Thursday 9 Oct 2014

October 9: James 4:13-17

Key Verse: James 4:17
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Devotion:
It is good to plan things so that we move forward in the right direction. But planning out your life without regard for others is a dangerous past-time, one that God has warned us about many times through the prophets and apostles. We do not know what Christ is going to return, so building and planning a life that does not include His will in our lives is about as good as building a raincoat out of tissue paper; it will not work!

Our lives are totally dependent on God and on all that He has planned for us. We do not always get to hear what He has planned for us, but if we are willing to listen to Him and accept that what He says may not always agree with what we say or do, then we should be able to get on a bit further than just by ourselves. God is constantly trying to show us His will in our lives and constantly trying to teach us as well. We are the ones who surround ourselves with all manner of obstacles and noise such that we do not get to hear His will above the din.

Taking time out of each day and setting it aside to listen to God is as important for us as eating and drinking; without His daily bread we are just living for the world and nothing more. We could be looking at a very long life (like the steam from a kettle on a very cold day) or we could be looking at a very short time ahead like the vapour on a hot dry day. Ours is not to guess how long we have and try and build a case around that time span; ours is to trust that God is planning our life ahead and allow Him to show us the path forward so that we can live a full a life as we can with Him instead of in spite of Him.

Our lives are all going to be different so building our life according to what others do or have done is not as wise as building our life according to God’s plan. But getting to know God’s plan for our lives is not going to be as easy as watching others. Watch God. Watch Christ. Watch what He does and listen to what He plans. Our profit is not just in the prophets but in what Christ is feeding us with each and every day.

Points to Ponder:
Do you know your bible?

Are you listening to Christ’s word for you today?