Faith governs how we face the changing circumstances of life. Our circumstances will often be beyond our control. However, our circumstances are never beyond the reach of the prayer of faith!

A person of genuine faith waits for Christ's coming with a patient, expectant, cautious but confident faith. Faith is cautious realizing the Judge is right at the door.

According to James, we are living in the last days. Our lives are on trial before God. We will be held accountable for how we use what he has given us—whether that be a dollar, a million dollars or just a cup of cold water that was in our power to give.

Sometimes divisions develop in the church. Conflicts arise. Hearts and lives are broken. The congregation serious about being right with God again must stand before the cross. There, each of us must face the truth about our own hearts and lives.

Unfortunately, all churches have conflict. It was even true in the New Testament. You will never find a perfect church. However, James shows us how to be alert to the source of quarrels and conflicts, as well as the proper battle plan to bring about change in the church.

Is your life characterized by spiritual wisdom? Some of the problems we face in our churches is that there are often two different kinds of wisdom are at work. One is the wisdom that comes from above. The other is that wisdom James characterizes as earthly, natural and demonic.

Every believer will stand before God to give an account in the day of judgment. In fact, our faith and our life is under review by God every day that we live.

Is your faith genuine? How would you know? If your faith is genuine, it will show up in both your conscience and your conduct.

When Jesus draws people to your church, how do you treat them? James lays out a courtroom scenario where the sin of partiality is brought before the bar of God's Justice.

James expected Christianity to show up in a person's life. A person's religion can be worthless. The claim of faith can be a delusion, and a person can deceive his or her own heart. Genuine faith results in life transformation.