He Learned Trusting-Obedience

Hebrews 5

Who was Jesus? It seems that Jesus had several key identities. His title of Christ was a challenge to Caesar.  It is the Greek word for Messiah, which means "anointed one" in the Hebrew language. An "anointed one" referred to either a prophet, priest, or king. As Messiah to the Hebrew people, Jesus came as all three.

In this letter to the Hebrews, the author is connecting the dots between Jesus the Messiah and Israel's True High Priest. Jesus was the ideal High Priest for the people of Israel. He was compassionate with sinners. He was set apart by God, he didn't seek the position out for himself. Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow before God as he offered up his priestly prayers on behalf of the people. What a gift this kind of High Priest would be to the masses. 

I imagine that this kind of generous and kind behavior from Jesus would have irritated and enraged the reigning and former High Priests of Israel. They had been politically appointed, had amassed great power and wealth, and sought to stabilize Israel's future with Rome. And then Jesus comes along, anointed as a High Priest of Israel, mediating between God and the people with beautiful results. No wonder they wanted to kill him!

What's interesting is that the one writing this letter to the Hebrews makes a point to remind us that Jesus had to learn "trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do." We are often closest to Jesus when we suffer. Though we might even be suffering because of our own sins, even that has been fueled by those that have sinned against us - and it is there that we suffer like Jesus. And it is there, like Jesus, that we can learn trusting-obedience in God.

Jesus lived out a picture of what a True High Priest of Israel out to be. As this gracious High Priest, full of lovingkindness, Jesus laid down his life as if he were the unblemished lamb on the Day of Atonement. He's the High Priest that laid down his own life for the people of Israel. He's also the High Priest that becomes the scape-goat that wanders into the wilderness bearing on his backs all the sins of the people, carrying them away to be remembered no more.

Jesus is the Holy High Priest of Israel, through whom the world can be rescued from their sins as well. Anyone who believingly obeys Jesus, following his example, keeping his instructions, trusting his way, will find eternal salvation. Salvation from our sins that begins in this life and continues into the next. 

A salvation that changes us into priests for God like Jesus in our world - ones who mediate between YHWH and the people in our life. We treat sinners graciously, we learn trusting-obedience through our suffering when sinned against, we weep as we pray on behalf of the people in our life.

Jesus learned trusting-obedience, and so should we until our last breath, until "It is finished."

And God Just Stands There

Job 15-16

When you suffer, is it a direct result of your sins?

Yes and no. 

For many of us, our complicated situations flow from our pride, anger, lust, gluttony, greed, envy, or apathy. So in these cases, there is a connection between our hardships and our transgressions.

But what about when someone sins against us? When we are innocent? When they trespass against us and produce hurt and anxiety and fear and woundedness into our life? What then? Are we too blame for the tsunami of difficulties that flow out of that?

For Job, he was convinced that he was innocent, and that God was to blame for his horrors. And to a degree, he was right - since we get to know the backstory, the conversation God had with Satan. For Job's friends, who like Job don't know the backstory, they are convinced that Job is guilty of sin, and this explains his terrible suffering.

Despite Job's protests to his innocence, the friends are sure that deep inside, despite the great reputation Job had for being blameless and upright, despite his life of righteousness, somewhere deep inside was lurking sin that has produced this terrible affliction of suffering.

Here is how Eliphaz puts it:

If you were truly wise, would you sound so much like a windbag, belching hot air?
Would you talk nonsense in the middle of a serious argument, babbling baloney?
Look at you! You trivialize religion, turn spiritual conversation into empty gossip.
It's your sin that taught you to walk this way.
You chose an education in fraud.

But Job resists their simplistic and unfeeling accounting of the situation:

I've had all I can take of your talk.
What a bunch of miserable comforters!
Is there no end to your windbag speeches?
What's your problem that you go on and on like this?
If you were in my shoes, I could talk just like you.
I could put together a terrific harangue and really let you have it.
But I'd never do that. I'd console and comfort, make things better, not worse!

