“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Hebrews 11:8If I were to ask you how adventurous you are, how would you respond? While some of us may be up for more adventure than others, probably all of us love at least some level of it in our lives. We want it to be fun (and at least a li...  Read More

The Prayer of Faith (James 5:13-20 ESV)13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he w...  Read More

Patience in Suffering (James 5:7-12 ESV)7 Be patient, therefore, brothers,[a] until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be ju...  Read More

Sometimes we say things like, “I don’t know what tomorrow may bring.” The problem is that we don’t often keep this in mind as we go about our day. We fill our schedules with plans and appointments, we make checklists, and we live by our calendars. Come into my office and you’ll find loads of Post-It Notes with things to do. If you saw my phone, you’d see that our family shares at least 2-3 Google ...  Read More

With a title like this, you might think that we’re unpacking Tolstoy’s novel, but that’s not actually the case. As we turn our attention to James 4:1-12, there is little doubt that it feels like we could camp within this text for the next couple of weeks. That’s because it can feel like verses 1-3, 4-6, or 7-10, or 11-12 are all separate and different from each other, with different themes. But if...  Read More

Over the years I have met people with wealth who have seen it as a privilege and responsibility. People have used it to give back to God and to bless others. They live with an eye toward eternity. At the same time, I have met people for whom it is a vehicle to indulge in their own selfish pursuits and to hoard it for themselves. They live with an eye for the here and now.In James 5:1-6, it is appa...  Read More