Life Altering
Okay, that was two words wasn’t it?
Sidebar - I google everything. Do you find yourself googling
everything? Right when I typed, life
altering, I wondered to myself, “is that one word or two”? And, then I
googled it to find out the answer. Is there anything you can’t find on the
internet? What is this techno world that we live in coming to? I digress.
thought-provoking, captivating,
convicting, humbling.
Those are a few other words to describe this Book. It’s
a short book. Only 5 chapters. One could read through it from beginning to end
in minimal time, but it shouldn’t be read like a self-help book that you’d
read in a short sitting while killing time in your local bookstore. It’s a book
to lay out on your kitchen table with a notepad nearby. A book where before you
even delve into the first verse, you get down on your knees and ask the Lord to
soften your heart before you try and take in the Words. It’s also a book to
keep a tissue box within arm’s reach as you’ll be led to wrestle with the
condition of your very soul and possibly drawn to tears as you’re humbled and
moved to examine how you can strive more in your Christian walk to be Christ-like.
It’s a book of tests. Not the standardized kind or a
Fill-in-the-Blank type of tests. The book details varying tests that we can use
to examine our walk as a Christian. There is a test that covers our response
in trials, another on how we show favor to the rich and elite, a test on our ability
to control our tongue, and another that tests our closeness with the world.
After you’ve sweat a little in taking these tests and graded yourself, there’s
a message of hope in Chapter 4 (verses 7-10) if after examining your response
you realize that you’ve failed all of the tests.
Never again will I wonder what I need to do when in a trial
or a test in life. This book paints a very clear and concise illustration of
what a Christian’s response should be. And, when I’m having trouble bridling my
tongue or being tempted by my fleshly nature to dishonor God in my thoughts or
attitude, I only need to go back to this Book. I’m thankful that someone gave me the
invitation to take this study.
If One of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that
person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will
save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20)
Anyone need a good book to read?
Yes!! Love love love the Book of James!! It helped me so much in so many ways. I haven't done a precept study before but understand it's a great way to study. I'll have to look into it!
ReplyDeletePrecept Studies are very in-depth and require a lot of work, but the depth of understanding and learning of the scriptures is priceless.
ReplyDelete