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# 35 2020 Dev. James 4:1. Submission! Read all of Ch. 4. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

Chapter 4 is a discouraging chapter, pointing out the human failings that lead followers of Jesus and non followers astray as well. James is the brother of Jesus and the leader of the church in Jerusalem. We may legitimately ask: to whom is this chapter directed? Of course, the Scriptures speak to all people, at all times of history but this chapter is directed to followers of Jesus. Vs. 1-3 he speaks of evil desire: “You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives.”

Vs.4-6 addresses when the the world is too much with us, we can’t have it both ways: “anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God,” who” jealously longs for the Spirit he has caused to dwell in us. But he gives us more grace: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’”

Vs. 7-10 gives us the alternative to what James tells us before this: “submit yourselves, then, to God.” Resist evil, “Come near to God and he will come near you. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

Vs.11-12 tells us not to judge or slander one another. “There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and destroy, but you- who are you to judge your neighbor?”

Vs. 13-17 tells us that God is in control and that we are not: i.e.- followers of Jesus and those who are not. We “are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James is reminding us that we are human with many limitations, how easy it it is to be arrogant. James calls sin, not to do good when we know what good is.

That is the point in this whole chapter, followers of Jesus know what is right, what is just and good and when we do not practice what we preach Jesus is minimized, our message is minimized, our churches are marginalized and our young people leave our churches. James is speaking in clear and bold terms but today what James is talking about, evil desire, quarreling, friendship to the world, judging each other and arrogance is very subtle today. It is hidden in our society, in education, it is hidden, barely, in the media, it is hidden in social media, it is hidden in our churches. Part of the problem is that many people claiming to be followers of Jesus have their eyes and ears, and in some cases their hearts closed, demonstrated by those on the out side who see the problems that James is presenting here before we see it ourselves. The answer is also in this chapter: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Show us more grace, Lord Jesus, we pray!

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# 34 2020 Dev. Psalm 93:4 The Lord Reigns! Read all of Ps. 93. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 93:4 “Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea—the Lord on high is mighty.”

Psalms 90 through 100 are a series of 11 Psalms that open and close with “Lord” (Adonai) or “the Lord” (Yahweh). Ps. 93 has two stanzas v.1-2 and v.3-4 with v.5 as the conclusion. The first stanza praises God’s Majesty: “the Lord is robed in Majesty and armed with strength.” This stanza tells us that God is in control since the beginning of creation: “you are from all eternity”. 

The second stanza praises God for His strength: “Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea—the Lord on high is mighty”; This stanza tells us that God is all powerful.

The conclusion is about the law of God: “Your statutes Lord stand firm”, God is holy and God has no beginning and no end, His rule is from everlasting to everlasting. Praise be to God!

What do we take away from this short praise Psalm that comforts us today?We worry about our country right now; is democracy at risk, is our freedom at risk, is law enforcement at risk, what about our lively-hoods and our health, our families, our religious freedom and are we able to live in freedom and security in every area of this land? Everyone is asking these questions; in the cities and in the rural areas and even the country side, no one feels safe.

The answer is in this Psalm: God is in control, our God reigns, nothing will happen that God does not control, He is almighty and has ordained what will happen over the next three months, what will happen next year, and the year after that, and what will happen forever. Yet, we are responsible for our actions and will be judged accordingly. Followers of Jesus, stay awake!

God is not in space or time, but He is very concerned for His people, for His church, for His program of calling all people back to Himself and for justice in this world. We as followers of Jesus need to get onboard with God’s program, stop worrying about the future, keep working. God has us in His hands and God controls what will happen and what is good for His people. Our God reigns, praise be to Him!      

© cgvanwyk, all rights reserved               

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# 33 2020 Dev. James 3:1. Speech! Read all of Ch. 3. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

James 3:1 “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

James divides this chapter into two sections and accomplishes the same purpose of promoting good communications, words supported by actions. He begins with speech, “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.” James calls the tongue; “a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” He is pointing out when speech is misused but speech is also used for good. For followers of Jesus speech must always be used for good, yet, we all know how difficult that is to accomplish. We turn to Scripture: “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.” (I Pe. 3:10) and (Pr.15:4) “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”

In vs. 9-12 James tells us that a person’s speech can not be good and bad at the same time; I interpret this to mean that our use of words is a matter of the heart, as well as dictating our actions.

