James 1:1 - James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
Today we begin a new journey through the letter of James. James was published right around 50 A. D., so
it is less than twenty years after Jesus’s death, resurrection, and
ascension. It should be noted there is
no New Testament yet (that would not happen until the 397 AD); no gospels had
even been written at this time, so James is the first set of writings to begin
to be circulated among Christians that will eventually become a canonical book
in the New Testament. James is the
first.
James is the earthly brother of Jesus and a giant of a
figure in the first few decades of Christianity after Jesus’s
resurrection. However, as time passes,
the book of James becomes less popular and influential as Paul’s writings surge
in influence. Martin Luther wanted to
exclude the book. It isn’t really until
the beginning of this century that James begins to become influential again in
mainstream Christianity.
As the opening verse above states, this letter is written to
the “twelve tribes” of Israel. James is
writing specifically to Jewish Christians.
This is one of the reasons that this letter will not be as popular later
as it is very Jewish. James advocates
continuing to observe Torah law (1st five books of Old Testament)
and stresses the importance of works more than he does faith. To the early Christian church that is
becoming more and more Gentile in nature, James’s writings begin to fall out of
favor.
But I am so thankful for the Book of James! In my early days of my faith journey, it was
one of my favorite books and continues to be today. His plain and direct speech and his stress on
the importance of works is a voice I need to hear. So I hope you will hear the voice of God
through us hitting the highlights of James over the next few days.
Question: Have there
been times in your life when you ended up reading or listening to someone who
you did not want to hear from, but it ended up being exactly what you needed to
hear?
Prayer: God, speak to us in the coming days in strong and
convincing ways. We want to grow in the
way of Christ. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for leaders of both political parties as they have weighty matters before them
over the next several days.
Song: Promises (feat.
Joe L Barnes & Naomi Raine) - Maverick City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5m09rqOoxE&list=PLRZlMhcYkA2HCg8PZnI1EaqcnIhU-Kd3T&index=1
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