And then Job speaks directly and forcefully to God about his dire situation:

People take one look at me and gasp.
Contemptuous, the slap me around and gang up on me.
And God just stands there and lets them do it,
let's wicked people do what they want with me.
I was contentedly minding my own business when God beat me up.
He grabbed me by the neck and threw me around.

Do you ever feel this way towards God? That the hard times you're going through are undeserved? We'd be wise to contemplate the thoughts of both Eliphaz and Job. There are times when our sins produce chaos in our life, and thus our repentance and return to God put us on the path to healing and restoration.

But sometimes, when we get sinned against, and life turns upside down, we have a choice: of either retaliating, of sinning in response, or crying out to God for intervention and rescue.

Job is caught in deep tension: he's convinced that the hard times are undeserved, and yet from God. He's also sure that God is the one that can rescue him. Job must wrestle with relying on a God who has seemingly been so unfair to him. Job is forced to reach out to a God who just seems to stand there.

Job is being tested. And in his rage against the injustice of his situation, he still trusts God for resolution. Even though he sees God as the cause of the storm, he's willing to believe that God will bring it to pass. And that God will have a good reason for all of this. But in the meantime, it's as if God just stands there.

Take The Mercy, Accept The Help

Hebrews 3-4

This letter was possibly written by Priscilla, a well-regarded Christian woman who collaborated with the Apostle Paul. Since no author has been attributed to this thoughtful and rich letter, lots of theories have emerged. Some say Paul wrote it, but the style is much different then his other letters.

We know it was written by a Hebrew to Hebrews, hence the title it was given. It was written by someone with a deep love for Israel, a mastery of the First Testament, a deep understanding of their history, and unwavering loyalty to Jesus the Messiah.

The Hebrew Christians who received this letter needed assurance of their faith. They also needed more thorough explanations of how Jesus is connected to Israel as the High Priest, to God as the Son, and to the world as fully human. The author of this letter will draw extensively from Torah, but also the Poetry, the History, and the Prophets of the First Testament. This is an excellent letter to read with a Reference Bible - and then follow the "links" it provides, connecting the letter to the Hebrews with the hundreds of references in the First Testament.

It is vital that these Hebrews and Hebrew Christians that are reading the Bible don't make the same mistake as that first generation of Israelites who followed Moses out of Egypt. The Exodus was God's intervention for his people to deliver them to the Promised Land. And along the way, the people gave up on God, they turned a deaf ear to him, they quit trusting him. And so it is with this first generation of Christians - don't repeat the same mistake of our ancestors, don't turn a deaf ear to Jesus. 

So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He's the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. 

In our life, it's too easy to take our eyes off of Jesus. We can make other issues too important, too distracting. When it comes to our life as Christians, Christ is the focus. Christ the person, Christ the one who lived and died, the one who was resurrected and ascended. Christ the one who rescued us from sin and restores us to new life, reconciled with God and ready for life in the age to come. It's important that we not just focus on what Jesus does for us, but what Jesus was like and what he did for others. 

Now that we know what we have - Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God - let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all - all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Isn't that a great image of Jesus? He's eager for us to meet, to talk, to be present in the same place. At times he tracks us down, he follows us to our dark places, he stays with us despite our defiance and doubts. And then, when we're ready to turn around, he's right there, ready for us to receive what he has to offer. Are you ready to take the mercy and accept the help Jesus has to give?

But We Don't See It Yet

Hebrews 1-2

We want to see what is right prevail. What want to see good overcome evil. We want there to be a connection between justice and mercy. More than karma, we want grace to have the last word on our lives.

For Christians, our story includes the command of God to have dominion over the Earth, to steward it for his glory and our joy. Unfortunately, in the past few hundred years, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we've increased our pollution of the land and famines for the poorest of the world. Christians are struggling with how to exert power and authority such that everyone on earth gets enough to eat and drink. We strive for a solution, but we don't see it yet.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews was a witness to the life and way of Jesus. For him, in the midst of the mighty Roman Empire, he still didn't see yet the blessed dominion of man over the earth. Instead, he saw crucifixion beams and besieged, bloodied cities. But he did see Jesus. And he was compelled to come to terms with the words and works of Jesus. How to make sense of them - either Jesus was a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.

