The Book of James: 5:19-20 (NLT)
Welcome back to our daily study in the book of James! I hope you have been enjoying this and feel free to invite friends and family who might find this helpful as well this year with the invite link here: Invitation Link
Need to catch up? We got you covered, simply go to the link below which will take you to our blog where all past bible studies will be. With that said let’s get started on day 30!
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The Book of James (NLT): This book offers practical guidance on living a godly life, including instruction on how to handle temptation and overcome adversity. It is the 51st of the Bible book located in the New Testament containing 5 chapters and a total of 108 verses.
Author: James, the half-brother of Jesus
Theme: Practical guidance for living a faithful Christian life, with a focus on the importance of good deeds and living a life of faith. In addition to the themes of good deeds and living a life of faith, the Book of James also addresses issues such as temptation, humility, and the dangers of wealth and pride.
Timeline: The Book of James is believed to have been written in the mid-to-late first century AD
Structure: The Book of James is a letter, consisting of five chapters. It is written in a concise, straightforward style and is full of practical wisdom and guidance.
Recipients: The letter is addressed to "the twelve tribes scattered among the nations" (James 1:1), which likely refers to Jewish Christians living in the diaspora (outside of Palestine).
Importance: The Book of James is considered one of the most practical books in the New Testament and is often referred to as the "Proverbs of the New Testament." It offers valuable insights and guidance for Christians of all ages on how to live a faithful and obedient life.
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Scripture Insights:
The Book of James has been addressed to believers with very powerful themes of love, humility, faith in action, the tongue, prayer, patience, healing, and restoration. In the last two verses, the scriptures refer to those who have wandered from the truth. We as followers of Christ seek truth that comes from the Word of God. Jesus is the Word (John 1:1-18) and He stated, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life,” (John 14:6). Jesus also said to the Jews that believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
Sometimes it’s easier to listen to teachers and preachers, our friends, and those we follow without doing our own studying and prayer time. The many voices and influences can distract us and we may find ourselves wandering from the truth. James encourages those in the body of Christ to reach out to those who have wandered from the truth to help restore them back.
As an example, perhaps a married ministry leader is flirting with young single people and his or her spouse observes that the behavior is inappropriate. Should he or she say something or just pray that he/she changes the behavior? Speaking up with love and humility could produce a reaction that is positive or negative. If negative, that spouse may think it is innocent and that his/her spouse is overreacting. The continued behavior may lead to resentment against the spouse and more secretive behavior with single people. Without change, the marriage may fall apart, relationships are broken, and selfish desires take over. On the other hand, if the spouse reacts humbly and is willing to change, he/she may recognize that they have wandered from what is right and will avoid the potential snares of an adulterous relationship.
Many other examples could include wrongful thinking such as, God uses sickness to teach people a lesson or bad things happen because you did something wrong and God is mad at you. When a Christian in the Lord recognizes that their brother or sister is wandering off into false and fearful beliefs, helping them come back to the truth of God’s love and His forgiveness will save their soul from death (spiritual/physical).
This concludes our bible study on the book of James and I hope you enjoyed it! I'm thinking of turning this into a book for your personal study so stay tuned for that! We will start the book of Hebrews tomorrow!
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Today's Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for never taking Your eyes off me. Even when I struggle and go through challenging times Your watchful eyes are always upon me. Thank You for comforting me with Your love and being here to help me through it all reminding me that I will see a victory because You are my victory in Jesus name Amen.
God Bless,
Dayne
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