Green and White

A Series on the book of James
Warning against worldliness
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
James 4:1-10 

[James is one of my favorite books of the Bible. In some ways, it’s similar to Old Testament wisdom literature like Proverbs. It includes many practical applications to help a believer grow in their faith. In this series, we will look at the wisdom of James’ letter and how it applies to our lives.]

 

Being a faithful Michigan State alum and fan, I have a closet full of green and white gear. There are sweatshirts, collared pullovers, polo shirts, hoodies and tons of t-shirts. That doesn’t even include the slippers, socks, gloves, hats, stocking cap, or jacket; or any of the other memorabilia that are displayed in my office.

 

Despite this, I often think twice about whether I’m going to wear something green and white outside of our house. Understand that in Columbus, Ohio – the heart of Buckeye country – if you wear anything other than scarlet and gray, you stick out like a sore thumb and run the risk of suffering mild to severe harassment.

 

Historically, the Israelites were very good at fitting into different cultures. They’d done so ever since Abram followed God’s call to Canaan. They learned how as slaves in Egypt; as nomads in the Promised Land; as exiles in Assyria and Babylon. They learned to fit in by adopting the gods of the local culture. That was a problem!

 

The Jewish Christians that James wrote had this same problem. They had become better friends with the world than they were with Jesus. They had adopted the values of the world rather than the values of Christ. They wanted what they didn’t have but didn’t ask the Lord. Therefore, James wrote bluntly.

 

⁴ You are like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband’s enemies. Don’t you realize that making friends with God’s enemies—the evil pleasures of this world—makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasure of the unsaved world, you cannot also be a friend of God.        TLB

 

The good news is that God didn’t file for divorce because they were unfaithful. He didn’t reject them. Instead, he faithfully stayed with them, always inviting them to return to him.

 

⁵ Or what do you think the Scripture means when it says that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, watches over us with tender jealousy?                     TLB

 

But it wasn’t meant to be just a one-way relationship. They needed to reciprocate. They needed to reach out to the Lord.

 

⁷ So give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ And when you draw close to God, God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and let your hearts be filled with God alone to make them pure and true to him.        TLB

 

Like the Jewish Christians who had been scattered because of the persecution, we live in a secular world that is hostile towards God. The world has a different value system and different gods. Despite this, it’s tempting to try and fit in.

 

Wearing green and white makes me stand out. I’d rather fit in. But, as a Christian I’m not called to fit in, but to follow. To follow the Lord no matter where he leads; no matter how different I look; no matter what other gods appeal to me.

 

Here’s what Paul wrote to the Roman believers about living in a secular world.

 

 ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  NIV    Romans 12

Or in another translation:

² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.   NLT   Romans 12

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Mom and Apple Pie

A Series on the book of James
Two kinds of wisdom
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
James 3:13-18 

[James is one of my favorite books of the Bible. In some ways, it’s similar to Old Testament wisdom literature like Proverbs. It includes many practical applications to help a believer grow in their faith. In this series, we will look at the wisdom of James’ letter and how it applies to our lives.]

 

I love all things “apple”! Apple pie, apple fritter, applesauce, apple crisp… all of them! I came by this love honestly as I grew up in an apple orchard. Not quite a real apple orchard, but it had been one in the past. However, at some point it was developed into a small subdivision called Orchard Hills.

 

With the trees and hills, it was a very pastoral setting. There were a number of apple trees scattered throughout the neighborhood including several in our yard. When the apples were ripe, my Mom would go out with her bushel basket and pick them up to make applesauce and apple pies. Both were delicious!

 

The Jewish Christians who James wrote his letter to were in a difficult position. As a result of being persecuted, they were scattered around the Roman Empire. Because of this, they experienced pressure to compromise their faith. Therefore, in the first three chapters, James advised them on how to follow their faith.

 

Knowing that they would experience trials and temptations, he tried to prepare them for that. He also wrote about the importance of not just listening to the word, but doing it. In addition, he wrote about the close connection between faith and deeds, as well as how important it was to control their tongue.

 

In the passage today, we’re going to look at what James had to say about wisdom. In some ways, it’s a summary of what he had written in his letter prior to this. He described wisdom as what you do and how you do it.

 

¹³ If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.       NLT

 

Keep in mind that the people to whom he wrote were experiencing real life pressure to conform to other religions and rituals. They not only needed head knowledge of what wisdom was, but also what that looked like in day-to-day living. With that in mind, James expanded on his picture of wisdom with words that led to action.

 

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.     NLT

 

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described what it means to be a wise person and what the benefits were.

