Devos 365

James 1:2-4 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [ Endurance ] 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect [ mature ] and complete, lacking in nothing. Just a couple of days ago, we watched in utter horror as the city of Moore, Texas was blown to the ground by a tornado. When these events take place we are confused and hurt. Why do we have to face these kinds of tragedies? We are helpless – completely helpless. There isn’t someone we can blame or anything we can do to make it stop. You just have to wait it out and pray that God would be with you. That is exactly the type of event that James talks about in these three verses. “Trials of various kinds” refers to those things that happen to us over which we have no control and often end badly. (Later in the chapter, he will discuss the temptations that we face that are internal, whi...

James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. This little sketch shows a man driving a nail through the ear of his slave, literally nailing him to the door frame of the house. In this very physical act, the slave is voluntarily becoming a bondservant or doulos. This is a big concept in the Bible and worthy of some conversation. Since James introduces himself with exactly this word, we should see why James chooses it. For the Hebrews, slavery was a fact of life. They spent centuries enslaved to other nations, as well as being slaves to one another in their own culture. People sometimes "sold" themselves to pay off a debt. If they chose to do that, their life as a slave lasted no more than 7 years. At the end of 7 years, slaves were released. But sometimes a slave would choose to remain with the family they were serving even after the 7 years had passed. They would become a bondservant, giving th...

James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Today we begin a study of the Book of James. While this book is fairly short (5 chapters) it contains a great many thoughts that are worthy of meditation. Its place in the canon was disputed by the early church fathers, but it appears in our Bible today and as such needs to be embraced by us with the trust that God has and will always protect His Word. James was most likely written by the brother of Jesus, James. He would have been born after Jesus, so it was His “little” brother. None of Jesus’ siblings believed in His position as Messiah before the resurrection. It was only after they had seen Him die and then again as the resurrected Lord that they came to understand what their mother had known all along. You have to admit, growing up with the perfect Son of God had to be a bummer. Gives new meaning to “you were always mom’s favorite”, right? An...

Ephesians 6:14-24 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. 21 So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22 I have ...

Armor 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. In order to stand firm in The Lord, He has given to us 6 pieces of armor that we wear every single day of our lives in Him. These are gifts granted to us for our protection against the schemes of the evil one. Each piece has important attributes and as we don them, it is helpful to think about what we are taking up as our spiritual clothing. As I said yesterday, this isn't the order in which they appear in the text, but it does go from the h...

Naked Ephesians 6:14-17 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Today we read one of the most practical passages in all of Scripture. I know, that's quite a statement, right? But this is not an exaggeration. Here Paul shares with us some vital information about how to make it in the Christian faith. Every morning you get up out of bed and head into your daily routine. I think I can say without any fear of being wrong that you put clothes on every day before you head out into the world. So far, walking around nude is fairly rare and we often medicate those who try it. It wouldn't occur to us to leave the hous...

Ephesians 6:10-13 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Every single day of our lives we face three enemies; the world, our flesh, and Satan. The world has the ability to draw us away from the Lord, enticing us to try things that are not of God. Because of the vastly technological culture we live in, those enticements are loud in our ear. We are all familiar with the enticements of our flesh. We are born to sin. With the fall of Adam and Eve, sin is woven into our DNA and our own bodies entic...