life application devotions for practical living by Prason

1. James
Book of
l i f e a p p l i c a t i o n d e v o t i o n s f o r p r a c t i c a l l i v i n g
d e v o t i o n a l b y P r a s o n C h r i s t o p h e r r o b i n

2. From the author's desk
This devotional is neither an exegesis nor an eisegesis of the Book of James. The
devotional is based on the author's notes from his daily devotion of the book of
James.
The author has attempted to apply principles learnt from the book of James for
our day to day living.
The intention of creating this devotional booklet is to edify, exhort and comfort the
body of Christ.
May God bless you
Prason Christopher Robin

3. James 1: 2,3 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,
whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that
the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
James the brother of Jesus makes a significant connection between trials,
faith and perseverance. Our faith is tested when we go through trials and
persecutions. We as Christians might say that we have faith in God. But how
do we respond when we go through trials and persecutions? How do we
respond when people around us hurt us? How do we respond when those
who we considered as dear ones draw us to the courts by filing cases against
us? How do we respond when we go through sickness? How do we react
when we lose someone close to us? Many professing Christians have denied
God and have moved away from him when they experienced trials in their
lives. This is what I would like to draw our attention this morning. Who are we
anchored to? Is our faith anchored in Christ? Or is it just anchored in our
tongue? If our faith i anchored in Christ, then no storms or trials can hamper
us. Today as we begin our day, shall we ask our God to strengthen us. Let us
introspect to see if our faith is anchored in Christ. If that's the case, the
testing of our faith will produce perseverance.

4. James 1:6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt,
because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and
tossed by the wind.
I remember a sunday school story that I heard when i was a kid. Once a
teacher had a disciple who used to live in a hermitage. One day, the disciple
was going somewhere. He hadn't gone too far when suddenly it started
raining cats and dogs. He returned and told this problem to his teacher. The
teacher said, "You should have faith in god. He will save you from all
problems." The disciple obeyed and resumed his journey. He kept reciting
the name of god and cleared all the hurdles.Next day, the teacher had to go
on the same route. When he reached a deep drain, he doubted whether god
would save him or not. The teacher got drowned. Thus, doubt drowns you
and faith saves you.Do you doubt God when you ask him anything in prayer
or do you ask in faith? If we have doubt when we pray to God, it is because
we are scared about the circumstances and it is also because we might be
asking something in prayer that we may know that we are not supposed to
ask God. When we pray we need to check if we are praying according to his
will and if that is the case, then we need to pray to God in faith. A faithless
prayer will not do us any good. Today as we pray, let us ask God to fill us with
the gift of faith.

5. James 1:9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in
their high position.
When we read this verse, we might have the question how can one be happy
when we are in poverty and when we go through tough circumstances?In
this verse, James reminds believers living in humble or lowly circumstances
to take pride or boast about their position in Christ. The next two verses
reveal that it's not the circumstances of this short, fading life that matter
most but the position we will hold in the life to come that is
significant.Sometimes, we might look at others who have lands and
possessions and yearn to have a life like that. But we should be happy that
we have Christ in us. The hymn "Count your blessings" written by Johnson
Oatman has a beautiful stanza which reads like thisWhen you look at others
with their lands and gold,Think that Christ has promised you his wealth
untold.Count your many blessings; money cannot buyYour reward in heaven
nor your home on high.This stanza should be nailed in our hearts deep. Let
this be our prayer today. If you know the song, please sing this song and say
a prayer.

6. James 1: 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.”
For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.
Many a time when we sin, or when we fall for sin, we ask God why he allowed
us to fall. Some of us even go to the extent of quoting verses like "God
hardened Pharaoh's heart" and say that it was God who made them fall. To
such thoughts, James puts a full stop in his letter by stating "Don't you ever
dare blame God for your mistakes".Jesus won his battle against temptation
when he was on earth and he will also not tempt a child of God. So next time
we are tempted, 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑢𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑠𝑘 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑢𝑠 𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀
𝘂𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.May this be a prayer today as we
start the day. Lord help us to fight temptation and deliver us from the evil
one.
James 1: 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that
we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Our born again experience is a miracle indeed. We are birthed by truth.
When A strong truth is stamped across the minds of the readers as we read
this. God did not have any obligation to save us. But in His grace, he saved us
by His own free will. We were not saved because of our own merit or
because we deserved to be saved but because he saved us of His own
volition - for by the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the Word of
truth. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. How we
praise and thank Him that by the exercise of His will God brought us forth by
the Word of truth - so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His
creatures.
As we begin this day, 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵
𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀.

