September 24, 2018
James 4:8-17 New Living Translation (NLT)
God is calling his children toward holiness; he is getting us ready for his second coming. We can judge ourselves and submit to his purification process, or we can wait for God to judge us and purify us then. According to God, it is an easier path and pleases God for us to submit and draw close to him now. If we are going to embrace God’s plan as his children, we are going to need to stay on the path with his instructions and welcome the purification process as he deems necessary. He is the only one who can make us holy, because he is holy.
In our passage today, the Apostle James is calling for the people of God to stop being divided in how they are living. They have allowed the world and their flesh to tempt them and cause them to deviate from their devotion to God. In true fashion, we like to look at the lives of others so we can say we are more holy than “that person.” But, judging another person is not our job. So, if we are inclined to judge others, we should stop, get out the duct tape, put it over our mouths, and bow our own lives before God. Keeping track of our own sins and repenting is enough work to keep us busy. Amen?