SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 09-08-03
My Worship Time Focus: The
Deity of Christ & how we treat people
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: James 2:1-4
1.
Message of the verse: “1 My
brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory,
with partiality. 2 For if there should
come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there
should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to
the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, ‘You sit here in a good
place,’ and say to the poor man, ‘You stand there,’ or, "’it here at my
footstool,’ 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges
with evil thoughts? (NKJV) “My dear brothers and sisters, how can you
claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some
people more than others? For instance,
suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive
jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in shabby clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat
to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, ‘You can stand over there, or
else sit on the floor’—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that you are
guided by wrong motives?” (NLT)
In this section, (James 2:1-13),
James writes about four different Christian doctrines and relates them to how
we treat other people. This first on is
given in verses 1-4 and the doctrine he shows us is the Deity of Christ. He gives that in the first verse and then sites
an example in the remaining three verses.
Jesus Christ was God in human flesh while He walked upon this earth, and
He knew the hearts of everyone He came in contact with. HE did not respect persons while He was on
earth, in other words He did not think more highly of people because of their
position or wealth. The word translated “partiality” in verse one sheds some
light on how believers are to have this same quality that Jesus had in regard
to respecting persons. “2a) The fault of one who when
called on to give judgment has respect of the outward circumstances of man and
not to their intrinsic merits, and so prefers, as the more worthy, one who is
rich, high born, or powerful, to another who does not have these qualities.” As believers, James says that we have a
tendency to judge people by their outward appearance and not what is on the
inside of them. We also tend to judge
people on their past and not on their future.
Jesus Christ was not born into a rich or powerful family, and Isaiah
says that He did not have the looks that would attract Him to others. He grew up in a city that people in His day
looked down upon. Yet Jesus Christ did
attract people to Himself because of His love for others, for even though He
hated sin He loved, and still does love sinners even today, and He does that
through His believers on this earth, but we are to live by His example in order
to do this.
In Dr. Wiersbe’s book on James, “Be
Mature,” he asks and answers the question, “How do we practice the deity of
Christ in our human relationships? It is
really quite simple: look at everyone through the eyes
of Christ. If the visitor is a
Christian, we can accept him because Christ lives in him. If he is not a Christian, we can receive him
because Christ died for him. It
is Christ who is the link between us and others, and He is a link of love. The basis for relationship with others is the
Person and work of Jesus Christ. Any
other basis is not going to work.”
2.
Spiritual meaning for my life today:
In order for me to be able to treat others the way that Jesus Christ
treated them while upon the earth I must be a doer of the word and not a hearer
only. I must put shoe leather to the
things that I have learned while studying the Scriptures and believe them in
spite of circumstances or consequences.
The Word of God has
again challenged, and convicted my heart as I studied it this morning.
My Steps of Faith Today: To trust the Lord
with the disturbing news that I learned yesterday in regard to having the
Church turning down Pastor Dunn as its next senior Pastor. This hurts my heart very much, and yet I must
continue to trust the Lord in spite of the hurt feelings that I have concerning
all of this, for He is still in charge.
Memory verses for the
week: James 1:1-4
1.
James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings.
2.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter
various trials,
3.
Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4.
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