We want Jesus to return soon, to make things right on the earth. We want Jesus to lead us so that the righteous prosper and the wicked are disciplined. We want Jesus to bring healing and restoration to broken peoples and polluted lands. But we don't see it yet. Not completed, at least. But the work has begun, if you have eyes to see it.

Where does wickedness come from? Where does the desire to hurt people and desecrate the land come from? The religious term for it is sin. Evil. And if only someone could break the corruptible power of sin, it's expressions of lust and greed, pride and envy.

Ah - but there is someone who claimed to overcome the reign of evil. It's what Jesus did on the cross and through the resurrection. And the rewards of that sacrifice are available to us. To those that believe it is possible. Even if we don't see it completed yet.

Unlike the author of Hebrews, we did not witness the life of Jesus, his crucifixion and resurrection. We did not hear his words, did not watch him at work. But the influence of Jesus is still here. Jesus is still at work, breaking the power of sin in our lives, subverting the power of evil in society. 

He knows what it is like to be one of us, to be crushed by opposition, to be hated for being right and truth-full. Jesus is our example for how to live in this darkened world. But he is also our Savior - the one who rescued us from the power of darkness and grants us light to see and love and follow Him.

How To Read The Bible: Lesson Five - The Letters

How To Read the Bible – And Get Something Out of It

Lesson One – Get To Know Your Bible

What Are You Reading - Understanding What You Are Reading

Lesson Two –  First Testament

How to Read the Torah

Lesson Three – First Testament

How to Read the Writings & Prophets (Hebrew Poetry)

Lesson Four – New Testament

How to Read the Gospels

Lesson Five – New Testament

How to Read the Letters (of Paul, Peter, James, Jude, John)

Lesson Five –  New Testament

How to Read the Letters

The Letters of Paul to the Church in:  Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, Thessalonica; to Timothy, Titus, Philemon

The Letters of Peter to: God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia

The Letter of James: To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations

[see also the Letter to the Hebrews - an anonymous epistle]

The Letter of Jude: To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

The Letters of John: To the lady chosen by God and to her children // To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth //  To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Originally there were no chapters and verses in the Scriptures.

Some letters were written while the author was imprisoned.

The audiences are varied – geographically, culturally, religiously, maturity.

Understanding What You Are Reading

The Flow of the Story: The Letters and the Acts of the Apostles

…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. [Acts 1:8]

The Story of God as told through Five Sections of the Bible

Torah: God Will Bless the World Through Israel

Prophets: God’s Call To Israel to Repent That

He Might Bless The World Through Them

Writings: God’s Involvement With Israel and the World

 As He Works To Bless The World Through Them

Gospels: God Through Jesus Calling Israel to Repent

That He Might Bless The World Through Them

Letters: God’s Involvement With Israel & the Church

In the World As He Works To Bless The World

Through Them in Jesus’ Name

* Jesus comes as God to initiate a New Exodus God with Israel to save them from slavery and destruction, making a new covenant with them for blessing the world through him. (He reinterprets Torah for them as a Prophet)

* Whoever would believe and follow Jesus – whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free, civilized or barbarian – would become part of the New Israel, or the Ekklesia (assembly or church) of Jesus.

* This New Israel/Church would be God’s instrument for blessing the world in the name of Jesus.

* The Letters of the Apostles and Disciples are selected writings of the expansion of the New Israel/church through the proclamation of the Gospels from Jerusalem to the end of the earth within the Roman Empire.

* The Letters inform of us of how the early church blossomed in its culture in as it entered into the Story of God through the proclamation of the Gospel.

* The Letters give us insights into how our church can blossom in our culture as part of God’s ongoing story through the proclamation of the Gospel. 

