“James”
by Pastor Sunil Balasundaram
Scripture
(Please read the passage before, or after, reading the devotion.)
“The devil made me do it” or “If God loves me, why didn’t He stop me?” is what some people say when they mess up, do something horribly wrong, cause intentional pain, in short sin! James knows how easy it is to deceive oneself. He knows as true what Paul writes in Romans 7:14-24, that our human inclinations are self/pleasure-oriented and enslaving. Left to ourselves we will follow those inclinations which will eventually translate thought to action, and we end up sinning, with spiritual destruction that results. The Christ-follower is not immune to this, because of the human tendency of self-deception. But what they do know is that as followers of Christ they can recognize when those instincts are surfacing, and turn back to following Christ (and not themselves) because they love Him more.
Prayer
I almost fell away from you Lord, that time when I listened to my own inclinations and instincts. I made all kinds of excuses, but in the end I knew it came down to “Do I love Jesus or myself more?” Thank you for your love, gracious God, because that’s what won the day. All I could think of was “How can I do this and hurt the One who loved me enough to die for me?” I realize now that every temptation is a kind of test – of love – that asks me, “Do you love me, Jesus, more than these?” I do, Lord. Amen.
