Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:13-14

One of my life motto’s is when Jesus said “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for today has enough troubles of its own” (Matthew 6:34) Often times we are continually looking ahead, worrying about tomorrow, worrying about next week, worrying about next month, and in the midst of all this worrying we are never living in the present

When we apply Jesus simple teaching to only take one day at a time, it takes so much weight off our shoulders. Not only that, we can seize the day, enjoy the moments we have today! We get so wrapped up in planning and preparations, we don’t even stop to take a breathe and enjoy these simple moments we are in right now

As James says here “Your life is like a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow” We need to put that in perspective. We always believe we have so much time to do so many things. But this isn’t true, tomorrow is never promised to anyone. Now we do have the promise of eternal life through Christ, but this world were living in right now is temporary.

Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. James 4:15-16

How many of us when we do make future plans say “If it’s the Lords will, then I’ll do it”? No we usually say I want to do this, and I want to do that, how do you know that is Gods will for your life at all? Another thing we need to learn is to stay connected to your Lord. If your truly his follower, and he is your Master, shouldn’t you listen to him?

Now its not always easy finding Gods will for our lives, it takes patience and perseverance. Yes we need to maintain our personal relationship with Christ , to know what his will is for our life. If we don’t remain in a relationship with Christ, why would you expect to know what he wants for you?

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17

James actually goes on to say, if we know Gods will and we refuse to do it, its actually a sin. If you know someone is in need and you can help them, if you refuse its actually a sin. Sometimes we can tell the Holy Spirit is leading and guiding us to go talk to someone or help someone, when we refuse that calling its actually going against the will of The Lord

Stay focused on today, be in the moments today. Don’t be so drifted in future plans that you cant seize today. Continually ask God to lead your life and find his will in Jesus name Amen!

Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. James 4:11

If Christians would just read this message , maybe there would be less strife among the body of Christ. Everyone thinks they are the chosen Christian. They believe they have the right interpretations of all the scriptures, they believe they have the correct translation of the Bible, they believe they do all the correct practices. Maybe we know these people, maybe we have been this person. We need to continually remind ourselves to humble ourselves before God

I understand, when you have the Holy Spirit, and the scales have been removed from your eyes, it becomes a powerful thing. We you start to look at scripture in a new light and understand what God is saying, you want to share it with the world. We just have to remember Pride comes destruction.

There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? James 4:12

Jesus is our Lord, meaning Master. He is the only one who can save and destroy, not us. So we need to stop acting like we have the authority to condemn and save. Its our job to lead people to Christ, not to be their judge. Now can we give advice or counseling, of course. However were not going to stand on our soapbox and pretend were above everyone. Remember Christian, you were dead in your sins also and Christ still died for you

The Holy Spirit is the Convictor of Sin ( John 16:8) When God convicts you of your sin , you will be brought to your knees in true repentance. We are not the Holy Spirit, We are the hands and feet of Christ. Amen!

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. James 4:8

Often people will say “It feels like God is so far away” or maybe you don’t feel Gods presence in your life. What are you doing to get near God? Often we expect things to happen without us doing anything, as most of us know , this is not how a relationship works

The Bible tells us Draw near to God and he will draw near to you! So the next question would be, how do we draw near to God? Prayer is essential, as Leonard Ravenhill says “If your not praying your straying, and a pastor whos not praying is playing” Prayer should be central to a Christians life. One suggestion I would have is find a closet or place where you can be alone and prayer there. Alone time with God is essential

Another way to get close to God is through his Word (The Bible). God didn’t have his word written by men through inspiration of the Holy Spirit for no reason. This is your letters from God, this is your instructions for life. To neglect daily reading of his word is to spiritually starve. Many phone apps today have free devotional plans to read. Try using one of them to keep you on task.

Next I think an often overlooked practice is Communion. Jesus instituted communion , not to give us another task to do, but to sit at His Table and fellowship with Him. That’s what the word Communion means to Commune with Christ. I personally take Communion every morning to spend time with the Lord and start my day off right

And very importantly we need the Holy Spirit. Without the intercession of the Spirit in our lives its impossible for us to understand God. The Holy Spirit was sent for many reason for our benefit. He is our teacher, convictor, and mediator for us with Christ

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:9-10

Notice James isn’t giving a prosperity gospel here, hes telling people be afflicted, be mourning, remove your joy, what is James talking about here? Hes talking about Godly sorrow of our sins, hes talking about true repentance.

