The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – James 3:13-18 (day seven)

And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. vs 18

Depending on what translation of the Bible you use, the english word “peace” shows up over 300 times. Some translations even have it over 400 times. What should that show us? Peace is important to God. Among some of these references, God is described as “the God of Peace” (Romans 16:20). We are promised His peace will guard our hearts when we are anxious (Philippians 4:7). In our passage today, we see that the byproduct of heavenly wisdom is peace (James 3:18). Scripture is clear that God is the source of peace, and those who are near to Him exude His peace.

The enemy thrives in conflict. Our world seems to thrive on conflict too, but God has given us the tools to be peacemakers to the conflict we are immersed in, we need only to draw near to Him.

Re:Verse passage – James 3:13-18 (day six)

James describes earthly wisdom as unspiritual and demonic. That’s strong language, but he is not just being dramatic to drive the point home. Nor is he suggesting that a demon is behind every unwise decision. For James it is a matter of origin, and in that sense, earthly wisdom is indeed demonic.

Like a spring fed river, earthly wisdom has its source, stretching back all the way to the Garden of Eden. The serpent (a demon) suggested to Eve that eating the forbidden fruit would make them wise like God, able to discern between good and evil. They supplanted God, the true source of pure wisdom, with their own. Their wisdom, is our heritage.

In Jesus, we have the opportunity to shirk off our unspiritual heritage, and tap into the true source of all that is good and pure; exchanging the unspiritual for the spiritual, and the earthly for the heavenly.

Re:Verse passage – James 3:13-18 (day five) “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”
How do you control your tongue? (that part of our bodies James previously describes as dangerous and potentially destructive) The question that James ushers to our minds in the previous verses in chapter 3, is answered in our Re:Verse passage this week.

Answer: Wisdom.

I love James’ perspective on this seemingly abstract subject. In his teaching, wisdom is not abstract it is tangible and visible. It can be “shown”. Wait! What?  Yes!  Wisdom is meant to be seen before it is heard. There can be evidence of wisdom. James teaches that this evidence is ultimately behavioral rather than intellectual. Knowledge and understanding are important but are clearly demonstrated (according to James) by “good life” and “humility”. Wanna find wisdom (from teachers/leaders/friends?  Look before you listen.

Re:Verse passage – James 3:13-18 (day four)

And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. vs 18

I often remind the kids at the church that sin is whenever we do things our way instead of God’s way. It is as simple as that. God’s way is perfect and good, and our way leads to destruction. You can see this contrast in most everything we do from the way we prioritize our life, to the way we parent, to the way we view our politics. The list could go on and on. The world constantly tells us to go one way and God tells us to go another way. As followers of Christ, we will often find ourselves at odds with what the world tells us is the way to go.

Here in James 3, we find another example of the world’s way of things (sin) and God’s way of things (perfect). There is wisdom from above and wisdom from below and James describes the end result of both of them. Again, we have contrasting views of wisdom from God (above) and the world (below). Wisdom from God is perfect and good, leading to a legacy (or harvest) of righteousness, while wisdom from the world leads to destruction.

So, where does your wisdom come from? Do you seek the Lord or the world in your thoughts and deeds? What harvest or legacy does your wisdom leave?

Re:Verse passage – James 3:13-18 (day three)

“This wisdom is not that which comes down from above…”

As always, James remains practical. Theology is present, of course, but what is out front here is actual speaking, responding, planning, noticing, allowing, supporting, and allying. These actions are what we talk about when we talk about everyday life. The ideas in your head are not everyday life. You might desire that your Christian ideas give shape to the way you live, but that’s not always the case. It’s possible to ally yourself with those who do evil even as you verbalize your own intent to do good, for instance. In that case, the “wisdom from above” does not inform your alliances. James will not let you get away with choosing right ideas at the expense of right living. Such an arrangement is at the heart of what James calls “earthly wisdom.”

Re:Verse passage – James 3:13-18 (day two)

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. vs. 17

Sounds a bit like the fruit of the Spirit doesn’t it? Wisdom comes from a place that few of us access often enough. Agenda-driven motives tend to cloud the heart of wisdom. It is not enough to use knowledge when we are motivated by self-interest. To be wise is to be truly humble and submitted to a greater purpose and design. Not only do most of us not operate from that place, but we are untrusting of people when they speak to us. We often are looking for the angle, what are they trying to get out of me. This crazy cycle of selfishness and mistrust is not Kingdom-minded, and is not true wisdom. To be truly wise is to be more concerned about others than yourself. May we all pray that we act in wisdom, and receive it when offered.

Re:Verse passage – James 3:1-12 (day seven)

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. vs 1

“Okay, I just wont become a Sunday School teacher so I don’t get held to a higher standard.” It doesn’t quite work that way my friend. James would probably agree that preachers and Biblical teachers should be held to a very high standard, but in a sense, he is speaking to all of us. If we look deeply into our lives we can see that God has placed people around us that learn from our actions. Family, friends, and coworkers are all watching us, especially once they know that we are a Christian. They are watching to see how the Christian handles pressure, how the Christian treats others, and even how the Christian spends his free time. Our actions are teaching someone a lesson. The question is, what are they learning from you?

Re:Verse passage – James 3:1-12 (day six)

⁶ And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. James 3:6

There doesn’t seem to be much hope in these verses. Our tongues are deeply connected to a simmering cauldron of  infinite matches. Cheaply we flick them without thought or self-control, only to regret later the cost of easily flung words. We often will say, I didn’t mean it or I don’t know where those words came from, but the truth is our words, especially those flung so hard, hot, and fast reveal who we are in our core, and Pastor James declares, your core is a whole world of wickedness.

Left here, we are all in trouble! But James has told us from the beginning take joy in your troubles. Much like the Sermon on the Mount, these words, drive us to to desperation and humility. What can we do with a wicked heart and tongue like ours. PJ concludes, you only have one option:

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6

Re:Verse passage – James 3:1-12 (day five) “Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.”  The wisdom of the scripture is amazing. James gives two illustrations (bit and rudder) for the power and potential a “tamed tongue” has for the spiritual growth and maturity of a believer. A tamed tongue is not just evidence of a vibrant and growing relationship with God through Jesus Christ (life giving), it is a means to it.

James illustrates that our goal is not just to gain control of our tongues but to have balanced and healthy lives that reflect the Glory of God.
The bit illustrates all the “internal” things that must be controlled (thoughts, plans, imagination, values). All of these use internal words to formulate and arrange in our minds.  The rudder then, points to the external events and circumstances that can veer us “off course” in our thinking and speaking.
In the Lord’s economy, words are the most valuable- creation (spoken into existence) and redemption (Word became flesh).  Makes sense that He would demand that we have the same regard for words- both internally and externally.