Scripture for the Day Dec 15th 2020: Whose Friend Are You Anyway?

There is one book in the Bible I point a new Christian to. It's the Book of James with its five brief chapters; here are precise instructions for Christian Living. There is nothing complicated about being a Christian. Living righteous means doing right. If you follow God's simple directions, the devil will flee from you. A key verse in James 4 sums it up:

James 4:7 (The Pure Word)
You must have made yourselves Subject, therefore, to God.
You must by your choice Stand against the devil, and he will flee from you.

It is an amazing promise. Even satan obeys God's command. The only reason satan wreaks havoc on humanity is that we give him the authority to do so. I don't give satan authority. Neither did I grant biden, the democrats, antifa, blm, soros, the united nations, the euoprean union, and any other enemy of God, authority. (Lower case spellings intended). Why? Because I choose to Stand against the devil, and he must flee from me. 

Standing against the devil means to reject sinful thoughts because thoughts become action. We don't have to do it alone. We couldn't. That's why Jesus sent us His Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Who stands in place of Jesus until His second coming, the Millennial Reign (Revelation 20:2-7). 

Probvers 1:23
Turn to my rebuke,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.

What a comfort indeed. I sense a reassuring warmth surging through my innermost being even as I read this verse. Praise be to the LORD for His ever-present Help.

Truth is, I have lost all the friends of my old life after becoming a Christian. And that's a good thing!

James 4:4 (The Pure Word)
Adulterers and adulteresses, are you definitely by your choice not seeing that the friendship of the satan's world social system is the hatred of God?
Therefore, whoever might intend to be a friend of the satan's world social system is making an enemy of God.

(Note: The Pure Word is the most accurate New Testament Translation in existence. To preserve the Purity of the Word from the Greek, this translation does not follow English grammar rules. See this devotional about the TPW translation)

The following story illustrates the situation well:

Influence of Friends

A farmer, troubled by a flock of crows in his corn field, loaded his shotgun and crawled unseen along the fence-row, determined to get a shot at the crows. Now the farmer had a very “sociable” parrot who made friends with everybody. Seeing the flock of crows, the parrot flew over and joined them (just being sociable, you know). The farmer saw the crows but didn’t see the parrot. He took careful aim and BANG! The farmer crawled over the fence to pick up the fallen crows, and lo, there was his parrot—badly ruffled, with a broken wing, but still alive. Tenderly, the farmer carried the parrot home, where his children met him. Seeing that their pet was injured, they tearfully asked, “What happened, Papa?” Before he could answer, the parrot spoke up: “Bad company!”

Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (pp. 157–158). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

Let's bow our hearts and pray:

LORD, let our wings not be broken. 
Protect my brothers and sisters in Christ, as you protect me, Father God! 
I pray that we may follow wisdom, 
that we choose our friends carefully, 
that our discernment is as sharp as the eagle's beak so that the rats around us scurry,
that the devil may flee from us because of the Word of Your power.

In Jesus' name
Amen

#Devotional #Scripture4TheDay #ThePureWord #ChristianLiving