January 5, 2022 - James 1:5

In this episode, Jori discusses with her listeners what James wrote in his letter about asking for wisdom from God.  

Scripture translation used is the English Standard Version.

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture References:
James 1:5
James 1:1
Genesis 12:3
Galatians 3:29
Acts 12:1-5
Mark 6:3
John 7:5
1 Corinthians 15:6-8
Galatians 1:18-19
James 1:2-6
John 16:33
John 15:18-19
2 Corinthians 4:4
Matthew 28:18-20
1 Kings 3:9-12
Proverbs 2:6
Isaiah 55:8-9
John 1:14
Proverbs 1:7
James 3:13-18
Psalm 51:6
Psalm 143:8-10
Proverbs 9:10
Hebrews 4:16
Psalm 25:4-11

Email: awordforthisday@gmail.com

Podcast website:  https://awordforthisday.buzzsprout.com

Link to transcript of today's podcast.
AWFTD23Jan5.docx

Transcript

 Hello and welcome to A Word for this Day podcast. I'm Jori Shaffer, the show's host and creator, and I want to welcome you today. I'm so glad you're here. Welcome back to any of the regular listeners who have been along this journey last year and this year. And welcome aboard if you are listening for the first time, it is no accident that you have found this podcast friend. There are no accidents, there are no coincidences in God's timeline. I am convinced of that. And so I encourage you to stick around for a little while. Don't run off quite yet. See what the Lord has for you here today.

 Oh friends, we're going to be talking about the truth that's found in God's Word. And we're going to be talking about something that we all need today, and that is God's wisdom. So I'm excited for us to dig in here today. Know that I have prayed for you. I've prayed that the Lord would give you a hunger and a desire to be in His Word, a hunger and thirst for Him. And please don't let this be the only time that you think about His Word today, friends. I'll tell you what I just did. I set an alarm on my phone to remind me to read a chapter or a few verses while I was at lunch, because a lot of times I'll start off reading in the morning as I'm preparing and then the day gets gone and sometimes I will look things up. But I wanted to be intentional about that this week. And so today I set an alarm on my phone to add some time in the middle of the day that even if it's just a chapter or a few verses. I really want to live on His Word more and more each day. And so I encourage you to do the same or do in whatever way that you can draw closer to Him. But friends, spending time in His Word and the truth that is found in His Word is of utmost importance. And so I just just want to encourage you in that today and know that I love to hear from you. I love to hear what God is doing in your life as you're spending more time in His Word, as you're seeking Him. So if you feel so led, please send me an email at awordforthisday@gmail.com. I just would love to hear from you, or if you have another way to get in contact with me, please do that. And I encourage you to share this podcast with friends, family, relatives, neighbors, coworkers, strangers, just anyone who you think may receive a blessing from this and would enjoy studying with us. 1s And if you don't feel led to share the podcast, please just consider sharing what God is teaching you as you are spending time in his word.

 Well, our verse for the day, for January the fifth, 2023, comes in the letter of James. It's in the New Testament. It's James, chapter one, verse five, and it reads as follows from the English Standard version,  “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Oh friends, is there so much stuff in this verse today? I'm so excited and God knows just what we need when we need it. 

I've been praying for wisdom, and so to park on this verse is very helpful and I'm excited for us to see what the Lord would have us to know and to really meditate on this and think on this and then to put it into practice. I think we need to ask the Lord when we need wisdom instead of floundering and trying to figure it out on our own.

 But first, as you may remember, if you've been with us very long or if you were listening to this podcast last year, or if you're just new to the podcast, know that I think it is wise for us to get a background to the book or letter that we're studying, talk about the author and then talk about the verses surrounding our verse for the day. And that helps us get the appropriate context. It helps us to be able to interpret it correctly, to apply what we're learning more correctly, and then also when and if we're called to retrieve it, we will better be able to remember where it's located if we've taken this time to think about where we are in the Scripture. So we are in the New Testament and we are in this letter of James, and it's named for the man who wrote it. And it is thought that this James is the half-brother of Jesus, of the Lord Jesus, so he knew Jesus. Well, we see in the opening, it says in James, Chapter one, verse one, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion. Greetings.” Now, that dispersion is thought to be when the persecution of Christians happened, many of the believers were scattered throughout. And the “twelve tribes” is a way that talks about the Jewish believers because those were the twelve tribes of Israel. There was Abraham. Abraham had Isaac. Isaac had Jacob. Jacob's other name was Israel. He had twelve sons. And those were the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. Those were the ones who went down to Egypt during the famine. And then God sent Moses to bring them back up out of Egypt to the Promised Land. And those were God's chosen people, the ones who would follow Him and then would rebel. And they would follow Him, and then they would rebel. And they were known as the Jewish people or the Hebrews or the Israelites. And God took such good care of them, He used them as a lesson for us. And thankfully though, before there were the twelve tribes, He, God, had promised Abraham that through Abraham, through his lineage, all the nations of the Earth, all the families of the Earth would be blessed. And that was before these Israelites that was before a law was given, the Old Testament Law that God gave Moses where the children were wandering in the wilderness. And so while these were set apart for a time according to God's will, scripture says that if we are in Christ, we believers are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise, heirs according to that promise that was given to Abraham long ago. And so I love that. 

