Meditations

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that He jealously longs for the Spirit He has caused to dwell in you? But He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:4-6

“James seeks to shock his hearers by bursting out with adulterous people! If we take this literally, it means that some of the readers were guilty of the sin of adultery. But he is speaking like an Old Testament prophet here, and what he is actually speaking of is spiritual infidelity. When the people of Israel turned away from God, they were regarded as an unfaithful wife (Jeremiah 3:20).

Jesus used the same expression when he called the Jews who were demanding miracles ‘a wicked and adulterous generation’ (Matthew 12:39). This type of infidelity is characterized by friendship with the world, on the basis of desires and pleasures. James denounces such compromise and duplicity. It is impossible to serve God and the desires of the world at the same time, for one cannot be simultaneously a friend and an enemy of God. A choice must be made.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

On my second night in Uganda, I had dinner with two participants from our GTP regional event, one from northern Nigeria and another from Burundi. One serves in a setting of tremendous religious persecution and the other destitute poverty.

They expressed gratitude for the teaching and training GTP has invested in them online through our courses and now onsite in Africa.

The one in persecution said that GTP courses have strengthened him and his fellow stewards to strengthen disciples and infuse courage and confidence in them to persevere. Instead of living in fear, we have inspired deep faith.

The one in a destitute setting spoke of how we have helped him facilitate mindset change and turn dependency to discipleship. His focus has shifted from what he cannot do because of what he does not have to using what he has faithfully to solve problems around them. And it’s working!

Both spoke of the impact on the congregations and young people they serve. They wanted me to pass on gratitude to those whose giving was investing in them to grow a resilient and sustainable church in their countries.

So, what does this have to do with desires and duplicity? This Saturday, I will travel back in time on my birthday, so I will live it for 34 instead of 24 hours. I will spend about 30 of those hours traveling. No kidding.

I will ponder returning to a society that predominantly desires the things of this world. In response, I want you to ask a hard question. If your heart is right, it won’t offend you at all. What are you living for?

James described living for the desires of this world as adulterous and duplicitous. I would suggest that, at times, all of us get drawn to the things of the world. But there’s good news. He gives us more grace.

Father, forgive us when we allow the world to captivate our affections. Pour out grace and mercy by your Spirit. We choose to make you our chief desire. Help us serve others in the hardest places like you helped us. In Jesus name. Amen.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. James 3:13

“James returns to the question of wisdom, which … is characterized by a good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. Some of James’ readers were no doubt claiming to be wise and intelligent. The author challenges them to prove it. Wisdom is not a philosophical theory but something that has to be demonstrated in daily life. And it, too, follows from applying the truth of the word.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

Show it. Prove it.

What a privilege to facilitate Journey of Empowerment (JOE) with 34 influential workers from 18 countries over the past two days: ⁠Angola, ⁠Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, United States of America, ⁠Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

By the time this posts we will have just completed JOE.

The best part, I did different parts of the facilitation so as to empower the EPSA staff (English, Portuguese, and Spanish Speaking Africa staff) to play more significant roles and so they feel confident to replicate the training without my presence. I give thanks for what God is doing so far on this trip.

Consider this comment from Tionge Chile of Malawi from the Cameroon Trip report that illustrates the “demonstrated in daily life” aspect of today’s post.

“Over the past week I have learned that I cannot teach generosity from a distance. I must live it among the people I serve. When my words and actions match, I inspire others to mindset change and a different way of living that radically reflects Christ.”

What about you? What needs to change so your life demonstrates “deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom?” Show it. Prove it.

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. James 3:1-2

“Earlier, James had said that ‘everyone should be … slow to speak’. Now he expands that command beyond speaking in the general sense to apply it to the speaking that is inevitably involved in teaching the people of God: Not many of you should presume to be teachers. The reason that we who teach will be judged more strictly is that the more we say, the more likely we are to stumble and make mistakes. teachers are not perfect and will make mistakes just like everyone else. But their mistakes may have destructive consequences.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

Today marks the start of my second of two weeks in Africa. I am mentoring our newer staff this week, and while it is exhausting, it is going well. We have already battled sickness, delays in the arrival of our luggage, cockroaches (ask me about them sometime but you may not want to hear my story), and more. Thanks for your prayers.

Let me introduce the team so you see why I am taking this work for which I will be judged more strictly. I have worked with two of them for 3 years. Let’s start with them.

Samuel Mujyanama lives in Rwanda. He serves as GTP Global Prayer Coordinator and Multimedia Specialist for GTP. He’s got a bachelor’s degree in journalism and communication, a master of divinity degree. Samuel helps with all GTP communication and social media. He and I will release a 30-day devotional entitled, Surrender, in 2026.