In the second part of Ch.3, vs.13-18 James deals with the other part of speech; actions, by pointing out “two kinds of wisdom”. Heavenly wisdom Is displayed “by a good life, deeds done in humility” that come from the heart. Earthly wisdom is “bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts… or deny the truth.”

James starts this chapter with a warning; v.1 “Not many of you should become teachers, we who teach will be judged more strictly.” That warning applies to not only teachers, but also pastors, parents, civic leaders, law makers, police, and especially politicians. The bottom line we take away from good speech, words and action is: “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

Amen and Amen!

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# 32.1. 2020 Dev. Ecc. 3:1. Why! Read chap.3:1-14. The purpose of this devotional is to reflect on a hero of faith who God called home un-expectantly this week. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Ecclesiastes 3:1“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:”

The theme of Ecc. Is to explore human existence on this earth not based on faith in God. The purpose is to point out the limitations of human knowledge and wisdom, limited by experience on earth and by not knowing what we experience when a life on earth ends.

The questions begin with: why God?  We also ask: why do bad things happen to good people? Here we have a relatively healthy, very happy and friendly person and the next day that person is in heaven. I say in heaven because this person had faith in Jesus and lived out faith by involvement in the church, one of the founding members, a person gifted as an organizer and a volunteer in the community.

One thing we know, we are on earth for a short time and only God knows the day of our passing and that followers of Jesus are placed in this world to serve. Everything we do is preparation for a much bigger and never ending job in heaven. The second truth we know is that every person that turns to Jesus in faith is qualified for a job. The third thing we know is that followers of Jesus will see each other again and when we do, she will show us the ropes. Our lives are in God’s hands, every person, but living and the quality of life is in our own hands.

At the end of this section, Solomon, the author, gives us amazing comfort: “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God”. Let us pray that God will comfort the many thousands of people who have lost a loved one over the last three months. Lord Jesus, heal our land and comfort her people!

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# 31 2020 Dev. James 2:18-19. Works of Compassion! Read all of Ch. 2:14-26. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

James 2:18-19 “But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”

James begins this section, “Faith and Deeds” with a question: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?” He points out the responsibility of followers of Jesus to care for one another when in need. He appeals to human compassion and to the the royal law of God, love one another and your neighbors as much as yourself. According James, people who claim to have faith but do nothing to help anyone, don’t have faith or faith is dead. Also, on the down side, deeds without faith, as good as they may be, do not count as works done in the name of Jesus and do not last into eternity.  

He uses the rest of the passage to prove the point that authentic faith demands action. James gives Abraham as the ideal example: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”. Not only did Abraham believe against all odds but he acted on what he believed to be true, thereby completing his faith. Abraham’s faith in the promises of God is the same faith in the fulfilment of the promise, Jesus Christ. The faith of followers of Jesus drives our compassion, our sense of justice, our love for others and for the lost.  For true Christians, faith is the knowledge of God in our heads that we have allowed into our hearts and with the help of the Holy Spirit we address the needs around us.  

We all know that works do not save us spiritually but we do deeds because we are saved and deeds are done out of gratitude.  What is amazing is that work done in the name of Jesus, with His mercy, with His justice, with His love and with the Holy Spirit follow us to heaven and become the building blocks for the New Heaven and the New Earth. Praise the Lord always!

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# 30 2020 Dev. Psalm 91:4. Trust! Read all of Psalm 91. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Ps. 91:4 “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

Ps. 90 through 100 is a series of 11 Psalms that open and close with “Lord” (Adonai) or “the Lord” (Yahweh). Psalm 91 is a statement of assurance, it proclaims God’s care and assures God’s salvation for those who love Him.

PS 91:1-2 introduces God’s assurance and the trust of His people: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘he is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’. But the Psalm also draws a contrast between good and bad, see v. 8.

Vs. 3-8. Describes the various physical dangers that plague people and the protection that is extended to those who love and trust God.  

Vs. 9-13. “If you say,” ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you”, indicates the imperative of proclaiming God as your God and the importance of living one’s life accordingly.

“Draw close to God and He will draw close to you”. How? “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Yes, there is divine intervention in our lives!

Vs. 14-16. ‘Because he loves me’ says the Lord. ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.’ God addresses His people in the first person: God will rescue, will protect, will answer, be with him, will deliver and honor, give long life “and show him my salvation.”

Given our situation today we may want to identify with every verse in this Psalm. This Psalm is our comfort and our assurance in this life and and assurance for the next life. God’s assurance is based on His love and grace to all those who believe on Jesus and follow Him. But let’s be realistic; Bad things also do happen to good people.

