Weekly Devotions

Monday

James 1 

Verse 19

Delores Little

Verse 19: "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to LISTEN, slow to SPEAK, and slow to become ANGRY.” 

THOUGHT

When we talk too much and listen too little, we communicate to others that we think our ideas are much more important than theirs.  James wisely advises us to reverse this process.  Put a mental stopwatch on your conversations and keep track of how much you talk and how much you listen.  When people talk with you, do they feel that their viewpoints and ideas have value?  

The verse speaks of anger that erupts when our egos are bruised—“I am hurt.” “My opinions are not being heard.” “When injustice and sin occur, we should become angry because others are being hurt.”  But we should not become angry when we fail to win an argument or when we feel offended or neglected.  Selfish anger never helps anybody.  

This verse is totally about being selfless and not selfish.  Verse 19 would be a great verse for all of us to memorize and live by.

PRAYER

Father, we praise and thank You for this week and being with us all. Help us be good listeners and helpers showing the love of Jesus to others. Bless everyone and answer their prayers being sent up to You every day. Whatever trials or temptations we go through, be with each of us. Teach us to be humble and caring people who know You never ever tempt us. It is our own lust that draws us away from Your ways. Thank You, Lord, for teaching us Your Word through the Holy Spirit. In Jesus Name. AMEN 

Tuesday

James 2

Verse 26

Jane Jones

Verse 26: "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." 

THOUGHT

Chapter 1 shared with us genuine religion; Chapter 2 shared with us genuine faith. It also talked about how favoritism is forbidden and listed 8 reasons why. I never thought favoritism as a sin, but it is. 

We have learned from this reading that true faith involves a commitment of your whole self to God. We also learned from the reading that true faith always results in deeds, but the deeds do not justify us. Faith brings us salvation; active obedience demonstrates that our faith is genuine. 

Please picture God as a compassionate CEO and our roles as loyal sales representatives. He has his office, and we have our territories. We could contact Him as much as we want. He is always a phone call or fax away. He encourages us, rallies behind us, and supports us, but He doesn’t go with us. We are "God's Fellow workers". Fellow workers? Co-laborers? God and we work together? Imagine the paradigm shift this truth creates. Rather than report to God, we work with God. Rather than check in with Him and then leave, we check in with Him and follow. We are always in the presence of God. There is never a non-sacred moment. He will always be with us no matter how difficult our good deeds may seem. 

PRAYER

We pray that we can put our faith to work by doing good deeds for others. We see wonderful examples of this in many of the lives of our Salt Shakers. Being a prayer warrior for a friend, serving in Stevens Ministry, being a Sunday School Teacher, loving the unloved, leading a Bible study, working to further His Kingdom on a daily basis are just several great examples. Whatever we choose to do, Father God, may it be our faith at work. Please be with the Salt Shakers as they start their week. Please keep Satan from attacking them this week. We ask that You engineer circumstances in our lives where we may be of service to You doing good deeds. We love You and respect You for whom You are. AMEN

Wednesday

James 3

Verse 8

Jane Jones

Verse 8: “but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." 

THOUGHT

Delores shared with us about being a better listener in James 1. In fact, if you remember, James 1:19 states that "It is best to listen much, speak little." We as Christians must learn the 'Taming of the Tongue' as James 3 refers to it. Wow, to have that wisdom! We must remember that wisdom comes from heaven and that the Holy Spirit will give us increasing power to monitor and control what we say. We need to pray about it and ask for help from the Lord. 

STORY 

We tend to speak much and listen little. There is a time to speak. But there is also a time to be quiet. That's what my Father did. Dropping a fly ball may not be a big deal to most people, but if you are 13 years old and have aspirations of making the varsity team, it is a big deal. Not only was it my second error of the game, it allowed the winning run to score. 

I didn't even go back to the dugout. I turned around in the middle of left field and climbed over the fence. I was halfway home when my dad found me. He didn't say a word. He just pulled over to the side of the road, leaned across the seat, and opened the passenger door. We didn't speak. We didn't need to. We both knew the world had come to an end. (Smiles) When we got home, I went straight to my room, and he went straight to the kitchen. It wasn’t long before he appeared in from of me with cookies and milk. He took a seat on the bed, and we broke bread together. 

Somewhere in the dunking of the cookies, I began to realize that life and my father's love would go on. In the thinking power of female adolescence, if you love the gal who drops the ball, then you really love her. My skill as a softball player did improve, and also my confidence in my Father’s love. Dad never said a word. But he showed up. He did listen up. He was quiet. It spoke more than thousands of words.

PRAYER

Lord, the Salt Shakers ask for Your help with our tongues. We pray that we will learn to speak more lovingly by not saying a word. May we stop for a moment and think... "What would Jesus say?" May we show an act of kindness tomorrow, Lord, for someone without anyone finding out about it. Not one word, just a favor. It's not about us, Lord. AMEN 

Thursday

James 4 

Verse 8

Jane Jones

Verse 8:  "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded." 

THOUGHT

This chapter is telling us to get serious and submit ourselves to God. We need to remove all selfishness and boasting about tomorrow and concentrate on today. But the chapter also tells us that he gives us more grace. "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Just remember, no matter what you have done, we can still humble ourselves and submit to the Lord. 

Have you ever viewed a movie after you've read the book? God views your life that way. When something bad happens, you feel the air sucked out of the theater. At times people gasp at the crisis on the screen or even scream. Not you. Why? You've read the book. You know how the good guy gets out of the tight spot. God views our life with the same confidence. He's not only read your story...He wrote it. Humble yourself and make His purpose in your life clear today. 

PRAYER

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." Lord, we prayer that starting today we will submit to You and start doing well. May we work hard this week at not sinning with selfishness and boasting in our hearts. I pray that the Salt Shakers will be hedged in tomorrow so that Satan will not work on their spirits and loving hearts. We love You and bow before You because You are so awesome. AMEN 

Friday

James 5B

Verse 20

Jane Jones

The book of James ends with this verse. I just love it. It is so full of wonderful Christian behavior.

Verse 20:  "Remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." 

THOUGHT

What a way to end a book! What a way to end a week! The book of James emphasizes faith in action. Right living is the evidence and result of faith. We, as the body of Christ, ought to be an example of heaven on earth, drawing people to Christ through love. Belief, faith, and trust must have hands and feet---ours!! 

PRAYER

Lord, we prayer that we can be Your hands and feet as we journey forth today. Thank You for this week in Your Word. You have spoken to us all. Love us all as we journey into the weekend for we are all Journey Bound with the Lord as our trail master. Blessings to all!  AMEN