Dear Ones,
Happy weekend!! Hope you have an enjoyable one. We are having friends over today and not sure what I will serve. I have made a dessert that is in the freezer, but yesterday I decided to use the big squash given us to make a pie. I let Al sample it and he thought it was good, but he changed his mind when he found out he would get the rest of the pie if he said it wasn’t so good! Emoji
Devotions from Judy’s heart
I have just read the book of James in one sitting which really didn’t take very long, and it helped me see the bigger picture of what Jesus’ brother James wrote to the Jewish church. James became a believer after Jesus’ resurrection and writes words of exhortation, comfort and encouragement as well as reproof. Our Sunday School class was given the homework to read any book of the Bible (most will maybe choose short books) each day for a month. Since our brains learn from big to small, it is good to get the overall picture first and then we will remember the smaller details better. Hopefully, we all pray before we even open our Bibles and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us, keep our minds from drifting and our focus on Him.

So often we may read a few verses of the Bible and then follow with more the next day. But that was compared to watching a movie and stopping to pause after each scene. How frustrating that would be! Now there are also times we need to just take a small portion of scripture and slowly feed on it and digest it, but we also need times to read the whole book and get the big story of what it is saying to us.

When I read the book of James, I could relate what he wrote to our world today. He tells how we should face trials with joy for we are being tested of our faith, and to be doers of the Word. He warns against showing partiality by giving attention to the rich and ignoring the poor. Also, loving our neighbor as ourself, seeking wisdom from above, asking rightly for what we need, being humble, resisting the devil, not judging or boasting, but doing the right thing. He warns the rich and also tells us to be patient in our suffering. Instructions are given in praying for the sick and confessing our sins to one another. I could go on and on, but you can read for yourself. So much wisdom in just one small book and much for me to practice.

Challenge for today: Take time to just sit and enjoy reading a book of the Bible in one sitting and pause afterwards to ask the Lord how it applies to you.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy