Jennifer A

Friends, when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, I think we can all agree that it is often tough to see God’s bigger picture. I’m sure we’ve all gone through a time that felt terrible, but later we were able to see there were blessings in the midst of the difficulties. Or maybe we thought we missed out on something that seemed like the perfect plan for our lives, only to later see that we avoided what ended up being a disaster, and/or we gained something even better than we expected. As Christ’s Family, we are called to pause and trust in God’s perfect plan for our lives and for His eternal Kingdom. Miracles still happen when we can’t seem to figure out what God is doing, but we remain pressed into our relationship with Jesus, with immense blind-faith, and fully trusting in Him to bring His goodness to us, other, and the circumstance.

The greatest miracle was when Jesus died on the cross. Yet, the disciples who walked with Him didn’t see it as a miracle at first. Think about it, they found themselves in the midst of what seemed like the most difficult and painful time of their lives, and what did they initially do, they scattered. Even after the empty tomb was found, Peter and John could not believe it and had to see it for themselves; and Thomas had to put his fingers into Jesus’ wounds. The disciples came to the realization that the cross was not the bad circumstance they initially perceived it to be, but rather it was the greatest gift of all time and for all of humanity.

Think about their walk through all of that for a moment. Their worst day of witnessing the death of the Messiah on a cross ended up translating to the best day for all of humanity, and so they eventually allow the Spirit to reveal the worst circumstance they walked were absolutely necessary for humanity’s relationship with Jesus. David’s words (v.25–28) end up coming to life for the disciples. We have the same opportunity, in every circumstance there is potential for us to grow with Jesus, we just have to want it and to choose to allow Him to help us grow. God wants to release us from sin, from dead living, and from all that is painful, so that He can bring us back to life in Him. Keep holding onto Jesus and hang on through all that seems difficult to witness more of His miraculous work.

Acts 2:22-28 (NLT)

22 “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23 But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. 24 But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. 25 King David said this about him:

‘I see that the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
26 No wonder my heart is glad,
and my tongue shouts his praises!
My body rests in hope.
27 For you will not leave my soul among the dead
or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.
28 You have shown me the way of life,
and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for Your miraculous life, death, and resurrection. Even in our pain, we want to hold onto You so that You can bring us through it and bring more blessings and testimonies out of it. Holy Spirit, please keep flaming the light of our spirit. Bring us joy in Your presence today, as we cling to You in trust, faith, and hope. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

Years ago, in a devotion about Psalm 138, Pastor Mary quoted the first line I’m sharing with you from Thomas Merton’s “Thoughts in Solitude” (1956), page 33, and I want to reshare that line and a few more: “To be grateful is to recognize the love of God is everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is grace, for it brings with us immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder, and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”

Friends, it is not enough for you and I to simply acknowledge what God has done for us through some quick routine that over time becomes meaningless and is simply a part of our daily checklist. True gratitude is a state of spiritual oneness through the most personal relationship with Jesus where we recognize that every single thing, person, action, moment, and even breath, is all thanks to Jesus and His love for us. You might be thinking that your current circumstance is tough, or your past circumstances were tough, or something coming up is looking like it’s going to be really tough, and you may be asking how on earth do I thank Jesus for these tough places? Well, you get in the most comfortable place you know, you close your eyes, quiet your soul (your mind, will, and emotions), extend your hand out and ask Jesus to hold it as you bring His hand back towards your chest and place it against your heart. In this place of solitude with Jesus, you P.R.A.Y: first P-Praise, thank Jesus for everything good in your life, and if you can’t think of something good, well, thank Him for the breath in your lungs right now. Next, R-Repent, ask Jesus to forgive those places within your heart, those hidden places, that need His love to permeate and renew. A-Ask, ask Jesus to surround your troubles, like we see David did within today’s passage, because we know God wants to protect us. Finally, Y-Yield, this sometimes is the most difficult place as it requires us to fully trust and wait on the Lord. While we trust and wait, we must believe that the Lord has not, will not, and will never forsake us because we are a part of His beautiful creation and plan, which means that His faithful love will endure in us for all eternity, and He will never abandon us.