 

²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.     NLT            Matthew 7

 

Just like those apple trees in Orchard Hills were identified by their fruit, so heavenly wisdom can be identified by its fruit. The fruit of one’s character; of one’s life. Wisdom comes from within, but is witnessed through obedience. It is the result of a life transformed by the Holy Spirit. When that happens, nothing can stop it.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

The Wellspring of Life

A Series on the book of James
Taming the tongue
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
James 3:1-12 

[James is one of my favorite books of the Bible. In some ways, it’s similar to Old Testament wisdom literature like Proverbs. It includes many practical applications to help a believer grow in their faith. In this series, we will look at the wisdom of James’ letter and how it applies to our lives.]

  

Super Bowl LX is coming up in eight days and the hype for the commercials has already started. Not the least of these is a Budweiser ad featuring a galloping Clydesdale, a soaring bald eagle, and the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

 

Clydesdale horses are so majestic. My wife loves them. In 2018, we went to the Ohio State Fair, where they had a barn full of them. She was thrilled to see them up close and personal. And when you do, it’s impossible to imagine that a small metal bit can control a massive 2000-pound horse that is bred for heavy work.

 

James wrote his letter to Jewish Christians who had been scattered throughout the world. As a result, they were immersed in adverse conditions. In the previous chapter, he wrote about the importance of their deeds matching their faith. Now in this passage, he focused on their speech matching their faith.

 

To do this, James used a horse’s bit as a metaphor for the tongue. Just like a bit can control a horse, so the tongue can control a person. But there’s a problem. The tongue causes tremendous destruction both to the person and to others.

 

^5b But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. ⁶ And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.                                               NLT

 

The word used here for hell comes from the Hebrew word Gehenna and refers to the Hinnom Valley south of Jerusalem. This valley had been a burial ground used for burning the corpses of criminals and animals, as well as any kind of trash. But even more gruesome than that is the fact that it was also a place used for child sacrifices to the god of Molech.

 

So, to say that your tongue “is set on fire by hell itself” would bring a terrifying image to the mind of the people James wrote. But he wasn’t finished.

 

⁷ People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.              NLT

James’s prognosis of the tongue is terminal. There’s no twelve-step program. We can’t fix it by sheer willpower. The problem with our tongue is that it’s an overflow of something deeper. According to Jesus, it’s an issue of the heart.

 

¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.  NIV    Matthew 15

 

Therefore, to change your tongue, you need to change your heart. Only a renewed heart can produce pure speech. Here’s what the author of Proverbs advised his own children about this.

 

²³ Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.       NIV    Proverbs 4

 

To protect your heart means to guard your thoughts, emotions, and will. Because, like a small bit, it's the source that determines the course of your life.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

If you’re interested, below is a link for the commercial with the Clydesdale.

 Clydesdale Super Bowl commercial

 

Popping Pimples

A Series on the book of James
Listening and Doing
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
James 1:19-27 

[James is one of my favorite books of the Bible. In some ways, it’s similar to Old Testament wisdom literature like Proverbs. It includes many practical applications to help a believer grow in their faith. In this series, we will look at the wisdom of James’ letter and how it applies to our lives.]

  

I have something to confess. When I was a teenager, one of the biggest worries that preoccupied my thoughts was my complexion. Figuratively speaking, I would spend hours in front of the mirror looking for pimples. Once spotted, I would immediately go into action and pop that sucker.

 

James wrote his letter to the “twelve tribes” of Israel who had been scattered throughout the Roman Empire. For many, this dispersion occurred over the centuries. But following Stephen’s martyrdom in the first century, a “great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem”.

 

Because of this, all except for the apostles, were driven from their homes. These were Jewish believers whose lives had been turned upside down. They were not only living under the oppressive rule of Rome, but also the murderous persecution of Paul.

 

Under these difficult circumstances, James knew that there was a temptation to lash out in anger at others. But he also understood that this would only make matters worse.

 

Therefore, he gave them three simple steps to follow.

 

¹⁹ Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. ²⁰ Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. ²¹ So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. NLT

 

“Quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry”. It sounds so simple, and yet it isn’t. Think about drivers who cut you off in traffic; or anger directed at your spouse; or irritation when you’re bombarded with telemarketing calls and texts.

 

However, James also advised them to “humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts”. Which also sounds simple, but isn’t. Because in the heat of the moment, we tend to forget God’s word quickly. Here’s what James said about this.

 

²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.    NLT

 

Popping pimples was an obsession for me. I couldn’t just look in the mirror and walk away without doing something. That’s what James was saying. He instructed them, to “look carefully”, or as the NASB puts it “look intently”, into the perfect law.

 

But his emphasis is on doing, not just looking.

 

²² But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth].  AMP

 

We are to be doers of the Word, not just hearers. The goal is outward obedience and inward transformation; an authentic faith that proves itself in the crucible of life.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com