Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

James 3:6-7 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. 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. As James continues to challenge the Jewish Christians spread out all over the known world, today he talks about the power of the tongue.  Though the tongue is a small part of the body, it can do a lot of damage or a lot of good.  He uses the metaphor of the tongue being like a fire.  We know a fire can be useful for a lot of things but can also be so destructive.  It is the same with the tongue.  Paul says to the Ephesians, " Do not let any unwholesome word come out of your mouth but only that which builds people up so that it might benefit those who listen."  When you are talking to someone us...

Faith and Deeds - James 2 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. This is the famous passage everyone likes to debate.  Is James saying that if you don't have good deeds that accompany faith, you don't have saving faith?  What about the doctrine we are saved by grace not by works lest anyone should boast?  Ephesians 2:8-9  The problem is if good works save us, then why did Jesus have to die?  If we can be saved by good works, then Jesus died for nothign.  Of course we know that bible teaches that we are saved by faith and not by works, so what ...

James 1:12 " " B lessed is the one who perseveres under trial  because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life  that the Lord has promised to those who love him." Today we begin the epistle of James.  Epistles are different than letters in that they are more general in nature. The New Testament letters are specifically written to specific churches and have a particular purpose.  I.e. In Galatians Paul writes to the believers in Galatia who were tempted to go back to the rite of circumcision.  There are many possible James' who could have written this book, but most scholars agree it is James, the brother of Jesus.  Many think the epistle of James is one of the earliest works of the New Testament, written as early as 55-56 A.D.   This epistle is written to the " twelve tribes of of the diaspora ".  This is a reference to Jewish Christians, who were exiled from Jerusalem and were scattered into other parts of...

13   Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.   2  Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,  for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.   3  Continue to remember those in prison  as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4  Marriage should be honored by all,  and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.   5  Keep your lives free from the love of money  and be content with what you have,  because God has said,  “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” As the author concludes his letter to the Jewish Christians, again he gets very practical.  Theology without practice is dead, just like the Law without Grace is dead.  First of all, he exhorts them to love each other.  Further he states, " Loving each other as brothers...

12  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run  with perseverance  the race marked out for us,   2  fixing our eyes on Jesus,  the pioneer  and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,  scorning its shame,  and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.   3  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary  and lose heart . We know that whenever a biblical author says, "therefore" something important is going to come next. Usually the author has made a number of statements to the audience that are the primary purpose for the letter The "therefore" then is a seque to what the audience can do with this teaching.  We commonly call this the "application" part of the passage.  The application part of bible study asks the question...

Hebrews 11:1,6  Now faith is confidence in what we hope for  and assurance about what we do not see.   6  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him  must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. You often hear people say, " You just gotta have faith !"  Well, what does that mean?  Is faith wishing something would happen?  Some people talk about "blind faith".  Today the author of Hebrews gives what I believe is the best defintion of faith given in the bible.  Remember the author is encouraging the Hebrews to "keep the faith"!  In this chapter he gives a long list of faithful people in the Old Testament including: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph and Jacob.   So what is the essence of faith to the writer?  To describe faith he uses the word, "confidence".  He uses this word in conjunction with hope.  Confidence is not blind faith but b...

A Call to Persevere in Faith 19  Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence  to enter the Most Holy Place  by the blood of Jesus,   20  by a new and living way  opened for us through the curtain,  that is, his body,   21  and since we have a great priest  over the house of God,   22  let us draw near to God  with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings,  having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience  and having our bodies washed with pure water.   23  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope  we profess,  for he who promised is faithful.   24  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,   25  not giving up meeting together,  as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another —and all the more as you see the Day approaching. The author has spent a lot of time on t...

Hebrews 9:26-28 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.  But he has appeared  once for all  at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.   27  Just as people are destined to die once,  and after that to face judgment,   28  so Christ was sacrificed once  to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time,  not to bear sin,  but to bring salvation  to those who are waiting for him. Just like Jesus died once for the sins of all, so we also die once and face judgment.  Since God is just the judgment will either be to pay for the sins we have committed or someone else will stand in our place and pay for them.  Will someone stand in our place so we can be pronounced not guilty, or will we be held accountable for our sin?   After Jesus is called a Savior, so what is he saving us from.  Judgement.   T...

Hebrews 8:7-13   For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.   8  But God found fault with the people and said:  “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant  I will establish with the people of Israe after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and w...