Devos 365

James 5:10-11 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. One of the topics that has become a real hot spot for those who do not believe in God is suffering. Why would God, if He is truly loving and kind, if He is truly all-powerful, if He is truly sovereign, allow suffering among His people? It is a tough topic and entire books have been written about this subject so there is no way we can cover that can of worms  adequately in a few short paragraphs. But James brings it up so we are at least going to peel the lid off of that can. If you know the story of Job, you have to admit, it's rather a head scratcher. God and Satan get into a discussion about the righteousness of Job. Satan maintains that of course Job is righteous. Go...

James 5:7-9 7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. It is a rare individual who doesn’t mind waiting. In fact, I doubt if I’ve ever met anyone who would fall into that category. Waiting makes us anxious. After James tells the rich (probably the unbelieving rich) what their fascination with money is going to get them, he turns his attention back to the believer, who in many cases were the victims of the rich business man’s greed. And what is his word for them? Be patient in waiting. Strike two. Having grown up in an agrarian family, I know what it means to wait upon the weather. If it rains t...

James 5:1-6 1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. I have friend who used to be a drug dealer. He was a criminal and did time in prison for his choice of careers. Then the Lord found him and his life is completely different. Just because he doesn’t sell drugs today doesn’t mean he can’t remember that life, and...

James 4:13-17 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. Whenever there is a trip to go on or an event to plan, I’m always the one who gets to make the reservations and lay out the path we’re going to take. I love finding the best hotel or restaurant. Looking at the maps and finding the best route is interesting and planning what to do along the way is fun. By the time it comes to executing the plan, I’m usually done with the project and ready to move on to something else. The fun definitely lies in the...

James 4:11-12 11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? I used to be fascinated by illusionists; those sleight of hand guys who could fool your eyes with their cleverness and tricks. Even when you know how they’re doing the trick it’s pretty cool to see them done. What they have learned to do is cause you to look one way so that you are noticing what they are doing in the other direction. It takes skill and endless hours of practice. We all have similar ability that doesn’t take any practice at all. We know how to do it almost instinctively. It’s a spiritual “sleight of hand”. James takes a couple of verses to point out this illusion because awareness is always the ...

James 4:7-10 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Submit – to God Resist – the devil Draw near – to God Cleanse – hands (actions) Purify – your hearts (thoughts and emotions) Be wretched – grieve over your sin Mourn – grieve over your sin Weep – grieve over your sin Let your laughter be turned – change your ways Humble yourself – recognize the truth about yourself In these four verses we find ten COMMANDS. They are written in the Greek in such a way as to call for immediate action on the part of the reader. Also to be noted, ten is the number for completeness in the Greek. These words from James lie at the heart of his letter. The...