Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a video of the group Unspoken singing their song, Call It Grace,… singing of God’s imparted wisdom to help us deal of life, and it’s nothing more or less than God’s grace!!!
Highlight Passage: James 1:5 [NKJV] …
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
… If we lack God’s wisdom, we are to pursue it with determination and faith.
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Highlight Context – James 1:1-8 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… James expounds on our grace coming from God and flowing from the wisdom He imparts to those who seek it.
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Reference Passage #1 - Romans 8:28 [NKJV] …
28 All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purposes.
…Yes ALL things we face teach us to face ALL things we will face.
Reference Passage #2 - 1st Corinthians 10:13 [NKJV] …
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
… God brings us through the trials (i.e., temptations ) of life to provide us with the grace to handle our future growth in Christlikeness.
Reference Passage #3 - 2nd Corinthians 11: 22-33 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul going through many, many trials was given the wisdom to shepherd the persecuted Christians of his day.
Reference Passage #4 - 2nd Corinthians 12: 9 [NKJV] …
9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
… God’s grace is imparted most generously into those who seek it in times of weakness and trials.
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Bill Crowder, used a date-marked historical illustration for his teaching. He wrote: On April 4, 1968, American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated, leaving millions angry and disillusioned. In Indianapolis, a largely African-American crowd had gathered to hear Robert F. Kennedy speak. Many had not yet heard of Dr. King’s death, so Kennedy had to share the tragic news. He appealed for calm by acknowledging not only their pain but his own abiding grief over the murder of his brother, President John F. Kennedy. … Kennedy then quoted a variation of an ancient poem by Aeschylus (526–456 bc): “Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”
Crowder was trying to illustrate how God’s enabling grace comes from the wisdom imparted to us by our history and life experiences. Certainly that is what the half-brother of Jesus, James, teaching about such life-growing experience, writes in today’s highlight passage (see James 1:1-8). And who would not agree with me, that our wisdom in dealing with life is enhanced most sharply from God shepherding us through the watch care of tough circumstances.
That’s how Paul gleaned the wisdom to teach and help the persecuted Christians of his day. God put him though the ringer of really tough experiences (see 2nd Cor. 11:22-33) to give him the grace from wisdom to help other Christians deal with the persecution and temptations they were facing [see also 1st Cor. 10:13].
And we need to take God’s grace, from the circumstance we face. and use those experiences to deal with life and help others along the way as well. What Paul taught in Romans 8:28 was true; but do we believe it and do we live it out in our lives, … especially during the tough times.
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, …Thank You, Lord, for imparting Your grace and giving me Your wisdom through the circumstances of my life. Help me to grow from these times and to help other grow to serve You. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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