Devotion for Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways..-James 1:9-11
Today James is speaking to two different audiences of people- Christians who were poor and Christians who are rich.
Poor Christians- “Called the brother of low degree”- James is telling them to rejoice because even though they are poor by this worlds standards, they are the children of God. No matter how little they have, they can be rich in things that really matter! They have been exalted!
Rich Christians- James tells them to rejoice “in that he is made low.” Why have they been made low? Well, the temptation for those of us who have a lot is to think that our riches make us smarter, better, and more deserving than everyone else. But when we come to Christ, we realize that God doesn’t love us more than He loves those who don’t have anything. In fact, we realize that our riches are going to go away. What will remain is eternal things, so we that have more than we need should rejoice that God has given us this perspective!
Application:
What is your confidence in today? Is it in what you have, or is it in whose you are? Today thank God for saving you and making you one of His kids!
Study the Scriptures with Ben Jennings 
I believe my confidence today is in myself. 😉 There is alot of people in school tht don’t believe, I believe tht if I show a good example in the Lord tht people will want to follow in my foot steps. 🙂 Showing a great example is great to do. I would LOVE to lead people to know our Lord, Jesus Christ!! 😀
P.S.- pastor ben I do love smiley faces!!!!!! 😛
Good morning everyone,
I’ve got my act together this morning :). I do thank God for my Salvation. It is actually a relief when you realize that the things of this world really mean nothing when you have eternal life. After Salvation I was given a greater treasure that can’t compare to anything I could get in this world. I have a personal relationship with the God thanks to what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross, and I have a home in Heaven. The things of this world will pass away but no one can take that away from me.
My conference today is myself too but I dont get what it’s trying to say…I don’t get the passage???
My confidence is in the Lord and who I am in Him. I can say though that it is not always in Him but things. Keeping the perspective that God gave us everything is a goo place to start each day. An attitude of gratefulness for what He has done and who He is. I am so blessed and one of the ways I can use the blessing from God is to share it with others. I can use what I have been given to share the love of Christ with others. For example, I have been blessed to live in a house and I can use this house to invite unsaved neighbors over for a meal or use it for a teen activity and help the group to grow. If some of the students have been blessed with parents who are willing to bring them to church maybe you should use that and bring a friend who’s parents aren’t able to do so.
We are so rich to have salvation and we should use the other blessings in our life to point others to the one True God. I am going to put this in action and invite my neighbors over for a meal soon. 🙂
I am, greatful and thank God for saving me 🙂 It’s a relief tht i know I’m saved and going to heaven.
I have confidence in the gift God gave to work with kids and with music! 😀
I do thank God for my salvation. But just think about it every body that reads this with out it we would spend all eternity separated from God so when you pray today thank God for your salvation :).
That is so true Mikayla and Blake. Our salvation is the most precious thing anyone can have. No matter how much or how little we have of worldly possessions, if we have Jesus we are rich already.
I think when James said the rich are made low he’s saying don’t be proud about what you have because it all comes from God and not us. Having a grateful and humble heart pleases God.
We are so blessed in this country. It is easy to start taking things for granted. I think it’s a challenge for us not to let having stuff become too important . I need to work on having a thankful spirit for everything God gives me. And like Megan said we need to use what we have to bless others.
I have to remind myself that all this stuff will soon disappear. And what we had or didn’t have on this earth won’t matter. Everyone who excepts Jesus Christ, rich or poor will spend eternity with God in heaven..
Today i had my confidence in God! I pray to God knowung He’s with me and He’ll help me! Being rich and poor doesnt matter when it comes to being a child of God. For example I could have millions of dollars, and someone who is poor and is a child of Christ has just as much “riches” as I do. Salvation is something no amount of money could ever buy. Jesus died for your sin & mine, and all we have to do is put pur faith and trust in Jesus, and He lets us have an eternity with Him in Heaven! Im so thankful and humbled that im someone worth dying for. Others need God, and we need to use the gifts He’s given us to lead them to the true riches of life 🙂
I think today my confidence was in God! Just thinking that God loved me enough to send his Son, Jesus, to actually die for me! That makes me so happy and thankful! But it also makes me sad that some people aren’t as lucky as me, a lot of people don’t grow up in a Christian home and some have never even heard of Jesus! But I think it’s our job to tell them! 😀
My grandma is in the hospital guys… Please pray for her!
Praying!
Thanks P.Ben!
As I’m sitting in the emergency room waiting room, my confidence is in the only place it should be.. In God! I know that whatever the outcome is of my grandma, everything will be ok, because she’ll be at home with Jesus or she’ll be ok here. As I pray to God, I’m finding nothing but complete faith in Him. Trusting in Him, allows me to know that it’ll be ok.
God’s given me the greates gift in the entire world. He sent His only son, to die on the cross and drink the the cup of God’s wrath for my filthy sin.. He died on the cross for my grandma and drank the cup of God’s wrath for her sin too, all because He loves us so much! He gave us the chance to accept Jesus as our personal savior and have a home in heaven with Him. There is nothing greater then following Jesus, nothing! Having confidence that God will get us through it all is so important, because you know what? He will get us through it all!
Thanks for the prayers! Means a lot!! Love you guys!
It’s so easy to get wrapped up in material things, but we always need to remember that they will pass away but are salvation and our relationship with God will not. It’s hard when things just really fall apart around us but God is in control.