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James 4:1-7

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

“God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.”

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Personal Challenge

Why is it aht the modern, western church is so ridden with divisions and splits. Maybe it is because of allowing so much of the world into our churches. We demand that the music sound the way that we like to hear it. We expect that the teaching will tickle our ears and when it doesn’t we threaten to leave or worse yet stay and make everyone miserable. Are we not becoming the warring and sinful people that this passage is talking about? How is it that the Eastern church has been able to survive for 2000 years and not be divided and changed by the demanding people? Maybe because at the heart of true orthodoxy is humility, the willingness to accept that the Church is not mine to control and manipulate, the willingness to accept that I belong to the Church and should change to become one of Her faithful. It is not that our church is perfect, for it is filled with imperfect people who are on journeys toward theosis. The Church is an ark that provides us shelter in this broken and fallen world. It is my responsibility to serve Her and yield to Her. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalm 143:1 (142:1 LXX)

O Lord, hear my prayer; Give ear to my supplication in Your truth;
Answer me in Your righteousness;

Encouraging Words

Only one is truly righteous, and that is our Lord. However, we can go to Him in prayer and supplication knowing that He hears our prayers and answers them in truth and righteousness. As I draw closer to Him He helps me to see these answers and accept them as the answers that I need. Glory be to God!

Psalm 61:8 (60:9 LXX)

So I will sing praise to Your name unto ages of ages,
That I may pay my vows day to day.

Personal Challenge

What a wonderful reminder that no matter what is going on in my life, whether good or bad, I should be singing praises to my Lord! Glor to God in all things!

James 3:14-16

But if you have bitter envy and self- seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self- seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

Personal Challenge

There is a wisdom that does not come from God. It is based on the things of this earth and essentially demonic. It is so easy to fall into the trap of purporting wisdom without seeking wise counsel or guidance from the godly first. This warning is sandwiched between verse 13, which reminds me to seek counsel from those whose works are done in meekness and humility, and verses 17-18, which teaches me that godly wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, and without partiality and hypocrisy. It ends with a reminder that righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. As I observe so much of what is going on in the churches around the world with divisions and bickering, it appears that these actions are based on verses 14-16 and not the other verses. I am moved to look at my own heart and make sure that the wisdom that I desire and pursue, and eventually speak, only comes from above. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

Sirach 36:1-4

Have mercy on us, O Lord, the God of all, and look upon us,
And put Your fear on all the nations.
Raise Your hand against foreign nations
And let them see Your power.
As in us You have been sanctified before them,
So in them may You be made great before us.
Let them know You as we also have known You,
For there is no God but You, O Lord.

Personal Challenge

Contrary to modern, American Christian belief, God is not a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent, or any other political party. He is not a conservative or a liberal, a capitalist or a socialist. He is the God of the heavens and the earth. He is the Lord over all of the nations whether they acknowledge Him or not. We, as His children and followers are supposed to be His means by which all peoples of the earth hear about Him. His agenda is the one that I am called to embrace. His platform is the one that I am called to share. I cannot truly represent Him and His kingdom if I put my earthly affiliations before His. This does not mean that I do not participate in the politics of the place that He has placed me, but I do not define Him by that choice. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Titus 2:11-14

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Personal Challenge

Am I zealous for doing good works for my Lord? If not, then maybe I need to search my heart and seek the truths that God wants me to pursue. Have I truly denied ungodliness and worldly lusts? If not, then this will get in my way of pursuing Christ. Am I living soberly, righteously, and godly in the ways that my Lord would want me to? If not, then the path that I am on will not lead me to His likeness. Do I live my life looking anxiously for His blessed hope and glorious return? If not, then I am not prepared for Him and may have a lamp that is out of oil when He arrives. Jesus gave Himself for me so that I might be redeemed from every lawless deed that I have committed, or ever will. He has purified me to be one of His own special people. This is why I should be zealous to do good works for Him. Glory be to God!

Sirach 27:4-7

When a sieve is shaken, the refuse remains;
So a man’s filth remains in the way he reasons.
As a furnace tests a potter’s vessels,
So the test of a man is in the way he reasons.
As fruit reveals how a tree is cultivated,
So a man’s reasoning process reveals his heart.
Do not praise a man before he reveals the way he reasons,
For this is the way a man is tested.

Personal Challenge

We live in the age of reason and logic. Long before this age Jesus ben Sirach very wisely admonished his followers, and therefore us, to very carefully assess how a person applies their reasoning to situations in life because by observing this we can better understand the true condition of someone’s heart. It is not necessarily how a person dresses, nor the language that they use that points our where they are coming from, but how they reason through things that speak volumes. As an Orthodox believer, I am taught to not judge others, which definitely leads to giving grace more than scorn or correction. However, we are also taught to be discerning so that we can more fully serve Our Lord. I too must watch my own reasoning and make sure that it is based on God’s Wisdom and not on man’s intellect.

James 2:26

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Personal Challenge

My salvation is found in Christ alone. However, the evidence of that salvation, the evidence that I truly do have faith in Him, will be the works that I do throughout my life. What kind of works? Living a life filled with love for my God and my neighbor will generate all of the opportunities that I will ever need to do good works for my Lord. Glory be to God!