7. James 1: 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone
should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that
God desires
Three things to learn from this passage
1) We should be quick listeners
2) Slow to speak
3) Slow to become angry
But we do the exact opposite of these three things. We are poor listeners
and we rush to give our opinions and comments even before we understand
a subject. There are many of us who attempt to comment on posts even
before reading the posts in entirety. And to top it all, we all behave like
boiling pots and spill out our anger. The fruit of the spirit is one thing that
lacks in many Christians these days. Gone were the days when people of
different faith looked upto Christians with the mindset "He or she is a
christian and hence they will be calm and composed". Now a days christians
are the ones who first go for court cases. The manner in which many of us
behave on facebook with our petty fights and our arrogant talk is itself a
classic example that we have walked too much away from the truth. I am not
even talking about righteous indignation here. I hope everyone understand
what I am trying to say.As we begin this day, let us ask God to give us the
ability to control our anger and showcase him in our lives.

8. James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive
yourselves. Do what it says.
What a profound verse to begin the day with. Isn't this verse true in our
lives. We as Christians would know many Bible verses by heart. But it is so
hard to put them into practice. Isn't it?Head knowledge of the scripture will
not be of much use. We need to have heart knowledge of the scripture. The
heart should respond positively to the holy Spirit as he convicts us to move
and respond in a particular manner to situations that arises.It does not
matter even if we have gone through the bible a hundred times. What
matters is this. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞. Some of us might
be wonderful teachers of the scripture. We may know the bible in hebrew
and greek. But unless we practice what we know, everything is vanity. So let
us be 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝.

9. James 1:26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not
keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their
religion is worthless.
Ooh! Blunt on the face. That is how James has written this verse. In simple
words, James is reminding us to mind our words and keep a check on what
we speak. This verse reminds me of what Solomon tells us in Proverbs." Too
much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut". Some of us
love to talk all the time when we are with friends. We all love to be heard. We
all love to pass opinions on comments.Even on Facebook, we tend to
comment on topics that we do not even know. mANY facebook fights
happen because we end up commenting on something just for the sake of
commenting. Numerous disputes and fights can be stopped if only we keep
quiet. The irony is that many fights happen because of arguments over a
Bible verse. One person will interpret it in his own way and the other person
will give his or her meaning to that verse and often fights ensue. At times
even when a person comes to know that they had held on to a wrong
understanding of a verse, they would not agree or accept it. They would just
go on fighting because of their ego.Are you a person like this? Do you call
yourself religious, but still hurt others with your tongue. Proverbs 15:1 says A
gentle answer turns away wrath, but hard words stir up anger. How true is
this verse today?Now if we have the question "What about John the Baptist
who used word like Brood of vipers and what about Jesus himself who went
on a rampage against the Pharisees?", the answer is simple. They had
righteous indignation against those who were hypocrites and exposed the
minds of the false teachers and scribes. However, Jesus never spoke like that
against the sinners or tax collectors or even the woman who was caught in
adultery. 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸
𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸.

10. James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless
is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to
keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
This verse made me think. Now a days people are making statements like
"Christianity is not a religion but only a way". I don't understand what made
them to come up with such a statement. They also add lines like "Jesus did
not come to create a religion; but to die for your sins".I do agree that Jesus
died for our sins. But he also told us to make disciples and be witnesses. A
religion in its truest sense will have three things
1) A God diety
2) People who worship that God
3) A moral set of rules (The Bible)
The religion christianity has all these three perfectly. The characteristics of a
Christian is beautifully labelled by James. James captures the operational
definition of the word "Religion"" beautifully in this verse. Christianity as a
religion will be accepted as a faultless religion if
𝟭) 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲
𝟮) 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲
Do we qualify to be called the people of a religion Christianity as labelled by
James?