Bring Judgment Against Them

Jude & Obadiah

Jude is a brother both to James the Bishop of Jerusalem and Jesus the King of Israel. We're not sure what his role was in the early church. By the letter he wrote it would seem that maybe he was an overseer of some churches.

He also seemed to be a busy man, but when he heard about what was going on in some of the congregations, he felt compelled to write a emotional and vivid letter. It's a real short one - compact, full of Old Testament stories and allusions - very impactful to that first audience.

It seems that this group of believers were known for their love of God, exuding the grace of Jesus, praying in the Spirit. But for whatever reason there were people joining their group who were more interested in challenging the norms, insisting on self-serving practices, and bringing in filthy attitudes and actions. Rather then being people who wanted to change and grow in the faith, they were wanting the benefit of the church while staying rooted in the ways of the world.

Jude insists that God will bring judgment against them. Not because God is a big mean old man up in the sky waiting to smite sinners. Evil is like cancer, sin is like a virus, selfishness and greed spread and infect and wreck and distract and ruin and taint and suck the life out of a community.


Judgment is God's gift to a community - to point out the obvious, the truth, the reality of the situation and intervene. God will let things go for awhile, giving the people opportunities to repent and change their ways. But if it goes on for too long, then God will bring an end to it.

This is what we find in the prophecy from Obadiah in the Old Testament. He is writing to the Edomites, descendants of Esau who was the twin brother of Jacob (also known as Israel, the father of the Twelve Tribes). Esau and Jacob had a difficult, competitive, edgy relationship - and so did their descendants.

There would be much tension and many skirmishes between them in the centuries to follow. When the Northern Tribes and Southern Tribes of Israel were conquered by the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, Edom gloated and harrassed. And God was not happy about it.

There is so much in the world that is not right - between tribes and nations, empires and superpowers. God lets so much go on and on and on. Finally, after one too many times, God spoke a word of judgment to Edom through Obadiah. You reap what you sow. What goes around comes around. God promised to bring justice to Edom for their sins against their brother Israel, for mocking and abandoning him.

But at the very end of Obadiah's letter, he notes that someday Israel will return and bring justice to Edom. Another way to look at it: Israel will break the cycle of violence and revenge and hatred. When God brings Israel back, they will be part of God's plan to bring shalom - even to their enemies. 

It's this same attitude that Jude wants Christians to take towards those that are infecting their community with sin: "Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven." God is the one who brings judgment on sinners. And he is also the one who initiates grace. We do no favors when we overlook sin, but we also ought not to overlook sinners.

Just as God brought justice to Edom, so God will bring it to each sinner. But God also promised a new life on the other side of judgment. Judgment is a gift - it brings an end to wickedness, abuse, hate.


Judgment is often hard and harsh - since it often comes at the hands of other humans, and it is often the real consequences from the long culmination of our choices and desires. If we are willing to see our fall as a gift from God, we'll be ready for Him when he picks us up and stands us on our feet.

And now to him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating - to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, to the end of all time. Yes.

To You Arrogant Rich

James 5

If you're going to write a short letter, and instruct about only the most important issues, what would those be? For the Christians reading the letter of their Bishop James the Just, they get a clear message about the abuse of wealth. Back then, and now, the abuse of wealth is still a cancer on our society. 

Whether it is a bartering system, agricultural system, an empire economy, a socialist society, a communist dictatorship, or a free-market system - wealthy people will emerge, and too many of them will add to the corruption of the system for their own gain. And it will be at the expense of the workers. And the Earth.

It is evident that wealth is NOT a sign of God's blessing. God's blessing comes from what you do with your money - whether much or meager. God will be harsher on the wealthy who exploit people and places, who loot and live it up, who destroy lives and livelihoods. 


"All the workers you've exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger." Whether it is America or Malaysia, China or Mexico, whatever the economic system, God is against those who build wealth for themselves.

So James has a few words for the workers though: life is hard - be patient for the return of Jesus without complaining about your neighbor or your life. Don't let oppression provide an excuse for you to dishonor God with your words and ways.

Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God even in the midst of gross inequality, corporate injustices, and financial mismanagement. If you're going to help make things right, do not become like the ones who made it wrong. 

For the hard life of the workers, continue to pray for one another, and for justice. When you get sinned against: forgive. When you sin against others: confess and work for reconciliation and healing. Don't let the hard times that have been inflicted on you result in drifting away from God and community. 


When your friends fall away from God - go after them! Don't let the corporate empires and billionaire tyrants corrupt your church community. Resist the evil. Rescue the wandering. Restore the broken. Reach out and care for those who have been left behind or trampled.

Quit Dabbling In Sin

James 4

It's your desires within you that get you into trouble. Desires are dangerous, they are always there, and they are central to what it means to be human. Desires are powerful, yet neutral. It's what you desire that gets you in trouble. 

You desire to get your own way at the expense of someone else's welfare. You desire pleasure despite the pain it will cause another. You desire recognition or reward unaware of others contributions. "Where do you think these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves."

The desires cannot be suppressed and they won't go away. Evil desires will stay with you. But you can desire what is good. You can desire to love others as God has loved you. You can love out of humility instead of lust out of pride. You can desire mercy. You can desire courage. You can desire sacrifice. You can desire joy.

Desire can be used for good, if you desire to enter into that struggle. "So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud NO to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet YES to God and he'll be there in no time. Quite dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field."

We tend to think that acting out according to our desires is living out of our true selves, it is being authentic, it is just being us. But the you who God wants you to be isn't someone who effortlessly lives according to your desires. You must master your desires.

God gives you commands that you must obey, even if you don't desire it. In doing what is right out of obedience, the rewards will become desirable. Someday you will do what is right because you desire it, but for a long time you must do what is right even if you don't desire it. As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don't do it, that, for you, is evil. 

It Only Takes A Spark

James 3

When it comes to being a teacher, an instructor, a mentor, a life-coach, a trainer, a preacher, a parent - there comes a moment when you have to open your mouth and say something. Whatever comes out has the capacity to build up or cause wreckage. Beware opening your mouth! "It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that."

James was the Bishop of Jerusalem, overseeing the thousands of Christians that lived in the city and the surrounding region. He worked with hundreds of pastors and teachers who led small house churches in the area. One of his primary works as a bishop was to help develop pastors and teachers so that they could more fruitfully care for and guide their congregations. Being a good Jew, James boils it all down to wisdom. 

For those that aspired to be a teacher or preacher, James warned them against it. Wisdom was so essential to being a good teacher and pastor - and not enough men and women showed it with their life to qualify. The evidence was in the brackish words that flowed out of their mouths, the mean-spirited ambition that dripped off their words.

But it's not just teachers and pastors, nor candidates for that kind of ministry, that need to beware what comes out of their mouth. Anyone who is a follower of Jesus must reign in their tongue. "By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the world world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell." 

Our words matter - they are a form of action. James goes on to point out, though, that our actions without words matter more. On this point he lifts up again the value of wisdom: "Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts."

It boggles the mind how a mouth can sing praises to God on Sunday morning and then be mumbling curses by the afternoon. How can a Christian encourage a friend at church but then bad-mouth a relative later in the day? We all do it, though. "Cursings and blessings out of the same mouth? My friends, this can't go on!"

If God is convicting you over the mean or self-serving words that have been coming out of your mouth, then listen to your conscience and make the change. Your words are sparks that are setting off forest fires. God is always prompting you towards wisdom - in your home, your church, your work, your school, your neighborhood, with family and friends. Wisdom can set off it's own sparks, though - the kind of fire that warms and attracts, not destroys.

Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. 

You can develop healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and respect.

Kind Mercy Wins

James 2

The brother of Jesus, who is also bishop of Jerusalem, writes with urgency and intensity. This letter of his, it's chock full of wisdom, ethics, some theology, and lots of love. It's an open letter, not addressed to any one person. It's been sent, multiple copies of it, to Jews who are Christians, scattered all over the Roman Empire. Hence the wide-ranging topics covered - not every community of believers - faces the same struggles. And same for you as you work your way slowly through the epistle. 

