The Devotional

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 286 Meditating in the Psalms Psalm 2 New King James Version (NKJV) The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom 2 Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? 2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 3  “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” 4  He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. 5  Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: 6  “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” 7  “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. 8  Ask of Me, and I will give You t he nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9  You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 285 Meditating in the Psalms Psalm 2 New King James Version (NKJV) The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom 2 Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? 2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 3  “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” 4  He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. 5  Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: 6  “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” 7  “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. 8  Ask of Me, and I will give You t he nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9  You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s ...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 284 Meditating in the Psalms The Way of the Righteous 1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2  But his delight is in the law of the Lord , and in His law he meditates day and night. 3  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The End of the Ungodly 4  The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6  For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish. Psalms – Meditation in The Wisdom and knowledge of God   When I became saved by the grace of God through the Blood of Christ, I thought it w...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 283 Persevering James 5:7-12 –  7  Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8  You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord, is at hand. 9  Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10  My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11  Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. 12  But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment. Christ/Mes...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 282 Long-suffering James 5:7-17 –  7  Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8  You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9  Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10  My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11  Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. 12  But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment. Christ/M...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 281 Boasting about worldliness James 5:1-6 – Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3  Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4  Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5  You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6  You have condemned; you have murdered the just; he does not resist you. Christ/Messiah is The Wisdom and knowledge of God James uses this interesting phrase ‘come now’ twice in his epistle, it is not used by any other writer in the New Testament which means little; but...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 280 Boasting about worldliness James 4:13-17 – Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. Christ/Messiah is The Wisdom and knowledge of God James is challenging us to evaluate our lives as children of God. Think about what it is we are doing with our lives as God’s children! Many of us give no thought to God throughout the day, every day, except for Sunday. The rest of the week we are busy, busy buying selling, making or losing a profit, boasting or bragging about this or ...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 279 Curing worldliness with Humility James 4:10-11 – Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? Christ/Messiah is The Wisdom and knowledge of God This is one of the very large areas of SIN in the life of a child of God the Father. We judge with our EYES, we judge with our MOUTH, we even judge with our BODY LANGUAGE, we can even keep silent, but keenly judge with our mind and ears. However, no form or formula for judging another brother or sister in the LORD is to be considered pleasing To GOD. Scripture reveals and PROVES that there is but ONE Lawgiver and ONE judge with respect to living the Christian life. If this is the case, and it is – Romans 14:4, Who are you to ...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 278 Curing worldliness with Humility James 4:7 - 9 – Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. Christ/Messiah is The Wisdom and knowledge of God Philippians 2:3 – Nothing—through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. With the italics removed from this verse [since it is not in the original context], we are able to better understand and share a clearer intent of the apostle’s statement as he guides us in the Holy Spirit’s teaching on humility. The church in the Untied States of America is far from being humble, if this statement is true and it is , what ...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 277 The sin of Pride encourages strife with others James 4:1-6 – 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.” Humility Cures Worldliness Christ/Messiah is The Wisdom and knowledge of God Being able to see the strife in one’s mind is very large! Today in the ...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 276 Wisdom and wisdom James 3:13-18 – Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 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. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Christ/Messiah is The Wisdom and knowledge of God Romans11:33 – Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 1 John 5:19 – We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the swa...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 275 The Untamable Tongue James 3:1-12 – My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue....

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 274 Works—Without Faith Is Dead ( Genesis 22:6-13; Joshua. 2 ) James 2:21-26 – Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope Every person through or by the blood of our Savior Jesus, that is; through or by faith in the gospel of God who gave His only Begotten Son as the sacrifice for the sin of the world has become a child of God,...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 273 Works—Without Faith Is Dead ( Genesis 22:6-13; Joshua. 2 ) What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope Are not some of us worn thin with all of our works? What I a seeking to say is this, “Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God!” Have you heard tha...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 272 Favoritism continued James 2:8-13 – If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope James, the pastor, and teacher of the church in Jerusalem is a powerful leader to Jews who have found righteousness in Jesus the Christ/Messiah. James like his congregation of believers is as the apostle Peter puts it, “Blessed ...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 271 Personal Thoughts and Retake I see the need to retrace my steps in the Epistle of James. Over the years I have tried a half-dozen or so times to meditate and write regarding this epistle. If the epistle of James were a target, I have missed it in all of my attempts! So, with the help of excerpts from the Holy Spirit and the writings of Dr. Thomas Constable, I will try again. This retake of the epistle is mainly focused on the devotional 270 which is the start of James chapter 2, but certainly affects the other devotionals pertaining to this epistle. Dr. Constable indicates that the epistle is almost certainly intended for public reading in the churches. Thus James's letter is basically a speech or sermon, cast in written form, for the Jewish dispersion and the several churches which emerged from that scattering. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope An excerpt from Dr. Constable’s journal – "The design of the Epistle is on...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 270 The Christ verses Judaism James 2:1-13 – My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? t you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall ...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 269 Doers—Not Hearers Only James 1:21-27 – Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Christ/Messiah is Our Only Hope...