Psalm 138

A psalm of David.

1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will sing your praises before the gods.
2 I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
by all the honor of your name.
3 As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength.

4 Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,
for all of them will hear your words.
5 Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
for the glory of the Lord is very great.
6 Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,
but he keeps his distance from the proud.

7 Though I am surrounded by troubles,
you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
and the power of your right hand saves me.
8 The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for you made me.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for hearing each one of our hearts when we cry out to You for strength. We are grateful for absolutely everything, as we know You are the One Who blesses us and protects us in every moment and within our times of trouble. Please continue to hold our hands as we walk out each step of our journeys with You, Jesus. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

In John 6, prior to today’s passage, Jesus miraculously fed the five thousand, He miraculously walked on water, and the crowed followed Him seeking more miraculous works. Jesus said to the crowd, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” (v. 35) Jesus declared Himself the living bread (as represented by His physical sacrifice on the cross so that we can have eternal life), Who came down from heaven, and we see that the crowd struggled to accept this concept.

Friends, how often does Jesus miraculously show up and do something for you and me, our families, our friends, our spiritual family, our coworkers, etc., and we struggle to wrap our small human minds around what He miraculously has done in the Spirit? If we are being completely honest, sometimes we can struggle to the point of wondering if it was even God? Well, the Jewish leaders, when Jesus spoke these Words, could not wrap their heads around how He could be the divine Son of God and the human Son of Joseph and Mary.

As bread sustains our physical bodies, Jesus is the One Who nourishes our spirits. He points the crowd, the Jewish leaders, you, and me to focus beyond our physical realm of needs and understanding and to dig deeper with Him into our spiritual reality of eternity with Him. Paul reminds us that we are to not copy the behavior and customs of this world but rather allow God to transform us into a new person by changing the way we think. Only then can we begin to learn and know God’s will for our lives, which is good and perfect (Rom 12:2).

John 6:41-51 (NLT)

41 Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

43 But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. 44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 45 As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)

47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 Yes, I am the bread of life! 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being the Bread of Life for each one of us. Holy Spirit, help us to hunger for You, because we know that You alone offer the nourishment that satisfies our souls and points us to eternal living. We want to feast on You, Jesus, our Bread of Life. So, please draw us closer to You, and provide us with an awareness of when you are satisfying our souls. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

Friends, as Christians, we chose to be set apart by the defining mark of our salvation in Christ Jesus on each one of our hearts. So, how we live our lives should reflect His righteousness.

In John’s letter, he wants believers to understand, very simply, that there is a right way and a wrong way to live. His use of contrasting parallelism throughout his letter is an attempt to make it very easy for believers to see that we either choose Christ or Satan, Truth or falsehood, light or darkness, righteousness or sin, love of the Father or love of this world, and his list goes on.

John’s intended purpose, within today’s passage, is so that you and I, as believers, will not sin. Even though we walk in the likeness of Christ Jesus, you and I stumble at times. So, “when” we sin, not “if” we sin, because none of us are perfect, we need to very quickly turn from our sin, ask Jesus for forgiveness, and align our hearts back with the Holy Spirit (our Advocate) for guidance away from further sin and once again into oneness with Christ Jesus. We must praise and thank Jesus for being perfect, when we fall short, as He stands in our defense against Satan, darkness, sin, etc.

Friends, John is reminding us that through Jesus’s life and sacrifice, atonement has been made for our sins. This Truth should stir the deepest love within our hearts for Almighty God; and that love should help us to live a life that is walked out in the greatest relationship with Jesus and with a desire to get further and further away from sinful living.

1 John 2:1-6 (NLT)

1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for setting the example for us of how we are called to live our lives without sin. Holy Spirit, we need Your daily help, and sometimes minute to minute help, to be able to walk righteously and in the likeness of Christ Jesus. Please keep stirring our hearts towards You, Who is the Truth, and further away from the lies of this world and Satan. We love You, Jesus, and lift all of this up to You. Amen.

