THE DAILY

[James 4:1-3]

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Think back to your last argument with another. Was it this morning? Last night? Yesterday? Or a few days ago? Perhaps you have gone a whole week without a disagreement or quarrel with anyone? Amazing! As we rub our sinful shoulders against another’s sinful shoulders, sparks often fly.

James, not so gently, tells us the what and the why, the root of the friction. How might your own, my own unmet passions and desires have contributed to our most recent arguments? What guidance does James give us as we are sure to encounter another friction-filled situation with another?

-By Kimberly Williams

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ James asks a pointed question and then answers it with another question in verse 1? Do you agree with his answer? Why or why not?

+ What words are repeated in this passage? How would you categorize some of these repeated words? How can you sense the tone of the passage through these words? How would you read it aloud?

+ James uses a Greek word translated “passions” twice in this short section of Scripture. It is only used three other times in the New Testament. There is a negative sense associated with this word meaning pleasure, desire, or enjoyment. Can you think of a time when your “passions” were at war within you? What does that look and feel like?

+ James says that we fight and quarrel when we don’t get what we desire in 2a. Is this hyperbole or is there an element of reality in it? What is real as you examine the root of a quarrel?

+ What happens when we “covet” and “cannot obtain?”

+ Why do we “not have” according to verse 2b?

+ James tells the reader that they “ask wrongly.” How can asking be “wrong” according to 3b?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there a sin to confess or a next step to take?

+ Have I asked Jesus to show me through the Holy Spirit where I am “murdering” or coveting” or “asking wrongly?”

+ Will I, in humility, ask for forgiveness from another and from the Lord when I am convicted of my part of a fight or a quarrel?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for in order that they might know Jesus?

+ What truths about Jesus and His Word are we helping others remember on our journey. How can we be more intentional about doing so?

+Who am I discipling as I live and grow and learn to obey Jesus? If this hasn’t been a priority, pray today about who God wants you to reach out to in His Name.

+Who do I look to for accountability and godly wisdom? Do I have the courage to ask another if I am “murdering” or “coveting” or “asking wrongly?”

[James 4.4-6]

4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

James offers us a challenging reminder and then a hopeful one. The challenging reminder is that in the battle between the world’s values and God’s, we must pick sides. God jealously and rightly desires all our love and loyalty; anything less is adultery. We cannot be loyal to both God and the world.

But the hopeful reminder is that God gives more grace. To those who would renounce their pride, ambition, and the things of this world, God lavishes grace. Referencing Proverbs 3:34, James reminds us that we can either be opposed or upheld by God. Will you be His enemy or His friend?

-By Monica Godfrey

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+What do you think James means by friendship with the world? Why does it make one an enemy of God?

+We often think of jealousy as a bad thing. In what way would God be perfectly justified in being jealous over us?

+What is grace? What is required to receive grace?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+Are you living as a friend of the world and thus an enemy of God? What should you confess?

+Are you living in the grace God offers?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?

[James 4.7-10]

7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 11 Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Something powerful happens when we are humble before God. As we draw near to God in humility, He draws near to us, showering us with His grace. In this surrender, our hearts and hands are cleansed. . Let us humble ourselves before the Lord, acknowledging our need for His strength and wisdom, knowing that as we do, He lifts us up.

-By David

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ What happens when one submits to God?

+ What happens when one draws near to God?

+ James often talks about the heart. What are you learning about the heart?

+ What does James say about criticizing and how does that inform how you offer feedback?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?

[James 4:11-12]

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

In these two verses, James returns to the topic of speech where he makes a startling claim: the one who slanders his/her brother or sister usurps God himself.

James begins with a simple command, “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers” (verse 11). He then gives his rationale for not speaking evil. Most would probably assume that evil speech is wrong because of some kind of harm it could cause another person, but James goes in another direction entirely. Instead, he says that speaking evil or slandering is not just an attack on another person but is an attack on God’s law. Let me explain. By slandering another person the slanderer supplants the law and condemns those who the law has not judged. By doing this, the individual lashes out at and profanes the law, judging it as deficient. The one who slanders sets his own judgments above the law and assumes the position of judge. This dovetails into James’ next sentence where he says “If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge” (verse 11b).

James brings home the implications of slandering one’s neighbor in verse 12 by affirming “There is only one lawgiver and judge.” Not only does a slanderer judge the law as insufficient and set themself up as judge, but this person also usurps God himself who alone is the lawgiver and judge. In this sense, when someone slanders another, the evil is not solely perpetrated against another human, but against God who alone is the one that judges all people.

These powerful verses from James introduce a call to live humbly under God that is further developed in the following verses. For now, let’s ponder the holiness of God who alone is worthy to judge the living and the dead.

–By John Barzal

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ What does speaking evil of another mean?

+ What is the counter-intuitive reason James gives for why speaking evil of another is wrong?

+ What is the root of speaking evil of another?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ How is this passage inviting me to interact with Jesus?

[ WHO ] am I walking with (and praying for) to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?

[James 4:13-17]

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Today's passage is not a message against planning for the future, but rather behaving under the notion that we command it. Matthew 25:14-30 tells the parable of the talents, and if the servants were to act as though there were no future, or to not plan for it, they would miss the mark as the one who buried the talent. Matthew 6:19-21 tells us to operate under the notion that there is a future and things we do now can have a positive impact on that, when we are told to store up for ourselves treasure in heaven. There is a marked difference between this and the heart described in this passage. Here, the person is described as boastful and arrogant. We should operate with the knowledge that our life on this earth is fleeting, and use what time we have for beneficial things that uphold the great commandment to love God with all we are, and to love others as ourselves. Treat God as the true sovereign He is, with authority over all time and existence, including our own lives. This humility will train our hearts well, resulting in us doing right, and not sinfully boasting in our own plans and power.

May the word of God keep us from self-absorption and self-aggrandizement, and focused instead on the loving and powerful God who chooses to lavish His grace and mercy on we who are undeserving, and who cares for us better than we can care for ourselves.

-By Luke

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ Why should we not say things as given in v. 13?

+ What is the purpose of the stipulation given in v. 15?

+ Why is v. 17 tucked into this passage, closing out this chapter?

+ What is the implied command of v. 17, and to what does it apply?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ Where are you operating as though you are in command of your future? How can you ensure you are maintaining a humble heart when planning for the future and not slip into arrogance and boasting?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?