 But as far as when this letter was written, the time that it was written, James wrote it to encourage, I believe, those who were scattered about during the time of persecution. Now, this James, we think, is not the same one that we read that was one of the original apostles, like Peter, James, John, sorry, James, the brother of John, the gospel writer, because that James was martyred fairly early. And this James that wrote this letter was thought to be one of the pillars of the church who was at the Jerusalem Council. We read about those things in the Book of Acts. We read about this James in Mark chapter six, verse three, where it says, “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And we're not his sisters here with us.” We know that one of Jesus's other half-brothers was Jude or Judas. And we also read that the brothers or some of the family members of Jesus did not believe that he was the Messiah, but later came to belief. And we see in John's Gospel in John chapter five, I'm sorry, John, chapter seven, verse five, it says, “For not even his brothers believed in him.” But later, especially over in I believe it's in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse seven,   we read that some of them came to believe. It says, let's see where the Paul was talking about the Gospel and how he had received the Gospel of Christ. He says, “Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, last of all as one to untimely born. He also appeared to me.” And so we have that record. And then James became, just as I mentioned, one of the pillars of the Jerusalem Council Church. We read about that in Galatians and also in Acts when Paul went up to talk to them. And he was a force for the Gospel. He has very pointed 1s directives and very clear cut, no nonsense  directions on how to walk, how to live a Christian life. And he doesn't waver. There's no fluff. There's no floweriness. Some have called this the proverbs of the New Testament because he talks very much about just how to walk. And I love that. But we see here in James, chapter one, beginning in verse, verse two, as far as for our verse, is leading into the verse for the day. He says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 1s If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”

 O friends, we're talking about wisdom and how we need wisdom. And I love how James opens this up, because he knew that those who were scattered were being persecuted. He knew that there were trials. And friends, let me just pause here and say that if you are a believer in Christ, 1s don't listen to that lie of the devil that he so tries to propagate that, oh, if you're a believer in Christ and you're having a trial or trouble, then the Lord doesn't love you and He's forsaken you. No, Jesus said, “in this world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

 So being a Christian will involve trials. Part of that is for our training, for our discipline. Part of that is because, as Jesus told his disciples, 1s “if the world hates you, it's because it hated me first.” And he said, basically, I'm paraphrasing, if you follow me, you're going to have trouble because the world hates me. And we talked about this yesterday, about how that old devil, that deceiver, Satan, was given some power over the world. He was called the god of this world with a little g, and he was given that authority for a short time. But Jesus’s authority usurps that! It is over that. And we see that in Jesus's words in Matthew chapter 28, beginning in verse 18, just before he was ascending back to the heaven, after he had been crucified. And then He was resurrected and seen by many, he says in verse 18,  “and Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 1s Go there for and make disciples of all nations.’” But you see that all authority in heaven and on earth is being given to me. And so he has the ultimate authority, friends. He has already won the war. We see that in Revelation. And so I am so thankful for that. But not only do we sometimes have to go through trials just because that's how it is. Because Satan attacks those who believe in God. But sometimes we go through difficulties and trials as a witness to show how a believer goes through things and how their faith is steadfast and how they keep their eyes on the Lord. And so we probably won't always know the reasons that we have difficulties, but we know God's ways and his will are perfect and that He walks with us each step of the way. And He will help us and He will give us wisdom, like our verse talks about today. 

Now, when we back up here, if you look just before he says, “let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” that  is endurance. Let it have its full effect, so  let it do its job, in other words. And then he gets into our verse. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let Him ask God.” All of us need that wisdom. There is always going to be something that we need wisdom for. 

