DevoToday.com

My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
James 5:19-20

Rather than focus on the act of bringing someone back, let’s focus on the act of being brought back. James is teaching about a believer who falls away. He writes that the value of that person coming back is immeasurable — saving them from death and covering a multitude of sins.

In God’s flock, every sheep matters. If one strays, God wants it back. When we sin, God is sad and prefers that we return to righteous ways. He doesn’t give up, and takes great joy when others bring us home.

Be God’s — every day.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Matthew 21:31b-32

Jesus is talking to the religious elite. He is pointing out how their religious adherence has blinded them to the fact that they, too, were broken sinners in need of a savior. The “lesser” folks in society got it. The religious didn’t.

If you haven’t seen it already, there is a thought-provoking video floating around of a poem about living Jesus but hating religion. If you haven’t seen it, click over to my other blog (www.paulreiman.com) to check it out. It presents, in modern terms, how religion can blind us to what Jesus was about.

Let’s not get caught up in “being religious.” We all need to be saved from our brokenness.

Be God’s — every day.

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
James 1:13-14

We like to blame other people or things when stuff happens. “It’s not my fault” or “the devil made me do it” or “why me, God?” We like to start with how great we were, and how something else got in the way.

The book of James reminds us that it IS our fault. Our own nature draws us into sin. God doesn’t make us do it. We fail to let God save us.

We must look in the mirror first when things go awry. For evil not to win, we must first change ourselves.

Be God’s — every day.

The woman said, Sir, I see that you are a prophet.
John 4:19

This short verse comes from the longer story of Jesus meeting “the woman at the well.” There are so many nuggets of greatness that come from this broader passage (John 4:4-42), so it is definitely worth re-reading the whole thing.

Here is a synopsis…

Jesus comes to a town and ends up chatting with a Samaritan woman while at a well. It was strange enough to be talking to a Samaritan — and Samaritan woman at that — let alone a woman with a past. Jesus already knows who she is, what she’s all about, and what she needs. When the woman hears Jesus speak, she recognizes his majesty, and ultimately shares her testimony with others.

While there are lots of things in this story to reflect on, take note today that Jesus already knew of the woman’s past and sin, even though she did not want to admit to it. He did not condemn her. He simply showed her that he knew the truth, and showed her a better way.

Jesus knows you — deeply. Your gifts, your thoughts, your sins… Everything. even that thing you don’t want to own up to. At first that sounds scary… But recognize that, like the woman at the well, Jesus isn’t condemning you for it. He simply wants you to see it and find a better way.

Be God’s — every day.

All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:23-24

We are all broken people. Each of us struggles with sin, and are burdened by the imperfect lives we lead. We hurt others, others hurt us, and we hurt ourselves. We all fall short of what God wanted us to be.

But –

We all are still treated as God’s children, righteous and loved. Through the sacrifice of Christ, we are freed from our brokenness. Our fears and burdens are relieved through the grace of God.

I pray that this truth brings peace to those who are hurting. I pray that all people can realize the brokenness of each of us, working through our troubles as we all jointly pursue a righteous life through Christ. I pray for peace among us, as we all struggle through our sin and shortcomings.

Be God’s — every day.

Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’
Ezekiel 33:11

In an Old Testament often filled with doom and gloom, Ezekiel writes of a God who fundamentally loves us all. The New Testament message of Christ coming to save the lost is previewed here.

Note, though, that this isn’t just about “non-Christians.” God is talking about sinners as a whole. He wants us to recognize our ways and turn from them — to “repent” from our sin. Christians aren’t exempt from being unrepentant sinners. We have to turn away from our sin, too.

Be God’s — every day.

He was crossing the street at her corner and walked down the path to her house in the early evening, at the onset of night and darkness. All of a sudden a woman approaches him, dressed like a prostitute and with a cunning mind.
Proverbs 7:8-10

This is not your usual Proverb!

The rest of the story goes something like this: Dude is just walking down the street, minding his own business, when this lady gets all up on him, verbally and physically. The guy does what the stereotypical guy would do… He gives in.

While it doesn’t say so directly in the Proverb, I’d assume there was nothing particularly evil about the guy. The proverb said he was naive, not that he was looking for women. He wasn’t trouble waiting to happen… but trouble came to him.

Of course, the genders can be reversed in the story — that’s not the point. The point is that trouble often comes to us. We can all be like the naive young man, taking care of our own business and not looking to cause harm, when temptation comes our way.

This Proverb cautions us to be careful about the situations we put ourselves in, and warns us that temptation lurks. Guard against happening down a risky road, and be prepared at all times to fight against sin.

Guard yourself, and pray for God’s guiding hand to be deliver you from evil.

Be God’s — every day.

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
James 4:17

Committing to a life resisting sin just got a lot more interesting, didn’t it?

Staying away from sin meant to me “don’t do bad.” Living a broader life of discipleship also meant “do good.” Both were centered around what a person did and how they acted.

Helping that old lady across the road = good.
Tripping her in the middle of the road = bad.

Simple enough.

However, this verse presents a broader picture of sin. We sin both by “doing bad” (not stated here in this verse, but certainly elsewhere) and by “not doing good.” This is certainly a higher standard, pushing into action when we might otherwise sit aside. Being neutral is equivalent to being bad. No action when action is required is a sin just like committing a wrong.

This sets a higher bar for our life on earth, fully recognizing our sinful nature. We cannot fully succeed in doing everything that is right, but it’s a standard worth striving for. Don’t sit aside and be a casual Christian. Jump in and ACT in the name of God!

Be God’s — every day.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
2 Corinthians 7:10

We’ve all given or received those apologies that didn’t seem sincere. We were sorry more because we got caught than because we did the act in the first place. There was some regret, but not so much that it left you a changed person.

The same concept exists as we ask for out sins to be forgiven. We can a bit bummed we made a mistake… Which may not have been painful enough that we feel changed. Or, we can recognize how broken we are, and have a sense of commitment to live differently.

Our sins are forgiven. Let that change you.

Be God — every day.

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Psalm 66:18

To “cherish” something is to value it, protect it, love it, or hold it dear to you. It is something important that you focus on and organize around.

We are all sinful people, and we all will continue to struggle with this sinful nature. How we respond to sin, though, remains with our control. We can take joy in our sin — cherish it, even — and continue to turn away from God. If so, this Psalm suggests that God will respond to you differently because of it.

Alternatively, we can recognize our sin as wrong, ask for forgiveness, and cherish the love shown to us by our Lord and Savior.

We can’t choose to stop sinning (fully), but we can choose to not love and protect that sin. We can choose to cherish God and what he blesses us with, not the sin that pulls us away from him.

Be God’s — every day.