47°F NW12mph SR0715 SS1821
Morning Offering given
Pleasanton quiet
Coffee tasteless
Woke up around 1 AM sick, hurling sick, am now freezing cold, the man is not. We shall see how the day progresses. May just end up going home.
Happy Birthday Sessirae! Hope your day is wonderful.
Today’s reading James 1:1-11 hit the spot for me, so I’m sharing it with you as well as the footnotes. This was taken from the NAB on the USCCB website.
1 *James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings aII.
The Value of Trials and Temptation
Perseverance in Trial.
2 b Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,*
3 for you know that the testing* of your faith produces perseverance.
4 And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom,* he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.c
6 But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.d
7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8 since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.
9 The brother in lowly circumstances* should take pride in his high standing,e
10 And the rich one in his lowliness, for he will pass away “like the flower of the field.”f
11 For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass, its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes. So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Footnotes:
- [1:1] James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: a declaration of the writer’s authority for instructing the Christian communities; cf. Rom 1:1. Regarding the identity of the author, see Introduction. Dispersion: see Introduction.
- [1:2] Consider it all joy…various trials: a frequent teaching of the New Testament derived from the words and sufferings of Jesus (Mt 5:10–12; Jn 10:11; Acts 5:41).
- [1:3–8] The sequence of testing, perseverance, and being perfect and complete indicates the manner of attaining spiritual maturity and full preparedness for the coming of Christ (Jas 5:7–12; cf. 1 Pt 1:6–7; Rom 5:3–5). These steps require wisdom (Jas 1:5).
- [1:5] Wisdom: a gift that God readily grants to all who ask in faith and that sustains the Christian in times of trial. It is a kind of knowledge or understanding not accessible to the unbeliever or those who doubt, which gives the recipient an understanding of the real importance of events. In this way a Christian can deal with adversity with great calm and hope (cf. 1 Cor 2:6–12).
- [1:9–11] Throughout his letter (see Jas 2:5; 4:10, 13–16; 5:1–6), the author reaffirms the teaching of Jesus that worldly prosperity is not necessarily a sign of God’s favor but can even be a hindrance to proper humility before God (cf. Lk 6:20–25; 12:16–21; 16:19–31).
- a. [1:1] Jn 7:35; 1 Pt 1:1.
- b. [1:2] Rom 5:3–5; 1 Pt 1:6; 4:13–16.
- c. [1:5] Prv 2:2–6; Wis 9:4, 9–12.
- d. [1:6] Mt 7:7; Mk 11:24.
- e. [1:9] 2:5.
- f. [1:10] Is 40:6–7.
Know you are prayed for.
In the "Wilds of Wisconsin & Cornfields of Iowa" 