apply God’s Word.
James 1:26-27 (NIV)
26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
On verses 26-27: The biggest theme of the book of James is that true faith is shown in the way you live your life – how you speak, how you act, how you serve. Do you keep a good rein on your tongue? Do you take care of those in distress? Do you seek to please God with the areas of your life that maybe others don’t see? What you really believe about Jesus and the Bible is ultimately shown in how you behave.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word which is my life saver and my mirror. I pray that I would be a doer of Your Word and not a hearer only. I pray that like You, I would have a heart for orphans and widows in distress, and a desire to pursue holiness in areas that matter to You. Thank You that the more I love and obey Your Word, the more blessed I will be and the more of a blessing I will be to others. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
