James from Forest Deal ... partial

60-JAS.usfm

@@ -9,15 +9,12 @@
 \c 1
 \p
 \v 1 I, James, serve God and am bound to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing this letter to the twelve Jewish tribes who trust in Christ and who are scattered throughout the world. I greet you all.
-
-
 \p
 \v 2 My fellow believers, consider it something to greatly rejoice over when you experience various kinds of hardships.
 \v 3 Understand that as you trust God in hardships, they help you to endure even more hardships.
 
 \s5
 \v 4 Endure hardships to their very end so that you may follow Christ in every way. Then you will not fail to do well.
-
 \p
 \v 5 If anyone of you needs to know what to do, let him ask God, who gives generously and is not angry at anyone who asks.
 
@@ -26,47 +23,34 @@
 \v 7 Indeed, a person who doubts should not think that the Lord will do anything that they request him to do.
 \v 8 For he is a person who cannot decide whether he will follow Jesus or not follow Jesus. That is a person who does not do what he promised he would to do. 
 
-
 \s5
 \p
 \v 9 Believers who are poor should be glad because God has honored them.
 \v 10 And believers who are rich should be glad that God has humbled them, which helps them trust in Jesus Christ, because they and their riches will pass away, just as wild flowers wither.
 \v 11 When the sun rises, the scorching hot wind dries the plants and causes the flowers to fall and no longer be beautiful. Like the flower that dies, rich people will die while they are earning money.
 
-
 \s5
 \p
 \v 12 God honors those who endure hard trials, because God will reward them by making them live forever, as he has promised to do for all who love him.
-
-
 \p
 \v 13 When we are tempted to sin, we must not think it is God who is tempting us, because no one can persuade God to do evil, and he never tries to persuade anyone to do evil.
 
 \s5
 \v 14 But everyone wants to do evil, and so they do it, just as if they are falling into a trap.
-
 \v 15 After that, their evil thoughts lead them to commit sin, and this sin takes over their minds until it destroys them.
-
-Then, when evil desires come together, sin is born, which means the person commits sin and can only be forgiven by Jesus. And when sin produces its final result, death comes, both the death of the body and the death of the spirit, meaniing the sinner is separated from God forever. Only Jesus can save us from this final death.
-
-
 \p
 \v 16 My fellow believers whom I love, stop deceiving yourselves.
 
 \s5
-\v 17 Every truly good and perfect gift comes from God the Father, who is in heaven. He is the true God who gives us light. God does not change like created things change, like shadows that appear and disappear. God never changes and He is always good!
+\v 17 Every truly good and perfect gift comes from God the Father, who is in heaven. He is the true God who gives us light. God does not change like created things change, like shadows that appear and disappear. God never changes and he is always good!
 \v 18 God chose to give us spiritual life when we trusted in his true message. So now believers in Jesus have become the first people to have true spiritual life, which only Jesus can give.
 
 \s5
-
-
 \p
 \v 19 My fellow believers whom I love, you know that every one of you should be eager to pay attention to God's true message. You should not quickly speak your own thoughts, nor quickly get angry,
 \v 20 because when we get angry we cannot do the righteous things that God wants us to do.
-
-
 \p
-\v 21 So stop doing all kinds of evil, and humbly accept the message that God planted in your inner beings, because he is able to save you if you accept his message.
+\v 21 So stop doing all kinds of evil and humbly accept the message that God planted in your inner beings because he is able to save you if you accept his message.
 
 \s5
 \v 22 Do what God commands in his message. Do not only listen to it, because people who only listen to it and do not obey it think wrongly that God will save them.
@@ -75,13 +59,10 @@ Then, when evil desires come together, sin is born, which means the person commi
 \v 25 But other people look closely at God's message, which is perfect and which sets people free to voluntarily do what God wants them to do. And if they continue to examine God's message and do not just hear it and then forget it, but do what God tells them to do, God will bless them because of what they do.
 
 \s5
-
-
 \p
 \v 26 Some people think that they worship God rightly, but they habitually speak evil talk. Those people are wrong in thinking that they worship God rightly. The fact is that they worship God in vain.
 \v 27 One of the things that God has told us to do is to take care of orphans and widows who suffer hardship. Those who do that, and who do not think or act immorally like those who do not obey God, truly worship God, who is our Father, and God approves of them.
 
-
 \s5
 \c 2
 \p
@@ -91,13 +72,12 @@ Then, when evil desires come together, sin is born, which means the person commi
 \v 4 You have then judged one another for wrong reasons.
 
 \s5
-\v 5 Listen to me, my brothers and sisters whom I love. God has chosen poor people who seem to have nothing of value, to trust in him very much. So he will give them great things when he rules everyone everywhere. This is what he has promised to do for everyone who loves him.
-
+\v 5 Listen to me, my brothers and sisters whom I love. God has chosen poor people, who seem to have nothing of value, to trust in him very much. So he will give them great things when he rules everyone everywhere. This is what he has promised to do for everyone who loves him.
 \v 6 But you dishonor the poor people. Think about it! It is the rich people, not the poor people, who are causing you to suffer! It is the rich people who forcibly take you to court to accuse you in front of judges!
 \v 7 And they are the ones who speak evil against the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who is worthy of praise, to whom you belong!
 
 \s5
-\v 8 If you follow the royal law, as they are written in the scriptures, you will see the command, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." If you love others, you are doing what is right.
+\v 8 If you follow the royal law as it is written in the scriptures, you will see the command, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." If you love others, you are doing what is right.
 \v 9 But if you honor some people more than others, you are doing wrong. And because you do not do what God commanded us to do, he condemns you because you disobey his laws.
 
