Good morning! Have you ever used the term, “If God is willing or God willing”? Today we will finish our reading in James chapter 4 where James pointed out the dangers of self confidence.

Bible Verse – James 4:13-17 NLT

“¹³ Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” ¹⁴ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. ¹⁵ What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

¹⁷ Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

Reflection

The past two weeks have been filled with James’ wisdom and discernment as it relates to spiritual maturity. His written guidance in the book of James was intentional and thoughtful for the 12 tribes/believers who were scattered, and for us as believers today. James walked us through several stages of spiritual maturity which reminded us to:

• stand confidently on God’s Word, even when life is difficult, and especially when we experience temptation
• serve with compassion and be faithful in our practices, and providing a caring heart for everyone one, not just some by removing prejudicial favoritism, judgment
• speak with discernment and wisdom, being quick to listen, slow to speak, carefully control our tongue, allow space for thoughtful wise words
• humbly repent and submit to God, who is Greatest in Power, the Ultimate Judge, and Ruler/Creator of all things
• trust God with our heart and our actions by doing what He has called us to do, say, and be.

The verses we read today, continue with James directing the believers not to be haughty in their plans, but to pass their plans through God. He’s not saying we can’t make plans, but a spiritual mature believer will consult God in all their plans. The consultation with God will remove the desire to boast and brag, and replace it with trust and belief that God is in ultimate control. In the final verse, James also calls us not to be stagnant in our faith, trust, and our walk with God. He basically states, now that you know what you ought to do, do it, and do it well.

Sisters and brothers, now that we have been reminded of what we ought to do, let us do it for the glory of God.

Prayer

Father God, we thank you for sending your son Jesus Christ to save us. Thank you Jesus for saving us from an eternity in hell. Lord, thank you for taking on our sins so that we could be forgiven and reconciled back to God. Lord, forgive us for the times when we behaved as immature Christians. Forgive us for the times when we behaved sinfully or horribly toward others including our Christian brothers and sisters. Lord, forgive us for the unpleasant things we have done or said that have caused nonbelievers, new believers and seasoned believers to turn away from You. Lord, today we humbly ask that you transform our hearts, our thoughts, our words, and actions to be aligned with You and Your Word.

Lord, help us to pass every thought, word, and action through Your hands this week and for our lifetime. Lord, help us to pause and ask You. Help us to stand still before making decisions and seek Your discernment before walking down the wrong path. Lord, if we are currently going down the wrong path, help us to course correct quickly and completely.

Lord, we praise and thank you for the healing that has taken place for many of our readers. We praise you for the numbers in the medical reports to be improving, for the strength you have given back to those who have been ill, for mobility to return, and recovery to be near. Lord, touch the man who is in intensive care in Oregon. Lord, restore his kidney function. Lord, restore all his vitals, and help the doctors find out the root cause of his medical crisis. Lord, we thank you for comforting the families who are grieving. Lord, continue to comfort them as they move through life without their loved one. Lord, we pray for the towns that were destroyed by floods and mud. Lord, that devastation wasn’t a surprise to you and we may never know why this occurred, but Lord we still trust You. Lord, help those people to get the relief and assistance that they need to recover. Lord, be with them. Help them to know that you are with them.

Lord, be with all the children around the world and cover them with Your protection today. Lord, we thank you for rescuing the 100+ children who were missing/kidnapped in Florida. Lord, we pray for more rescues and for each child to receive the medical, mental, and emotional support they need to heal.

Lord, may Your favor be upon us today as we follow You and listen attentively to Your guidance. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!

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