Day 324 Bible Readings – James 4: 11-12 (ESV)

Ezekiel 38-39, James 4, Proverbs 17: 15-24

James 4: 11-12 (ESV)

“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?”

Verses 11 and 12 from James 4 tells us people of faith should not speak evil or judge other people. If you speak evil of other people, you are disobeying one of the Ten Commandments. And you cannot judge other people because there is only judge – God. God is our judge and lawgiver. God is the only who can judge people or in his mercy and grace, save them. If we judge other people, we are taking God’s place. God is the only one who knows a person’s heart and can judge if other people truly did wrong.

Not speaking evil or judging other people is hard for me. I have a hard time holding my tongue or giving evil looks to people who are doing wrong. I’m one of those people in a line who make a fuss when other people cut in the line. It’s one of my pet peeves. But every time I do it, I know it’s wrong because I know I’m not supposed to judge other people. I have no idea what their situation is in life. Maybe they don’t even know it’s wrong to cut in line. Who am I to judge? Only God can judge. So these are good recommendations from James for us to live by.

Day 323 Bible Readings – Ezekiel 37: 5-6 (ESV)

Ezekiel 36-37, James 3, Proverbs 17: 5-14

Ezekiel 37: 5-6 (ESV)

“Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Verses 5 and 6 from Ezekiel 37 is the story of God taking Ezekiel to the valley of the dry bones. I love this story in Ezekiel because it shows the power of God. God tells us he can take dry bones and turn them into people. I love to imagine Ezekiel looking at the valley of the dry bones, and God telling him of his power to give life to the bones. I would have loved to see Ezekiel’s face when God gave him the power to reanimate the bones and make them into people.

It must have been such an amazing vision for Ezekiel to have because it calls back to Genesis on how God created Adam and Eve. The story of the dry bones will also remind Bible readers of Revelations because you can start to visualize God coming back and raising people from the dead. I think this is why these verses from Ezekiel resonate so much with me, because I am reminded both of Genesis and Revelations.

Day 322 Bible Readings – Proverbs 16: 31 (ESV)

Ezekiel 33: 21-33, Ezekiel 34-35, James 2, Proverbs 16: 28-33, Proverbs 17: 1-4

Proverbs 16: 31 (ESV)

“Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.”

I love verse 31 from Proverbs 16 only because I decided to stop coloring my hair and let my gray hair come out. In our modern world, having gray hair for a man or a woman is considered taboo. We are so afraid of letting people know our age, especially in our hair. Many bible commentaries report that in the time of Christ, having gray hair was seen as symbol of wisdom and experience. I also think aging was a bigger deal in time of Christ because people did not live very long lives, so if you had gray hair it meant you lived a long life and you survived by your skill or wealth.

But Solomon adds a caveat to this statement about gray hair. If you have gray hair and have lived a long life, it is because you have followed God’s law and have been favored with good health. So just having gray hair doesn’t mean a person has a crown of glory. You only receive the crown of glory when you follow God’s laws and plan for your life.

My decision to let my hair go gray came from the Holy Spirit. I believe I was encouraged to let my hair go gray because Holy Spirit is teaching me lessons about vanity. I think the lesson is my beauty comes from what is inside me and not from what I look like to the world. And what is inside me is my love for God, and I need to reflect to the world how I am trying to develop a Christ-like nature. It’s a tall order, but with the help of the Holy Spirit I know I will improve in this area of my life.

Day 321 Bible Readings – James 1: 2-4 (ESV)

Ezekiel 32, Ezekiel 33: 1-32, James 1, Proverbs 6: 18-27

James 1: 2-4 (ESV)

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

In verses 2 through 4 from James 1, James tells us that when we have trials in our life we need to glad because it means God is testing our faith. James tells us that when we pass the tests that God gives to us, it means that our faith will become stronger and more steadfast. James also tells us that the constant testing of our faith by God means that our faith becomes perfect and complete, and that we will lack in nothing.

When I first read these verses, I first thought to myself why is God testing me? Doesn’t he already know my mind and the depth of my faith? Yes God does know us inside and out, but I don’t think that is why he tests us. I think God tests us because we don’t know ourselves as well as we think we do. As humans we seem to only know what we truly believe in and what we feel when we are tested. We seem to only know how strong our faith is when we face trials and test that tempt us doubt our faith and doubt God. I know that is the way with me.

I used to always think of myself as “Doubting Thomas”. I was the one who constantly needed proof of God’s love for me and his existence. I was the one person who would need physical proof that God rose from the dead; I would not believe it by faith alone. But I no longer think of myself as “Doubting Thomas”. I’ve had enough trials and tests of faith in my life to know that some of the doubt has gone away, although it hasn’t been erased completely. So I know from experience that the trials of God do work. Does it mean I like it when God sends test my way? No, but I understand why he sends them now. I know that God wants me to have self-confidence in my own level of faith, and that can only happen when I am going through a trial and I pass and have memories to look back on when the doubts rise again.