 \s5
@@ -108,10 +88,9 @@ Then, when evil desires come together, sin is born, which means the person commi
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 12 Always speak and act toward others as people should whom God will judge using the law that frees us from being punished for our sins.
+\v 12 Always speak and act as the people whom God will judge using his law, not the law that condemns us, but the law that sets us free from being punished for our sins.
 \v 13 Because when God judges us, he will not act mercifully toward those who do not act mercifully toward others. But if we are merciful to others, then we will not fear God when he judges us.
 
-
 \s5
 \p
 \v 14 My brothers and sisters, some people say, "I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ," but they do not do good things. What they say will do them no good. If they only believe with words, God will certainly not save them.
@@ -120,7 +99,6 @@ Then, when evil desires come together, sin is born, which means the person commi
 \v 16 And suppose one of you says to them, "Do not worry, go away, get warm, and find the food you need!" But if you do not give them the things that they need for their bodies, then that will be no help to them!
 \v 17 Similarly, if you do not do good deeds to help others, what you say about believing in Christ is as useless as a dead person! You do not really believe in Christ.
 
-
 \s5
 \p
 \v 18 But someone may say to me, "God saves some people only because they trust in him, and he saves others because they do good deeds for people." I would answer that person, "You cannot prove to me that people truly trust in God if they do not do good deeds for others! But by doing good deeds for others I will prove to you that I truly trust in God!
@@ -136,12 +114,10 @@ Then, when evil desires come together, sin is born, which means the person commi
 \s5
 \v 25 Similarly, it was certainly because of what Rahab did that God considered her to be good. Rahab had been a prostitute, but she cared for the messengers who came to spy out the land, and she helped them to escape by sending them home on a different road from the one that they came on.
 \p
-\v 26 Just as when a person no longer breathing is dead and his body is useless, in the same way, someone who says he trusts in God but does nothing good trusts in God uselessly.
+\v 26 Just as a person who is no longer breathing is dead and his body is useless, in the same way, someone who says he trusts in God but does nothing good trusts in God uselessly.
 
 \s5
 \c 3
-
-
 \p
 \v 1 My brothers and sisters, not many of you should desire to become teachers of God's word, because you know that God will judge us teachers more severely than he will judge other people.
 \v 2 In many ways we do what is wrong. But those who control what they say will be all that God intends them to be. They will be able to control all their actions.
@@ -151,7 +127,7 @@ Then, when evil desires come together, sin is born, which means the person commi
 \v 4 Think also about ships. Although a ship may be very large and although it can be moved by strong winds, by turning a very small rudder people can direct the ship wherever they want it to go.
 
 \s5
-\v 5 In the same way, although our tongues are very small, if we do not control them, we can harm people by talking big. Think also about how just a small flame of fire can cause a large forest to burn.
+\v 5 In the same way, although our tongues are very small, if we do not control them, we can harm people when we use our tongues to boast about the great things we have done. Think also about how a great forest can be set on fire by a little flame.
 \p
 \v 6 Just like a fire burns a forest, when we say things that are evil, we can destroy many people. What we say reveals that there is much evil within us. What we say contaminates all that we think and do. Just like a flame of fire easily causes the whole surrounding area to burn, what we say can cause sons and daughters and their descendants to want to do evil for the rest of their lives. It is the devil himself who influences us to speak what is evil.
 
@@ -160,8 +136,8 @@ Then, when evil desires come together, sin is born, which means the person commi
 \v 8 no one is able to control what he says. The words we speak are an uncontrolled evil. Our words can do great harm, just like poison that kills.
 
 \s5
-\v 9 We use our tongue to praise God, who is our Lord and Father, but we also use our same tongue to ask God to do evil to people. That is very wrong, because God made people like himself.
-\v 10 We praise God, but with our same mouth we also ask for evil things to happen to others. My brothers and sisters, this should not be!
+\v 9 We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but we also use our same tongues to curse other people whom God had made to be like him in so many ways. 
+\v 10 Out of the same mouth we give honor to our Lord and Father and we speak curse words to others. My brothers and sisters, this should not be!
 
 \s5
 \v 11 Surely bitter water and good water do not come out of the same spring!
@@ -169,7 +145,7 @@ Then, when evil desires come together, sin is born, which means the person commi
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 13 If any of you thinks that you are wise and know much, you should always act in a good way to show people that your good deeds are the result of your being truly wise. Being wise helps us to act gently toward others.
+\v 13 Are any of you wise and understanding? That person should show his wisdom and understanding by the way he lives his life. He should show his good life by demonstrating the humility that comes when a person has wisdom.  
 \v 14 But if you are very envious of other people and lie against them and do them wrong, you should not pretend that you are wise. By boasting like that you are saying that what is true is actually false.
 
 \s5
@@ -178,7 +154,6 @@ Then, when evil desires come together, sin is born, which means the person commi
 \v 17 God in heaven makes us wise. First of all, he teaches us to be morally pure. He teaches us how to make peace with others. He teaches us to be kind to others and to help them. He teaches to be kind to those who do not deserve it. He teaches us to do good things that have lasting results. He teaches us to never stop doing what is right and to be honest.
 \v 18 Those who act peacefully toward others cause them to also act peacefully, with the result that they all live together and act in the right way.
 
-
 \s5
 \c 4
 \p