nkjv James:1-5 SEEK
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James ,
a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad :
Greetings .
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My brethren ,
count it all joy when you fall into various trials ,
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knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience .
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But let patience have its perfect work ,
that you may be perfect and complete ,
lacking nothing .
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If any of you lacks wisdom ,
let him ask of God ,
who gives to all liberally and without reproach ,
and it will be given to him .
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But let him ask in faith ,
with no doubting ,
for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind .
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For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord ;
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he is a double-minded man ,
unstable in all his ways .
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Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation ,
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but the rich in his humiliation ,
because as a flower of the field he will pass away .
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For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass ;
its flower falls ,
and its beautiful appearance perishes .
So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits .
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Blessed is the man who endures temptation ;
for when he has been approved ,
he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him .
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Let no one say when he is tempted , "
I am tempted by God ";
for God cannot be tempted by evil ,
nor does He Himself tempt anyone .
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But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed .
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Then ,
when desire has conceived ,
it gives birth to sin ;
and sin ,
when it is full-grown ,
brings forth death .
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Do not be deceived ,
my beloved brethren .
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Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above ,
and comes down from the Father of lights ,
with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning .
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Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth ,
that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures .
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So then ,
my beloved brethren ,
let every man be swift to hear ,
slow to speak ,
slow to wrath ;
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for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God .
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Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness ,
and receive with meekness the implanted word ,
which is able to save your souls .
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But be doers of the word ,
and not hearers only ,
deceiving yourselves .
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For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer ,
he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror ;
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for he observes himself ,
goes away ,
and immediately forgets what kind of man he was .
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But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it ,
and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work ,
this one will be blessed in what he does .
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If anyone among you thinks he is religious ,
and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart ,
this one '
s religion is useless .
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Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this :
to visit orphans and widows in their trouble ,
and to keep oneself unspotted from the world .
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My brethren ,
do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ ,
the Lord of glory ,
with partiality .
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For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings ,
in fine apparel ,
and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes ,
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and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him , "
You sit here in a good place ,"
and say to the poor man , "
You stand there ,"
or , "
Sit here at my footstool ,"
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have you not shown partiality among yourselves ,
and become judges with evil thoughts ?
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Listen ,
my beloved brethren :
Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him ?
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But you have dishonored the poor man .
Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts ?
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Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called ?
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If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture , "
You shall love your neighbor as yourself ,"
you do well ;
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but if you show partiality ,
you commit sin ,
and are convicted by the law as transgressors .
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For whoever shall keep the whole law ,
and yet stumble in one point ,
he is guilty of all .
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For He who said , "
Do not commit adultery ,"
also said , "
Do not murder ."
Now if you do not commit adultery ,
but you do murder ,
you have become a transgressor of the law .
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So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty .
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For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy .
Mercy triumphs over judgment .
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What does it profit ,
my brethren ,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works ?
Can faith save him ?
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If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food ,
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and one of you says to them , "
Depart in peace ,
be warmed and filled ,"
but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body ,
what does it profit ?
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Thus also faith by itself ,
if it does not have works ,
is dead .
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But someone will say , "
You have faith ,
and I have works ."
Show me your faith without your works ,
and I will show you my faith by my works .
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You believe that there is one God .
You do well .
Even the demons believe--and tremble !
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But do you want to know ,
O foolish man ,
that faith without works is dead ?
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Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar ?
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Do you see that faith was working together with his works ,
and by works faith was made perfect ?
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And the Scripture was fulfilled which says , "
Abraham believed God ,
and it was accounted to him for righteousness ."
And he was called the friend of God .
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You see then that a man is justified by works ,
and not by faith only .
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Likewise ,
was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way ?
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For as the body without the spirit is dead ,
so faith without works is dead also .
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My brethren ,
let not many of you become teachers ,
knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment .
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For we all stumble in many things .
If anyone does not stumble in word ,
he is a perfect man ,
able also to bridle the whole body .
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Indeed ,
we put bits in horses '
mouths that they may obey us ,
and we turn their whole body .
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Look also at ships :
although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds ,
they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires .
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Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things .
See how great a forest a little fire kindles !
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And the tongue is a fire ,
a world of iniquity .
