James 4

Get Serious

1 Where do you think all 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.

2 You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.3 And why not? Because you know you'd be asking for what you have no right to. You're spoiled children, each wanting your own way.

4 You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way.5 And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover."6 And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."

7 So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper.8 Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field.9 Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious.10 Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.

11 Don't bad-mouth each other, friends. It's God's Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You're supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it.12 God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?

Nothing but a Wisp of Fog

13 And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, "Today-at the latest, tomorrow-we're off to such and such a city for the year. We're going to start a business and make a lot of money."14 You don't know the first thing about tomorrow. You're nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing.15 Instead, make it a habit to say, "If the Master wills it and we're still alive, we'll do this or that."

16 As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil.17 In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don't do it, that, for you, is evil.

James 5

Destroying Your Life from Within

1 And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You'll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you.2 Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink.3 Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you've piled up is judgment.

4 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.5 You've looted the earth and lived it up. But all you'll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse.6 In fact, what you've done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.

7 Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master's Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work.8 Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.

9 Friends, don't complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner.

10 Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God.11 What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course, of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.

12 And since you know that he cares, let your language show it. Don't add words like "I swear to God" to your own words. Don't show your impatience by concocting oaths to hurry up God. Just say yes or no. Just say what is true. That way, your language can't be used against you.

Prayer to Be Reckoned With

13 Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing.14 Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master.15 Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you've sinned, you'll be forgiven-healed inside and out.

16 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.17 Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't-not a drop for three and a half years.18 Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

19 My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God's truth, don't write them off. Go after them. Get them back20 and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.

1 Peter 1

1 I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten.2 God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!

A New Life

3 What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for,4 including a future in heaven-and the future starts now!5 God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all-life healed and whole.

6 I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime.7 Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

8 You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him-with laughter and singing.9 Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.

10 The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing.11 The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it-that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when.12 All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves-through the Holy Spirit-the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!

A Future in God

13 So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives.14 Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now.15 As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness.16 God said, "I am holy; you be holy."

17 You call out to God for help and he helps-he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living.

18 It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in.19 He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb.20 And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately-at the end of the ages-become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you.21 It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.

22 Now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it.23 Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God's living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself!24 That's why the prophet said, The old life is a grass life, its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers; Grass dries up, flowers droop,25 God's Word goes on and on forever. This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.