The Book of James | Personal Bible Study
Bible study has been lacking so I’m changing that. I picked up a study of the book of James by Joyce Meyer and started it today. I’ve always loved her teachings and was blessed to meet her over 25 years ago at church. Because we were extremely packed and short on child chare I volunteered to work and didn’t get to be present when she spoke. She wanted to meet those of us who opted to take care of the kids and thanked us for our service. She’s an incredible person and the love of Christ just radiates from her.
Over the years I’ve read her books and watched her shows on cable TV and I enjoy her way of presenting the Word. I purchased my copy of her bible study on Amazon for $13. It was nice to have an actual book in my hands since I do the majority of my reading on my Kindle Paperwhite. While I have a digital version of the Life Application Bible on my Kindle I prefer to have physical copies of The Bible and Bible study books.. It’s something that will never change. My Bibles are filled with highlighted scripture and notes/thoughts/prayers I’ve added over the years.
I tried doing online Bible study but it wasn’t working. It also interferes with my desire to spend less time in front of a computer, tablet, or phone. Now I sit in my dining room with a cup of hot tea with my pens, highlighters, Bible, devotional, and Bible studies before me. It’s been a blessing and my days feel more productive when I meet God first thing even if the dishes on the counter haunt me.
Why start with the book of James? Well, when I thought to myself “Lord where should I start?” The first book that popped into my thoughts was James. It’s a great book too, filled with how to live this Christian life, where to place our focus and take responsibility for our thoughts and words. There’s always room to grow and more to learn within each book of the Bible.
Today I read Chapter 1 which deals with James 1::2-4 dealing with tests and trials. I don’t plan to zip through this book so I’m going to pray on those verses and the supporting verses that Joyce listed in this chapter.. I like to mull over things and make sure I’m listening to the message. Speed reading the Bible doesn’t work for me.
Last year I picked up Jesus Calling after seeing it recommended by a few folks I respect. I fell in love with it but made the mistake of reading the internet and articles that bashed it. Eventually I put it aside and stopped spending time each day for devotions. Last week I dusted it off and opened it up again. There will always be negative reviews and articles about anything and everything. I refuse to listen to clamoring on the world wide web and instead will keep it all in prayer. God says depend on him for everything. That means being able to say, “Lord is this good for me or not?” I just have to listen while drowning out the noise of this world. God has taken care of me for 60 years and shows no sign of ending that protective nature anytime soon.
This passage in today’s devotion really struck a chord with me…
“Do not let fixing things be your top priority. You are ever so limited in your capacity to correct all that is wrong in the world around you. Don’t weigh yourself down with responsibilities that are not your own.”
When a problem arises I go into problem-solving mode even if it’s not my problem. For instance, my youngest son took his car to the mechanic to have a few things checked out. The news wasn’t good but it wasn’t the end of the world. The bill to fix the problems would be $3100. The car is over 14 years old and has 167K miles on it. It’s been a great car for us and for him when we gave it to him. But even the mechanic said it was time to look into buying a new car.
Mama Bear mode kicked in even though my “baby” is 26 years old and makes a decent living for himself. I started looking into financing and suggesting what to buy and where to buy it. I was trying to help. I wanted to help but I reminded myself that I needed to stay in my lane. It’s his decision to make. I can advise and help research but what he buys, where he buys from, and when he buys are all up to him. Our mechanic assured us that the car was safe to drive and encouraged him to use it as a trade-in because he’d still get a decent amount of money toward the purchase of a new vehicle.
The transition from parenting my boys to being supportive and giving advice has been a journey. They’ve been patient with me and very understanding. One of the greatest things I have in my life is my relationship with my boys. We’re close enough to shoot straight with each other without turning it into drama like so many other families. This is not to say that they don’t have to remind me multiple times to back off a bit. Sometimes I can be a little pushy with my advice. It comes from love and the desire to not see them make mistakes. But we all make mistakes and hopefully, we learn.
It’s a busy week and I have several things that I’m keeping in prayer above and beyond the normal everyday prayers. Ten years ago I’d be worrying every day. Now, I take to God in prayer and I leave it up to Him.
Until next time,
Peace
B