Tionge Chile lives in Malawi. He serves as GTP Project Manager for Africa. We launched Palmful of Maize together in 2022. Imagine that more than 1 million children participate across his country in only three years. I love hearing Tionge speak about how GTP has turned dependency to discipleship among the children and their families in Malawi.

Now meet the other three with whom I have served only in 2026.

Romeo Nkongnou crushed it in Cameroon. He serves as GTP Global Trainer and French Programs Manager. He lives there and convened some of the top Christian workers in both the country and the continent, including the head of the Evangelical Alliance for Africa. No kidding. Romeo gives me hope for Francophone Africa!

Anita Mulwana runs point this week. She lives in Uganda. We have safely arrived in Kigali. She serves as GTP Global Trainer and English Programs Manager. She’s got good administrative skills coupled with training capacity. God has raised Anita up to mobilize an army of trainers for the English, Portuguese, and Spanish speakers of Africa.

Emmna Pervaiz lives in Jhelum, Pakistan. So, what is she doing here? She’s worked with me in Pakistan and Nepal and offered to help me help the Africa staff understand how to do the logistical work necessary to support onsite program work. Emmna is here to mentor all four of the Africans in the administrative aspects of program work.

Now you have met the five solid stewards with whom I am serving for two weeks.

I mentioned them because my focus has been to teach them content and empower them to participate with me in delivering it. By this way they have confidence to replicate and spread it to others. And I have made it clear that their lives must exhibit the content otherwise the entire training is a waste of time. They get it.

What we teach and how we deliver it matters. Our words and actions must match. The administration of our work must align with the content we deliver! By caring for both points, we prepare to give an account for our teaching. Are you ready to give an account? Or really the question is this: Have you made those you serve ready to give an account?

Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:21-26

“At this point, James gives two examples drawn from God’s word: Abraham and Rahab, both of whom became ancestors of our Lord Jesus. Our ancestor Abraham was such an example of faith in action that he is called the father of believers (Galatians 3:7-9). His faith expressed itself in his willingness to sacrifice his only son to God (Genesis 22:1-19). This sacrifice is the action by which Abraham demonstrated his faith. He was not justified by this action, but by the faith that produced it.

Rahab in the second example is the very opposite of Abraham. He is the father of believers, whereas she was only a prostitute. But they shared the same faith, the faith that expresses itself in action. By faith, Rahab risked her life to save the lives of the Israelite spies (Joshua 2:1-21). The author concludes this part of his letter with a metaphor: σs the body without the spirit is deσd, so faith without deeds is dead. This metaphor underscores the importance of putting God’s word into practice if we are even to be able to speak about faith.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

Yesterday, our GTP team of six flew from Cameroon to Gabon to Ethiopia to Uganda. Somewhere along the way, our bags got offloaded. We got to our rooms by 4:45am on Sunday morning. Thankfully we blocked the day to rest. Pray our bags arrive sometime today. Trusting this and everything else to Jesus.

I often teach my students that if you don’t risk everything for the Kingdom, you don’t gain anything and you miss the Kingdom altogether. Abraham risked Isaac. Rehab risked her life. The faith that takes no risks is dead. The faith that motivates stewards to risk everything saves them. Faith that motivates no actions or takes such risks is dead.

Think of it this way. God wants your hands free to grasp the Kingdom. He wants you to let go of whatever is most precious to you, whatever you think you need. That’s why He calls the rich man to let go of riches. Money won’t get you into the Kingdom. But if you let it go in giving, you enter. Notice how that is harder for people with riches; they have more to let go of.

This passage has everything to do with generosity. God wants to give you something better than your most precious possessions. He wants to give you the Kingdom. The question is this: Do you trust him enough to let go of whatever you are holding onto? Give generously. Let me speak like James and say your eternal salvation depends on it.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? James 2:18-20

“To drive this point home, James stops using the plural pronoun and changes to the singular, as if he were talking to only one person. This type of change is not unusual in the Old Testament, especially in Psalms and Proverbs. As we have said, James’ letter could well be a book of wisdom. The author contrasts faith characterized by nice words with the faith that produces works that can be observed. He emphasizes that such works are the result of faith. Faith that is not demonstrated by works is dead in that it is simply a nominal belief, like that of the demons, who also believe in God but do not obey him. The author has good reason to say that the person who advocates such dead faith is a poor man! He is worth very little in spiritual terms.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

Do you exhibit nominal belief?

It’s a strong statement as James equates such people with demons who believe in God but do not obey Him. Think about it. James, the half-brother of Jesus, groups nominal believers with demons. I often say, please, don’t count yourself as a follower of Jesus if you choose a path of foolishness.

What is nominal belief, anyway?

