James 1:1-18

It is . . . critically important that the Christian take full advantage of every provision God has made to save him from delusion. These are prayer, faith, constant meditation on the Scriptures, obedience, humility, hard, serious thought and the illumination of the Holy Spirit. 1. Prayer is not a sure fire protection against error for the reason that there are many kinds of prayer and some of them are worse than useless. The prophets of Baal leaped upon the altar in a frenzy of prayer, but...

Except for those things that are specifically commanded or forbidden, it is God's will that we be free to exercise our own intelligent choice. The shepherd will lead the sheep but he does not wish to decide which tuft of grass the sheep shall nibble each moment of the day. In almost everything touching our common life on earth God is pleased when we are pleased. He wills that we be as free as birds to soar and sing our Maker's praise without anxiety. God's choice for us may not be one but...

For Reading and Meditation:     Proverbs 18:15-21

We are seeing that the first step the psalmist took to save himself from falling was stopping himself from saying what was on the tip of his tongue. In other words, he took himself in hand. This is an extremely important issue. What a lot of heartache would be saved if Christians would take heed to this and learn...

For Reading and Meditation:     James 1:12-20

Yesterday we saw that the first step the psalmist took, the step which helped to save him from spiritual disaster, was most surprising. In the midst of overwhelming temptation, he says to himself: "If I give expression to my doubts and speak out of my envious, discouraged heart, I will put a stumbling-block in someone...

For Reading and Meditation:     James 1:2-8

We continue meditating on the first verse of Psalm 73: "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart." The psalmist has gone through an experience of crippling doubt but the great thing is this: he has emerged from it spiritually enriched and with a deeper...

For Reading and Meditation:     James 1:1-18

The Bible is replete with instances of God's wisdom moving men and women through the most difficult times to the most wonderful ends. Take Abraham for example. Although he is known in Scripture as the "the friend of God," he was capable of some shabby behavior. On one occasion he actually compromised his wife's chastity ...

For Reading and Meditation:     Hebrews 10:19-31

The Bible is a veritable mine of information on the fact of God's faithfulness. More than 4,000 years ago He said: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease" (Genesis 8:22). Every year furnishes...

For Reading and Meditation: 1 Corinthians 9:15-27

We continue meditating on the idea that everything we do represents a goal. In fact, most of the frustration we experience in life comes from wrong goals and blocks to those goals. Let me illustrate. Cast your mind back to the last time you were angry. If you can identify your goal and what blocked your goal, then you have the clue to...

For Reading and Meditation:     Psalm 149:1-9

We come now to Christ's third prescription for happiness: "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). How we have shied away from that word "meek". We have thought of meekness as weakness and thus have a totally wrong concept of what Jesus meant....

For Reading and Meditation:     James 1:1-12

We are meditating on the second of Christ's Beatitudes: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Yesterday we saw that the meaning of this statement is that when we are willing to experience sorrow and grief, then God is able to use these encounters to sensitise our spirits and make our ministry to...