one step: James 4.10

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 4:17

I love making plans; I love dreaming about the future and what could be. This gets me into trouble at times, especially when this same imagination begins to piece together a future of ungodly fear.

In the previous verses, James established that making plans for our unknown future without considering God is foolish and sinful. Perhaps you have made plans for the future that are grandiose; maybe other times you have made plans for the future that include some ungodly fear. In verse 17, James takes his warning about future plans a step further. Not considering God in our plans is one thing, not considering God’s plans is another.*

James is effectively saying, “Do not merely say that you want to know God’s will or that you recognize your dependence on his will; look carefully at what God has already said about his will, and do that.”*

In these verses, James introduces the concept of sins of commission and sins of omission, and he places them on equal ground.* Sins of commission being those things that we do knowing that they are sin, and sins of omission being those things that we do not do knowing that we should.

While making plans about the future and not considering God is a denial of God and His rightful place in our lives and this world, not doing what God plans for us also denies His rightful place in our lives and this world.*

You have plans; talk to and submit to God. Take it further, ask Him about His plans and make them your plans.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to ask God if there is something that He asked you to do that you have not yet done. Perhaps today God wants you to stop that behavior, attitude, or action that you know should not be a part of your life. Maybe today God would have you pause and ask Him what His plan is for you in this season of your life. Perhaps today God would have you make His plans your plans.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Blomberg, C. L., & Kamell, M. J. (2008). James (Vol. 16, pp. 210–211). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. H. (2006). James. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 260). Zondervan.
Stulac, G. M. (1993). James (Jas 4:17). IVP Academic.
Moo, D. J. (2021). The Letter of James (D. A. Carson, Ed.; Second Edition, pp. 263–264). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Nystrom, D. P. (1997). James (p. 253). Zondervan Publishing House.
Martin, R. P. (1988). James (Vol. 48, pp. 168–169). Word, Incorporated.

one step: James 4.9

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

James 4:13-14

In our day and age, it doesn’t take much to remind us of the brief and fragile nature of life. Wars and famines, sickness and disease, natural disasters, and lost love ones serve as poignant reminders of why James calls life a “mist.”

In these two verses, James doesn’t decry making wealth, but He does call out an attitude that feels that it can predict the future and make it happen.* This attitude is called pride.

What do we do with our unpredictable, uncertain lives? Whether the return of the Lord Jesus interrupts our plans for the future or death does, none of us can say for certain what tomorrow brings.* What feeling does this evoke in you?

What do you do with your uncertain tomorrow? Do you hold a false sense of control by pridefully declaring the achievements of tomorrow? Do you hide away from the future, attempting another form of control that looks like keeping everything undesirable at bay?

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to acknowledge that your future is in His hands. Perhaps today God wants you to humble yourself by letting go of control. Maybe today God wants you to add these words to your life: “if the Lord wills it, I will…”

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Blomberg, C. L., & Kamell, M. J. (2008). James (Vol. 16, pp. 206–208). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. H. (2006). James. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 259). Zondervan.
Stulac, G. M. (1993). James (Jas 4:13–14). IVP Academic.
Moo, D. J. (2021). The Letter of James (D. A. Carson, Ed.; Second Edition, pp. 253–258). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Nystrom, D. P. (1997). James (pp. 250–252). Zondervan Publishing House.
Martin, R. P. (1988). James (Vol. 48, pp. 165–166). Word, Incorporated.

one step: James 4.8

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

James 4:11

A lot happens in the body of Christ that has many wondering, “is it judging to call out sinful behavior and attitudes?”

The short answer is “no.” In fact, James is calling out sinful behavior and attitudes in this very verse.

James is telling the Church that judging others occurs when speaking evil against someone else. “Speaking evil against” means “destructive verbal attacks, gossip behind another person’s back and false accusations.”* It can also translate as “criticize,” “malign,” “disparage,” and “backbite.”* These behaviors seek to tear others down. This judgement of others is more than an unfriendly act. It is an attack against God.

How so?

When we judge someone else, we place ourselves outside of the law, and above the law.* In James, he alludes to Leviticus 19, referring to loving one’s neighbor as oneself.* Judging someone else violates this law.* In placing ourselves outside of and above the law of the Lord, we ignore the mercy extended to us through Jesus, and we place ourselves as judge.* This act displaces God as judge.* When we judge, we attempt to act as God in our own lives and the life of the one we judge.* It’s the opposite of the posture of humility that God calls us to through the writings of James.

I must confess, I lived this way for too much of my life. I judged others harshly, and I found myself lacking revelation of the grace and mercy of God. Unsurprisingly, I eventually judged myself harshly as well, deprecating myself constantly. This sad season of my life could be described in one word: pride.

The Lord invites us to walk in humility, and humility recognizes the grace and mercy we have received. It’s a grace and mercy that must be passed onto others.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to stop judging your neighbor. Perhaps today God wants you to extend grace and mercy. Maybe today God wants you to receive grace and mercy. Perhaps today God wants you to be a better neighbor to yourself too.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Blomberg, C. L., & Kamell, M. J. (2008). James (Vol. 16, pp. 196–197). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. H. (2006). James. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 258). Zondervan.
Stulac, G. M. (1993). James (Jas 4:11–12). IVP Academic.
Moo, D. J. (2021). The Letter of James (D. A. Carson, Ed.; Second Edition, pp. 249–251). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Nystrom, D. P. (1997). James (pp. 248–250). Zondervan Publishing House.
Martin, R. P. (1988). James (Vol. 48, pp. 162–164). Word, Incorporated.

one step: James 4.7

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

James 4:10

James first introduced humility because of the fighting for leadership in the Church.* We live in a world that emphasizes effort and skill and encourages self-promotion. This way of the world should not exist in the Church.

