Mon, Oct 27th - 8:40PM
Revelation 3
Revelation 3
A church is not spiritually dead but alive and wide
awake for Christ.
1“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him
who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation
of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have
not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If
you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what
hour I will come against you. 4Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled
their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
5The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I
will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name
before my Father and before his angels. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.’ (ESV)
A church keeps the word of God and refuses to
deny the name of Christ.
7“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of
the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will
shut, who shuts and no one opens.
8“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door,
which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet
you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they
are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before
your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep
you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who
dwell on the earth. 11I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize
your crown. 12The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my
God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God,
and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my
God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.’ (ESV)
A church is not lukewarm but instead is on
fire for Christ.
14“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the
Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
15“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you
were either cold or hot! 16So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit
you out of my mouth. 17For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not
realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be
rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your
nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
19Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and
repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne,
as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.’” (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Sat, Oct 25th - 10:30PM
Revelation 2
Revelation 2
A church should test the spirit of those
who claim they are from God and does not forget that Christ is their first
love.
1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who
holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden
lampstands.
2“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how
you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call
themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake,
and you have not grown weary. 4But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had
at first. 5Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the
works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand
from its place, unless you repent. 6Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I
also hate. 7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in
the paradise of God.’ (ESV)
A church holds fast when facing trials.
8“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the
first and the last, who died and came to life.
9“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the
slandera of those who say
that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about
to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you
will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of
life. 11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’ (ESV)
A church does not tolerate false teaching.
12“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him
who has the sharp two-edged sword.
13“‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast
my name, and you did not deny my faithb even in the days
of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the
teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons
of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual
immorality. 15So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against
them with the sword of my mouth. 17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give
him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows
except the one who receives it.’ (ESV)
A church does not tolerate sin.
18“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the
Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like
burnished bronze.
19“‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient
endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel,
who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to
practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual
immorality. 22Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit
adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of
her works, 23and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know
that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you
according to your works. 24But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching,
who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I
do not lay on you any other burden. 25Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I
will give authority over the nations, 27and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are
broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.
28And I will give him the morning star. 29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.’ (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Sun, Oct 19th - 9:04PM
1 John 5
1 John 5
A disciple believes
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. A
disciple loves God, he loves others, and he obeys the commandments of God. A disciple overcomes the world through faith.
1Everyone
who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who
loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2By this we know
that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3For
this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments
are not burdensome. 4For everyone who
has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has
overcome the world—our faith. 5Who is it that
overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
(ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Sat, Oct 18th - 10:29PM
1 John 4
1 John 4
A disciple loves others.
7Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born
of God and knows God. 8Anyone who does
not love does not know God, because God is love. 9In this the love
of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world,
so that we might live through him. 10In this is love,
not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God
so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever
seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in
us.
13By
this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his
Spirit. 14And
we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of
the world. 15Whoever
confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16So
we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love,
and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17By
this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of
judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18There is no fear
in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment,
and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19We love because
he first loved us. 20If anyone says,
“I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his
brother whom he has seen cannota love God whom he has not
seen. 21And
this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his
brother. (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Fri, Oct 17th - 11:24PM
1 John 3
1 John 3
A disciple does not practice sin.
4Everyone
who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
5You
know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6No
one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either
seen him or known him. 7Little children,
let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is
righteous. 8Whoever
makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning
from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works
of the devil. 9No
one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and
he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10By this it is
evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil:
whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does
not love his brother (ESV)
A disciple loves others.
11For this is the
message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one
another. 12We
should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And
why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s
righteous. 13Do
not be surprised, brothers, that the
world hates you. 14We know that we
have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does
not love abides in death. 15Everyone who
hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life
abiding in him.
16By this we know
love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for
the brothers. 17But
if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his
heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18Little children,
let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (ESV)
A disciple obeys God.
19By this we shall
know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20for
whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows
everything. 21Beloved,
if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22and
whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do
what pleases him. 23And this is his
commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one
another, just as he has commanded us. 24Whoever keeps
his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in
us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Thu, Oct 16th - 10:29PM
1 John 2
1 John 2
A disciple does not sin and obeys God and walks in
the same manner as Christ walked.
1My
little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But
if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous. 2He
is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins
of the whole world. 3And by this we
know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4Whoever
says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth
is not in him, 5but
whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we
may know that we are in him: 6whoever says he
abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (ESV)
A disciple loves others.
