Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
March 21, 2023
Read James 4:1-10
1 What is the source of conflict among you? What is the source of your disputes? Don’t they come from your cravings that are at war in your own lives? 2 You long for something you don’t have, so you commit murder. You are jealous for something you can’t get, so you struggle and fight. You don’t have because you don’t ask. 3 You ask and don’t have because you ask with evil intentions, to waste it on your own cravings. 4 You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy. 5 Or do you suppose that scripture is meaningless? Doesn’t God long for our faithfulness in the life he has given to us? 6 But he gives us more grace. This is why it says, God stands against the proud but favors the humble. 7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. 8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Cry out in sorrow, mourn, and weep! Let your laughter become mourning, and your joy become sadness. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Good Morning, Come near to God, and he will come near to you.
Today is a new day full of possibilities! Are you ready to share the love of God with someone? I have had times when I regretted a missed opportunity for prayer or a word of comfort for someone. When we are gathered with our church family, we expect to share and nurture one another. I pray that each joining together in fellowship provides us with a safe space during which we can share our joys and challenges as we talk, laugh, sing, pray, and even cry together. Because we know each other and know that God is with us in this space, we can freely share ourselves. Isn’t this what being part of the one body of believers is all about?
What about when you are out in the “world”? In Walmart, at the ball field, at work, or at Sheetz, the safety net has been removed. We don’t know those present as intimately as we do our church family. The person in need might be our boss or a total stranger. Maybe only the two of you are present, or maybe there is a crowd. Are you ready to share the love of God with someone in that setting? I know that is tough, and I admittedly have let some of these moments go unattended. As I walked away, I thought I should have offered to pray with this person.
Depending upon the setting, we are uncomfortably placed in a situation for which we are unprepared. I’m reminded of Nicodemus, who was a highly respected Pharisee, but the words and actions of Jesus also moved him. Everything Jesus was doing seemed to contradict everything Nicodemus had taught and read, everything the Jews had believed for generations. Nicodemus was stuck with one foot in the understanding of the Jews and the other foot in this new way, the way of love and humbling yourself.
In verse four of this passage, James says, “Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy.” Like Nicodemus, we are called to make a choice. Be with God, or stay with the world? Are we capable of bringing God into the world through which we travel? Absolutely! This choice is risky because we might be ridiculed or even persecuted. Truly I believe that as Christians, we must share the gifts that God has graciously given to us.
When I walked away without offering prayer or help, I asked God to help me. Each day, I pray for guidance and strength to fill me and to open my eyes as I move both feet firmly into the new way. Admittedly, I still stumble and fall sometimes, but by the grace of God, God lifts me up. Each morning, I arise a little stronger than I was the previous day. Step by step, I am moving toward Christ.
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And, I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to
Walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days
Jesus humbled himself before God and before us. He didn’t make decisions to play it safe because his actions might ruffle the feathers of the “world”. Come near to God, and he will come near to you.
Blessed God, We thank you for Your blessings. Help us plant our feet with You. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: In both good and bad times, I will draw close to God.
Step out in faith! Pastor Liz
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