When we attempt to exalt ourselves by our own abilities, status, or money, we will find failure; God will humble the proud.* Jesus warned of this in Luke 18:14:

All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

James reminds the Church of this saying of Jesus (which had become a motto in the early church) through His words in verse 10.* Today, we must receive the words or we may too fail to walk in humility. What does receiving these words have to do with humility? Humility is not a passive nature, but it’s a receptive posture.* How do we know if we are humble? One clue is the way we respond to a notice that we need humility. If we reject the invitation to humility, thinking that it’s something that we already have possession of, we demonstrate that we do not.

God’s Kingdom operates in the opposite mentality of the world. As Guthrie shares about the Kingdom of God,

The way “up” is “down”; the path of freedom is submission; the road to joy is walked in mourning and with tears. Yet the end result is grace. The Lord lifts those who, recognizing their sin, repent, bowing before him in submission.

It’s important to note, that while God will humble the proud, there is an opportunity for us to choose this humility through humbling ourselves. To humble oneself, one must engage in remorse and repentance for our sins, but it involves more than that as well.* To walk in humility, we must walk in repentance in the presence of God.* True humility involves a posture coupled with the presence of God.

How many times do we feel sorrowful and then isolate ourselves from God? God wants you close; humility stays close to God despite failing.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to return to His presence and stay there. Perhaps today God would have you abandon your efforts for promotion in favor of trusting Him to promote you as you humble yourself. Maybe today God wants you to live by His Kingdom rules even if they feel upside-down.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Blomberg, C. L., & Kamell, M. J. (2008). James (Vol. 16, pp. 194–195). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. H. (2006). James. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 256). Zondervan.
Stulac, G. M. (1993). James (Jas 4:7–10). IVP Academic.
Moo, D. J. (2021). The Letter of James (D. A. Carson, Ed.; Second Edition, pp. 243–244). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Nystrom, D. P. (1997). James (p. 229). Zondervan Publishing House.
Martin, R. P. (1988). James (Vol. 48, p. 153). Word, Incorporated.

one step: James 4.6

Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

James 4:9

I highly doubt that a pillow embroidered with James 4:9 would sell in your local Christian bookstore. I also suspect that the number of fridge magnets and t-shirts made with this verse are few. This verse, if spoken to you in the middle of the night, would cause anyone to pray and reject such a sentiment.

So why would we listen to James bring it to us in the Bible?!

If you recall, James is addressing the church at a time where double-mindedness (waffling between dependence upon God and dependence upon the world) and pride in self has created competition and fighting for leadership.* James has just finished calling the church to the wisdom of God (of which humility is paramount). He has instructed them to submit to God and resist the devil. James then lets them know in James 4:9 how they should respond to their realization of their arrogance and willful, wicked behavior.*

James invites them not to just act out mourning for their sinful ways but to engage in heart-level remorse.* Paul demonstrates this posture for us in Romans 7:24: “what a wretched man I am!” As seen elsewhere in Scripture (2 Samuel 19:1; Nehemiah 8:9; Acts 18:11, 15, 19), mourning and weeping are appropriate responses in the face of God’s impending judgment and call to repentance.*

My children are my children. They cannot change that. Nothing can. My children can do things that hurt me or impact the intimacy of our relationship however. Whenever kids see that they have done something to impact this intimacy with parents, they seek to respond in a way that restores that intimacy.

God tells us that our sin has impacted our fellowship with Him. Want to address that His way? It involves genuine remorse and repentance. We cannot ignore our sin and failings and think that God will too. We cannot think that because Jesus paid for our sins that our sins have no impact or consequence.

Douglas Moo states,

True Christian joy can never be ours if we ignore or tolerate sin; it comes only when we have squarely faced the reality of our sin, brought it before the Lord in repentance and humility, and experienced the cleansing work of the Spirit

In Scripture, laughter is often associated with foolishness.* God wants us to abandon the flippancy that minimizes sin in our lives; He wants us to embrace a heart of remorse and repentance. In doing so, He desires to bring us from genuine sorrow to genuine joy.*

Will we trade foolish laughter and counterfeit joy for the joy of restored intimacy with God?

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to come to God and grieve some sin in your life. Perhaps today God wants you to repent (change the way you think and live). Maybe today God wants you to outwardly express your inward grief. Perhaps you have been genuinely grieving your sin and now God wants you to experience the joy of restored intimacy with Him.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Blomberg, C. L., & Kamell, M. J. (2008). James (Vol. 16, pp. 194–195). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. H. (2006). James. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 256). Zondervan.
Stulac, G. M. (1993). James (Jas 4:7–10). IVP Academic.
Moo, D. J. (2021). The Letter of James (D. A. Carson, Ed.; Second Edition, pp. 243–244). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Nystrom, D. P. (1997). James (p. 229). Zondervan Publishing House.
Martin, R. P. (1988). James (Vol. 48, p. 153). Word, Incorporated.