7Beloved,
I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from
the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8At
the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true
in him and in you, becausea
the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9Whoever
says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10Whoever
loves his brother abides in the light, and in himb
there is no cause for stumbling. 11But whoever
hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not
know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (ESV)
A disciple does not love the things of the world
instead he does the will of God.
15Do
not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is
in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of
life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17And the world is
passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides
forever. (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Sat, Oct 11th - 8:28PM
2 Peter 1
2 Peter 1
A disciple has faith, virtue, knowledge,
self-control, steadfastness, Godliness, brotherly affection, and love.
5For
this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6and
knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and
steadfastness with godliness, 7and godliness
with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8For
if these qualities are yours and are
increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For whoever lacks
these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he
was cleansed from his former sins. 10Therefore,
brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm
your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never
fall. 11For
in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Fri, Oct 10th - 11:21AM
1 Peter 5
1 Peter 5
A leader cares for those entrusted to Him by God.
1And
now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a
witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when
he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: 2Care
for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not
grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to
serve God. 3Don’t
lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good
example. 4And
when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory
and honor. (NLT)
A disciple humbles himself before his elders and
before God.
5Likewise, you who
are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with
humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the
humble.” 6Humble
yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time
he may exalt you, (ESV)
A disciple casts his cares upon God.
7casting all your
anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (ESV)
A disciple is sober-minded, watchful, and firm in his faith so
that he may resist Satan.
8Be sober-minded;
be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, firm
in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced
by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10And after you
have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his
eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and
establish you. 11To him be the
dominion forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Thu, Oct 9th - 11:41AM
1 Peter 4
1 Peter 4
A disciple is self-controlled and sober-minded.
7The
end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for
the sake of your prayers. (ESV)
A disciple loves others and shows hospitality
without complaint.
8Above
all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9Show
hospitality to one another without grumbling. (ESV)
A disciple uses the gifts given to him by God to
serve others and bring glory to God.
10As
each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of
God’s varied grace: 11whoever
speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by
the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
(ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Wed, Oct 8th - 11:26AM
1 Peter 3
1 Peter 3
A disciple honors their spouse.
1Likewise, wives,
be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word,
they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2when
they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3Do not let your
adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry,
or the clothing you wear— 4but let your
adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a
gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5For
this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by
submitting to their own husbands, 6as Sarah obeyed
Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not
fear anything that is frightening.7Likewise,
husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the
woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life,
so that your prayers may not be hindered. (ESV)
A disciple lives in unity with other believers with sympathy, brotherly
love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. A disciple does not seek revenge when attacked instead he blesses those
who attack him.
8Finally, all of
you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble
mind. 9Do
not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless,
for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
11let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do
evil.” (ESV)
A disciple is willing to suffer
for righteousness’ sake without fear and giving honor to Christ. A disciple is always prepared to give a defense
for the reason of his hope in Christ in a gentle and respectful manner.
13Now who is
there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14But even if you
should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of
them, nor be troubled, 15but in your
hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense
to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with
gentleness and respect, 16having a good
conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior
in Christ may be put to shame. 17For it is
better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing
evil. (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Tue, Oct 7th - 11:37AM
1 Peter 2
1 Peter 2
A disciple puts away malice, deceit, hypocrisy,
envy, and slander and grows spiritually.
1So
put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2Like
newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up
into salvation— 3if indeed you
have tasted that the Lord is good. (ESV)
A disciple abstains from the lusts of the flesh and
keeps his conduct honorable.
11Beloved,
I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh,
which wage war against your soul. 12Keep your
conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as
evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of
visitation. (ESV)
A disciple subjects himself to those in authority.
13Be
subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14or to governors
as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15For
this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the
ignorance of foolish people. 16Live as people
who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17Honor everyone.
Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 18Servants, be
subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but
also to the unjust. 19For this is a
gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering
unjustly. 20For
what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if
when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the
sight of God. 21For
to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you
an example, so that you might follow in his steps (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Mon, Oct 6th - 11:09AM
1 Peter 1
1 Peter 1
A disciple prepares his mind for action. He is sober-minded and sets his hope on the
grace that will be brought to him at the revelation of Christ.
13Therefore,
preparing your minds for action, and
being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to
you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (ESV)
As an obedient child a disciple does not conform to
the passions of his former ignorance but instead he lives a life of
holiness.
