Carla

Micah 6:8 what does God require of us? He requires us to walk humbly with Him. In our humility we are teachable. These two things God hates…pride and arrogance.

James 4:6-10 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: 

“God resists the proud, 

But gives grace to the humble.” 

 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Humility Cures Worldliness. Out of the heart the mouth speaks. Carla

God’s grace is greater than the human inclination to sin. James quotes Proverbs 3:34, highlighting God’s opposition toward the proud who disregard Him and despise others. 

The passage further stresses God’s kindness to the lowly—those who recognize their insufficiency and depend on Him. 

Because the church was fractured and needed healing, James calls the community to collectively approach God. Here, James draws on Old Testament language of sacrifice (Leviticus 10:3; 21:21–23), as the Septuagint (the ancient Greek Old Testament) uses the term engizō (“to draw near”) to describe the priest offering sacrifices in the temple. The Greek term used here, cheir, figuratively represents a person’s deeds (Psalm 24:4; Isaiah 1:15–16). The command to cleanse them indicates that they were defiled with sin and required purification (2 Corinthians 7:1). 

James encourages Christians to embrace an attitude of humility and repentance. The Old Testament often associates laughter with a person who has no fear of God (Proverbs 29:9) Faithlife Study Bible

God resists the proud: James quotes from Proverbs 3:34 to prove his point. Those who submit to divine wisdom will receive the necessary grace from God to put into practice the kind of life James describes (3:13–18). On the other hand, those who elevate themselves will face a formidable foe (verse 4). God Himself will fight against their plans because they are not on His side. 

We must follow in order the two commands in this verse. 

First we must submit to God by abandoning our selfish pride (verses 1–6). Submitting to the Lord also involves putting on the whole armor of God, an image that includes everything from placing our faith in Him to immersing ourselves in the truth of God’s Word (Ephesians 6:11–18). 

Second, we must resist any temptation that the devil throws our way. Then the Evil One will have no choice but to flee, for we will belong to the army of the living God. 

When a believer who has fallen into sin responds to God’s call for repentance, he or she should place laughter and joy aside to reflect on the sin with genuine sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9, 10). In this verse, laughter seems to refer to the loud revelry of pleasure-loving people. They immerse themselves in a celebration of their sins in an effort to forget God’s judgment. 

A Christian should never laugh at sin. 

However, Christian sorrow leads to repentance; repentance leads to forgiveness; and forgiveness leads to true joy over one’s reconciliation with God (Psalm 32:1; 126:2; Proverbs 15:13). The NKJV Study Bible

Proverbs 3:34 

Surely He scorns the scornful,

But gives grace to the humble.

Isaiah 1:16 

 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;

Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.

Cease to do evil,

Ephesians 4:27 nor give place to the devil. 

Ephesians 6:11–12 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

This week we picture our life as a cup.

And when life happens, and shakes us, the contents of our cup (our inner selves, the contents of our heart and spirit) will spill out.

So, when life gets tough, “What’s in my cup, and what spills over?”

Will it be gratefulness, peace, humility, joy and clarity?

Or, will it be anger, bitterness, resentment, harsh words and misunderstanding?

So, yes, life does provide us the cup, but we choose how to fill it.

Or maybe, we have forgotten who we are, and forgotten what is at our core—what is in our DNA, “the Imago Dei”—and our core gets covered or disregarded or buried with other noise and “stuff”.

The cacophony in our world is loud. And if we’re at all insecure about our status—the grace that is in our cup, if you will—we are susceptible to (blinded by) public opinion, social media pressure and mob mentality. Bluntly, we lose our way. 

Okay, I’ll personalize this; I lose my way. And here’s how I know; when I demean, exclude, diminish, withhold mercy or withhold empathy (from others or myself) I lose my way. And it is no surprise that it “fills my cup” with depletion and impoverishment.

In Parker Palmer’s words, “Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic selfhood. As we do so, we will find our path of authentic service in the world.”

Let us wade in, returning to the truth of who we are (you know, the one already here), and to the light we can spill.

To live fully into the self I’ve been given, an authentic self not gummed up with so many limiting stories. “Sabbath Moments”

…when we live like sheep following the Good Shepherd, we can count on the benefits of contentment, restoration, guidance, and protection:

1. Contentment. We can turn to God and find contentment even amid the tensions in our jobs, families, and communities.

2. Restoration. We see a picture of God showing mercy.

3. Guidance. Psalm 23:3 similarly assures that the Lord will guide us "in paths of righteousness" to honor His name.

4. Protection. Psalm 23:4 reminds us that our Good Shepherd will also defend us from external enemies and protect us from our own tendency to stray. His rod of protection and staff of compassion are meant to comfort us. 

You are my Shepherd. Show me what it looks like to receive Your gifts of contentment, restoration, guidance, and protection in my life today. In Jesus' name, amen. First5