Lessons From Ivy: Encouragement in Trials With Linky

I'm trying to get back to encouragement with this blog. So for the next few days I'll be doing a short study on one of my favorite passages of scripture from the first chapter of James. Be sure to link up any encouraging post you have at the bottom of the post.

Posts In This Series

Introduction

Commentary on James 1:2

Commentary on James 1:3

Commentary on James 1:4

Commentary on James 1:5

Commentary on James 1:6

Commentary on James 1:7-8 (and works cited)

The book of James is often called the “Book of Proverbs” of the New Testament. Despite what appears to be a hodge-podge of ideas, there is an interconnectedness that runs through this book of the Bible. In the first few verses he introduces themes that are woven throughout the rest of the epistle. The themes of wisdom and testing of faith occur in the first nine verses of the book and run like a connecting thread throughout the rest.

Another reoccurring theme in James is wealth; the Christians who would be reading this letter were by and large oppressed by the wealthy. It would have been easy for them to get discouraged in their poverty. James instead encourages the readers not to accept what the world considers as wealth, and must not acknowledge how others saw their poverty. Instead they were encouraged to show their commitment to God through generous charity, and seek God through all of their business plans (Peter H. Davids 341). These three themes are reiterated again and again through James’ writing.

The first few chapters of James makes for an encouraging study for those who are in the midst of trials, which considering the planet that we live on is pretty much everyone : )