Whereas in reading through Torah you get a mixture of stories and ritual law, here in the letter from James we get a sermon, a dense listing out of exhortations to keep the faith, how to live out the faith, how to love others, how to deal with adversity. For obvious reasons, this is still a popular letter to read. The chapter divisions were added to it hundreds of years later. When you read it, don't feel obligated to stick to the chapter - focus on paragraphs, or verses, that which encourages, convicts, reveals.

Each chapter is worth reading through several times, slowly. Find the section that seems to speak to you, listen for what the Spirit wants to prick in your heart. And then chew on that verse, that paragraph. Ask God what he wants you to do with what you read. Often times you already know, but you need to spend time talking to Him about it.

In this chapter James is addressing the problem among Christians to look up to the rich and look down on the poor. When it comes to favoritism, those with power and prestige get more attention while those with problems and flaws get looked over. James points out that Jesus came to the down-and-out first - and they replied best to the Gospel. 

And so for us, kind mercy ought to win over judgment. Our faith and our works ought to be seamless when it comes to loving those different from us. You may not be rich, you may not be poor - do not favor the one over the other. However, most people don't have a problem of valuing the poor over the rich.


If you say you love God, then you will love rich people as God does - which means being unimpressed with their wealth and accomplishments. And if you say you love God, then you will love poor people - which means withholding disdain for their situation and predicaments. And if you say you love God, then kind mercy wins through how you deal with each person in your life.

The number of people in America who live at or below the poverty line has drastically increased to 15%. It is estimated that over 20% of the working population is without full-time employment. More people then ever are relying on government subsidies and handouts to get by. Large chunks of the middle-class are becoming part of the ever-swelling working class. Medical bills account for the descent of many. Click here for an interesting article on current poverty in America. It is sad.

Act On What You Hear

James 1

When you need guidance and direction in life, read this letter from James. Start at chapter one and start reading until he hits a nerve, until he says something startling, until he points out the obvious. There are so many times in life where we're not sure what to do next, not sure what God wants us to do. We then feel the urge to open up our Bible to discover a whiff of God's will for us. The next time this happens, open up to James and read.

Not all books in the Bible offer the same kind of wisdom and guidance. Some come across as more pertinent to our personal lives. James is that kind of letter - it's not a book - it's a heart-felt letter chock full of wisdom written to persuade and convince and instruct and reprimand. Just the kind of letter you need to read. Again. And again. And again.

James is the brother of Jesus. He was once an unbeliever. He was once against Jesus. Even jealous and embarrassed. Can you relate to any of that? James is writing as the Bishop of Jerusalem. The orphans and widows of the city are struggling to survive. Some of the Christians are facing strong opposition to their allegiance to Jesus as the Messiah. There are still Jewish religious leaders and Roman government authorities that are pressuring for conformity to the status quo. James is also a pious and observant Jew. He loves and keeps Torah. He was brother to a prophet - their message he passionately embraced. He whispers the Psalms from memory as he prays, he instructs with the wisdom of the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

It's hard to read a chapter from James - he packs so much intense wisdom and reprimands, so many insights and encouragements. He is a gifted writer with a passion to influence Jewish Christians scattered across the Empire. He writes from a Jewish perspective to Jews who believe that Jesus is Messiah. Jewish Christians under pressure to abandon Jesus, to pursue wealth, to blame God for evil in the world, to absolve themselves of any responsibility for the widows and orphans in their community.

When you read James for direction, you may find you benefit from just a few of the ideas in the chapter. Pick the one or two sentences that stick out to you - that seem to apply to your situation. And then ask yourself what God is wanting you to learn and hear from what James wrote. And then do the very hard work of figuring out what to do next in light of what you hear. For as James makes very clear, it is not enough to just read and hear - we must live and do and act!