It would be a person who says, I follow Jesus (words) and then does not do what He says (works). The reason such people get numbered among the demons is clear: such faith cannot save them. Notice that teaching people about radical obedience and generosity is really saving them for eternity.

Obedience is not incidental but integral to saving faith.

The work in Cameroon has far exceeded expectations. Today we fly to Ethiopia then drop down to Uganda for another week of program work. Thanks for your prayers

Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:15-17

“The preaching style of this letter appears here more clearly than elsewhere. James addresses his readers as if they were standing before him and sets out to question and persuade them. He uses a concrete example to make his point: What should one do when faced with a brother or sister in need, lacking even the most basic necessities such as clothing and food? There were certainly many poor people in the churches to which James was writing. Fine sounding words would not feed them, nor would good wishes. Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is deσd. In other words, it needs no enemy to make it disappear.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

What good is it?

That’s a great question. James hold us a mirror to help us as readers see our actions for what they are. Only hearers can answer. But they need to be asked this question to be moved to change. This text shows the power of a question for influencing human actions.

What good is it?

Suppose you keep living, giving, serving, and loving on the same trajectory. Our African brother, Solomon Andria expounds on this with an African question. Will your influence require any enemy to disappear?

Think about it. Will your life cause the evil one to want your example to stop blessing others or will he celebrate because you look no different from the world around you?

What good is it?

Today marks our final day in Cameroon. The main training event will serve not only workers from across Francophone Africa but upwards of 100 invited guests from the Cameroon Christian community.

Pray for us. The enemy wants us to disappear. Hardships, lost luggage, sickness, and other have beset us this week, but we continue to overcome by the grace of God.

And pray for my friend, Chi-Chung Keung. He retires from paid work today. I leave him with today’s question as he contemplates what I believe will be his best years of service yet ahead of him.

As he asks it of himself and as you ask it of yourself, I pray much good comes of your response and that God sustains you through the attacks of the enemy which seek to make you disappear.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? James 2:14

“In considering whether James is indeed teaching salvation by works, we need to remember when this letter was written. It was probably written towards the end of the first century, by which time Paul’s teaching on justification by faith would have been widely known, since Paul’s letters had been written decades earlier. However, some Christians in the generation following Paul were misinterpreting the doctrine of justification by faith and even twisting it by claiming that works were no longer important. So James is not opposing Paul. In fact, he places more stress on authentic faith than he is sometimes given credit for. He insists faith is empty and inauthentic if it does not involve putting the word into practice.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

This post seems fitting as Romeo Nkongnou from Cameroon, Emmna Pervaiz from Pakistan, and I train workers from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, The Republic of Congo, Togo, and Uganda through Stations of Generosity today.

Imagine people from very difficult conditions realizing that they can share generously despite having limited means, which demonstrates their faith is not empty or inauthentic. Imagine the witness giving is in hard places. Pray for us. One of our team members has gotten sick. Thankfully she tested negative for Malaria, but it creates more work on others.

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. James 2:8-10

“The solution to discrimination in the Christian community is to practice the royal law, the one that says love your neighbor σs yourself. This law is royal because it is one of the two greatest commandments (Matt 22:39) and also because it was given by Jesus Himself.

James’ emphasis emerges again: he does not tell his readers to ‘obey’ the law but to keep it, or in other words, to put it into practice. If they keep this law, Christians will not discriminate. If they do discriminate, they are disobeying the law. Christians of Jewish origin were eager to keep the law, but had failed to recognize that discrimination is as serious a sin as adultery or murder and that by breaking this one law they were guilty of breaking the whole law.

James encourages the believers to be careful in their relationships because one day they will have to give God an account of what they have done, and will be judged not according to the law of Moses, but by the law that gives freedom. He warns them that God will judge those who discriminate. Someone who shows favoritism insults the dignity of others and judges them. That person will in turn be judged by God.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

Solomon Andria helps us with our understanding of this Scripture. The operative word here is keep.

Too many people think that what matters is their beliefs. Nothing could be further from the heart of God. Even the demons believe. He cares about our behavior as judgment links not to our believes but our behavior.

Do I have your attention? Good! James tells us what mattes is keeping the royal law (instructions of Jesus).

In plain terms, the head of the early church in Jerusalem, James, felt like the most important thing was to obey the words of Jesus. They called it the royal law. So imagine the judgment for not caring about it!

Trainings going well in Cameroon. Thanks for your prayers.

Our Stewardship and Standards event will be televised today. Big deal. Pray it goes well. Pray God is glorified. Pray it inspires workers to put their houses in order with standards for sustainability.