14As
obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
15but
as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16since
it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17And if you call
on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct
yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18knowing that
you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not
with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19but with the
precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20He
was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the
last times for the sake of you 21who through him
are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that
your faith and hope are in God. (ESV)
A disciple has purified his soul by his obedience to
the truth and he loves others from a pure heart.
22Having purified
your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love
one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23since you have
been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living
and abiding word of God; 24for
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to
you. (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Sun, Oct 5th - 10:18PM
James 5
James 5
A disciple is patient and awaits the return of the
Lord and does not complain about others.
7Therefore
be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the
precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early
and late rains. 8You too be patient; strengthen your hearts,
for the coming of the Lord is near. 9Do
not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be
judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. 10As
an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in
the name of the Lord. 11We
count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and
have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of
compassion and is merciful. (NASB)
A disciple does not swear.
12But
above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any
other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not
fall under judgment. (NASB)
A disciple prays and cares for others.
13Is
any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14Is
any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15And
the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and
if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16Confess your
faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17Elias was a man
subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not
rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six
months. 18And
he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
19Brethren,
if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20Let him know,
that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul
from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins (KJV)
Comment (0)
|
Sat, Oct 4th - 11:08PM
James 4
James 4
A disciple humbles
himself and submits to God. A disciple
resists the devil and purifies his heart.
6But
he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace
to the humble.” 7Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw
near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and
purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Be wretched and
mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble
yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (ESV)
A disciple does not speak evil of others and does
not judge others.
11Do
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. 12There
is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who
are you to judge your neighbor? (ESV)
A disciple submits to the will of God
13Come
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”— 14yet 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. 15Instead you ought
to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16As
it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17So
whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
(ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Fri, Oct 3rd - 11:20AM
James 3
James 3
A disciple learns to tame his tongue.
2For
we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he
is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3If we put bits into
the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.
4Look
at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds,
they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5So
also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6And
the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our
members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7For every kind of
beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by
mankind, 8but
no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly
poison. 9With
it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in
the likeness of God. 10From the same
mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11Does
a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12Can
a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can
a salt pond yield fresh water. (ESV)
A disciple avoids bitter jealousy and selfish ambition and
seeks the wisdom from above.
13Who is wise and
understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the
meekness of wisdom. 14But if you have
bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false
to the truth. 15This
is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual,
demonic. 16For
where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every
vile practice. 17But
the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason,
full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18And a harvest of
righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Thu, Oct 2nd - 11:14AM
James 2
James 2
A disciple does not show favoritism.
1My
brothers, show no partiality as you hold
the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2For if a man
wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man
in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay
attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a
good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit
down at my feet,” 4have you not then
made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen,
my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be
rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love
him? 6But
you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you,
and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the
ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
8If
you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love
your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9But if you show
partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as
transgressors. (ESV)
A disciple not only has faith but puts his faith into action.
14What good is it,
my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that
faith save him? 15If
a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16and
one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving
them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by
itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18But someone will
say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your
works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19You believe that
God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20Do
you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is
useless? 21Was
not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on
the altar? 22You
see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his
works; 23and
the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was
counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24You
see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25And
in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she
received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26For as the body
apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. (ESV)
Comment (0)
|
Wed, Oct 1st - 12:08PM
James 1
James 1
A disciple remains strong when his faith is tested.
2Count
it all joy, my brothers, when you meet
trials of various kinds, 3for you know that
the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4And let
steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing.
A disciple asks for wisdom from God through his
faith in God without doubt.
5If
any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without
reproach, and it will be given him. 6But let him ask in
faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that
is driven and tossed by the wind. 7For that person
must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he
is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
A disciple glorys in humility.
9But
the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10and
the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering
grass he will pass away. 11For
the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls
off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the
midst of his pursuits will fade away.
A disciple remains steadfast under trial and does
not give into the temptation of sin.
12Blessed
is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he
will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13Let
no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be
tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14But each person
is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15Then desire when
it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings
forth death.
A disciple is quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to
get angry and he puts away all filthiness and wickedness.
19Know
this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak,
slow to anger; 20for
the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21Therefore
put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the
implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
A disciple is a doer of the word not just a hearer
of the word.
22But
be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23For
if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks
intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24For he looks at
himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25But
the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres,
being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his
doing.
A disciple controls his tongue. A disciple cares for those in distress and
keeps himself unstained by the world.
26If
anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but
deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27Pure
and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to
visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself
unstained by the world.
Comment (0)
|
Back to Blog Main Page
|