Friends: We’ve been working our way through the 
books of the Bible by seeking to unit-read them. Unit-reading is reading straight through a book without stopping. Today’s book is the epistle of James and I read it in The Message. Here are a few of my notes:
I need to learn to pray God’s Word back to Him — so here’s a prayer for me, informed by the Epistle of James:
“Lord, I can talk a pretty good game. But I want my faith to be real and authentic and trial-tested. I want to stop underestimating my inner proclivity to pursue my own way, to follow the dictates of my desires, to separate belief and behavior. I don’t want to flirt with the world or dabble in sin, but to be wholly devoted to Your truth as it sometimes painfully works its way through me. I want to recognize that often my greatest enemy is my own tongue, an incendiary bomb which looks to blow up others! I want to care — to deeply care — about those I know who have wandered off. Please give me wisdom in reaching out to them, letting them know I care about them, offering them my ears and my prayers that they may turn from destruction! And please keep my heart from wandering. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Dr. Larry Dixon