Monday, April 18, 2005
James 4:7-12
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? (ESV)
by Leanne Lippincott
Ouch! These verses can really sting as they prick our consciences: “Who are you to judge your neighbor (v. 12, NIV)?”
Terry used to live across the street. Every day, at 5:45 a.m., he revved up his Harley. That motorcycle grunted and rumbled in his driveway for at least 15 minutes. I initially assumed that Terry was a thoughtless jerk, but he turned out to be a nice guy with a sweet wife and newborn son. He had to get to work early, and that cycle was his cheapest mode of transportation.
Copyright Information
Daily Bible Meditations are taken from The Helping Hand,a Sabbath School student quarterly for youth and adults. Copyright © 2008, Seventh Day Baptist Board of Christian Education, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked "ESV" are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service .
