I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on James 1-5.

The Book of James may be my favorite book of the Bible. James makes a lot of good point and they are each logically connected to each other. He starts by telling us to rejoice in our suffering because suffering improves our endurance. or as the NIV translates it, perseverance (or as I have heard it said, “stick-with-itness”). The ability to stick with doing God’s will in the face of difficulty strengthens us and makes us better able to please Him, similar to the way that developing physical endurance makes an athlete better able to excel in his sport. James indirectly reminds us that wisdom will allow us to determine if we should take it as an opportunity to develop our endurance, or as a sign that we should change course. If we are unsure which it is, we but need to ask God for the wisdom to know and He will generously provide it.

I had not noticed before today how James makes a point, makes the next point, or two, then comes back and reinforces the first point. He writes about enduring suffering, then about asking God for wisdom, then about the poor not being inferior to the rich, then back to enduring. Next, he writes that it is not enough to listen to God’s word, we have to actually do what it says. This is a them he comes back to shortly when he writes that having faith is not enough. We must act on that faith. Believing in God does us no good if we still act selfishly. Even demons believe in God, but they are condemned because they rebel against Him.

Finally, James informs/warns us that in order to live our faith we need to control what we say. James tells us that if we can learn to control what we say, we can control all of our other actions as well. More than that, he reminds us of something Jesus said, what we say reflects who we really are. If we use foul language it is because there are foul thoughts and attitudes in our hearts. When we seek to stop using foul language because it is foul, and not just in order to present a better image, goes a long way to removing that foulness from our hearts and minds. Learning to allow the Holy Spirit to filter what we say transforms us into people who serve God in other ways. James words on this do not just apply to foul language, but to any ill-thought words we might speak.