You could summarize the book of James in one word, “FAITH”. Just what does it mean to have faith? Every day you demonstrate great faith. Even now, wherever you are sitting you have placed faith in your chair to hold you up. Chances are you sat down without a bit of fear or worry that you would be held up. You are relaxed and confident in the ability of your seat. We demonstrate faith when we ride in an elevator, when we get in a car, when we fly in a plane. We demonstrate faith in our doctors and the medicines they give us. We even demonstrate faith in our own bodies when we first place our feet on the floor each morning to take a walk. We demonstrate faith in restaurants when we eat food someone else has prepared. We demonstrate faith in our husbands, in our children, in our friends and family. If you pay attention you will find yourself demonstrating great faith throughout any given day. Faith means to believe in something or to have trust. But, what does it mean to have faith in God? Is it enough to just say, “I believe in God.”? No, for we learn in the book of James that even the devils believe and they tremble.
Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And in verse six it tells us that, “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Jesus spoke of faith often. He spoke of those with little faith and those who had great faith. He said that it was because of their faith that many were healed, that they were made whole, and that they were saved. Faith moves mountains. In the book of James we will learn that faith endures trials, faith understands temptations, faith gives us wisdom to pass the tests given, faith obeys the Word, faith produces doers, faith harbors no prejudice, faith displays itself in works, faith controls the tongue, faith acts wisely and faith gives us the ability to resist the devil and draw nigh to God.
So, what exactly is faith? My husband often gives a very simple and easy definition of what faith is. It is simply having confidence in the trustworthiness of God. In other words, faith is having complete assurance that God will do what He says He will do. So the only way to build our faith is to know God and His Word. It is through His Word that we learn of His trustworthiness and through His Spirit working in our lives that our confidence is built.
So pull out your Bible and dive into the precious Word, verse by verse and line by line. There is no better way to know Him and by doing so your faith will be strengthened more and more.
I will choose a winner (US Resident only) and mail out Living Out the Word, Faith. A verse by verse study for women through James on Monday, November 8th. You can take a look inside the book here at Amazon.com.
Mandatory to Enter: Leave a comment with your favorite verse from James.
Additional entries: TOS Crew members, Subscribe to this blog (rss or email), spread the word about this giveaway (blog, facebook, emails, etc) and leave link in comments.
Kimberly Williams 
Favorite verse James 4:8a “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
I am a TOS Crew member
Hmmm, James is such a treasure of wisdom. I like James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
James 3 holds some of my all-time favorite verses; 13 & 17–“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom…But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.”
A great reminder to weigh our actions against true wisdom…that wisdom which comes from God, and indeed, looks quite different from that wisdom the world would have us believe.
Hi!
Great giveaway – I’m a fan of James. Right now, I’m mulling James 2:14-24.
Stopped by as part of our mini-crew…
April
Hi!
Great giveaway – I’m a fan of James. Right now, I’m mulling James 2:14-24.
Stopped by as part of our mini-crew…
April
Sorry for the duplicate – it posted my old blog… 🙂
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work that you may be complete, lacking nothing.”~James 1:2-4
I once thought that these verses meant that Christians should walk around with plastic smiles on their faces all the time. But that is not the meaning. It means that we should consider it a joy when our faith is being tested knowing that God uses times of testing to conform us to the image of His Son, our Lord–and that is certainly something to be joyful about! God works all things for the good of His children (Romans 8:28), and we must trust that God will do what He promised (have faith). Only then can we be truly joyful.
Easy, my favorite is James 4:8, one of the first that grabbed my attention as a new Christian. I also love James 1:21-22 and it is an excellent reminder not to just “talk” the faith, but live it
It is so hard to choose one verse. James is not a big book, but full of wisdom and encouragement. I’m going to choose James 1:12 “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.”
James 1:22-25 I like the reminder to not just listen to the Word, but to live it!
James 1:5 is one of my favorites: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” As a homeschool mom of three, I need all of the wisdom I can get!
The last year has really been hard on me. But with my faith in God, I made it through my sickness. I am really looking forward to this study. It is really hard to find a certain verse but I guess my favorite is James 4:8: “Draw nearer to God and He will draw nearer to you,” That verse just really touched me when I read it! It has fit my life so well this last year. I have learned to lean on God more and able to see His blessings more and more!
Love u girl ……. congrats on your book…. hope to read and study it soon…. !