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Devotional
Weekly Bible Devotion By Books
Feb.12-17 2024
Enter the presence of the Lord-
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2, NIV)
Confession
Our Savior Jesus Christ, in our everyday busy and hasty life pace, we almost forget whom we belong. We almost fall to make friends with our world, not you. We upside the order and center of our life. We are wrong. Let us turn to you. Let our mind be transformed by you and your words first. Help us stay in you more and longer so that we can be the light and salt in the world. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Scripture Reading: James (NIV)
1:2- 4 whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
1:13-17 ...For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
1:22-25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
2:5-8 ...Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.
3:13-18 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. …16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
4:4-10…Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God…. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, … and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. … 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
5:13-16 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Thoughts to Share:The Living Faith in Trials, Speech, and Money
Book of James deals with a practical issue: show me your faith by your transformed lifestyle. In other words, faith is a verb. It is an act. It must have outward expression in some ways. James assumes that his audience have already had the faith in Jesus Christ. He wants to ‘see’ their faith in daily life, not just ‘hear’ their talk about faith. He calls them to discern their true love is for God or for the world in their handling life trials and temptations, speech, and money.
The first area that James talks is on trials and temptations in life. The reality of faith journey in this life on earth includes lots of testing in many forms and at many moments. James points out the wisdom in facing such circumstances-
1) Rejoice! Expect something good out of the trials and temptations.
2) Ask for wisdom. Ask in faith. Call on the elders if in sickness.
3) Remain steadfast under trial.
4) Be patient. There is a process for every good result. Look at the examples of farmers, Job and the prophets. Learn their patience in suffering.
5) Know that those who endure the testing will receive the crown of life and produce complete and perfect maturity. Their faith will become stronger and steadier.
6) Check out the word of God. Hear it and align self with it. Confess your own sin.
7) Watch out! Do not fall into temptations. Learn how to deal with temptations. Beside external circumstances, our own inner desire is an area to be examined.
8) Pray!
9) Fix your eyes on God, who is all good. He does not change. He is the fountain of every good and perfect gift to us. He does not tempt us.
The second area which James calls for attention is on our relationship with money. Wealth gives us illusions: The rich deserve to receive higher social status and better treatment. They can plan and boast tomorrow as if the future is in our hands. They can treat their subordinates as inferior human beings. They can play favoritism and create partiality. They can have the rights of blaspheming, oppressing people, and dragging them into court. James calls these acts as sins and those who do these as transgressors. James calls them to -
1) Show no partiality. Adopt a new perspective: God chose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him. The rich man can fade away in the midst of his pursuits. We rejoice in both the exultation of the poor man and the humiliation of the rich man.
2) Learn to live with what you have. For the rich man, lay up your treasure in heaven, give wages of laborers without discounting or holding back. No evil deeds to the righteous person. Do not pursuit quick richness.
The third area which James teaches is about our speech. James understands our speech problem so well. See this list -
1) Our tongue is small but powerful. It is full of unrighteousness and deadly poison naturally and is very hard to tame.
2) Common speech problem: quick talk without listening first, boast, quarrel, speak evil against others, judge, teach, inconsistence, lie, curse, anger.
3) Bridle tongue is an important growth that Christians must learn.
4) The ways to learn bridle our tongue is to adopt some good habits:
(1) Practice ‘quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger’.
(2) Purify our hearts from all filthiness and wickedness, bitterness, jealousy, selfish ambition, double-minded, pride. Our speech reflects what in our hearts.
(3) Let the word of God save our soul. Let the Lord be our judge. Let the wisdom of God governs our speech.
(4) Watch out the fruits of our speech- peaceable, gentle, open to reason, mercy and good, impartial, sincere, or stirring up quarrel and fight, war.
(5) Submit ourselves to God. Be humble. Trust his grace. Leave judge and promotion to God.
Surprisingly, James speaks the very truth that we Christians need to heed in our 21st century. Trial and temptation, money and speech are facts in our everyday life. We have a lot to learn from James’ instructions. Have we learned and grown in those areas? Have our churches’ discipleship program included those areas? In a world thirsty for ‘seeing’ and ‘feeling’ the gospel of Jesus Christ, the living faith is a powerful way to share that Christ is real and alive among us.
Prayer Suggestions
O, Lord of saving our soul, we need you. We need your wisdom. May we hide your word in our hearts and let your word guide and remind us in our daily relations with those areas James mentioned. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Benedictions:
May peace and grace be multiplied to you as you practice the word of God. May the wisdom and the word saving your soul be your life guide.
Prayer Request
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