11. James 2: 1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord
Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into
your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in
filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the
man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but
say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my
feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become
judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters:
Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to
be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who
love him?
James, the brother of Jesus opens with a burden. He has seen people being
unjust and showing favoritism and he immediately wants to address this
issue. So he makes it a point to address it in his letter. 2000 years after this
letter was written, we still show favoritism in the manner in which we
respond with people from a lower economic background. I have seen church
goers behave indecently with the beggars on the road side, with the
watchmen, with the lift guy, with waiters in hotel and anyone they think that
are lower than them in the socio-economy class. This is the very thing James
highlights in his passage. Do we show favoritism towards people based on
the money they have? People who live immoral lifestyle end up becoming
secretaries and treasurers in churches because of the money power they
have. People who deal with black money hold important positions in
churches. Some of these people sit in important seats and chairs in the
churches. The Covid19 situation has shut us all inside our homes. Today we
enjoy listening to sermons from the comfort of our living rooms through
zoom calls. Have you ever thought about what would have happened to the
beggars who used to sit at the church gates? What is the condition of the
poor missionaries? Are we still giving offertory to someone who takes us all
for a ride? Why not give to the poor and needy rather than giving our
offertory to the rich and greedy. Think about it. Today, let us take a decision
𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏
𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚. Are they able to take care of their family during this crisis?
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

12. Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been
merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. - James 2:13
As children of God who have been saved by the blood of Christ, we have
experienced the meaning of the word "Mercy" in our lives. We all deserve
death because of our transgressions and our merciful God was gracious
enough to redeem us from the pits of sin. So no one else would understand
the meaning of the word merciful better than us. Having experienced God's
mercy in our lives, how do we extend the same on others?Do we show
mercy to others who least deserve it? Are you a person who is always filled
with road rage? If the answer is yes, how would you behave with a person
who is tinier and punier than you on the road? More often you would raise
your voice and threaten that person. But imagine that person to be gigantic.
You would ofcourse keep your mouth shut. We respond different with
people based on the possibility of how they react to us.Jesus told a parable
where a man who was shown mercy by a King even after he owed him
10,000 talents. This man who was shown mercy did not have the heart to
show mercy to another poor man who owed him 100 denari. The King got
furious with this man and punished him. How many times have we read this
parable. Have we applied it in our lives?If you are working in the Corporate
field, you expect a raise every year and when you dont get a proper pay, you
tend to jump jobs. But do you give a raise to the maids who work at your
home? Do you show mercy when they take leaves? or do you torture them?
During lockdown phase many of the house maids are not able to fend for
themselves. Have you reached out to them and helped them? If not, why not
show mercy? "𝗕𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲
𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆" (Matthew 5:7). So the opposite of this verse is "Cursed are the non
merciful for they do not receive mercy. This is exactly what James explains in
his letter. Are we blessed or cursed?

13. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is
dead. James 2:26
The last verse in James 2nd chapter is a stark reminder that 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱
𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵. When our spirit leaves our body we will be
dead bodies. When this example is used to compare it with the statement
"faith without deeds", we can be assured that James was not joking.Will
deeds save us? The answer is No. Some people will just read a few verses
from James 2nd chapter and arrive at a conclusion that Abraham was saved
by his deeds. James 2:21-23 | 21 Was not our father Abraham considered
righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You
see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was
made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says,
"Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"and he
was called God's friend.The above passage never conveys the message that
Abraham was saved his deeds. This passage just stresses the fact that
Abraham showcased his faith through his deeds. In fact the moment he
believed in God, it was credited to him as righteousness. Paul stresses this
very fact in Romans 4:1-3 1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our
forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by
works, he had something to boast about--but not before God. 3 What does
the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness."𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔. At
the same time, when we have faith in God, it will always be accompanied by
good deeds. We can never say that we have faith in God and end up having
bad deeds. A good tree will always bear good fruit and a bad tree will always
yield bad fruit. We shall know a good tree by the fruit it produces. Similarly
anyone around us will know if we have faith in God or not by the deeds we
showcase. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. We
may not be perfect. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. But when we
have Christ in us, we can be sure that we have a light in us that is perfect. Let
us reflect this light in our lives always.