 So let's take just a minute, though, as we start trying to think about what exactly is wisdom, if we look up in the interlinear Bible and look up that word for wisdom, that Greek transliteration, the word is pronounced “Sophia”, and it actually means clarity. So  if you could think about just absolute clarity about what you should do, it's insight, skill, human or divine intelligence. And so it's knowing what to do with the knowledge that you have. It's  that clarity of how to proceed. And we know that wisdom, true wisdom, comes from God. And we see in First Kings and we'll probably talk about this, Lord willing, throughout the year when we talk about Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon and all of that, when we talk about King Solomon, because he wrote some of those books that I just mentioned. And we see in First Kings, chapter three, verses nine through twelve. And you can go look that up if you would like to and read about  it.

 But Solomon or well, I should say, the Lord, asked Solomon what Solomon would like for the Lord to give him. And Solomon asked for wisdom on how to govern God's people. And I'm paraphrasing, but he said basically, I don't know how to govern this, you're great people like my father David did. And Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom, and God told him that it pleased the Lord that God I'm sorry, it pleased God the Father that Solomon asked that, scripture says. And He gave him not only wisdom that surpassed everyone that had ever been or would be, but He gave him the things that he didn't ask for, riches and honor and that sort of thing. And we see that he was very wise and he's listed as one of the wisest men to ever live. And it all happened because he knew what the source was. 

The source of wisdom is from God alone. And there's a difference in earthly human wisdom and  Godly wisdom. And we read about that in the Scripture. We read in Proverbs chapter two, verse six, it says, “For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” We also read that God's ways are much higher than our ways, and his thoughts are much higher than our thoughts. But back here in that chapter two of Proverbs verse six, the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Think about that. What comes out of the mouth? Words. And we have God's Word, who was the living Word, the Word made flesh to dwell among us. That is Jesus.

 So I'll tell you, friends, the primary way that we can know more of wisdom is to be in God's Word, to spend time thinking about His Word, studying His Word, and then living out what we have studied and learned and then sharing it with others. That is why it is so, so important to be in His Word, so important to abide in Him, because He gives that wisdom through the power of His Holy Spirit, and He gives it to those who call on Him and ask for it. I love what we read over a couple of chapters in James chapter three, because James describes the difference between earthly wisdom 1s or worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom. Well, let me say just before I go over to that place in James, at the beginning of Proverbs, in chapter one, verse seven, he says at the second half of that verse, he says, “fools despise wisdom and instruction.” So it's foolish to despise wisdom and to despise instruction and to not want to be taught. That's very foolish. 

But if we look over here in James chapter three, beginning in 13, it says, “who is wise and understanding among you by his good conduct, let Him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exists, there will be disorder in every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” You could go back and list if you wanted to describe what Godly wisdom is right there. It's pure. And that only comes from God. It's unstained by sin, it's unstained by selfishness. Look at that. It's peaceful, it's gentle, it's open to reason. 1s With wisdom comes listening and trying to see the whole picture, trying to get the clarity. As we mentioned, it's full of mercy and good fruits. It's impartial and sincere. And so may we ask the Lord to give us that wisdom and He’s faithful, friends.

 The Scripture says it here and He doesn't give just a little bit. I mean, look at this, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let Him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach”, some scriptures say without finding fault, “and it will be given to Him.” But then there's that caveat that comes in the next verse. In James, chapter one, verse six, it says, “but let Him ask in faith.” There's faith involved, friends. There's that believing that God is truly the author and the provider of wisdom, that He is who He says He is, that He will do what He says He will do. And we must have that faith that He will give it and that His wisdom is the best wisdom.  “But let Him ask Him faith with no doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” O friends, we have such an opportunity. 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let Him ask God. So how do we ask? What do we need to do? What's the steps? Because sometimes I would just like a Post it note or an email that says “do this next”. And I don't think we're necessarily going to get that, although some people get very clear direction, either an audible voice from the Lord or very clear direction in Scripture, very clear direction by the unction of the Holy Spirit when they're listening, waiting on the Lord. But often, as I mentioned, it comes in being in His Word and searching what His Word says and asking for that clarity and that direction and that discernment on what to do next. And friends, He's faithful to give it, but we can't expect it to be like a microwave answer where we just push a button and get it back out. Sometimes there's that waiting on the Lord that's involved, that seeking the Lord, that seeking the Scriptures, holding fast. So for instance, if you have a thought and you think, oh, well, clearly this is what the Lord has told me to do, but it does not not line up with the counsel of Scripture or it's contrary to Scripture, that’s not Godly wisdom friends. And the only way you'll know is if you're spending time in His word and just asking Him for that clarity and that understanding so that you can do the right thing for His glory. 

