LESSONS FROM JAMES (1)

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6

“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Jas1:22 NKJV

The book of James has108 verses, and it outlines how we can put our faith into ac- tion. It was written by Jesus’ half-brother, the natural-born son of Mary and Joseph. Apparently, James became a believer as a result of the resurrection. Paul said that after Jesus rose from the grave, “he appeared to James, then to all the apostles” (1Co 15:7 NIV). Somewhere, privately and personally, the risen Lord met with James, and His little brother’s life was never the same. After his encounter with his older brother, who was the victori- ous-over-death Godman, James grew in faith and became the undisputed leader of the Jerusalem church. The apostle Paul referred to him as a pillar of the church (see Gal 2:9), and tradition tells us that James was so devoted to prayer that he was given the nickname “camel knees” because of the calluses resulting from the hours he spent on his knees. Today we are 2,000 years removed from James’ writing, yet his letter remains as relevant to us as the Internet’s morning news. The central message of his book is contained in these words: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James addresses our biggest challenge: practicing with our lives what we proclaim with our lips. In every paragraph, he reminds us that when we are walking in step with the Holy Spirit, we will not be wearing out the seat of our pants, but the soles of our shoes. We will put shoe leather to what we say we believe and be “doers of the word.”