14. James 3:8 No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil,
full of deadly poison.
How can the tongue that was created by God be full of deadly poison? When
we search the scriptures we will find the answer to this question. Apostle
Peter who was always quick to speak and learnt his lesson the hard way says
"For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue
from evil and their lips from deceitful speech" in his epistle. Paul also
emphasizes the importance of using the tongue when he says "Do not let
any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for
building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who
listen."It is a reminder that we all have a natural tendency to hurt others
because of our fallen nature. So it is important that we have a leash over our
tongue. That's why the most wisest man who lived on this earth, Solomon
said " The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the
spirit." Do we have a soothing tongue that encourages others? or do we
always crush the spirit of others by putting them down? These are questions
that we need to answer from our heart.Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in
the power of the tongueYou can make someone happy or make someone
sad with your words. That is the contextual meaning of the above verse. The
name it and claim it doctrine adherents have stretched this verse too much
by twisting it and teaching that you can bring anything to existence by the
power of your words. This is the danger of eisegesis of scripture. When we
pick various verses and try to connect them to form a doctrine, we end up
twisting the word of God.The first 12 verse of James 3rd chapter is a
reminder for us to use our tongue wisely. When you are on the road, don't
give in to the road rage and don't end up cursing someone. Carry Jesus in
you where ever you go. Let this be a reminder for all of us today and
everyday in our lives.

15. James 3: 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same
spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a
grapevine bear figs?
The obvious answer to the questions raised by James is No. The same spring
can definitely not produce fresh and salt water. Similarly fig trees can only
produce fig trees and not olives. But the sad reality is that we as Christians
have become experts in faking our lifestyle.The same James would be
astonished to see us. We have mastered the art of showcasing fresh water
and salt water as and when needed. We live different lives to different
groups of people. We fight, cuss, drink, smoke, indulge in immoral activities
with a group of friends; but the moment we enter the church, we
immediately put on the holy mask and our tone also gets refined and we
gently greet everyone using famous words like "Praise the Lord, brother,
Hallelujah sister, According to his will uncle, in his time uncle". Let us just
introspect ourselves. We are not just fig trees who can produce olive; but we
also produce mangoes, oranges and grapes. Is it possible to remove all
these masks and live one life everywhere? The answer is Yes. If we are
cleansed by the Lord, we will not hide away from the truth. Our friends,
colleagues and church mates will see the difference in our lives. They will
bear testimony about us. "Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if
necessary. -St. Francis of Assisi. This quote which is attributed to St. Francis is
often debated by different Christian groups. What ever be the case, what I
understand from this is that when we have Christ in us, people around us
can see the light in us. Are we living a life worthy of the calling and are we
reflecting Christ everywhere in all situations? If the answer is No, then we
have to ask God to give us the strength to remove the masks that we are so
comfortable in wearing so that we will start depicting him in our everyday
actions. Let this be our prayer today.

