Scripture“As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”James 4:16-17 (ESV)  Devotional ReflectionJames concludes by shining a light on the reality of the situation. What we often call confidence, ambition, or self-reliance can sometimes be something much deeper. James calls it arrogance. He calls it ...

Scripture“Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”James 4:15 (ESV)Devotional ReflectionAfter exposing the illusion of self-sufficiency, James presents the proper response: submission to the will of God. The phrase "If the Lord wills" is not a Christian slogan to be added to our vocabulary. It is a posture of the heart. James is calling us to a life that is ...

Scripture“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”James 4:13-14 (ESV)Devotional ReflectionJames begins by examining not merely what people are saying, but what their words re...