WORD up!

Chairein! (Ky Rain) We’re officially done with Homework and Melissa’s Articles. If you’ve opted for that next level of participation, you’ve already written the entire book of James and you may be continuing to memorize it, like I am. (Currently, I’ve memorized 1:1 through 3:10). Our class had an extra week before the start of our next group study, so we took that week to watch the bonus material. Video Segment: The little snippets of the interview that Kelly Minter conducted with Beth and Melissa were tantalizing. But the full interview is a feast. I wish I could watch it over and over again so I wouldn’t miss anything said by these godly women. I did glean quite a bit of information if my note-taking was any indication. The theme of James’ Jewishness has been a valuable point since week one. His orthodoxy is revealed in his rabbinic style of verbally punching with honesty rather than beating around the bush with his words. James, unlike Beth, does not hail from a culture s...

Chairein! (Ky Rain) Homework: What a way to end a study! This week’s homework gave us our final glimpse of James in Scripture and spoke about the dilemma of the Jerusalem church in accepting the offering that Paul collected from the Gentile churches in Asia. We learned about James’ death and the aftermath of his murder. And I was completely moved by Day Five after studying all of what I mentioned earlier in the week. Mercy Triumphs is definitely one of my favorite Bible studies. Melissa’s Articles: In the first of this week’s articles, “Theology of the Collection”, Melissa discusses the dilemma of James and the Jerusalem Church in receiving the gifts collected for the poor by Paul from the Gentile churches. Gentiles sharing the spiritual blessings of Jews have a responsibility to minister to them. Paul believed that the Gentiles “owed” the Jews for their spiritual heritage. “So, Who Took the Reins?” is a fascinating article about who succeeded James as the bishop of the Jeru...

Chairein! (Ky Rain) Homework: This week’s homework is a life-changer from word one! At least it was for me. Beth’s guidance led me through some soul searching and realizations that changes need to be made in my life in the areas of greed and patience. It also led me to ask myself questions like: What would I do if God took away all I had? Would I curse Him? Does what I’ve seen and heard about God keep me faithful to Him when I have no current physical evidence of His wonderful character? The homework also led me to recognize God’s lavish blessings and taught me about letting my “yes” be yes. Melissa’s Articles: In this week’s first article, “The Elephant in the Room”, Melissa talks about how James 5:1-6 could be speaking about any of three groups of people: ANY rich people who abuse wealth and live self-indulgent lives; rich Christians who abuse wealth and live self-indulgent lives; or rich non-Christians who live that way. What this article taught me – in a timely way ...

Chairein! (Ky Rain) Homework : Brokenness is a beautiful thing. And I had a major breakthrough as a result of my homework this week! On day one, Beth conducted a nine-question interview based on James 4:1-3 that really got to me. Honest answers forced me to confront and connect issues in my belief system and that confrontation blessed my socks off! I am a better woman for having answered those questions with thoughtfulness and expectation. I even wrote down the questions in my prayer journal so I can use them again when I feel spiritually clogged. Thank you, Beth! After day three, James 4:7 continues to be one of my favorite verses of Scripture and has planted itself a bit more deeply in my heart. Melissa’s Articles : I never considered what Bible verses make me truly uncomfortable. In Melissa’s article “Perfection, Part One”, she shares an encounter with a friend who cited his least favorite verse: Matthew 5:48, which, we come to find out, has a link to James 1:4! The perf...

Chairein! (Ky Rain) Homework : This week’s homework tackled many tough subjects such as works and belief, teaching and its responsibilities, the tongue and true wisdom. These lessons made me examine my own life and ministry. I am always blown away when the Lord gives me a practical exam right before He teaches me a lesson. And that’s what He did this week. He allowed me to trip over my own bubble-headed pride and then dusted me off and poured healing into my wounds. Hallelujah! Melissa’s Articles : This week’s articles are thought-provoking, as usual. “The Unity & Diversity Dance” discusses the cohesiveness of the Scriptures and introduces Martin Luther’s disdain for the book of James. In contrast to Luther’s view, the divine inspiration of the Bible is eloquently embraced by Professor Frank Thielman. The diversity of the four Gospel accounts and the unity of their message is beautifully showcased and offers food for thought on the subject matter as it pertains to Scriptu...

Chairein! (Ky Rain) Homework : Day two has really driven home the point that I must be a doer of the Word! I know that reinforcement of this point is going to pound me in future lessons, so I’d better get to work on this pronto. As believers, we must obey scripture and LIVE IT OUT! Melissa’s Articles : This week’s articles include: “Hearers, Not Just Readers” was more than inspiration for me to persevere through memorizing the book of James. This article went into depth about how hearing God’s Word spoken makes those words take new shape in the heart and mind of the hearer. It can be an emotionally moving experience to encounter God’s Word with our ears. The message can resonate more deeply with us. Our ears can pick up on repetitions of words, revealing themes. Hearing isn’t influenced by chapter and verse breaks, so it’s easier to follow the flow of the writing. But the most moving part of this article to me is that hearing the Word creates a special bond with first centur...

Chairein! (Ky Rain) Homework : Another terrific week of mining treasure from the Word of God. He is so wonderful to reveal all that He does in spite of how faithless I can be. This week, we talked about suffering, prayer, giving, temptation and God’s blessings. It’s quite a lot to process in only five days’ time. Especially since I’m memorizing the book of James and therefore reciting it several times each day, I am deeply impacted by different verses each time. And I’d like to chew on each piece a little bit longer. I suppose I’ll have to do this on my own when this study is done. Melissa’s Articles : This week, Melissa wrote articles on “The Epistle of Jacob”, “Was James Married?” and “The Genre of James”. I am learning so much from these in-depth writings, but I know I’m not even wrapping my head around a fraction of what this beautiful sister in Christ has poured into it. I pray that the Lord will make this a permanent addition to Beth’s Bible study format to push women ...

Homework : The homework assignments are quintessential Beth Moore, flipping back and forth in the Bible to flesh out the background of Christ’s younger brother. I praise God for the fact that she teaches this way because it was how I got really familiar with scripture. These five days laid the foundation for the rest of our study and I can’t wait until this week’s meeting. Melissa’s Articles : There are three articles sprinkled among this week’s homework. There is one titled “James and the Nazirite Vow” and two articles on the Jerusalem Council. I know that I will go back and re-read these articles again and again. I think this is a wonderful addition to Beth’s format that will add a deeper dimension to her already in-depth study. In “James and the Nazirite Vow”, Melissa brings to light an unverifiable report by the historiographer, Hegesippus that James neither drank wine nor cut his hair, which is a large part of the Nazirite vow. I can’t wait to chat with James about this in...

First, let me say that I am thoroughly excited about this study. Not only do I love the book of James, one of my favorite verses comes from there (4:7b – Resist the devil and he will flee from you.). I’ve studied the book several times before on my own and with study guides, and I’m always challenged and changed in positive ways. Let the change begin, Jesus! Also, I’ve learned that there are new levels of commitment for this Bible study, and I am looking forward to deepening and heightening and widening my relationship with Christ through the exercises in this study. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but one of the challenges is to memorize the book of James. The reason I mention it now is that Beth shares in the video session a few weeks from now that she does her memory work in a different translation of the Scriptures to add dimension and freshness to her study. I would have liked it if she suggested that earlier, so I wanted to give you the opportunity to begin the memory w...