DAY 13DOES GOD PLAY FAVORITES?James 2:5-7James says, “Don’t play favorites,” but then he says God has chosen the poor, not the rich. Is God contradicting himself? Does God play favorites? Is God fair?...  Read More

DAY 12SEE LIKE GOD SEESJames 2:2-4Be like God, but don’t try to be God.That summarizes the Bible’s wisdom in one simple sentence. Be like God - reflect God’s love, compassion, and fairness. But don’t ...  Read More

DAY 11PLAYING FAVORITES James 2:1 “I’ve got you all figured out.”Have you ever thought this about someone? Of course you have! I have, too, an embarassing amount of times. I scanned someone’s hair, cl...  Read More

DAY 10THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOPJames 1:26-27“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”Did you know that’s from the Bible? Well, it is - sort of. It’s from the paraphrase-translation, The Living Bible, of Prove...  Read More

DAY 9FOCUS ON FOLLOW-THROUGHJames 1:22-25One summer in college, I got interested in healthy eating. I still remember some of the insights from one book I read. I read a lot and I forget a lot, but thi...  Read More

DAY 8FREE TO LISTENProverbs 18:13My friend recently moved to Florida to pastor a church with a strong recovery ministry. Many of his churchgoers have messy lives because of substance abuse. On his ver...  Read More

DAY 7MAINTAIN THE MAIN THINGJames 1:21 Don’t miss the forest for the trees.This old saying warns us about narrowing our focus so much that we miss surrounding details. Imagine studying the bark on one...  Read More

DAY 6WHY SO MAD?James 1:19-21 Words can move the world or burn it down. Christians are supposed to love people but too often we hurt people with words. This week’s focus, James 1:19-27, is all about w...  Read More

DAY 5HOW TO GROW THROUGH HARD TIMES, PART 2James 1:12-18How do we grow through hard times?James gives us five ways to persevere so obstacles become opportunities. We looked at three yestoday and two t...  Read More

DAY 4HOW TO GROW THROUGH HARD TIMES (PT 1)James 1:2-5 How do we grow through hard times?James gives us five ways to persevere so obstacles become opportunities. We’ll look at three today and two tomor...  Read More

DAY3OBSTACLES OR OPPORTUNITIES?James 1:2-4Let’s circle back to James’s main point: trials of many kinds are opportunities to grow. Let’s say it another way. Faith that works grows through hard times. ...  Read More

DAY 2TWO KINDS OF TRIALSJames 1:9-12 What counts as a trial?James says we should “consider it all joy when you face trials of many kinds” (v.2). He names two kinds in v.9-11.In v.9 he says, “Believers...  Read More