Author: mary

“Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor,” James 4:9-10 tells us. When you think about your past, your struggles, and the sin that once riddled your life, how does it make you feel? While we shouldn’t live in the past, there should be a godly sorrow or grief over the sins that were committed toward God.

Sin is rebellion against God, so it should always make us grieve. Think of a child and a parent. If a child and parent have a good relationship, the child will want to please the parent and will have a sense of regret or sorrow when breaking their trust. That is how we should be with the Lord. There should be regret when we go against His Word and choose ourselves and our desires instead.

Only when we begin to grieve over our sin and shame, can our hearts begin to change. We can move past our sin when we acknowledge it. We must admit that there was a problem and want a change. That is what true repentance is- turning away from sin.

James 4:8 says, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.” So how do we live this Christian lie in the world but not of the world and focused on God alone?

This first tells exactly what we need to do. Draw near to God. He is always near. He can always be found. Jeremiah 29:13 says that if you search for Him with all your heart you will find Him. Spend some time in prayer and in the Word and you will find Him. You must do this daily so that you do not lose sight of who He is and what He has done. Next, understand who you are as a sinner and what His salvation means for you. When you accepted His gift of salvation, He immediately forgave you of your sins. He purified you. So now you do not have to go on living in your sin anymore. You have freedom in Him and can live in that freedom every single day. If you entertain thoughts of the world or try to live out your own desires, you will only find emptiness.

This verse says that you cannot be divided between God and the world. You must choose. When you are loyal to God, you will find the freedom you need to pursue Him every day. If you devote yourself instead to the world, you will find loneliness and emptiness. This is why we see so many celebrities commit suicide or turn to drugs and other addictions. They look for joy and happiness but cannot find it and are devastated. The only joy that can be found in this world is the joy of Jesus Christ. His joy will sustain us.

Pride is a dangerous thing. It can prevent someone from growing in their walk with the Lord. It can keep someone from repentance. And it can tear apart the body of Christ. This is why God says in James 4:5-6: “Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble’.” He opposes the proud. Pride has no place in the kingdom of God because pride focuses on oneself instead of the will of the Lord. Pride focuses on oneself instead of others. Pride focuses on oneself instead of the lost and lowly.

Humility, however, does the opposite. Humility brings people together. Humility repents and seeks restoration. Humility gives to the poor and ministers to the lost before itself. Esther was humble when she sought out good for her people and put them above herself. She was humble when she went before the king (which could lead to death) and interceded for her people. She was humble when she asked him to save her people. She was not afraid of death. She said in Esther 4:16b, “And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.” That is humility.

You must ask yourself which you want to govern your life: pride or humility. One leads to blessings and joy and the other leads to emptiness and loneliness.

James 4:1 says, “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?” This is not a surprise. Where there are people, there will be quarrels. Too many times we allow our human nature to come through and let our desires reign in our relationships. This can especially happen in churches if they do not protect against it. The devil wants nothing more than to destroy your congregation.

When you get too many people together who are governed by their own desires, you will see division begin to happen. That is why it is so important in churches to guard against anything that would lead to division. There have been churches who have split over little things such as music, The business of the church, and leadership. Sometimes, it is even as little as whether to have chairs or pews in the sanctuary. Seems silly, right? Well, this is what happens when people allow themselves to give into their own desires instead of the will of the Lord. Petty arguments can lead to dissension, which can lead to bitterness, and divide churches. It happens in families all the time. As a pastor, my husband sees this sometimes after a loved one has passed away. Their family members began to fight and argue about belongings and inheritance. Before you know it, another family is torn apart.

These things can happen because we are human. This is why we have to think with our spiritual nature instead. We must come together as a body of Christ and pray and ask God for his direction rather than leaning on our own.

What is religion and how does it affect the Christian? The world sees religion as a set of rules used to govern a body. Many times Christianity is seen as no different than other religions, at least in the eyes of society. Merriam-Webster says that religion is the service and worship of God or the supernatural and commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance. James 1:27 says that this is what true religion is: “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”

Religion is more than anything the world can understand for the Christian. It is a way of life. If you are caring for the lowly, those who are orphaned, and those who have lost their spouse, you are living out your religion. The word religion may seem like a rules based system to the world, but to the Christian it means a lifestyle. Religion is a life with God. Decisions based on who God is and how He loves. Words spoken because of the work God has done in the sinner’s life.

Religion becomes real for you when you are serving God in such a way that He is your life. Your words and actions are based on your love for Him.