Bible In Poetry: James 1 Poem by Dr John Celes

Bible In Poetry: James 1

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1A servant of God and of Christ,
Greetings from James to the twelve tribes
Scattered among the world’s nations:

Trials and Temptations:

2 You consider it as pure joy,
Whenever you face many trials,
3 Because you know by testing faith
You develop perseverance.
4 By perseverance you’re mature
Your work becomes complete and whole;
And does not lack in anything.
5 If you lack wisdom, ask of God,
Who gives to all generously,
And without finding fault with you.
6 But when God asks, you must believe,
And not have doubt, for the doubter
Is like a wave upon the sea,
That’s blown and tossed across by wind.
7 A man with doubts shouldn’t think he will
Receive a thing from the Lord God;
8 He is a double-minded man,
Unstable in all that he does.
9 In humble circumstances then,
The brother ought to be quite proud,
In his high position God-given.
10 The one who’s rich should take pride in
His low position, for he’ll pass
Away like wild a flower then.
11 For, sun rises with scorching heat,
Withers the plant; its blossom falls
Its beauty is destroyed fully.
Similarly, the rich man fades,
Ev’n while he does his business.
12 Bless’d is the man who perseveres
In face of trials, and stood test;
He will receive the crown of life,
That God will give those who love Him.
13 When tempted, none should ever say,
'God is tempting me so often.'
For, God isn’t tempted by evil,
Nor does He tempt ev’r anyone;
14 But everyone is tempted by
His evil desires of own;
He’s dragged away and too enticed.
15 And when desire has conceived,
It gives birth to sin and more sin;
When fully grown, it leads to death.
16 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers.
17 Each good and perfect gift’s from God,
And comes from Father in heaven,
Who does not change like shadows cast.
18 He chose to give us birth by truth,
That we may be first fruits, He made.

Listening and Doing:

19 Take note of this, my dear brothers:
Each one should be quick to listen,
Slow to speak and slow to anger,
20 For man's anger doesn’t bring about
The righteous life that God desires.
21 Get rid of moral filth, evil
That’s prevalent in abundance,
And humbly accept planted word
Of God in you, which can save you.
22 Don’t merely listen to the word,
And get deceived, Do what it says.
23 For he who listens to the word,
But does not do whatev’r it says,
Is like a man who sees his face
In a mirror, all but in vain,
24 And, after looking at himself,
He goes away and soon forgets
What he looks like immediately.
25 The man who looks intently then,
Into the perfect law that gives
Freedom, and continues with this,
Not forgetting what he has heard,
But doing it—he will be blessed
In what he does, at anytime.
26 If you think you are religious,
And do not hold your tongue in rein,
You deceive yourself in your life
And worthless is your religion.
27 The religion that God accepts
As pure and faultless is just this:
To tend to orphans and widows
In distress and keep oneself from
Being polluted by the world.

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Dr John Celes

Dr John Celes

Tamilnadu, India
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