The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body ,
and sets on fire the course of nature ;
and it is set on fire by hell .
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For every kind of beast and bird ,
of reptile and creature of the sea ,
is tamed and has been tamed by mankind .
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But no man can tame the tongue .
It is an unruly evil ,
full of deadly poison .
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With it we bless our God and Father ,
and with it we curse men ,
who have been made in the similitude of God .
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Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing .
My brethren ,
these things ought not to be so .
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Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening ?
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Can a fig tree ,
my brethren ,
bear olives ,
or a grapevine bear figs ?
Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh .
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Who is wise and understanding among you ?
Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom .
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But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts ,
do not boast and lie against the truth .
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This wisdom does not descend from above ,
but is earthly ,
sensual ,
demonic .
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For where envy and self-seeking exist ,
confusion and every evil thing are there .
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But the wisdom that is from above is first pure ,
then peaceable ,
gentle ,
willing to yield ,
full of mercy and good fruits ,
without partiality and without hypocrisy .
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Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace .
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Where do wars and fights come from among you ?
Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members ?
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You lust and do not have .
You murder and covet and cannot obtain .
You fight and war .
Yet you do not have because you do not ask .
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You ask and do not receive ,
because you ask amiss ,
that you may spend it on your pleasures .
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Adulterers and adulteresses !
Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God ?
Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God .
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Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain , "
The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously "?
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But He gives more grace .
Therefore He says : "
God resists the proud ,
But gives grace to the humble ."
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Therefore submit to God .
Resist the devil and he will flee from you .
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Draw near to God and He will draw near to you .
Cleanse your hands ,
you sinners ;
and purify your hearts ,
you double-minded .
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Lament and mourn and weep !
Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom .
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Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord ,
and He will lift you up .
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Do not speak evil of one another ,
brethren .
He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother ,
speaks evil of the law and judges the law .
But if you judge the law ,
you are not a doer of the law but a judge .
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There is one Lawgiver ,
who is able to save and to destroy .
Who are you to judge another ?
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Come now ,
you who say , "
Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city ,
spend a year there ,
buy and sell ,
and make a profit ";
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whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow .
For what is your life ?
It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away .
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Instead you ought to say , "
If the Lord wills ,
we shall live and do this or that ."
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But now you boast in your arrogance .
All such boasting is evil .
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Therefore ,
to him who knows to do good and does not do it ,
to him it is sin .
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Come now ,
you rich ,
weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you !
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Your riches are corrupted ,
and your garments are moth-eaten .
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Your gold and silver are corroded ,
and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire .
You have heaped up treasure in the last days .
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Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields ,
which you kept back by fraud ,
cry out ;
and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth .
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You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury ;
you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter .
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You have condemned ,
you have murdered the just ;
he does not resist you .
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Therefore be patient ,
brethren ,
until the coming of the Lord .
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth ,
waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain .
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You also be patient .
Establish your hearts ,
for the coming of the Lord is at hand .
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Do not grumble against one another ,
brethren ,
lest you be condemned .
Behold ,
the Judge is standing at the door !
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My brethren ,
take the prophets ,
who spoke in the name of the Lord ,
as an example of suffering and patience .
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Indeed we count them blessed who endure .
You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful .
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But above all ,
my brethren ,
do not swear ,
either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath .
But let your "
Yes "
be "
Yes ,"
and your "
No ," "
No ,"
lest you fall into judgment .
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Is anyone among you suffering ?
Let him pray .
Is anyone cheerful ?
Let him sing psalms .
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Is anyone among you sick ?
Let him call for the elders of the church ,
and let them pray over him ,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord .
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And the prayer of faith will save the sick ,
and the Lord will raise him up .
And if he has committed sins ,
he will be forgiven .
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Confess your trespasses to one another ,
and pray for one another ,
that you may be healed .
The effective ,
fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much .
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Elijah was a man with a nature like ours ,
and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain ;
and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months .
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And he prayed again ,
and the heaven gave rain ,
and the earth produced its fruit .
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Brethren ,
if anyone among you wanders from the truth ,
and someone turns him back ,
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let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins .
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Jude ,
a bondservant of Jesus Christ ,
and brother of James ,
To those who are called ,
sanctified by God the Father ,
and preserved in Jesus Christ :