Today’s devotion picks up from yesterday’s sermon from Pastor Mary. If you were unable to worship with us, or as a reminder, Pastor Mary guided us through another portion of Truth from James in chapter 3, verse 13 through chapter 4, verse 7. Within this passage, James clearly defines the difference between living a faithful life versus living a faithless life. As believers, we should be growing in our faithful life which means growing to reveal more of God’s goodness.
So, how do we grow in God’s goodness?
Well, we humble ourselves as we put the Word of God into our hearts as a guide for our souls, and we do that each day, and we pray. Remember what Pastor Mary said yesterday about humility, it is birthed from the divine wisdom of God. While we are in our daily prayers, we need to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, asking Him to impart His humility and wisdom into every aspect of our daily lives. The Holy Spirit wants God’s wisdom to work through us so we are operating in God’s goodness of being pure, peace loving, gentle, and willing to yield to others all of the time.
As we continue with James today, be sure to focus on how he tells us to “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor” (v. 10). Also, look at how James gives us two additional warnings, or wake-up calls. If we are operating in the Spirit, there is absolutely NO room for us to judge others or for us to be boastful. Keep in mind the Hebrew word for humility that Pastor Mary shared with us yesterday, anavah, which means to occupy your God-given space in the world.
Friends, if we are occupying our God-given space within this world that means we are humbly walking out God’s plan for our lives with His wisdom and not speaking evil or being boastful. We need to think twice today before we allow the enemy any room to move within our hearts or souls and out through our mouths. We belong to Jesus, and we stand firmly against the work of the enemy, today, to try and stifle the work of the Holy Spirit in and through us.
James 4:8-17 (NLT)
8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
Warning against Judging Others
11 Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. 12 God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?
Warning about Self-Confidence
13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.
17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
Prayer: Jesus, we are so grateful for the work of the Holy Spirit to move within each one of us. Help us to lay down ourselves today, to take on a spirit of humility, as You impart Your wisdom to us. Guide each one of us to be pure, peace loving, gentle, and willing to yield to others all day. We want to look more like You, so put a watch over our mouths and filter everything that comes into our soul realm touches our hearts to be in oneness with You, Jesus. We ask this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.