Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12
Walking the Christ-Centered Path (James 1)
James is about navigating the path of life from faith to maturity (completeness) and a crown of life, and avoiding the path of sin. This small book only has five chapters, but it is packed with power. The author is the half-brother of Jesus. His name is actually better translated Jacob, but we’ll use James since it is traditional.
When we step onto the path of faith by believing in Jesus, we start down a path where we will have many choices. There will be blessings and gifts from God. There will be trials and suffering. There will be temptations to stray from the path.
James 1 gives us advice for navigating the path of life:
1. Ask for wisdom (James 1:5) –
Only God has true wisdom. He created us and knows all the answers. However, He is not trying to hide from us. He says that all we have to do is ask for wisdom from Him. What are we waiting for?
2. Push doubt aside (James 1:6-8) –
A doubting man is double-minded. He commits to One Way and then drifts into another. He is easily swayed here and there. James warns us against doubting. When thoughts of doubt invade, we have to push them aside.
3. Don’t worry about having everything here and now (James 1:9-11) –
James also warns us to be on our guard against materialism. The here and now is not where we should put our focus. Living life simply for what we can gain on earth is a major problem, but when we live for eternity, we store up treasures in Heaven. James is echoing the thoughts of Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21:
“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
4. God is not to blame for bad things that happen (James 1:13) –
Trials, suffering, and temptations come our way. God is not to blame for our trouble. He sends blessings and gifts for us. Our world is under the domain of Satan right now, so bad stuff happens. God doesn’t send it to torture us, but he can turn it for our good.
5. Put aside filthiness/wickedness (James 1:21) –
We need to turn away from the temptations of the path of sin. Away from moral filth and wickedness that can drag us straight to hell.
Straying from God’s path can lead to disaster, but it is easy to get sucked in. If we give in to a little temptation, we take a step off of God’s path for our lives and move toward sin and death.
The Path of Sin:
1. I lust (or am tempted).
2. I give in to lust and veer from God’s path for my life into sin.
3. Sin leads to more sin and then death.
6. First principles of righteous living – (James 1:19-20)
Listen up! Be quick to listen, giving attention to the wisdom of God and the needs of others.
Keep your mouth shut! Be slow to speak when a thought pops in your head – it might not be from God.
Control that temper! Be slow to anger – our human anger works against the purposes of God’s righteousness.
7. Humbly receive the Word and ACT on it (James 1:21-25)
If we don’t apply God’s word to our lives, we are not living Christ-centered lives. We are just going through the motions and it gains us nothing.
“But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25
Then, James sums up Christ-centered living and reaches back to the teaching of Jesus.
“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.””
Luke 10:25-28
James says that true, pure religion is not about churches and preaches and fancy words. It is caring for the needy (love your neighbor as yourself) and staying pure (love God and His holiness).
“Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27
Action Step:
There is so much in each of the chapters of James. Today, make sure you are committed to God’s path of life. Maybe choose one of the tips that James gives us in chapter 1 and focus on incorporating it into your daily life. Write down what you are going to do, or create a Bible art journaling entry to commemorate what you are learning from the first chapter of James. For access to the James study free printables (and all of the other awesome freebies in the free resource library), click here!
Prayer:
Dear God, help us to live Christ-centered lives, walking God’s path and not straying away into sin. Help us not to gloss over the truth of Your word, but to put it into action in our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
For the Devotional Series Page for James, click here.
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