February 19: James 3:1-10
Key Verse: James 3:5
Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
Devotion:
Have you ever said the wrong thing and wondered why someone got so upset when you thought it was a simple mistake? We all make silly mistakes at times and sometimes we do not think of the effect that can have on them. There are times when we cannot help what we do because we have no choice; these may be seen just as bad as the things we have a choice in and we will feel bad about them too...
The apostle gives us a few things to think about in what he says – the point being a little thing in your life may be something big in someone else’s life so we should be thinking about what we say and do and how it may affect others. Words may seem small and insignificant to you, but the mindset of another person may take that as being life-changing in some way… so how do we avoid upsetting people?
God wants us to think about others before we do or say things to them. If we know them and we intentionally say something out of order, we are not just upsetting them but also God as He watches over us. We can control our pets or other animals through training and taming them, but when it comes to a friends tongue, nothing we do can tame what they may say; but God can change their hearts to tame their thoughts and hence their tongues.
But the tongue can be used for so many good things as well. We can use it to praise and worship our God. We can uplift and cheer our friends. We can recount God’s scripture to others. We can do so much more good; but one word can break it all down and ruin someone's life in a few seconds. Think before you gossip. Pray and worship more often!
Points to Ponder:
How do you thin you go with what you say to others?
How does God see what you say?
February 18: James 2:14-17
Key Verse: James 2:16
If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
Devotion:
What sort of person are you? Are you the type who will step forward and help out without thinking about yourself? Are you the type who will trust others and believe what they say? Do you keep to yourself so as not to get hurt by people who don’t stick to their word? We are all very different people and yet we all are required in order for society to exist in a balanced manner.
Just as we all need each other to live with others, we also have to have lots of different parts to ourselves in order to live with ourselves. If we focus everything on studies, we lose track of real life and we end up going into a world unprepared for reality. If we focus everything on the world, we may well miss out on finding out enough to succeed in life.
Just as we are physically, so are we spiritually. We each have our different needs and desires in our spiritual lives. If we focus everything on the laws given to the people of Israel through Moses, we may end up living a life full of laws and devoid of the real love God wants us to know and share. If we focus everything on Christ we will miss out on the relevance of the law written in the ancient scriptures and wonder why Jesus did what he did.
God wants us to live a balanced life with Him, not just believing what Christ did, what God did in our past or what the Holy Spirit does now. We need to exercise our faith and live out the law given to us. This means reaching out to others and allowing the love Christ shared with us to overflow in our lives for others to see. This means not just believing but obeying and stepping forward as disciples, willing to do what Christ commands and not just hear it and tell it...
Points to Ponder:
Do you read and believe your bible?
Do you do what the bible says?
February 17: James 2:1-4
Key Verse: James 2:1
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism.
Devotion:
If you are like me, then you struggle with these verses on a regular occasion! We all are swayed at some stage by riches of this world and we tend to judge people according to those riches whether we like it or not. We know it is not right, yet we do still treat people differently just by the way they look or by their family backgrounds! The sooner we recognise the faults we have, the sooner we can work with them instead of allowing them to dictate your life without you thinking about it.
Jesus came into this world as King of Kings, Lord of Lords; yet He chose to be born into a family where controversy was there to start with and where He would have to start His life as a carpenter to make ends meet for the family. He chose this because this is how God planned things and needed things to happen.
We do not know God’s plans, but we do know what He has asked of us and we should be taking special note of those commands. We have many examples of the way people have acted in our bibles and the things which have gone wrong because of the way they acted. We have been told about the amazing things Jesus was able to do because of His open love to all of us, a love which did not show favouritism!
This does not mean it is easy to follow that example set by Him. It is hard and we are warned by the apostles we need to take care not to be swayed by our favouritism toward people who do not match up with our ideals in life. Jesus was able to show His love toward us even though we have done so many things wrong and worked against Him. He has shown us the way to love openly!
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to be friends with people you don’t like?
Is Jesus asking you to be friends, or just to love them?
February 16: James 1:19-27
Key Verse: James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Devotion:
One of the biggest problems many of us seem to have is to speak before thinking about what we are going to say! Whether it is out of anger, distress, or some other feeling, we tend to say things we know we ought not to because we are not thinking about it first! Jesus warned the disciples many times to not gossip and say things which will upset others just because we want to say something or in retaliation to something said by someone else.
We should try to follow the example set by Jesus who did not make a habit of getting angry about what others did or said. Yes, it can be very hard when we are upset by what others do or say, but if we take the time to form a proper response we are going to get a lot further with our response than shouting out of turn! This does not mean Jesus never got angry! He did. But He got angry for the right reasons and the response was always righteous.
All these things are written down and given to us in our bibles. These are the words and sayings of God and of Jesus and of the righteous people God chose to write them down. They are there so we can take notice of them – not just to listen to them and go off to do what we like, but to listen and obey them… to do what the bible says!
Sometimes it is easy to forget words, but much harder to forget things we see. God wants us to take notice of the words He has given us. God wants us to learn them and not to forget them. He wants us to live by them and to follow what He has commanded and said. These are the words we should think about before we go off to gossip or retaliate. Allow God to guide your responses.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you keep God in your response?
Will you try to include Him more in your life?