THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – James 2:1-4): 1
My friends, if you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you won't treat some people better than others. 2 Suppose a rich person wearing fancy clothes and a gold ring comes to one of your meetings. And suppose a poor person dressed in worn-out clothes also comes. 3 You must not give the best seat to the one in fancy clothes and tell the one who is poor to stand at the side or sit on the floor. 4 That is the same as saying that some people are better than others, and you would be acting like a crooked judge.
My friends, if you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you won't treat some people better than others. 2 Suppose a rich person wearing fancy clothes and a gold ring comes to one of your meetings. And suppose a poor person dressed in worn-out clothes also comes. 3 You must not give the best seat to the one in fancy clothes and tell the one who is poor to stand at the side or sit on the floor. 4 That is the same as saying that some people are better than others, and you would be acting like a crooked judge.
THOUGHTS: I love the way that Jesus showed equal love and respect for people from all walks of life while He was here on earth in person! I love the way that He saw no difference in mankind when He surrendered to the call on His life and was crucified at mount Calvary for our sin! I love the way that He performed miracles on mankind, without first requiring knowledge about the family background, or a reference on their financial worth! He invited us all to share in the joy of an awesome Savior who now sits in the highest possible position – at the side of the King of this universe and God over all creation! Jesus demonstrated impartiality to everyone He came into contact with, and in spite of their partiality one to another. Friends, this is the same Jesus that we are to imitate as we take on our respective roles in our homes, our work, our churches and in our community. Jesus didn't just say that He must be impartial one to another, He demonstrated it and set the example for us. Imagine for a moment a piece of clay, molded by its potter, complaining about certain aspects of another molded object? Imagine any object created by that potter refusing to appreciate any other design by that potter because of it being marred in any way, or painted a different color, or contains certain imperfections to the naked eye? May sound silly, but isn't that the same that God sees when we 'act up', segregate and place certain conditions and/or qualifications on those that we allow into our circle of friends and/or that we consider worthy of our affiliation? Praise the wonderful name of Jesus, that He didn't brush aside short people, or handicapped folk or even those who interprets His Word differently on some things than He actually intended. Praise God that He sacrificed His only Son, so that 'WHO-SO-EVER' believes on His Son and acknowledges Him as Lord, will be saved and will live eternally in heaven with Him. Friend, praise God that means me! That means You! That means that very challenging relative that you may have given up hope on! That means 'ALL' who surrenders! That means hope for even the one who feels hopeless! That means that we who have seen this great Light and have accepted the free gift offered by this wonderful God of ours, are to be images of this Jesus that we have accepted as Lord, and that we are to live and act with the same impartiality as He did. Let's love as Jesus did …. without partiality! If challenged by this, let's return to the foot of the cross and ensure that we ARE one with Jesus, and that He controls our very nature and all aspects of our life, especially our sinful prejudices.
PRAYER: Dear God, please forgive us for lifting ourselves above others You have created equally. We realize that we are from the same clay that You created them from. We are reminded that You sent Your Son so that all who call on His name would be saved – no exceptions and no prequalifiers, for we are equal at the foot of the cross. We all come as sinners, in need of a Savior. Because You have promised to receive us and forgive us, please help us that we will do the same with those that we come into contact with. Lord You are good, and we appreciate your impartiality and Your willingness to accept even us, though unworthy and having wandered so far away from Your commands. May this be a new day for us – a day filled with Your grace, Your love and Your acceptance of all who were created by You. I ask this in faith and in the matchless name of Jesus, the name above all names! AMEN!
FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day's devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
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