James

I can't state it definitively, but by placing the Book of James at this point of the Chronological Bible, the authors are making a statement that isn't necessarily true. My NIV Study Bible states there are four James mentioned in the Bible:

1. James, the brother of John--he will meet an unfortunate end in tomorrow's reading

2. James, son of Alphaeus, another disciple mentioned in Acts 1:13 and Mark 15:40, also known as James the Lesser (much to his chagrin)

3. James, the brother of Christ, and likely author of this epistle

4. Some other James

While the dating of the epistle is open to speculation, the NIV Study BIble is unequivocal in stating that it was written by James, Jesus' brother and head of the church in Jerusalem. By placing the book here, the Chronological Bible is making a tacit statement that it was written by James, the brother of John, but he was executed before this book was written. Take this for what it's worth.

Many commentators note that James is a book that appears more concerned with works than faith, but in no way can we conclude that we can separate the two. James 2:14 is the verse we're all familiar with, which states:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 

James' point is a simple one to explain, but a trickier one  to live out--it's not a question of faith OR deeds, but the understanding that it has to be faith begets deeds, and it has to be in that order. There is such a thing as empty deeds, but it's impossible to truly have faith that isn't exemplified by deeds. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit enables us to do these deeds, and as such, we're merely the vessel through which the Lord works. When that happens, we can't even claim to have deeds--we didn't  do them as much as the Holy Spirit used us to accomplish his goals.

The best part is that we don't need to concern ourselves with whether we're doing these deeds in the first place--by definition, they'll occur if we have faith. They will be such a natural part of our lives we won't even notice when we're doing them. We'll realize this when we're finally face-to-face with God and he asks us where we were when he was hungry, thirsty, sick or in prison and we hang our heads in shame and answer, "Lord, when did we ever see  you that way" and he tells us "Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me." We won't even be aware that we were doing the Lord's work, but we were, because we had faith, and through that faith, the deeds will come.

Scott