Envy can rot the heart. Envy gives rise to selfish ambition, a desire to win at all costs even if someone else is hurt along the way. The focus is totally on self-gratification, self-recognition, self self self. The world certainly screams the message that “self” is most important. But James knew better. A worldly view doesn’t consider God’s will. An unspiritual person lacks God’s presence and thus is guided by worldly wisdom.When people lean on the world’s wisdom, confusion and chaos ensue; all sorts of ungodly practices flourish. Therefore, James advised his readers (and us!) to look for wisdom from above. We’ll explore that more on Thursday.
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Faith and patience
Trial… That’s a word most of us would like to avoid. Trials aren’t fun, yet look what James advises: count it all joy. If you stopped there, you’d think James needed to have his head examined. But when you read on, you understand. When we face trials, we have an…
A joy to be His
If we had to follow a list of rules to be acceptable before God, none of us would be found pleasing. We simply cannot do enough, be enough, or perform well enough to save our souls. So God pushed aside the dos and don’ts and made a way for us…
Hymn day: “New Life!”
HYMN DAY! I chose an old one that fits well with all the blossoms popping up as Spring unfolds: “New Life!” by John Peterson. (I’ll be humming this chorus all day.) Verse 1 Gone is the guilt of my sin, Peace is now reigning within; Since I believed, pardon received,…