And for instance, I have been trying to make some decisions on some things. And so as I was studying for this podcast today, I just wrote the things that I wanted to ask that I really was seeking the Lord's wisdom about. There's about four or five things and I wrote it on a Post it note. Well, I actually had it on two post it notes, had it on a card and a note and somewhere else. And I've prayed over that through the day. And I feel like as the day went, because I was not hasty, I really was seeking the Lord. And I've done this some of these I've prayed about for several days. I feel like I got clarity on a couple of those things. There's still some of those that I don't have clarity on. But friends, I trust that the Lord will give it. I have seen Him do this in my life over and over again. And there are some things that I have prayed about literally for years before I got a very clear answer and very clear direction. And God is faithful. He gives the answer in His timing at just the right time. And may we ask Him, may we pray for the clarity, for the vision to see it, eyes to see, ears to hear what He's telling us because He is faithful. And we can take this promise to the bank, so to speak. 

It says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let Him ask God, who gives generously. He doesn't just give a little bit, friends. He gives generously without reproach, without finding fault, and it will be given to Him. But I think we have to seek with the right heart we've talked about over and over in the course of this podcast that God looks at the heart, He looks at our motive. He knows our true motive. We may be able to hide our true motive from everyone else, but God knows and he sees the heart. He knows the heart. And so if we come to Him, though, if we ask Him to give us a right heart and a clean heart I love what it says in where is it? It's in Psalm, I believe. Psalm 51. When King David had made some pretty bad mistakes, he had sinned greatly against God, he had committed adultery, and then he had Bathsheba's husband put on the front lines of the battle, knowing purposefully, that he would get killed. And then he realized God sent Nathan the prophet to confront him and tell him that it was evident what was done. God knew what had been done and David came to God and asked for forgiveness. And we read about that in Psalm 51. And that's the psalm where David says, “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew right spirit within me.” But before we get to that, I love this in Psalm 51, verse six, where he says, “behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”

 God teaches us wisdom. He teaches it to us in the depths of us. And I am so thankful that he gives it generously. I think sometimes though, we have to slow down and listen and be intentional and seek his wisdom. We must seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all the things we need will be added. And so I love also what we see, and I believe it's. In Psalm 143 he says, “let me hear in the morning”, beginning in verse eight, “let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in You I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies. O Lord, I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do Your will, for you are my God. Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Everything we need for wisdom comes from Him. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” And we've talked about in other podcasts what it means, what that fear means. It's that holy reverence. It's that knowing that God is God, that He's the great I am, that He is who He says He is, that He's going to do what He says He's going to do, and that He does have full control, and His ways are much higher than our ways, and His thoughts are much higher than our thoughts. 

And just think, friends, we have that access. We read, and I believe it's in Hebrews chapter four, beginning in verse 16. Let me get over there real fast. 1s Yes, it's Hebrews 4:16. It says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” He gives us the help, He gives us everything we need. He gives us clarity, He gives us wisdom. It may just be for the next step, just the next step. We are not necessarily, always going to see the full plan, because I think if we did it might scare us. But He gives us the grace and that light for our next step and we just must trust Him and be obedient to Him. And as we trust in Him, He will be glorified. And I just want to close with this part, the last latter part of Psalm chapter, or Psalm 25. And  this describes several ways that the Lord gives us wisdom and direction. And I love this. And may we, after we read this, ask Him to help us with that in whatever thing that you need wisdom for. But Psalm 25, verse four says, “Make me to know Your ways, O Lord. Teach me Your paths, lead me in Your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. For You I wait all the day long. Remember Your mercy, O Lord, and Your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions according to Your steadfast love. Remember me for the sake of your goodness, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord, therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. For Your name's sake, oh Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.”

 That gives us a little roadmap. Let us ask for forgiveness.. Let's get our heart right with the Lord and then ask Him to show us the way to go. Ask Him to give us wisdom and He's faithful. Friends, our verse for the day says he gives wisdom generously without finding fault. So may we ask, may we listen, may we do what He says for his glory! Blessings to you, friends, until next time.