Today, we have the answer: ” And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Rm. 8:28-29) Today,trust in God!

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# 29 2020 Dev. James 2:5. Love! Read all of Ch. 2 1-13. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

James 2:5 “Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”  

The second chapter of James is divided into two very important subjects for the followers of Jesus and for those who may want a better understanding of Christianity. James is talking about showing favoritism and true faith. We take up favoritism in this devotional.

James makes his point with an extreme example of showing favoritism to a rich person over a poor person. Let’s be honest, being materially well off in this world is considered not only a good thing but is the life goal for many people. Being rich is not the issue here, God has blessed many a faithful people who use their wealth for the good of the community in order to glorify God.  What James is referring to is that in secular society rich people are given deference and expect it from those not as well off. This was the way of the world in James’ day as it still is today and he points out that for believers in Jesus this is discrimination and you make yourselves “judges with evil thoughts”. The issue is not being rich or poor, our station in life is providential and a blessing from God: “Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”

The followers of Jesus love Him and James encourages us to “keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’. In other words, discrimination breaks the law of love as does murder and adultery. We are not only talking about discrimination among believers, No, the royal law of love covers every person God places in your path of this life, it is a matter of how believers judge and if you prefer the word “discern” over “judge” you still are making a choice.

James puts it this way: “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, (the royal law)¹³ because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” Amen!

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# 28 2020 Dev. Psalm 90:12. Time! Read all of Psalm 90. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Ps. 90:12 “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Ps. 90 is the only Psalm of Moses in the Psalter and may be the oldest of the Psalms. It appears to be written during the enforced 40 years of wandering in the desert after the rebellion at the border of Canaan. The introduction vs.1-2 sets the tone and the theme; “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Vs. 3-6 Moses highlights the fragility of mankind and the meaningless of time to God. “A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by,”

In vs.7-12 we are reminded of the people’s shortcomings and the shortness of life on earth. If only we understood the shortness of our days and the diminishing opportunity to repent in the fear of our God. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Life is short and wisdom in this life comes from God, not wisdom of the head but the wisdom of the heart that is dedicated to serve Him. Along with Moses we also say: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.”

Vs.13-17 Is Moses’ prayer for God to forgive and to restore His people: “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days”. This is the prayer for followers of Jesus as well, we all have wandered in the desert at one time or an other and we all need to be restored at one time or an other. Lord, redeem the time, redeem the days, redeem the years when our hearts wandered, when our faith was weak, and when we did not count our days.

Over the years we have seen God working in our lives, guiding us, protecting us, drawing us to himself by the power of His Spirit. Along with Moses we pray: “May the favor^[a] of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.” When we live and work in God’s wisdom, our work is established in the name of Jesus! Praise be to God!

© cgvanwyk, all rights reserved             

# 27 2020 Dev. James 1:22. Good Works! Read all of Ch.1:13-27. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

James 1: ²² “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says!”

James is all about doing and at first glance he appears to be at odds with Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. Certainly, Martin Luther thought so, James was the last book he translated into German, he called it “a book of straw”.  James and Paul back up to the same value; gratitude for God’s Salvation in Jesus Christ.

James uses the metaphors that Jesus would use; temptation is “conceived” within by our “own evil desires” giving “birth to sin” and leads to death. Temptation is not the sin but allowing it to linger in our mind leads to sin, and sin not confessed and un-repented leads to spiritual death and contributes to physical death. “God chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”

James goes on, “take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, accept the word that is planted in you”. We all know how quickly we forget most messages we hear from God’s Word. One of the reasons for these devotionals is to apply God’s truth to our daily living. Further, as is pointed out in this passage (vs.22-25), if you meditate on God’s Word and practice it, not only will we not forget but we “will be blessed in what we do”.  Faith is a gift, grace is a gift, salvation is a gift, God’s Word is gift and James encourages us to practice what we believe.

 If we really want to be thankful for God’s gifts to us James points us into the direction of missions, here at home and around the world; “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”.

James is talking about the poor, the disenfranchised, injustice, children, born and unborn, the lost and being politically correct: the pollution of the world. All the attitudes and actions that Jesus spoke against while he was on earth. Now from heaven He still opposes those attitudes and actions in people and nations but draws near the persecuted, the disenfranchised, the poor and the unborn.  Jesus is humble, compassionate, forgiving, and He loves with no limit. Praise be to God!  

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