16. James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them
show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes
from wisdom.
Wisdom produces Humility. If wisdom does not produce humility, it is vanity.
Such a wisdom benefits none. If wisdom produces pride, it boosts the ego.
Many Christians have too much pride in them and you can see it in the
manner they carry out conversations. They would be quick to pounce on
others who disagree with their opinions. The first sign of a wise man is that
he will be humble. A proud man can never claim that he has wisdom.Wisdom
+ humility is a beautiful combination. This combination if it is found in a
person, will drive the person to do good deeds. They will never seek
personal glory because a wise man will always be humble and not seek
attention. Just look at the condition of our churches these days. People when
they offer a mic or a chair or a bench or a tubelight to the church, would
want their name embossed in them to showcase that they have done
something to the Lord. There is no sign of humility in such a deed. Our left
hand should not know what our right hand does. A wise man will not carry a
camera to capture how he helps the poor. There is a common trend that we
see on social media platforms like Facebook where people capture a picture
of themselves giving food to the poor and they upload it and garner likes and
accolades. Why practice good deeds in public? "Be careful not to practice
your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will
have no reward from your Father in heaven"- Matthew6:1. These are the very
words of Jesus. But those who practise such things will always try to justify
their actions by saying, we are only encouraging others to give. What
happened to Jesus's exhortation in the sermon on the mount?The same
Jesus who asks us to let our light shine in front of others is also telling us not
to practice righteousness in front of others, especially in the matters of
giving alms to others. Where do we draw the line? If we are wise and humble,
we will know the answer to the question.We would also showcase it with our
good life. That's the message for the day for us from James 3:13Live a good
lifePractice good deedsBe humbleBe wise

17. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly,
unspiritual, demonic. James 3:15
Woah! What a negative verse to begin the day with. Can wisdom ever be
connected with earthly, unspiritual and demonic things? The answer is Yes.
James connects wisdom with these three words and he goes on to explain
how to find if wisdom that emanates from a person is unscriptural. The next
three verses answers this questionJames 3: 16 For where you have envy and
selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.When Paul
was in prison, some people who hated Paul started preaching the gospel out
of hatred. Paul was magnanimous in stating that even when they preach out
of envy, let them do it because at the end of the day the name of the Lord is
preached. Paul was forgiving those who meant bad for him. This is where we
have to carefully dissect the biblical verses. Paul was okay with them
preaching, but he was never okay with false gospel being preached. James
goes on step further and clearly exposes the fact that if a person has envy
and selfish ambition, then the wisdom with which he preaches is not from
God. That sounds so harsh in today's reality. If we have a close look at the
preachers today, do we find them to envy others? If so they have evil desires.
It is as simple as that. James 3: 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is
first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and
good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a
harvest of righteousness.These two verses are closely tied with fruit of the
spirit. Wisdom from heaven is pure and has no selfish desires. Wisdom from
heaven will sow in peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. Does your
fellowship give you peace or give you a heavy feeling always? If the members
in your church are peace-loving, then you will know that by their fruit. But if
they are not, it will be evident from how the church functions. Petty politics in
church, caste based fights, position based fights and immoral activities are
never a DNA of the church of God. Such things are from the devil. May God
give us the wisdom to be in a fellowship that is peace-loving and that is from
heaven.

18. James 4: 1- 3
1. What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come
from your desires that battle within you? 2. You desire but do not
have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so
you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask
God.3. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with
wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
The first three verses of James 4th chapter explains why we fight. James asks
the question to his readers and before they could respond, he also goes on
to explain the reason for their fight. His answer is applicable to us these days
too. Many of our fights are because of our selfish desires.Wordly and fleshly
lusts are vices, which will not allow us to be contented or satisfied. Sinful
desires affect our prayer life and when we are driven by worldly lusts, it will
be evident in our prayer life too. Such worldly lusts will always come in and
block our desires toward God. And let us beware that we do not abuse or
misuse the mercies received, by the disposition of the heart when prayers
are granted. When men ask of God prosperity, they often ask with wrong
aims and intentions. If we thus seek the things of this world, it is just in God
to deny them. If you have become rich by false means, don’t think it was God
who was blessing you. It would be God allowing you to stumble because of
your fleshly desires. Here is a decided warning to avoid all criminal
friendships with this world. Worldly-mindedness is enmity to God. An enemy
may be reconciled, but enmity never can be reconciled.Matthew Henry in his
commentary of James 4th chapter quotes “ The spirit of the world teaches us
to lay up, or lay out for ourselves, according to our own fancies; God the Holy
Spirit teaches us to be willing to do good to all about us, as we are able. The
grace of God will correct and cure the spirit by nature in us; and where he
gives grace, he gives another spirit than that of the world. “If you are always
seeking self glory, do check your stance with God. Chances are that you have
become the god of your own life with a narcissistic lifestyle. Ask God to fill
your mind about him. May God guide you today and when you meet people,
let God be the centre of your life.

