I sometimes hear my Dad say to get wisdom above everything else. I don’t know if my Dad ever really said that; it’s just something I hear in my mind. There are a lot of decisions that I made without wisdom that are great testimonies to the importance of getting wisdom. There are also decisions […]
Read More 20 for 20 #2 Wisdom Says What? Part 1Day 9: The Danger of Presumptuous Planning Read James 4:13-5:6 Context: What attitude towards the future and material success is James confronting in both the merchants (4:13-17) and the wealthy landowners (5:1-6)? We should get the idea by now that James isn’t plucking random issues out of thin air. He has been making it clear […]
Read More WIWO: James Day 9: The Danger of Presumptuous PlanningDay 8: Submit Yourselves to God Read James 4:1-12 Context: What does James identify as the root cause of conflicts and quarrels within the Christian community? In a stunning summation of all that he’s outlined so far, James identifies the root cause of conflicts as the same divided loyalties he established at the start of […]
Read More WIWO: James Day 8: Submit Yourselves to GodDay 7: Two Kinds of Wisdom Read James 3:13-18 Context: How does James’ teaching about two kinds of wisdom connect with his previous discussions about trials, faith, and the tongue? By this stage, we should be very familiar with what James has outlined in terms of distinctions. There is asking in faith vs wavering. There […]
Read More WIWO: James Day 7: Two Kinds of WisdomDay 6: Taming the Tongue Read James 3:1-12 Context: Why does James specifically warn about the responsibility of those who teach, and how does this introduce his broader discussion about speech? You might get the impression that James is changing the topic from what he’s previously talked about, but there is continuity. That continuity follows […]
Read More WIWO: James Day 6: Taming the TongueDay 2: Trials and Divine Wisdom Read James 1:1-11 Context: Why might James immediately address the topic of trials to believers who are “scattered among the nations”? Being scattered, they are not at home and so do not enjoy the security that home offers for one’s identity and religious expression. Add to that the aspect […]
Read More WIWO: James Day 2: Trials and Divine WisdomDay 1: Setting the Foundation Read James straight through Background Focus: James, the half-brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church, writes to Jewish Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire. His letter reads more like a sermon than typical apostolic correspondence, filled with practical wisdom reminiscent of Old Testament wisdom literature and Jesus’ Sermon […]
Read More WIWO: James First Day: Setting the FoundationDay 10: Paul’s Charge to Timothy Read 2 Timothy 4:1-22 Memory verse: 2 Tim 4:7-8 – I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that […]
Read More WIWO: 2 Timothy Day 10: Paul’s Charge to TimothyThe good times and the bad times. You don’t remember the other times. They slip away. But those good times and those bad times stick in the memory. What’s the point of them, though? What are they there for? Our perspective on them matters. Our method of processing those memories can be the difference between […]
Read More Dryden Shorts – The MemoriesThe house that I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even the highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him? (2 Chronicles 2:5-6) Solomon […]
Read More JJ25 #14 – House for the God who Cannot be Contained
Life With CD 