Tuesday 15 Jul 2014

July 15: James 4:1-6

Key Verse: James 4:3
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Devotion:
When we look at the world around us and how people act and react to their own feelings we should not wonder why we have so many arguments which eventually spill over into being wars! Mankind just cannot seem to get on with others because we all want things to happen our own way or we couldn’t care less about others and do things how we feel like doing them. If only we would all take a second or two to think about the people next to us we may just get on a bit better.

I am not having a go at people who go off and do their own things and don’t care about their neighbours because I know that some of the things I have done have profoundly affected the people closest to me. I know I get things wrong but I do try to fix them and try to work with others which makes me a bit different when compared with others.

We could say that we have to put up with the naughty, the proud, the overbearing, the rude and all manner of other descriptions for others we can come up with but that would have to encompass us as well because we are guilty too. It’s not all about the degrees of which we are guilty; that is a measure that we have come up with. God says we are either innocent or guilty, plain and simple. And yes we do all fall into the guilty category until we are forgiven and made clean by Christ Himself!

It is those who are willing to come forward in a humble manner to Christ who will be forgiven. It is those who are willing to come forward in a humble manner to their neighbours who will make a difference. It is those who are willing to put aside their own wants and think about the needs of others who will change the world. But don’t stick to the world because that is all it has to offer. Try to stick with God because He has eternity on special offer!

Points to Ponder:
Do you give others a piece of your mind?

Are you listening to God?