Day 1 - James1:1

Thanks for taking this journey with me. Hopefully this will be an interactive discussion where together we learn what God has in store for us. Part of the problem with New Year's resolutions is that by the time the 15th rolls around we've usually forgotten about them. Hopefully that won't happen this time. If you've come here from some other way than through the Facebook link I hope that you will be sure to friend me there. Bill Brown in Dublin, Ohio.

So together we're going to study the book of James. It's one of the shorter books in the Bible at only 108 verses. So that's 108 verses in 100 days of study. But the reason I really like it is because it's chock full of wisdom in how to live the Christian life every day. By the time we get to the end I believe God will show us exactly what He wants us to understand and we will be closer to Him as a result.

So, let's get started.

First a little history of the book of James. It's one of the 27 books of the New Testament. The New Testament being that which was written after Jesus Christ came into the world. Technically it's a letter that was written by James to the 12 tribes. There were 4 James' mentioned in the New Testament but most think the author of this letter was Jesus' half brother who was the leader of the Jerusalem church. It is thought to have been written between 45-50 AD. Along the way, I'll use some other resources to bring the person of James alive. We'll get to know the man a little better.  Since the people reading this for the most part are not that familiar with the different translations of the Bible, I'm going to use one that is written in everyday English called The Message and a more traditional New American Standard (NAS).

The Message

James 1:1 - I, James, am a slave of God and the Master Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered to Kingdom Come: Hello!

NAS

James 1:1 - I, James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

So that seems pretty straight forward doesn't it. He's opening up the letter like you normally would when you're greeting someone. Except look at that "a bond-servent of God". What does it mean to be a bond servent? The Message in this case describes it a bit better as being a slave of God and the Master Jesus.

I want you to think what that means. Are you ready to give it all up and be a slave? James did. He saw his half brother perform miracles, raise people from the dead, feed 5000 with practically no food, and most important of all was a witness when He came back from the dead and appeared many times to his disciples as well as other people. So would you sell everything and become a slave for someone like that?

Better think hard about your answer because you might have to come to terms with that sooner rather than later.

So who were the 12 tribes he was addressing? They're the Jewish Christians who are scattered throughout the world. Hmm, no internet, no blogs, no Facebook. Talk about faith. We probably won't know until we get to Heaven how many of the early Jewish Christians actually read this letter but we do know that it was included in the writings of the first New Testament and has been read by way more than those Jewish Christians. Just as you're doing now.

I would encourage you to go ahead and read the whole book of James. If you don't have a bible there's a lot of them on the internet for free. Here's the one I use most. http://www.biblegateway.com

Comment, go ahead and get the discussion going.

See you tomorrow.