You bless us in good times and bad but it is the latter in which we humbly seek your help. Teach us to bring every single circumstance of our lives to You, asking for Your Holy hand upon us.
Let the person who has not sinned cast the first stone
Then You teach us that the scribes (lawyers) and Pharisees (religious leaders) are in the role of accusers. You did not say they accused falsely, Jesus, You said they too commit sins of various kinds and if any of them thought they were without sin, then step up and cast the first stone in the killing process.
Do you mean all I have to do is ask…that’s it!
It is not a wonder to us Jesus that You would be extremely disappointed if we intentionally sin. It would be like asking You to return to the cross, repeating the sacrifice, for each of us who consciously choose to sin. We need to walk with You, fully aware of Your presence in all matters.
Love God and hate our neighbor…not an option.
Dear Jesus, Your half-brother James, received a great deal of specific instruction from You. James understood the Law. You taught him and us that to love your neighbor as yourself was a commandment that summarized the last 6 of the 10 commandments. We can not love a person, unsaved or not, and still be their judge. We would ourselves be breaking the Law.
Did you say enduring persecution is a good thing?
Jesus, this teaching goes against our nature. We seek revenge when we are wronged, as a natural instinct of the flesh. Why, Jesus, would You have us act in this way? The answer is clear enough in all of Your teaching; one can not say they love You and continue hating their brethren.
God’s grace and mercy will turn my fear to joy!
Father, Paul is teaching us, in this letter to his young protégé, Timothy, that the law, when adhered to, does not present a problem. It is law breakers that will feel the rod of correction, sometimes physically, and sometimes in ways that simply convict us and make us feel terrible.
Omnipresent… God’s thoughts towards me exceed number?
Father, When we look at all You have created, we are overwhelmed with Your omniscience and omnipotence. You are indeed all knowing and all powerful. Here You tell us of Your omnipresence in our lives. Your thoughts towards us exceed number. You are a constant reality. We are truly never alone.
Judged individually? I thought it was a group membership deal.
Father, Your law reveals Your will for us. When we stand within Your law we stand in liberty. Forgive us O’God when we sin. Deliver us from temptation, constantly, because it is ever upon us. As we proclaim our faith, help us to do good works that verify our words.
Will mercy triumph over judgment? I pray it does…
Jesus, here we have Your half brother, James, clarifying that sin is sin and that there is no hierarchy of sin. Whether we have committed relatively small sins or grievous sins, we are all in the same place. We need Your forgiveness and cleansing and we need to show mercy to others as You have shown mercy to us.
The whole law…love God and your neighbor as yourself
Jesus, this straightforward instruction teaches us of Your expectations. It is by our love that we are known as Your disciples. When we love You and then disobey it is a contradiction that needs correcting. Help us “to trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in You but to trust and obey.” That old hymn restates John 14:15 in a perfect way.