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? James 2:1-7

“James presents a hypothetical situation in which a rich and a poor man come into a meeting. There would be nothing unusual about this, for there were certainly rich believers. If the attitude of the leaders was to favour the rich to the detriment of the poor, they were guilty of discrimination, which James condemns as offensive. The sin is in the fact that these leaders, whom the author calls my dear brothers, have set themselves up as judges by elevating the rich and insulting the dignity of the poor. God is on the side of the poor, not because they are poor but because they are responsive to him and are near the Kingdom.

If they are rich in faith, they inherit the Kingdom. God rejects the rich, not because of their riches but because they commit violent acts: they are exploiting you … dragging you into court, … slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong. The ‘name’ to which James is referring is the name of Jesus Christ. The rich assume that their wealth entitles them to do what they like and that they are not subject to the same rules as others.

Christian communities in Africa are not immune to this sometimes unconscious discrimination in favour of the rich since the power of money is strong when many are poor. The rich are easily noticed and gain the respect of leaders. Then the poor find themselves shoved to one side because, as the proverb says, ‘thin cows are not licked by their friends’. They are ignored because they are ‘thin’ and cannot make a financial contribution to the community.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

So far so good in Africa. Thanks for your prayers for me and the African staff and regional workers that I am mentoring this week. Let me tell you about one of them.

Romeo Nkongnou lives here in Cameroon. He’s an enthusiastic emerging Christian worker. He took GTP courses, started moderating them for others, and then agreed to serve as Global Trainer and French Programs Manager for GTP.

Romeo gets it and wanted me to come train him to spread trainings 2×2 with country coordinators across the regions. Today we wrap up the first training, Journey of Empowerment (JOE).

JOE has four lessons: (1) You matter! (2) You are part of something bigger! (3) We choose God’s path together to make a difference. (4) We hold each other accountable to stay on track.

This is not insignificant in Africa filled with corruption and favoritism, where little gets done without bribes or knowing the right people, and where people get labeled as thin or fat cows. We teach people to train others in a new, biblical way to live.

But let’s face it. Africa and America (and everywhere else) have corruption and favoritism. I appreciated how Solomon spoke of “unconscious discrimination” today. We do it and do not even realize it.

This brings the 2×2 aspect of JOE into view. When we don’t realize we are part of the problem rather than part of the solution, we need others to help us get on track and stay on track. That’s what JOE does.

We have delivered JOE in English with French translation. Learn more about JOE here. Watch a video, download the brochure, and/or register for the next on demand cohort in January 2026.

And in case you missed it, consider joining me on a Journey through Advent. Click here to download my 30-day devotional, Waiting (start reading today on 1 December 2025).

And click here to register for zooms on 8, 15, and 22 December 2025 on which we will explore the topic of Waiting more deeply. You are welcome to attend, one, two, or all three zooms.

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:26-27

“Most of the Jews ‘scattered among the nations’ were religious, however, James condemns those who claim to be religious but do not concern themselves with putting their beliefs into practice. Without action, good doctrine is useless. Pure religion shows itself in behavior. He gives an example of the type of behavior he has in mind: looking after orphans and widows.

This example derives from the Old Testament, which commanded God’s people to care for those who had no one to support them financially. Orphans had no fathers, widows no husbands and foreigners no land to cultivate. James does not mention foreigners in this letter because the Christian Jews to whom this letter is addressed were all foreigners themselves.

But pure religion is not just a non-governmental organization, an NGO doing social work. The work done by believers is the product of their faith and the religion is characterized by the holy lives of its members. Briefly put, the Word must produce in us acts that prove our relationship to God and a way of life that glorifies Him.”

Solomon Andria (Madagascar) in “James” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006).

Today GTP welcomes 27 stewards from across Francophone Africa to Yaoundé, Cameroon. I shot the new header photo from my hotel room (pictured above). In total, 33 people convene from 17 countries get trained to multiply faithful stewards in their countries. Everything we do aims to connect beliefs and behavior.

The first training is called Journey of Empowerment (JOE). We start it this evening and it runs through tomorrow. We deliver it in English with French translation. Learn more about JOE here. Watch a video, download the brochure, and/or register for the on demand cohort.

I appreciate the African mindset that comes out today. Notice that Africans might expect NGOs to take responsibility for widows and orphans. But we think and act the same thing in America and around the world.

We think it is someone else’s job to care for orphans, widows, or other destitute folks. James pins the responsibility on all who wants to have pure and blameless religion. What about you? How might God want you to connect your beliefs and behavior.

One more thing today. Consider joining me on a Journey through Advent. Click here to download my 30-day devotional, Waiting (start reading today on 1 December 2025).

And click here to register for zooms on 8, 15, and 22 December 2025 on which we will explore the topic of Waiting more deeply. You are welcome to attend, one, two, or all three zooms.