The God Pause Daily Devotional from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Wednesday, 19 September 2018 - James 3:13--4:3, 7-8a
James 3:13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him demonstrate it by his good way of life, by actions done in the humility that grows out of wisdom. 14 But if you harbor in your hearts bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, don’t boast and attack the truth with lies! 15 This wisdom is not the kind that comes down from above; on the contrary, it is worldly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where there are jealousy and selfish ambition, there will be disharmony and every foul practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is, first of all, pure, then peaceful, kind, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 And peacemakers who sow seed in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
4:1 What is causing all the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it your desires battling inside you? 2 You desire things and don’t have them. You kill, and you are jealous, and you still can’t get them. So you fight and quarrel. The reason you don’t have is that you don’t pray! 3 Or you pray and don’t receive, because you pray with the wrong motive, that of wanting to indulge your own desires., 7 Therefore, submit to God. Moreover, take a stand against the Adversary, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Clean your hands, sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded people! (Complete Jewish Bible).In this week's readings we have seen how the foolish and unrighteous contrast to the wise and righteous in their reactions to hardship. Now we learn how this plays out within the church as a community. The church that James is writing to is caught up in the middle of social upheaval and an uncertainty about how to deal with those changes. James does not specifically indicate what the issues are or which side of those issues he is on, but he reminds everyone of the need for mercy and peace. James also differentiates between earthly and divine wisdom. Earthly wisdom seeks political power and attracts ambition, while divine wisdom is peaceful and "full of mercy."
Conflict itself is seen as the result of foolishness. These conflicts are not born of being correct or of being wise. They result from greed, covetousness and a desire for earthly pleasures over divine wisdom and understanding. No wonder this passage rings so true today.
Dear Lord, we submit ourselves to your will and ask for your guidance in ways of peace and mercy. Amen.
Peter Clark, '16
Pastor, Our Savior Lutheran Church, Aurora, Ill.
James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth.
15 Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.
16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.
18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.
1 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?
2 You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. ...
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (New Revised Standard Version).
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September 2018: Listening: the Heart of Innovation from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Wednesday 19 September 2018
Listening: the Heart of Innovation
In innovation work, the very first step is to listen.
Alex Goryachev, Managing Director of Innovation Strategy and Programs for Cisco, calls listening “a rare art” at the heart of innovation, something that is vital “to survive and develop collaborative strategies with…partners...around the world.”Silicon Valley might seem like a strange place to seek theological wisdom, but they’re onto something here. For generations, the church has occupied a place of power in western society—and this has meant that in many ways we’ve become more accustomed to being listened to than listening ourselves.
Give it Back!
Listening for God in Daily Life
Learning to identify God’s action takes practice—but when we do, it opens us up to new ways of seeing, living, and being. And once we see what God’s up to, we might just discover that we’re being called to join in!
God Is with Us
Where is God when we struggle? Is God present in our hardest times? Kathryn Schifferdecker, Luther Seminary associate professor of Old Testament and Bible Division Chair, explores God's presence in the midst of both hard times and joyful times in this compelling podcast and article.
September 19, 2018
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A second edition of New Testament professor Craig Koester’s book, “Revelation and the End of All things,” has just beenreleased by Eerdmans Publishing.
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