Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

James 4:4-6 4 You adulterous people,don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” When the early Christians chose to indulge in their pleasures instead of serving God, James says they are choosing the world over Him. How? Jesus says, "You cannot serve two masters. Either you will grow to love the one, and/or hate the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Adultery seems like a strange word to use in this situation. But what is adultery? It is choosing to not be faithful to the one you have given yourself to, and giving yourself to someone else. So then it makes sense that James would talk about our relationship with God, and h...

Submit Yourselves to God James 4:1-3 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Another area of great concern for James is the in-fighting that is happening in the early church. It is one thing to have a healthy debate when a church is growing over key issues, but these were outright destructive fights, which led to division and strife in the body, and were a terrible witness to the world. Who would want to be a part of a church that is always fighting about petty arguments? And at the core of these behaviors is self-centeredness with people wanting what they want, with wrong motives. An argument is usually the result of someone wanting to prove ...

Two Kinds of Wisdom 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. James continues to exhort the teachers, who he said verses earlier, would be subject to greater judgment. Here he addresses the issue of wisdom. He illustrates two kinds of wisdom, that are quite different from each other. He makes a very stark difference between the two when he says, one is "heavenly", and...

James 3:7-11 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James uses several more analogies to drive home the problem when Christians beliefs don't match their words. Even wild animals can be tamed, but it appears the tongue can't be. And we are made in God's image which should be reflected in who we are and what we say. And then James lifts up the principle problem with this kind of behavior. With the same mouth ...

James 3:3-6 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. James gives two powerful examples of how something small controls something that is very big. What makes a bit so powerful is that it is placed between a horse's teeth on its sensitive gums. An ill fitted bit can cause so much pain it causes the horse to be obstinate. Likewise even though a ship is not driven by a fierce storm when a rudder is guiding its way, yet a rudderless ship is bound for de...

Taming the Tongue 3 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. Today James teaches on the importance of taming the tongue. And nowhere is this more important than for those who are teachers of the Word. In fact, James says teachers will be judged more strictly than others. This is not a judgment for sin, but for what we do with the gifts we have been given. Teaching is one of the spiritual gifts given to those in the body of Christ. Teachers teach the Word of God in a manner that builds up and edifies the believers, to make them stronger in the faith. And of course they do that by what they say, which makes it all the more important for them to tame their tongues. Here are some reasons for this strong admonition from James: 1. Teachers represent God and therefore their...

James 2:25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. As we know from the scriptures that Rahab was a prostitute, whose inn became a shelter for many wayward traveling men and the subsequent immorality. Isn't it interesting that her eventual transformation included sheltering the spies for their holy purpose to check out the promised land for Joshua. She was smart too, as she put her flax out to dry, which she also used to hide them when them when the Amorites came knocking at her door. Then, when they needed to be sent on their way, she lowered hem from the roof, with a scarlet rope she had. When the spies left they remembered that the command from God to Joshua was to completely wipe out the Amorites, and all the people in the city of Jericho. The scarlet rope would be left out to...

James 2:20 "You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. " Many people think being justified by faith is an New Testament concept that Jesus introduced. As James teaches the early church in Jerusalem the connection between faith and works, he uses the example of Abraham, which the Christian Jews would be familiar with. He quotes the verse from Genesis 15:6 when it says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." This sounds remarkably similar to Paul ...

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. Today James wants to make sure to teach that faith will always lead to deeds. This is not to be confused by the argument some were making that deeds equal faith. The argument would be, "you have faith with out deeds, I have deeds without faith, what's the difference?" Well the difference is deeds never equal faith. And, deeds never will save a person. After all if we could be saved by works, Jesus didn't need to die on the cross! And if deeds did save us, how many good deeds would one have to do to be saved. One. A hundred. A thousand. You can see how problematic this thinking is. These people were arguing that there was one God so what did it matter? Meaning whether it is faith or deeds since it is all directed to God what is the problem? Notice...

Faith and Deeds 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James today brings up the balance between faith and works, or deeds. As we have seen over the past couple of days, the early church had been neglecting the poor in their midst. In fact they were showing favoritism by neglecting the poor in favor of the rich. So James asks them a challenging question? How can one claim to have faith when it is not accompanied by deeds? If someone is without food and clothing, can a person of faith just say "go in peace and hope someone else might help you?" Or, "we are not a social service agency go find help from someone ...

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. 12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James is showing us today how arbitrary things can get when the Law is used to judge others. When Jesus brought in the new law, based on the new covenant he said all of the law is summed up by two laws, "Love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. And the second is like it, "love your neighbors as yourself....

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? Who is poor and who is rich that is the question today? Most people judge who is rich by a person's net worth. Many put their worth in their net worth. There is only problem with this, when we die we can't take it with us. Jesus judges net worth in terms of the kingdom. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. Jesus came to inaugurate God's kingdom and showed us what is truly valuable. Jesus gave us a new definition of being rich in God's eyes, which is very different than in the world. And what is interesting is that your view of true riches changes your view of ho...

Favoritism Forbidden 2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? So often we says the word "he/she is my favorite". While this is quite natural do, even with kids, James forbids it in the early church. When Jesus came to us, he broke down all the divisions in society which were based on religion (Jew/Gentile), Race (color), economic (rich/poor) and gender (women/men) differences. This was a radical departure from societal norms. A significant aspect of Jesus' ministry was to break down walls that divided us, to bring about a unity...

26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their 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. James makes a very bold statement today that if believers do not keep a tight rein on their tongue, their religion will be worthless. That is a sobering statement. Why do you think he made this statement? Why is he so adamant about this topic? 1. The early Christian movement was in a critical time period. Integrity between what they preached and how they lived was of critical importance to those they sought to reach. Like today, James did not want the word on the street to be, "Christians are all a bunch of hypocrites!" 2. James realized how dangerous the tongue was in creating division and hurt in the early Christian community. Though the smallest par...

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone 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 whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. What James is talking about here is the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. Someone may know a lot about the bible and be able to quote chapter and verse, but do they apply it's basic teachings. In the New Testament the word "heart" is closely associated with the "will". Although before we came to Christ our will was in bondage, now that we have been redeemed, we can direct our will toward obedience. This is guided by the Holy Spirit, who works in you to follow God's good and perfect w...