TWO BIBLE BOOKS would make wonderful fortune cookies.
- Proverbs, in the Old Testament
- James, in the New Testament
I don’t mean to be disrespectful. But these two books are packed with pithy, wise, and wonderful tips for living a good and godly life.
I haven’t gotten around to paraphrasing Proverbs yet, for the Casual English Bible. But I just finished James and posted it live.
Here are some of my favorite tips from James.
Fortune cookie advice from James
Wisdom boost
“If you feel like you’re a little low in the wisdom category, and you make too many bad decisions, ask God for a wisdom boost” (James 1:5).
Doubters make a splash
“A doubter is like a wave lost at sea. It goes wherever the wind blows. When the storms come, it splashes itself crazy” (James 1:6).
Don’t call it righteous anger
“Righteous anger? Come on. Our anger has nothing to do with God’s righteousness. It doesn’t come from righteousness and it doesn’t go there” (James 1:20).
Don’t count on mercy
“Mercy beats judgment. But I’m telling you if you don’t show mercy, judgment is going to be merciless” (James 2:13).
When faith is a corpse
“A body that doesn’t breathe is a corpse. Faith that doesn’t get up and go and do good things is just as dead” (James 2:26).
Tongue from hell
“The tongue is a flame, set on fire by hell itself. The tongue is a wicked world all its own grafted into the world of our body. It corrupts every part of our body and sets our life on fire” (James 3:6).
Praise God and cuss to high heaven
“No one has tamed the tongue. It’s a wild and bucking evil, spitting killer poison. With this tongue of ours, we praise our Lord and Father. Then we cuss to high heaven those humans made in God’s image” (James 3:9).
Peace plants
“Peacemakers plant seeds of peace. At harvest time they haul in a crop of goodness” (James 3:18).
Arguing over uh-oh urges
“Why do you disagree with each other and get into arguments? I’ll tell you why. Isn’t it because you’re fighting with those uh-oh urges inside you?” (James 4:1).
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