WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.440
Day 352, or December the 18th. Yes or no? Our

00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:10.419
thoughts today come from James, chapter 5, verse

00:00:10.419 --> 00:00:14.339
12. Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not

00:00:14.339 --> 00:00:17.760
swear, not by heaven or by earth or by anything

00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:21.660
else. All you need to say is a simple yes or

00:00:21.660 --> 00:00:27.379
no. Otherwise, you will be condemned. And now

00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:30.920
the big picture surrounding this verse. As James

00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:34.820
extols the virtues of having faith, he concludes

00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:38.460
by saying that faith produces humility and dependence

00:00:38.460 --> 00:00:42.880
on God as we await the return of Jesus. On a

00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:46.039
practical note, James concludes by telling his

00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:49.280
readers to pray if they are suffering and sing

00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:52.640
if they are happy. It's simple enough to write,

00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:56.340
but life -changing when put into practice. One

00:00:56.340 --> 00:00:58.740
of the reasons for scholars thinking that this

00:00:58.740 --> 00:01:02.179
letter of James was very soon after Christ's

00:01:02.179 --> 00:01:05.719
crucifixion is because of its simple practical

00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:09.939
approach. Significantly, this is the very reason

00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:12.920
why so many followers of Christ love this short

00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:16.439
letter penned by someone who actually grew up

00:01:16.439 --> 00:01:20.700
with Jesus as an earthly brother. A word of warning,

00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:24.540
however, only read the full version if you want

00:01:24.540 --> 00:01:29.599
some blunt, truths to ponder. And now our action

00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:33.819
step for today. One of my lecturers during theological

00:01:33.819 --> 00:01:37.140
training regularly handed out printed notes rather

00:01:37.140 --> 00:01:40.379
than spending a lot of time lecturing, and having

00:01:40.379 --> 00:01:43.840
us all write our own notes. I clearly remember

00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:47.739
him handing out some hefty piles from time to

00:01:47.739 --> 00:01:50.859
time, and once the weight of paper prompted a

00:01:50.859 --> 00:01:54.560
fellow student to exclaim, I'm really glad God

00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:57.700
didn't get you to write any of the Bible, otherwise

00:01:57.700 --> 00:02:00.760
we would all have needed a wheelbarrow to carry

00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:04.640
around our pocket testaments. Only joking, of

00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:07.900
course, but it sums up what James is surely saying

00:02:07.900 --> 00:02:12.699
in today's verse. Yes or no will do. I sometimes

00:02:12.699 --> 00:02:15.900
wonder if our answers are often so unnecessarily

00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:20.069
long to deter replies. Of course there are times

00:02:20.069 --> 00:02:23.330
when we need to say more, but equally there are

00:02:23.330 --> 00:02:26.409
times when a brief response gives the other person

00:02:26.409 --> 00:02:30.289
an opportunity to reply and create a dialogue

00:02:30.289 --> 00:02:34.770
that can benefit both sides. In brief, why not

00:02:34.770 --> 00:02:35.870
try brevity?