What a vital point James is making here!
“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder.” Jas 2:19 NIV
What is the difference between those of us who claim to believe and the demons? Demons would never even think about following Jesus. Oh, they know who He is, they believe that Jesus is the Son of God…there are plenty of stories in the Gospels that witness to this fact. But surrender to Him? Submit to His way? Be a blessing to Him and others? No way! So if we say we believe but are not living lives that reflects this belief, including giving God the credit for all the good in our lives, then are we any different than these evil, selfish, dead beings?
Jesus must be our Savior for sure, but He also must be our Lord. We must not only say we believe, we must learn to follow Him, wherever He leads. If this means apologizing to someone who hurt our feelings when we yelled at them, then so be it. I always “love” the times when my husband and I are having a “disagreement” and God tells ME to go apologize. Ugh! But when I do it, our marriage blossoms! With God’s help, I choose Humility over Pride, and regardless of who is at fault, I seek reconciliation with Joe instead of separation. Again, separation is the enemy’s main goal. Let’s finish up tomorrow…
Join me in memorizing 52 verses this year:
January: 1- Jn 3:16; 2- 2Co 5:17; 3- Jas 2:26; 4- Eph 2:10
February: 5- Jn 10:10; 6- Ro 6:23; 7- Rev 21:4; 8- Php 4:13
March: 9- 1Pe 5:7; 10- Jn 8:32; 11- Dt 30:19; 12- Jn 3:30; 13- 2Chron 20:3
April: 14- 2Chron 20:12; 15- 2Chron 20:15b; 16- 2Chron 20:17
May: 17- Ro 8:28; 18- 1Co 13:13; 19- Php 2:12; 20- Mt 5:4
June: 21- Lk 23:42; 22- Jas 4:7; 23- Pr 22:6; 24- Mt 5:3; 25- Jn 14:6
26- Jas 2:19
<>< Peace, Diane
