devotional “ARCHIVE”

Fear is paralyzing the church of Jesus Christ: Fear of the Spirit's conviction, fear of having to change, fear of persecution, fear of submission, fear of surrendering our will to God, fear of owning our sins, fear of confessing our sins to others, fear of losing control, etc.

These verses continue James' admonition to the church that boasting about tomorrow is not only futile, but presumptuous and arrogant in the sight of God. We are not deities. We do not have the power to see the future with absolute certainty. It is only because of God that what we do know comes from the pages of Scripture, which illuminates our minds to His supreme sovereignty and majesty.

It is easy at times to fall into a habit of presumption. We presume we know more than we do. We presume we can predict the future. We presume to know what others are thinking. We presume to think we have some semblance of control in our lives. While there may be a degree of truth to each of these statements, the overlying point James makes is that we cannot arrogantly presume to know anything apart from the providential control of God Almighty.

"Don't judge me!" is a popular phrase in our culture today. Used often in self-defense, it warns us who are casting judgment or misinterpreted as appearing to be, that we are to cease and desist immediately. The role of judge is not ours, therefore who are we to judge others? We are just as sinful as those we fairly or unjustly accuse as guilty before God, are we not?

There are no greater issues we wrestle with on a daily basis than pride and humility. Both themes are interwoven throughout Scripture both in theory and experiential examples. They represent perhaps man's greatest manifestation of sin (pride) and the character quality that most aligns our will with the Father (humility).

Continuing his theme, James gives a direct command to the church concerning worldliness that might appear peculiar at first glance. Keep in mind, James is making this statement after reiterating that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble and contrite of heart.

The beauty of the Bible is found in its simplicity. Many find themselves burdened by the enormity of Scripture because of its verbiage and content, both in quality and quantity. They fail to recognize that if filtered down, the Gospel is not complicated but quite logical. It is the manifestation of Jesus Christ (John 1:1), and in Him we find law and liberty, love and salvation.

As we have studied previously, submission is topic that is primarily associated with a woman's role in the context of Biblical marriage. In many ways, submission has rose to the surface of western civilization as one of the most controversial and debatable topics within the church and surrounding culture.

In the first five verses of chapter 4, James presents a strong argument concerning the propensity of our flesh toward worldly passions and selfish ambitions. He cites these as causes for fights and quarrels within the church in that we are consumed by our fleshly desires to the point where no intervention is profitable for resolution apart from God.

This verse concludes the previous thought (verse 4) James makes that whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. He questions the church with a blunt, "Do you not know?" to drive home a spiritual truth concerning our naivety toward the flesh and spirit war we face.

The line of distinction between flesh and spirit is at times difficult to comprehend both in our personal lives and in how we interact with other Christians and non-believers. James understood this dilemma though, which is why he so vehemently called out the hypocrisy he saw all around him.

One of the greatest mysteries of life surrounds the intentions of the heart. They are difficult to discern externally because they are a spiritual issue in purest form, and one that shapes the trajectory of our lives far more than we realize. Our intentions reveal a deeper discussion of spiritual identity and to whom we serve: God or self.

There is an interesting dynamic between wants and needs. Wants convey desires that originate in the flesh with an insatiable appetite for more. Needs are constituted by those things essential for survival. It is common for all of us to shift wants into the category of needs.

We focus ridiculous amounts of time and energy debating preaching styles, song choices and dress codes for Sunday worship that are not doctrinal issues of great concern, while Biblical counseling, mentoring and discipleship, and caring for the homeless, widows and orphans (to name a few) are treated as peripheral areas of concern that are not as important in comparison.

Wisdom requires belief in its source. And without saving faith, the wisdom of God is void of meaning. Wisdom forces us to reconcile what we believe about divine revelation and the inerrant entirety of Scripture. It also magnifies to what degree we submit to the authority of Christ, obey and apply the teachings of Scripture, rely on the convicting promptings of the Holy Spirit, and surrender our personal will.

A common practice of defining a topic or subject is to examine its complete antithesis. James uses this strategy to perfection in this passage by defining what wisdom is not, in order to magnify how precious true wisdom from heaven is.

As we studied previously in chapter 1, James admonishes his brotherhood of believers that if anyone lacks wisdom they should ask God for it, and He will grant that request without reproach. But that request must be asked in faith to avoid doubt that undermines who we believe God to be.