If you really want to draw near to God, repent of your sins. The truth is God doesn’t want fellowship with wicked people. You might say well how do I become saved? Repent and receive Jesus as your Lord and you’ll become Born Again! Amen!

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. James 4:1-2

The American way is I want , I want, I want.. Most of the conflicts and wars in our lives are because of our own lust and greed. We are like human animals that are never satisfied . We want to continually please the lust of the flesh, whatever that may be. However as the Bible tells us “To be carnally minded is death, and to be led by the Spirit is life and peace “ ( Romans 8:6)

This carnally minded life leads us on a very destructive path. We lust over what we don’t have, we war over what we think we can take, and we might even go to the extremes of killing to satisfy the sins. This is why the gospel is centered around repentance, because we need a transformation!

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. James 4:3-4

Many people are praying to God like he is their personal genie. God is not going to grant you something that is against His will. Many of us ask for things that are plainly sinful, God is not going to grant you something against his Holy Nature.

Notice the scripture says “A friend with the world is an enemy with God” If your asking God for things so you can “keep up “ with your neighbors, its blasphemy. Instead of telling God what you want for your life, why not ask God what is His Will for your life?

Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. James 4:5-6

God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble! Are you coming to God with humility or are you coming to God with alternative motives? God will not be mocked, come to him in repentance and he will provide for you in Jesus name Amen!

Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. James 3:13

Where does wisdom come from? And what is the results of wisdom? Many people claim to have wisdom today, especially with social media. Everyone claims to be an expert on everything, but don’t have basic common sense. Its almost the same concept of Faith without Works is dead, Wisdom without Smart Living equals stupidity

So where does wisdom come from? Experience, observation, testing, ect. This would explain from a human perspective why our wisdom is so limited. We couldn’t possibly experience everything, observe everything, test everything. However God the creator of all things, who witnessed all things, who knows the beginning from the end, can give you wisdom beyond human comprehension

But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.James 3:14-16

The main question about wisdom is do we want truth? Many atheists want to argue truth doesn’t even exist, why? Because if truth exists its not dependent on your personal opinion. When your own personal emotions and agendas influence your wisdom, then its not wisdom from God but your own flesh.

This is why if you want wisdom from God, you must first deny yourself. Pride leads to destruction (Proverbs 16:18) God resists the proud (James 4:6) Don’t allow your pride to cloud and confuse Gods wisdom

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. James 3:17

The wisdom from God is without hypocrisy. Do you tell people one thing and live another way, your not wise you’re a hypocrite. Having wisdom is not just head knowledge, but demonstrating your understanding also

God is willing to give all of us this wisdom through the Holy Spirit. God documented his wisdom in his written Word. God demonstrated his wisdom through Jesus Christ. Become like a child and allow God to teach you, Amen!

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. James 3:6

Word are very powerful, they either have the power to empower us or condemn us. When we think back through history, some of the greatest moments were speeches. We think about the speech by JFK or the speech by Martin Luther King Jr. Think about the teachings of Jesus Christ, spoken over 2,000 years ago, these teachings still transform us today

Words can also have a negative impact, I’m sure all of us still can remember as child when someone bullied us or said something harsh. Even decades later those words resonant in your mind like it was yesterday. Words have power, that is why we must learn to control our tongue!

For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:7-8

Taming the tongue, seems like it would be so easy, yet has become one of the hardest lessons for people to learn. We all have opinions, we all have worldviews, and we can help but tell everyone who disagrees with us. How many times have we gotten ourselves in trouble because we couldn’t hold our peace?

Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. James 3:9-10

The same mouth that you are praising God with, you are cursing people! This is hypocritical, we need to maintain self control of ourselves. We need to learn to keep our peace and control our tongue. In fact your voice can also condemn you. Jesus said we are going to be held accountable for every word we speak,(Matthew 12:36)  Think about that!

So next time we feel like going off on someone because we don’t like what there doing or disagree with their worldview, stop and think for a minute. Is this going to be a fruitful conversation or should you just hold your peace?

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. James 2:19

You here many people say “Just believe in Jesus and you’ll be saved” well what about the demons? They believe Jesus exist also but they are condemned to Hell. Why? Because being a Christian is more than just believing that Jesus exists

The demons have full knowledge about Jesus, think about that. Demons are fallen angels, they were there when God laid the foundations of the world. They knew Christ before humans ever existed, they know his Deity. Yet they rejected God because of their sin. They rather fulfill the temptations of their lust than serve the Living God

And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Matthew 8:29

Every time we see Jesus encounter demons throughout the gospels, they know exactly who He is. They know exactly the power Christ posses, yet they still rejected him. And notice they know their fate, they know the time will come for their eternal judgement into outer darkness.

Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. Luke 4:34

We see over and over, every time the demons come into the presence of Christ, they tremble! Why? Because they know all about Jesus. Don’t be like the demons, theres a difference between knowing about Jesus and actually knowing Jesus

There more about being a follower of Christ than just believing, have a personal relationship with Him. Even Jesus is your Lord (Master) listen to him, obey him, serve him, love him because he loved you first! Amen!

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? James 2:14

One of the most misunderstood teachings, maybe in the whole Bible, is faith without works is dead. So what is the Apostle James trying to teach us here? The next scripture I think James makes it pretty clear what hes trying to say, however there are many Christians who like to use this teaching to justify a works based salvation

However as we look into this teaching further, I think you’ll see that James is teaching that works is evidence of our faith in Christ . Our works don’t produce salvation, its only the works of Christ that has given us salvation.

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? James 2:15-16

Here James gives an example, say there is someone who is in need of food and clothing. What should you do for them? If you just tell them that  “I’m praying for you” how does that help them in the meantime? Now I believe in the power of prayer, however if we have the means to help someone, we can be the answer to their prayer!

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. James 2:17-18

So the principle of this teaching is if we have faith in Christ then it should produce some evidence of that faith. This is why Baptism is an essential doctrine of Christianity, it demonstrates the faith you have in Jesus as your Lord

We shouldn’t confuse this teaching however with works being the evidence of our salvation. As salvation is in Christ alone and not by our own works. However Jesus wants us to be his hands and feet, let our works be the evidence of Christ love for us Amen!

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: James 2:8

One of Jesus core teachings is to Love your Neighbor as you love yourself (Matthew 22:39) And as you read the teachings of the Apostles , this has also been the core theme of Christianity also. Jesus summed up the entire Law in Love God and Love Your Neighbor.

This may sound like an easy teaching, however the more you interact with people , the harder you see it becomes. Jesus even took it a step further and said we should Love our enemies also (Matthew 5:44) This takes love to a whole new level.

Loving your family , while some may be impressed with themselves by that, is a gimme by Gods standards. However loving people who persecute you or have wronged you in some way, now that’s when the love of Christ is demonstrated. As Jesus was being crucified on the cross, he said “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”, now that’s love!

But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. James 2:9-10

Now when we talk about Gods Law, this causes a lot of conversation among Christians. There are many Christians who even today are striving to live under The Law. However as James says, “If you break one law you broke the entire Law”. Keeping The Law of God perfectly is not humanly possible, this is why we need a Savior. This is why Christ died for us!

Jesus fulfilled The Law in our place (Matthew 5:17) and made things simpler for us. Love God and Love Your Neighbor and this is the fulfillment of The Law! There are many who still today cant accept this! They want to be under the Law, which the Law leads to death (Romans 7:10)

The amazing Grace of God through Jesus Christ! Remember to Love Your Neighbor as Christ love You first! Amen!

My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. James 2:1

God does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11) Doesn’t matter what nationality or race you are, doesn’t matter if your rich or poor, tall or short, God reads the heart and mind. One thing the world does is make the mistake of favoring people because of money, including the Church.

Think about society , we listen to celebrities and athletes because they have lots of money and influence, but most of them have zero credentials on the issues they are discussing. Now think about the average person on the street, do you give them the same time and attention you would a celebrity? No, why? Because we automatically show favoritism to people who are wealthy and popular

For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? James 2:2-4

The Apostle James gives an example here, a rich man and a poor man both come to a Church service. The Pastor greets the rich man and gives him a special seat, while the poor man he tells him to sit in the back because hes probably embarrassed by his appearances. We instinctively by human nature judge people based on appearances and money status.

Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? James 2:5-6

But Gods Kingdom is not like this world, the first will be last and the last will be first (Matthew 20:16) That poor man that you sent to the back of the building, might have been the greatest servant of your Church. Point is, we are not to judge people as the world judges people.

Another point James makes is, these same rich people that you so desperately want in your Church are the same people who are oppressing the poor. Again God judges the heart and has no regard for your wallet

While this is just one example, the lesson God is showing us is to not show favoritism to anyone. We are all one through Jesus Christ! Amen!