NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Wisdom, Trials, and Controlling the Tongue — December 14
James 1-3
James 1
1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. 365N 348.1
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 365N 348.2
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a] patience. 365N 348.3
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be [b] perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 365N 348.4
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 365N 348.5
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 365N 348.6
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 365N 348.7
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 365N 348.8
9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 365N 348.9
10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. 365N 348.10
11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. 365N 348.11
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 365N 348.12
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 365N 348.13
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 365N 348.14
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 365N 348.15
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 365N 348.16
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 365N 348.17
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. 365N 348.18
19 [c] So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 365N 348.19
20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 365N 348.20
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and [d] overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 365N 348.21
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 365N 348.22
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 365N 348.23
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 365N 348.24
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 365N 348.25
26 If anyone [e] among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 365N 348.26
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. 365N 348.27
James 2
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 365N 348.28
2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in [a] fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in [b] filthy clothes, 365N 348.29
3 and you [c] pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 365N 348.30
4 have you not [d] shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 365N 348.31
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 365N 348.32
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 365N 348.33
7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? 365N 348.34
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 365N 348.35
9 but if you [e] show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 365N 348.36
10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 365N 348.37
11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 365N 348.38
12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 365N 348.39
13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 365N 348.40
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 365N 348.41
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 365N 348.42
16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 365N 348.43
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 365N 348.44
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without [f] your works, and I will show you my faith by [g] my works. 365N 348.45
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 365N 348.46
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is [h] dead? 365N 348.47
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 365N 348.48
22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made [i] perfect? 365N 348.49
23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was [j] accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 365N 348.50
24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 365N 348.51
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 365N 348.52
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. 365N 348.53
James 3
1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 365N 348.54
2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a [a] perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 365N 348.55
3 [b] Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 365N 348.56
4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 365N 348.57
5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 365N 348.58
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of [c] iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of [d] nature; and it is set on fire by [e] hell. 365N 348.59
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 365N 348.60
8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 365N 348.61
9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the [f] similitude of God. 365N 348.62
10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 365N 348.63
11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 365N 348.64
12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? [g] Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. 365N 348.65
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 365N 348.66
14 But if you have bitter envy and [h] self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 365N 348.67
15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 365N 348.68
16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 365N 348.69
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 365N 348.70
18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. 365N 348.71