Devotional
-
Daily Readings: Luke 11:14-28 and James 4:1-10 We may read James 4:4 and feel that he is being terribly harsh when he writes to warn his readers of the danger of having a divided heart, with one foot in the world and one in the Kingdom, so to speak. He is decidedly blunt when he…
-
Daily Readings: Luke 14:1-14 and James 4:1-10 “11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” – Luke 14:11 In a dining room full of people bursting with religious pride, Jesus bravely told a parable warning against pride and calling for humility. Quite likely His story about…
-
Daily Readings: Proverbs 3:27-35 and James 4:1-10 He mocks proud mockers, but shows favour to the humble and oppressed. Proverbs 3:34 James appears to quote Proverbs 3:34 in James 4:6. There he renders it: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.“ The word translated “favour” is from the same root as the word for…
-
Daily Readings: Psalm 51 and James 4:1-10 Read together, these passages make it very clear that there are times when the first step towards submission to the LORD is repentance. Psalm 51 is the Psalm David wrote after he had turned his back on the will of God in lustful pursuit of Bathsheba. He had…
-
The theme for this week in our “Life-Letter from James” is Submission. Throughout the week we’ll be reflecting on the call to submit ourselves to the Lord and His perfect will. Today the emphasis falls on the importance of submitting out of a motivation of humble reverence for the LORD. Daily Readings: James 4:1-10 and…
-
Daily Readings: James 3:13-18 and Romans 11:33-36 We’ve been seeing all week how James extols the virtues of divine wisdom and calls us to humbly trust God’s plan and pursue a life of practical wisdom – thereby expressing our deep love for God, inheriting the rich blessings God has in store for us, and avoiding…
-
Daily Readings: James 3:13-18 and Isaiah 11:1-9 Isaiah 11 was a Messianic prophecy, which boldly declared hundreds of years in advance that the Messiah would be empowered and enabled by the “Spirit of the Lord”. His life would be characterised by Spirit-given wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. This was…
-
Daily Readings: James 3:13-18 and Proverbs 2:1-22 Today, let’s think about those two types of wisdom James identifies. First there is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic” wisdom. As we saw earlier this week, Godly wisdom is the pursuit of what is pleasing to God. By contrast, James points out that “earthly” wisdom is the pursuit of selfish…
-
Daily Readings: James 3:13-18 and Psalm 111 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” Psalm 111:10 This famous principle is echoed in various places in Scripture, for example Job 28:28; Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10. But what exactly does it mean? I believe that the fear of the Lord involves holding God in such reverence,…
-
Aaand we’re back! After a two week break, our daily devotions on the “Life Letter from James” resume today. Our theme this week is wisdom, and our focus passage is James 3:13-18. Before we begin, though, let’s note that “wisdom” is the understanding of what to do in a given set of circumstances in order…
