James Memorization Accountability

If you remember, I wrote about how my hubby and I are trying to memorize the entire book of James (Bible) over here.  Well, as a follow-up, below I am going to type out, FROM MEMORY, chapter one.  This week we are beginning our work on chapter two.  In advance, I am asking you to forgive my poor punctuation and any jumbled up words.  Midway through the chapter I switched versions of the NIV to memorize from (yes, there are different versions of the NIV...and the one I began memorizing from changed after I started).  So here I go:

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:  Greetings.


Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.


But when you ask you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.


The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position because he will pass away like a wild flower.  For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.  Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.


When tempted no one should say, "God is tempting me."  For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.  But when tempted, each person is dragged away by their own evil desires and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.  Do not be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.


My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not bring about the righteousness that God so desires.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word and does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.


If anyone considers himself to be religious but does not keep a tight rein on his tongue deceives himself, and his 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.

End.

Let's see...how did I do?  Well, I definitely missed / changed some punctuation and there are a few places where I used a couple different words (like bring about instead of produce).  The one verse I still managed to get the gist of but really jumbled up is highlighted now.  All-in-all, not too bad...definitely not perfect.  It's a work in progress by the empowering of the Holy Spirit.  Praise to God, alone!

Let's bring on chapter two!