Be encouraged during these difficult times. Get involved in a Bible study, pray, stay in touch with church family and friends. God loves you and He is good all the time.
James is a popular book. Like Proverbs, it deals with practical aspects of our faith.
James 1:5-8.....possible titles for you to use: Seeking God's Guidance, A Daily Prayer, Seek God's Wisdom, Wisdom versus Doublemindness
Admin notes: During this rather difficult time where churches are cancelling services, I've decided to write some Bible study notes. Feel free to follow along, comments, ask questions, have some online fellowship. History/background information is up to you. E-sword software, Dr Constable's Bible study notes https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/james.pdf , etc. Plenty of reliable sources and free commentaries. Inductive study format can be found at intothyword.org for detailed info. Any questions, please ask.
Verse 5: Ask/beg God for His Wisdom. He gives generously and w/o reproach.
- wisdom G4678 - cleverness, learning, spiritual insight, skill, well-rounded knowledge
- ask God G154 - beg, call for, crave, desire, require, request
- gives generously/liberally G574 - bountifully, sincerely, openly
- without reproach/upbraideth/ungrudgingly G3679 - chide, rail, defame, revile, denounce, insult
Verse 6: Faith, a firm confidence in God w/o doubting or wavering for that is like constant agitation and a divided mind.
- ask in faith G4102 - moral conviction of truth, reliance on Jesus for salvation
- doubting/wavering G1252 - hesitate, stagger
- surf/sea G2830 - surge, raging, agitation
- driven and tossed by the wind
Verse 7: do not expect to receive anything with a flaky, self-centered, wishy washy attitude.
Verse 8: pretty straightforward - no paraphrase necessary.
- double-minded G1374 - two spirited, two minded, uncertain, divided in interest, vacillating
- unstable G182 - restless, inconstant
What does the passage say? What is God telling me? God is first. We must ask in faith w/o doubting or we won't receive. See verses 1-4 as we are dealing with trials.
Application: for me, this is very much a "who is first" question. Am I on the throne or is He? Also, who do you rely on---your wisdom, worldly views or God's wisdom? Lean not on your own understanding. Otherwise you will continue to make the same mistakes over and over and expecting different results - insanity. You will not grow.
Questions:
Questions:
- What repetitive patterns do you have that require God's wisdom?
- What causes you to be unstable?
- What do you do when you are overwhelmed?