Today’s passage is from Psalm 119, and as I reminded us a couple of weeks ago, Psalm 119 contains 176 verses which are divided into 22 stanzas, and each stanza is titled with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet. The title of today’s passage is the 4th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Daleth or Dalet, which generally means door or can symbolize a doorway, gateway, or a point of transition between two places. Daleth is known to represent lowliness or the consciousness of possessing nothing of one’s own.

In John 10, Jesus uses the metaphor of The Good Shepherd and His Sheep to describe His relationship (as the Good Shepherd) with His followers (the sheep). Depending on what translation you read, Jesus either refers to Himself as the door or as the gate for His followers. Friends, you and I are always between two places, and Jesus is our only safe passage. We entered safely when we came to Him through salvation, and He wants us to continue to choose Him in every place that we find ourselves so that He can provide us with spiritual nourishment. We can never forget that Jesus is our Good Shepherd Who laid down His life for us.

In the Bible, lowliness is often interchangeable with humility. It is within a state of lowliness where we find ourselves needing to lay down our earthly ego, pride, control, and arrogance, and we need to walk through our “Door – Jesus”, seeking His divine humility as we grow and are guided by His wisdom and strength.

Within today’s prayerful verses we can connect to the psalmist who is seeking Almighty God’s revival by His Word. The psalmist understands that he is in desperate need of the Good Shepherd’s guidance, because it is by God’s Word that the psalmist, as well as you and me, have a safe passage to navigate life.

Psalm 119:25-32 (NLT)

Daleth

25 I lie in the dust;
revive me by your word.
26 I told you my plans, and you answered.
Now teach me your decrees.
27 Help me understand the meaning of your commandments,
and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.
28 I weep with sorrow;
encourage me by your word.
29 Keep me from lying to myself;
give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.
30 I have chosen to be faithful;
I have determined to live by your regulations.
31 I cling to your laws.
Lord, don’t let me be put to shame!
32 I will pursue your commands,
for you expand my understanding.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being our safe passage. We realize our need for You in every situation. Holy Spirit, please be with each one of us today. Impart Your wisdom, protect us, strengthen us, and guide us. Help us to grow every day closer to You by Your Word. Give us multiple opportunities each day to open Your Word and to speak about Your Word. We love You, Jesus, and ask all of this in Your Name. Amen.

As many of you know, I have returned to college to work on a Master of Divinity. With each course, I am left in great awe as I love being able to grow in my Biblical knowledge, deepen my relationship with the Lord, witness iron sharpen iron with professors and classmates, and strengthen my understanding of human development and the benefits of counseling. If I am being fully transparent, there are many times when I step into a course, and I have little to no insight about what I am about ready to learn. Last semester is a great example of this as I signed up to take Biblical Hermeneutics. If you are wondering what that means, well, so was I when I began the course. Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles, and the methods used to interpret the Bible. Basically, it means you want to understand the written Word’s original meaning and in order to do that you need to dig into the historical, cultural, and literary context of a passage (the full chapter and the book) and apply all of that ancient text to modern reader’s lives. I began the class with concern that I would not enjoy this type of study, and I left the semester wanting to keep going because I loved it so much. During the semester we were tasked with writing a 10-to-20-page exegetical paper. Again, I had no idea what an “exegetical paper” was or even meant. This paper is an essay that is guided by Biblical hermeneutics to present information that is gleaned from extensive research to explain the text as well as provide the writer’s interpretation of its meaning.

