Musings

My reading this morning was James 4:11-12: Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? When reading the epistle of James, we should keep in mind that James grew up with the Lord and saw perfect, divine behaviour first-hand. The word Christian means ‘little Christ’, therefore we are to imitate Christ’s walk as revealed in the New Testament and we are grateful to James for these practical guidelines. The Lord never spoke evil of anyone, yet He knew the intents of people’s hearts. He only spoke righteous words of judgement against the hypocritical religious leaders of the day with divine authority. The whole area of church discipline is another matter, but we as believers are not to judge. We often jump to wrong conc...

C.S. Lewis wrote that joy is the 'serious business of heaven'. Could there be anything more joyous for us than Christ's coming into the world to procure redemption for mankind? The promise of His coming is found right at the outset of the Old Testament (Genesis 3:15). He would come to crush the head of Satan  and that is precisely what He did on the cross:   ...having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.   Colossians 2:14-15 (NIV) No wonder the angel proclaimed this message to the shepherds in Bethlehem that night: Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord! Luke 2:10-11 (NKJV) The people were to rejo...

Do you ever feel sometimes that you need a shake to wake up? Well, I do, and that is why I always go back to the Book of James to read words which have a rude-awakening effect. Perhaps James is addressing issues that he has learned from personal experience. He writes in ch 1:19 that we should be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath . What he writes about the tongue later are some of the strongest words in the New Testament. I wonder if he was somewhat vocal against the Lord’s teaching and that is why the Lord specifically appeared to him after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7)? Every verse in James is packed full of practical truth and wisdom. This morning I was reading verses 22-27 of the first chapter and again I am deeply challenged by the LIVING Word of God: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after lo...

It struck me as I started to read the Book of James that James describes himself as ‘a SERVANT of God and the Lord Jesus Christ’. We know from other sources that this James was the half-brother of the Lord. He grew up with Him in a normal family environment and would have shared many aspects of life with Him, yet he does not introduce himself as 'James, the half-brother of the Lord'. What made him use the word ‘servant’ when we read in John 7:5 that he and his other brothers did not believe in the Lord prior to His crucifixion? THE RESURRECTION of course! 1 Corinthians 15:7 tells us that James saw the risen Christ. What a revelation to the unbelieving James! Now it became clear to him that all the things Jesus had said were true and that He was indeed the Messiah. It is also precious to note that Jude describes himself as ‘a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James’! Again, an unbelieving half-brother of the Lord declares himself a ‘SERVANT’ of Christ. For tho...