Happy Wednesday, {{first_name | everyone}}!
Four verses before he tells anyone to submit, James calls his readers adulterers (ouch). He did not invent that insult but he did borrow it.
In today’s email…
📕 The word James takes from the prophets, and what it accuses his readers of
❤️ A response drawn straight out of that image
📚️ A few resources to go even deeper in study..
MEMORIZE 🧠
______ yourselves therefore to ___. ______ the _____, and he will ____ from ___.
James 4:7
Want to review all your memorized verses in one place? Try our new iPhone app here.
TOGETHER WITH JESUS PEOPLE MOVEMENT
A resource from our friend Ryan Miller
You're already writing Scripture on your heart through Malachi Daily.
But what do you do when anxiety makes it hard to even open the Bible?
Ryan Miller (founder of Share the Struggle) created The Gratitude Reset for those moments—a 30-day devotional journal that combines Scripture, grounding meditation, and biblical gratitude practices to calm your anxious mind.
Each day takes just minutes and it includes audio options when reading feels impossible. Science and Scripture both confirm: what you focus on grows.
This journal retrains your brain to see God's goodness in real-time. And as a Malachi Daily subscriber, you get 10% off with code Newsletter10 at checkout.
Our partners help us keep Malachi Daily free for everyone. If you want to support our work or you’d prefer an ad-free experience, click here.
CONTEXT 📕
James chapter 4 can seem harsh when we read it for the first time.
Where is the James who authored the popular verses from this book that are kind and super compassionate? For example, a verse we memorized a few months back:
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Instead, here we find James being quite confrontational and direct, with a strong sense of justice matching Jesus so closely that we might even wonder if it ran in the family…
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people!
The word James used here for “adulterous” is moichalis.
This peculiar word, used the most by the prophet Ezekiel, tells the story of an important metaphor woven throughout the Bible:
The intimate relationship between God and His people is predominantly portrayed as a marriage.
When his people give the world, false gods, self, wealth, pleasure, or power the supreme devotion, trust, security, and identity that belong to Yahweh alone, they commit adultery.
There is perhaps no clearer image of this than in the case of the prophet Hosea, both literally and figuratively.
God prompted Hosea to become the husband of a promiscuous woman named Gomer. Every part of their story echoed the bigger theme of God and his bride, the Israelites.
When Gomer turns away from Hosea, he redeems her again in great love:
And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.”
Essentially, it’s as if James’ intended audience is hearing him call:
Return to the Lord, whom you loved at first. He will take you back even when you’re sin-stained and ashamed. He loves you endlessly.
APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃♂
🤔 Reflect
The metaphor of a marriage with God highlights how deeply personal faith is. What might be different in your life if you viewed Jesus as your first and ultimate love?
🏃♂ Act
Respond to the adultery image and return to your first love, Jesus, today.
Choose 1 action:
Pray: He is longing to hear your voice.
Fast: He will satisfy your every need.
Adore: He is compassionate and forgiving.
Thank: He already paid the price.
🙏 Pray
Father, you turn toward me even when I turn my back on you. Make me aware of your grace and kindness for me, and what your Son did to set things right between us. Thank you for never giving up on me. Amen.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES 📚
Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into our memory verse and its themes:
📚 The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (link)
📚 Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices by Thomas Brooks (link)
📚 Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness by Andrew Murray (link)
📹 James Overview by The Bible Project (link)
📱 Our iPhone app for Scripture memorization (link)
🎶 Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham (Spotify | Apple Music)
Did you know? Over 7,000 Malachi Daily subscribers are people who came to faith recently, or are returning after a long season away. Which is great news! God is pursuing people who have been distant from him for decades — and they are responding!
These 7,000 people found us, but there are millions more out there who haven't yet.
Malachi Daily is free because monthly supporters choose to keep it that way. A few dollars a month helps us reach the people still looking for exactly what you found here.
Want to pay it forward to help us find them?
ANSWER KEY ✅
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
If you missed our emails from earlier this week, you can read them here:
Best,
The Malachi Daily team 🙏
Today’s Contributors
Eljoh is a South African writer, editor, and artist with a Master’s in Practical Theology. She creates resources to help believers of all ages abide in Christ and grow in faith. Explore more free resources and creative tools at Vine Creative Studio.
Kieran is a husband and father living in NJ. In addition to Malachi Daily, he writes a personal newsletter about the intersection of faith, fatherhood and entrepreneurship.
Go deeper with Malachi Daily
Pay it Forward
Malachi Daily is (and always will be) free thanks to generous readers who choose to support our mission! 🙏
Click here to support the mission for the price of a few coffees/month ☕️
Give us feedback 💬
How was today's newsletter?
Try our iPhone app 📱
Want to go even deeper with memorizing Scripture and learning its context?
Our iPhone app, Within allows you to:
Memorize 1 verse every single week and learn its context through daily devotionals you can read (or listen to)
Memorize any verse you want in your favorite bible translation
Store all of your previously memorized verses in one place (and review them regularly with interactive games)
And much more!
What are the differences between Within and Malachi Daily?
Malachi Daily 📧 | Within 📱 | |
|---|---|---|
Type of tool | Email newsletter | iOS mobile app |
Cost | Free | 7-day free trial, then $5.99/mo or $49.99/year |
# of verses | 4 verses per month as a community | 4 verses per month as a community + unlimited for any verse you want |
Who chooses the verse | We choose | We choose AND you can memorize any verse you want, anytime |
Bible translation(s) | ESV | ESV, NIV, NLT, KJV, and NASB |
Reviewing previously memorized verses | You do this on your own | Use the built-in memory bank |
Spread the Word