Friends, my exegetical study was on today’s passage. So, when I saw Ephesians 3:14-21 within the lectionary as an option for today’s devotional, I was so excited as I spent a full semester in deep research and communion with the Lord on this passage and it means so much to me. I promise to not get too technical or write a 10-to-20-page devotional, I just wanted to get personal with you because each one of us is constantly in a spiritual growth pattern, and that pattern is either evolving, stagnant, or unraveling. The beauty of the growth pattern is that it is up to each one of us. We get to choose if we want to be spiritually growing with Jesus, or if we want to put our spiritual growth on hold and it be stagnant, or if we want to allow our spiritual pattern to unravel and we walk away entirely from Jesus. My prayer, much like Paul’s prayer in today’s passage, is that each one of us holds firmly to just how much the Creator of our physical being, our soul, and our spirit loves us for all eternity.

There is so much I can share with you, but I decided to share the “Conclusion” of my paper and to allow that to then lead into today’s Word. As a daughter of the most high God, I pray all of the time for my spiritual growth, that my relationship with Jesus will grow roots that are deeper than a mighty Oaktree, and that the Holy Spirit will impart divine wisdom within me each day. I want this same spiritual growth for my spiritual Family, in fact, I want it for all of God’s creation. I pray that believers truly press in to know just how much their Creator loves them. As I stated at the beginning of this paper, I, like Paul, understand that there are no words sufficient enough to express Christ’s love, that it must be experienced, and as lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, we know that it can only come from God. So, that transformation (salvation) must be shared. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit the Advocate are the mighty Three-in-One, Holy Trinity, Who deserve all of the glory, praise, and honor for now and for all eternity.

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NLT)

Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for allowing Paul’s letter ‘to the Ephesians’ to be universally received and for it to reach our spiritual eyes, ears, and hearts a little less than 2,000 years later. Holy Spirit, may You stir within our hearts to hold firmly to our encounter with Jesus, as it was and continue to be the greatest life altering event that brought us restoration to our spiritual sight, resurrection to our hearts, and revival to our souls. We love You, Jesus, and ask all of this in Your Holy Name. Amen.

Pastor Mary once shared a quote with us from author, Elizabeth George that stirred within my heart and has stuck with me. The quote aligns with today’s passage, “God has written His divine guidelines for your life right in the Bible.”

Although there is no record of the precise occasion for which David wrote Psalm 15, Scripture tells us that David always turned his heart back to God, even after he fell into sinful living. David knew that he needed to remain rooted in God’s Word and love so that his actions and life could be transformed. Friends, we are just like David!

In today’s passage, David highlights the qualities required to live in God’s loving presence with integrity and righteousness. Psalm 15 is really a “guide” for how we as believers are called to live. Jesus walked out this perfect example and revealed to us what it means to always dwell with Almighty God.

Friends may the Holy Spirit help each one of us to honor these guidelines for our lives today.

Psalm 15

A psalm of David.

1 Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
2 Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
3 Those who refuse to gossip
or harm their neighbors
or speak evil of their friends.
4 Those who despise flagrant sinners,
and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,
and keep their promises even when it hurts.
5 Those who lend money without charging interest,
and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being the perfect example of how we are to walk, speak, and live. Holy Spirit, please help us to faithfully follow Your Word and to be an example for You in the lives of others. Be all that each of us need, Jesus. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

Today our passage comes from one of the Books of Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, where Solomon uses a poor man to save a small town through his wisdom. Afterward his wisdom is overlooked by worldly strength, power, wealth, and authority. Theologians seldomly agree on this Text, but I cannot help but to see Jesus through the poor wise man.

Paul reminds us that “In Him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3). Yes, Jesus, is Wisdom, and “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty He could make you rich” (2 Cor 8:9). In other words, Jesus possessed all the riches of heavenly glory, yet He chose to become poor by taking on human form and dying on the cross for the sake of humanity (for you and for me so that our sins could be forgiven). Through this selfless sacrifice, believers are made spiritually rich, gaining eternal life, and fellowship with Almighty God. There is absolutely no earthly strength, power, wealth, or authority that can ever come close to touching the heavenly riches that you and I have inherited through our oneness in salvation with Christ Jesus for all eternity. Our relationship with Jesus is our most priceless possession that makes us wealthy beyond measure.