19. God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble ( James 4:6)
This particular verse is found three times in the Bible. King Solomon states
the same in Proverbs and Apostle Peter repeats the same thing in his
epistle.When King Uzziah first became a king over Judah, he was humble and
it pleased God. infact God prospered him. But as soon as he conquered
many cities in the surrounding region and Uzziah’s fame started to spread,
he was filled with pride. In 2 Chronicles 26:16 the Bible says that he became
proud. Uzziah entered the temple to burn incense before the Lord, a
practice which God had reserved strictly for the levitical priests. When the
priests confronted the king about his prideful mistake, Uzziah became
furious, and God struck him with leprosy. Uzziah remained a leper for the
rest of his life and lived in an isolated house until his death.Beatles was and
is one of the greatest musical bands. John Lennon was one the singers of the
band. Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine,
he said: Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about
that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, today we
are more famous than Him' (1966). Lennon, after saying that the Beatles
were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times, and he died.During
the Presidential campaign, Brazilian president Tancredo Neves said if he got
500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from
Presidency. Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made
President, then he died.Marilyn Monroe was visited by Billy Graham during a
presentation of a show. He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to
her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said: "I don't need your
Jesus". A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.I am not saying
that all those who die of accidents or cancers or of any diseases are
punished by God. But what I am saying here is that God stopped the
Brazilian president, put an untimely end to John Lennong and gave one last
chance to Marlyn Manroe. It is their pride that made them disown God.If we
have pride, we not only displease God but also disown him and he abhors
those who are proud. if you are reading this, surrender yourself to Christ.
surrender all your earthly pride. Ask God to fill you with humility. Have a
good day

20. James 4: 7 Submit yourselves, to God. Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you.
How can we resist the devil? The first step to resist the devil is by submitting
to God. Without submitting to God, if we resist the devil, the devil might act
as if he is fleeing away from us. But he will not be doing so. It is absolutely
important to be under the power of God when we resist the devil. Only then
he will flee from us. When temptations engulf us from all corners, we need to
resist the devil with the help of the Holy Spirit. If we try to resist the devil with
our knowledge of the scriptures by quoting verses against him without
submitting ourselves to God, the devil is crafty enough to attack us back with
the same scripture. This is why many people start misquoting scriptures to
suit their sinful lifestyle. Recently an immoral behaviour by certain Christian
staff of a missionary organisation came to limelight. This behaviour could
have been nipped in the bud. But it did not happen. Instead people covered
their sins using bible verses. This is how a person ends up hardening their
heart. The biggest truth is that we all need God's grace to overcome sin and
we need to be under his protection to be able to exercise this gift of of
grace to resist the devil.
James 4: 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.
Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
This is a straightforward formula. If we get closer to God, he will also come
closer to us. When we approach him, we need to cleanse ourselves and
purify our hearts. Only when we purify our hearts and cleanse ourselves, we
would be able to worship the Lord in truth and spirit. If we do not purify
ourselves, we might seemingly conduct worship services and conduct bible
studies. But God will be far away from us. Remember the classic case of the
Laodecian church in Rev 3rd chapter. They were worshipping God, but God
was outside the door.Let us humble ourselves today and draw closer to God.

21. James 4:11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another
Slander! This has become the DNA of the present church today. Slander is
there in church choirs, committee fights, in women fellowships, in youth
fellowships, in young adults fellowship, in teens ministry, in men's fellowship,
in elder fellowship, in ministry outreach, and even in Sunday school ministry.
One person trying to pull down another person because of desire to
become superior to another. This poison is getting deeply rooted in
ministries these days. The desire to serve self is one of the main reasons for
slander.Another reason for slander is because of the desire to see others
fall. In the recent days many Christian ministers are being exposed because
of their immoral behaviour. There was a time when many such ministers
were protected by their own ministry members using verses like "Judge not",
"touch not the anointed". One way, it is good that the negativities are
exposed with a motive to have cleansing in the church. At the same time,
many people share such news to pull another person down. Many such
people who try to pull others down end up being exposed for their own sins
sooner or later.There used to be a women prayer at our home when I was a
kid. All the neighbouring aunties used to come for prayer. They would gossip
a lot about their husbands. Infact they would also gossip a lot about anyone
who is not present in that meeting. It was such a negative atmosphere. But
they thought that they were gathering for prayer. I certain believe in my
heart that God was never pleased with any of those meetings. Many such
slander start with "I have a prayer point sister." and they go on to slander
another person in Christ. A problem that could have been solved between
two people comes out into the open and it becomes the talking point of the
town for decades. Even now when I see those aunties (after 20 odd years),
those slander topics are fresh in my thoughts.
When we post anything on facebook, let us introspect and understand what
our intention is. Is it to slander one another? Is it to put another person
down? Let us analyse ourselves. If we don't clean our house ourselves and
if we give way to the habit of slandering one another, our house will become
a den of slanderers and we will be passing on this spirit to the world too.Are
we preaching the gospel? or Are we just setting wrong example? Let us take
a decision today not to be slanderers

22. James 4:17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and
doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
When someone asks you to help them financially and you know that they are
in need and you also can help. but you choose not to help. This is sin. When
people who are in need feel that they can approach you for help, you can
access the situation and find if there is really a need. Help them immediately.
Do not postpone. Financial help will save a family from debt. They would be
going through a lot of mental pressure. At the same time you should be able
to discern between the greedy people who are lazy but seek out for
monetary help. These days many people come on FB live and YouTube live
just to advertise their Gpay number and earn money. If their only motive is
to fleece people, flee from them. But when you know that there is a genuine
need, do not shut your ears to their cry. Pure religion and undefiled before
God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their
affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." James 1:27
When you see someone being abused and you are in a position to help by
atleast screaming and raising your voice. This is another way you can help.
But if you choose to keep mum and remain calm even after knowing that
someone has done some wrong, you are joining hands with the culprit. This
is one of the main reasons for many sexual abuses in Christian community.
We are so much concerned in knowing more about the victim and the depth
of the abuse. But we would not take any step to stand with the victim to
confront the abuser. Such cases have to stop immediately. Christian
organisations should immediately implement an anti sexual harassment
policy and they should be added in the bylaws. If they fail to do so, they are
unfit for conducting operations. Many Christian organizations feel that they
are holy and that they won't fall; and hence they don't have a sexual
harassment policy in place. It is high time we have proper policies in place.
Many Christian organisation fall short during financial auditing. Many
organisations report falsely. NGOs and orphanages and pastors fudge
accounts. When you see financial malpractices in Christian organisations and
if you keep quiet by quoting "judge not verse" you are committing sin.Let us
be action oriented followers of Christ and not just arm chair critics

23. James 5:4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed
your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
Do you have a steady monthly job? If so, you will regularly be paid every
month. You would also have pay increments every year. When we earn
more, we tend to raise our standard of living. If our yearly appraisals don't go
our way, we would get irritated. If we don't get a 10% pay hike every year we
might feel dejected. Consider a classic scenario where you get proper pay
hikes every year. And because of that you can live a decent life without any
want. Do you also increase the pay package for the maids who work at your
house? Do you also raise the standard of giving to the people who help you
in many ways? Do you also raise the standard in helping the poor and
needy? Do you also increase your offertory? If the answer to any of these
questions is No, then you gotta check your commitment to God.
You might be spending a lot for yourselves. If we only look at increasing our
own standard of living we will end up being selfish. Let us look outside and
help others who are in need.
Now let us focus on the verse we are meditating today? How would our
reaction to people who are unjust? Won't we get irritated at people who take
others for granted? When we get irritated when we look at others who use
and throw people, let it also serve as a warning for ourselves when we do
the same thing for others. Let us take a decision today to help those who are
indeed. Let not even a single penny that is earned through a wrong means,
stay in our pocket.

