Covenant Church at Creekside | Weekly Inspiration for Christian Living

These verses in James are a much-needed antidote to our desire for self-reliance. Our lives are but a vapor. Making plans without the acknowledgment of our fragility is a lack of humility. The time we've been given is a special gift, we can make it count by relinquishing our lives to the Lord. But we don't trust that He has our best interest at heart, do we? Worry is the enemy of surrender. But He is working and seeing in ways that we don't. We have a God that created us with a purpose that He wants to see lived out in all of us. This week's challenge: Ask God in prayer, "Where has my arrogance kept me from obedience?" Change can be abided with the knowledge that we are being guided by the captain of our souls.

El poder de las palabras

Do you struggle with controlling your tongue? Words matter. In James, we see the tongue described as small but powerful— a horse's bit, a ship's rudder, a spark. What we say and the way we speak may seem insignificant in the heat of a moment but can have lasting life-altering effects. Our tongue, we are told, can steer us in a completely different direction or ignite something that can burn beyond our control—"a world of evil." We are then told in verse 8 that "no human can tame the tongue." So are we to give up?

Someone who can control their tongue is perfect, but we know we fall short of the mark. However, instead of being fatalistic, verse 8 can be seen as hopeful. We know the One who is perfect, and He gives us a mark to strive for. Each and every day we can strive to grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ. We can listen to understand. We can attempt to use our speech to bless others because all have been made in the image of God. This week's challenge: pray this about your speech: "How can I bless someone with my words each and every day?" Just imagine how the world might know God's love if we all committed to doing this.

¡Sólo hazlo!

Today we have more access to God's Word than ever before, and yet, has that led us to treasure it more? What would it be for us to truly immerse ourselves? To be more than "listeners"? To ask when we read, "God, what do you have for me today?" We are told there is true freedom in God's perfect law. God is blessing us with freedom from all that constrains us. When we approach scripture humbly, seeking God's message for us, His Word becomes written on our hearts. But then we are told to take it further. To not be merely listeners, but to be do-ers. And in that doing, we receive God's blessing.

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Our violent world is a perversion of God's intention. It's an upsidedown distortion. What do we rally around to set the rhythm, the impetus, needed to snap it back to right-side-up? We turn to Romans 12:9-21. We accept that there is absolute truth and that there is true evil. We must hate that which is evil and allow our hate to lead us to speak against evil. Furthermore, when life appears bleak we can still celebrate the hope we have in Jesus. We are called to bless those who persecute—bless them with Godly conviction. We pray for transformation in our enemies that leads to repentance. We are to be advocates of God's peace even in times of war—and these verses are our blueprint. We are facing violent and evil times? How will the people of God across the world respond?

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Empathy is a gift. In Jesus, we have a high priest who can understand our pain because of the weakness he took on. He knows and empathizes with the torture we experience facing temptation.

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