Ecclesiastes 9:13-18 (NLT)

Thoughts on Wisdom and Folly

13 Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works. 14 There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. 15 A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him. 16 So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.

17 Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person
than the shouts of a foolish king.
18 Better to have wisdom than weapons of war,
but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for delivering us from the sins of this world. Holy Spirit, help us to grow in humility to see the riches that You have for us. We do not want to be blinded by the strength, power, wealth, and authority of this world. We want Your wisdom to guide us, Your strength to fill us, and Your authority to rule our lives, as that is where we fine our true wealth. Thank You for our inheritance of eternal life in You, Jesus. We love You, and ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

Friends, I have said this before, if Jesus could wash Judas’ feet knowing that he would betray Him to death, and then tell His disciples that “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done for you.” (John 13:15), then you and I should be able to simply love one another.

As you read today’s passage notice how immediately John contrasts believers who belong to Christ Who is love to Cain who belonged to Satan who is death. John clearly tells us that we must choose a side, and he reveals how much the sides contrast: Christ vs. Satan, light vs. darkness, love vs. hate, life vs. death (murder), righteousness vs. evil, etc. When we do not love, our hearts fill with hate and stifle the Holy Spirit, which is no different than choosing to eliminate or “murder” the Holy Spirit’s life that takes place within us. Don’t allow the devil to convince you that you would never “hate” someone and that you are not “dead living”, because when we are not loving all of our brothers and sister in Christ equally and in the likeness of Christ Himself, we are in fact being hatful within our hearts and living a life that is not in alignment with the Spirit, which equates to dead living. We all need to grow to love our brothers and sister as Christ loves each one of them. A great place to start is for us to be honest with the Holy Spirit and ask for forgiveness and guidance.

If you find yourself offended by some of the words or phasing that James uses in today’s passage, i.e. hate, dead living, or murder, tell Satan to get packing. As believers, we live for Christ, and Christ alone, and John uses these words to help us grow up in the Spirit, to be able to see clearly that there are two sides and we choose the side we align with, and it should always be the side with Christ Jesus.

1 John 3:11-17 (NLT)

Love One Another

11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

14 If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

Prayer: Father, we ask for Your forgiveness because we do not always love one another the way that You love each of us. Thank You, for grafting us into Your Family. Holy Spirit, we need Your wisdom, guidance, and quick conviction so that we can have a heart that is more and more like Jesus. Jesus, Your love is the example for our lives, so please help us to be more like You. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

Friends, the contrasting example between rich and poor that James speaks of in today’s passage should clearly point us to the richness of faith that Jesus wants for all of His creation. If we accept that all of our brothers and sisters of faith are equally covered by grace, and are all filled with the same Holy Spirit, then we have no room for judgement or evil motives towards anyone. Instead, we will live by the work of the Spirit and allow the Fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23) to bear witness within our life through our thoughts, words, actions, and inactions. The only One Who stands above anyone else is Jesus, the rest of us are equal.

Brothers and sisters, our salvation in Christ is not something any of us deserve, and we have done absolutely nothing to earn it. Every believer is equally saved by God’s precious grace, “For God does not show favoritism” (Rom 2:11). This means every believer has never and will never be able to earn God’s grace by their own merit, good works, status, knowledge, or privilege. So, when we begin to understand God’s grace is equal for everyone within His Kingdom, we start to understand that Kingdom equality is the complete opposite of the world’s equality. The world has a surface appearance of wanting equality, but under the surface there is oppression, division, competition, judgement, favoritism, and slander. The world can never treat humanity with equality because it is sinful, but thankfully “God decided in advance to adopt us into His own Family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So, we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son.” (Eph 1:5-7)

James 2:1-7 NLT

A Warning against Prejudice

1 My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?

2 For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, 4 doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for forgiving us of our sins. Holy Spirit, we need Your guidance so we can treat others like You would treat them. We do not want to judge others, so help us to see people how You see them, and to love them how You love the. Please increase our faith, Lord. We thank You for the work of Your grace within our lives. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.