JamesChapter 1

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¹From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings. ²My brothers and sisters, when you face all kinds of trials, think of it as pure joy. ³This is because you know that when your faith is tested, it grows the strength to keep going. ⁴Let this strength to keep going finish its work. Then you will be mature and complete. You won't be missing anything. ⁵If any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God. He gives freely to everyone and does not scold anyone for asking. And he will give wisdom to you. ⁶But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt. A person who doubts is like a wave of the sea. The wind blows it and tosses it around. ⁷That person should not expect to get anything from the Lord. ⁸He can't make up his mind. He is unsteady in everything he does. ⁹A believer who is poor and lowly should be glad about his high position. ¹⁰But the one who is rich should be glad about his low position. That is because he will pass away like a wildflower. ¹¹The sun rises with burning heat and dries up the plant. Its flower falls off, and its beauty is gone. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. ¹²Blessed is the person who keeps going when trials come. That is because after he has passed the test, he will receive the crown of life. God has promised this crown to those who love him. ¹³When you are tempted, don't say, "God is tempting me." God can't be tempted by evil, and he doesn't tempt anyone. ¹⁴Instead, each person is tempted by his own evil desires. They pull him away and trap him. ¹⁵Then desire becomes pregnant and gives birth to sin. And when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death. ¹⁶Don't be fooled, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷Every good and perfect gift comes from above. It comes down from the Father of the lights in the sky. He never changes. He doesn't shift like a moving shadow. ¹⁸He chose to give us new birth through the word of truth. He did this so we would be like the firstfruits of everything he made. ¹⁹My dear brothers and sisters, understand this. Everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak. They should also be slow to get angry. ²⁰A person's anger does not produce the right living that God wants. ²¹So get rid of all the filthy things in your life and every kind of evil. Humbly accept the word God has planted in you. It is able to save your souls. ²²Do what God's word says. Don't just listen to it. If you only listen, you are fooling yourselves. ²³Someone who hears the word but doesn't do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror. ²⁴He looks at himself and then goes away. Right away he forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But someone may look closely into the perfect law that sets people free. And he may keep on looking. He doesn't forget what he has heard. Instead, he does it. That person will be blessed in what he does. ²⁶If someone thinks he is religious but doesn't control his tongue, he is fooling himself. His religion is worth nothing. ²⁷Here is religion that God our Father accepts as pure and clean. It is to care for orphans and widows in their troubles. It is also to keep yourself from being made dirty by the world.