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James 4:7-10

⁷So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. ⁹Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. ¹⁰When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.

Reflect

How do we draw close to God? What does it mean to be humble before God? Purify your hearts? What exactly does that mean? I think we can learn from David who, after being confronted with his sin, came to God with the right attitude. Here are some key verses from Psalm 51.

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins…..Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin…..For I recognize my shameful deeds–they haunt me day and night…..Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow…..Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.

Respond

Why is it important to come to God with the right attitude?

When you ask God for forgiveness, do you expect to be forgiven?

Have you admitted your total dependence on God?

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James 4:4-6

⁴You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can’t be a friend of God. ⁵What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful? ⁶He gives us more and more strength to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,

“God sets himself against the proud,
but he shows favor to the humble.”

Reflect

Have you ever heard the saying, “With friends like that, who needs enemies?” It usually refers to someone who calls himself a friend but doesn’t treat you like a friend. Usually, it’s a one-sided friendship and you’re on the losing end of the deal.

That’s what God must feel like when we call ourselves Christ-followers but still want to be “friends” with the world. We want to be Christians but we don’t want to live our life any different than we did before we were Christians. James tells us that if we love the world, we are an enemy of God. That is not someone I would want to call enemy.

Seek first His will and He will give you everything that you need.

Respond

Can we still enjoy the pleasures of the world and be a follower of Jesus Christ?

What does James mean when he say that the Holy Spirit jealously longs for us to be faithful?

When the temptation to give in to the world seems too great, what promise does God give us?

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James 4:1-3

¹What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? ²You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. ³And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong–you want only what will give you pleasure.

Reflect

Covet. That word doesn’t usually mean too much to us. It’s an older word that is usually associated with one of the ten commandments. So…let me use a few other words that you might know.

Envy. Begrudge. Drool. Jealous. Salivate. Resentment. Gall.

These aren’t attractive words. We usually try to avoid being identified by one of those words – yet – almost all of us experience some moments where we wish we had what others had. Often, it’s not a healthy desire. What James is telling us to do is make an intentional effort to seek God’s will and not our own because when we are selfish, thinking only about what we want, we will always want the wrong things. Jesus actually said it. “Seek first the kingdom of God and He will give you all you need.” Mat 6:33

Respond

Why is it important to first make the decision to seek God’s will before we ask him our desires?

Does God answer all our requests? Are they always answers we like?

How can we combat – as James describes them – the army of evil desires?

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James 3:17-18

¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere. ¹⁸And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.

Reflect

Gentleness is sometimes characterized as “strength under control”. It is demonstrated by a patient submissiveness even when wronged. This is what makes Godly wisdom so strange to human understanding. When our normal reaction to being wronged is to seek revenge, to be angry, or to repay with our own harm, Godly wisdom instructs us to show a loving, gentle peace to those who have wronged us.

So where’s the wisdom there? In verse 18, we find the answer – those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.

Respond

What is the key to practicing gentleness?

If human wisdom is characterized by arrogance and selfish ambition, what is Godly wisdom characterized by?

How can you practice gentleness in your daily life?

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James 3:13-16

¹³If you are wise and understand God’s ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth. And if you don’t brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise! ¹⁴But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don’t brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie. ¹⁵For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil. ¹⁶For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil.

Reflect

Who would you say is the wisest man in America today? The “Oracle of Omaha”, Warren Buffet? If you read any of the weekend papers, you would have read paragraph and paragraph of wisdom delivered to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders by the Oracle himself. People travel from all over just to hear Warren speak. The whole weekend is almost like a circus.

There is a difference between human wisdom and Godly wisdom. If human wisdom takes on kind of a celebrity status, Godly wisdom is characterized by humility. James tells us that Godly wisdom and understanding are to be demonstrated or manifested in life. This is the proof of true wisdom. In effect James says, “Show your wisdom by your works.”

Respond

Where does bitter jealousy and selfish ambition come from?

How can we guard ourselves from being arrogant about doing good?

What can you do to show your wisdom?

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James 3:7-12

⁷People can tame all kinds of animals and birds and reptiles and fish, ⁸but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God. ¹⁰And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! ¹¹Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? ¹²Can you pick olives from a fig tree or figs from a grapevine? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty pool.

Reflect

The Top Ten Tips For Taming The Tongue
_{(from the Cuss Control Academy) (really!)}

10. Recognize that swearing does damage.

9. Start by eliminating casual swearing.

8. Think positively.

7. Practice being patient.

6. Cope, don’t cuss.

5. Stop complaining.

4. Use alternative words.

3. Make your point politely.

2. Think of what you should have said.

1. Work at it.

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By taming your tongue, you might not be able to change the whole world, but you can work to better your little corner of it. It is your duty to do so.

Respond

Why is it important that we learn how to tame our tongue?

How can we help others to control their tongues?

Think of a word that you need to eliminate from your vocabulary. Set a goal not to use that word at all today.

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James 3:2-6

²We all make many mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way. ³We can make a large horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. ⁴And a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go, even though the winds are strong. ⁵So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. ⁶And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life. It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

Reflect

During World War II, the Office of War Information officials felt that the most urgent problem on the home front was the careless leaking of sensitive information that could be picked up by spies and saboteurs. A common saying was “Loose Lips Sink Ships”. Numerous messages to the public such as this one encouraged secrecy. Americans were forced to face the fact that loose conversation could kill someone.

James made this point a couple of thousand years ago. He knew the power of loose talk. A wrong word, even inadvertent, can do enormous damage. As Christians, we are to speak love to others. We are to build other people up, not tear them down. We need to ask God to give us strength to control our tongue.

Respond

How can we guard ourselves against tearing others down instead of building them up?

How can we build each other up?

Have you ever said something hurtful to someone that you regret? If so, how can you repair that relationship?

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If you would like a printable copy of this devotional, we have provided one here.