24. James 5: 7,8
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See
how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently
waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and
stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.
I remember reading a sms joke a few years ago which was about a 5 year old
baby girl who was asking God to give her patience. She prayed "Lord give me
patience; but please hurry up". We are no different from the little girl. We all
are like that. We live in a fast food culture where we expect immediate
answers to all our questions. We all have problem with the word
patience.When we are on the road, we do not have patience when the signal
shows red. Even before the light could turn green, we would be throttling
our accelerators. We hate long queues and we lose patience when we are
made to wait. We know the value of time only when we are made to wait.
Patience is a gift that all of us long to have. But we are all impatient to receive
this gift. The beauty of the word "patience" is that it is also a fruit of the spirit.
We would love to see others showing patience. But it is so hard for us to
practice it. When we are stuck in traffic, we expect the vehicles behind us to
be patient with us.
But we would not have the same patience if the vehicle in front of us go
slowly. Peter tells us in the New Testament that a 1,000 years are like a day
for God. But sometimes, we want God to act and to act right now. When ever
we lose patience, we are indirectly telling God, "I want to be the god of my
life. I dont want you to be the God of my life. I want the driving wheel. Move
out of the way".
When we have that attitude, God would allow us to drive and we would fail
every time we do that. So today, can we just surrender ourselves to God and
remain in the passenger seat. Let him drive our life.

25. James 5:16 (b) The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and
effective.
Why is the prayer of the righteous person powerful and effective? If we dwell
a little longer on this question, we would know that the prayer of the
righteous persons is answered because God loves righteous people and he
answers prayers that are offered to him in truth and in spirit and that is
backed by a mind that is connected with God.
God hates unrighteous prayers. unrighteous prayers are ineffective and
weak even though it might sound powerful. Such prayers are unanswered
because they are offered without any connection to God. An unrighteous
prayer is offered by someone who has not confessed his sins to God and
who lives a hypocritical life. Today we come across people who claim huge
things and talk a lot but their prophecies and prayers often fail and fall flat
and they try to cover it up with fake testimonies. They have to do all these
because their real prayers are ineffective.
A righteous God will not hear unrighteous prayers.Does that mean, man has
power? No it simply means that God is powerful because he is the one who
sanctions the prayers and he is the one who answers the prayers. When
people associate power to a man, they are understanding the concept of
prayer all wrong. We need not run to a human being for prayers. If our heart
is right in front of God, he will answer our prayers. The Bible is full of
examples of God answering prayers of righteous and not answering
unrighteous prayers.
We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of
God and does his will, God listens to him.(John 9:31). Such verses are
reminders for us time and again to do his will and to hate sin and move
towards our holy God.

26. James 5:19,2019 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander
from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20
remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way
will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
The prophets of God were sent by God to warn Israel of their sins and to
turn her back to God. When Israel repented of their sins, God forgave; but
when they hardened their hearts, sometimes he even allowed the
Babylonians and Assyrians to attack them.
God uses his men to correct the ways of his children when they wander
away from the truth. Apostle Paul was persecuting Christians. God had a
miraculous encounter with him and made him change his ways. Years later
when Paul writes his epistle to the Galatian church, he says " Brethren, even
if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one
in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not
be tempted. (Gal 6:1)"We, as Christians are called to be the salt of the earth.
We are not called to talk sugar coated gospel. We have to talk with grace and
be the salt and light. We need to make sure that we carry the light that God
has given us. When we have the holy spirit in us, we would always try to turn
sinners back to Christ and we would do that with Christ like love.
We would not hurt people; but we would always embrace a repentant sinner
in love and accept them just like how God takes back a repentant sinner. The
prodigal son parable, the parable of the lost sheep are reminders for us that
we have to carry the heart of the father when we live in this earth. Let us be
fishers of men showing compassion and love.

27. James
Book of
l i f e a p p l i c a t i o n d e v o t i o n s f o r p r a c t i c a l l i v i n g
d e v o t i o n a l b y P r a s o n C h r i s t o p h e r r o b i n
if you find this devotion to be useful, I would strongly
advocate that you also start taking notes when you
read a book and share it with others. It will be helpful
for them.