James 4:17

Verse of the Day Devotion: James 4:17

“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” – James 4:17

In my study of this verse, there are a couple valid ways to look at it, therefore I will present both.

First, that we make decisions about our lives, what we will do, where we will go, based on our own feelings and desires and not based on what God desires of us.  We make these big plans for our lives, visiting certain people, traveling to desired destinations, making this amount of money.  However, is this what God has called us to?  We decide on these things without looking at what God wants.  The idea here is that if we know what God wants of us and we do not pursue it because it is not what we want, then we who know nothing of the future seizes control from the one who does. This is seen from the previous verses. “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” James 4:13-16. We know our calling, but we ignore it, or put it off, until we ourselves are ready.  We must spend serious time with God in prayer to be sure of what we are to do.  If we do not, and we follow our own desires rather than His, then we may find ourselves in sin.

Second, if we see a need or something we know is the right thing to do, and we refuse to do it.  Cotton Mather, a New England Puritan minister in the late 1600s to early 1700s, adopted this idea as a principle of action, saying ‘that the ability to do good in any case imposes an obligation to do it.’  The idea for him was “if he understands what his duty is; if he has the means of doing good to others, then he can promote a good cause; for example relieve the distressed, the poor, the prisoner, the oppressed; send the gospel to other lands, wipe away the tears from those who mourn or grieve, speak out in favor of those qualities that are positive and Godly, then he is under obligation to do it.”  If we choose not to get involved and we just ignore the good we can do, then we may find ourselves in sin.

As I said above, I believe both of these ideas are valid ways of looking at our focus verse.  Both allude to the idea of knowing the right thing to do but refusing to do it for selfish reasons.  If we have the means to help someone, then we should do it.  Remember the words of Jesus, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”  Matthew 7:12.  If we are in need and a brother or sister ignores us even when they know our situation, how would we feel?

In closing, too often we see sin as something we do, such as stealing, lying or murdering, however we forget that sin is also something we refuse to do, such as helping the poor or ignoring the oppressed.  Both types are wrong and ultimately sin.  Let’s remember that God has called us to love everyone, and love is more than a feeling, it is actions as well.  I encourage us all, myself included, to ensure that our plans are based on God’s will and not our own, and that if we see a need, we do all we can to meet that need.  God will see this and reward us.  “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.” Proverbs 19:17.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Daniel 3:18

Verse of the Day Devotion: Daniel 3:18

“But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” – Daniel 3:18

This particular verse was spoken by Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego.  These were the three Hebrew young men taken into Babylon to serve in the same place as Daniel.  At that time, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon made an image of gold that he was requiring all in Babylon to worship.  The order was, “that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.” Daniel 3:5. He also set up the rule, “But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.”  Daniel 3:6. There was a death penalty in affect and the method of death was cruel, being burned alive in a furnace.

So, at the time that the music calling for golden image worship was to occur, all the people in Babylon, of all nations and languages fell down and worshipped the image except three; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.  Note, Daniel was not in Babylon at this time.  Some Chaldeans observed the three not worshipping the statue, and let Nebuchadnezzar know.  I am sure they did this to hopefully earn favor from the king.  They told the king, by name, the three who did not worship it.  They knew the names because these three were over the administration of Babylon.

Well, this infuriated the king and he demanded that they be brought before him.  He questioned them by saying, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?”  Daniel 3:14b Then he gives them another chance.  “Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”  Daniel 3:15. This is a very arrogant statement.  However, he will soon learn about that God who can.

Instead of answering the king’s question, they told him that if we end up in the fiery furnace, our God is able to deliver you out of your hand and out of the furnace.  However, even if He chooses not to deliver us from you, let us make it clear that we will not serve you gods or worship your golden image.

Well, the end of the story is that they were thrown into the furnace, and God delivered them.  However, what I want to focus on here is their answer to the king.  Whatever happens, we will never worship any god but the true God.  No matter how awful or painful the punishment, no matter what it is, we will not give our worship to any of your gods.

There is coming a day, and in some ways is here now, when today’s Christians will need to make a similar decision.  In African nations like Nigeria, Boko Haram kidnaps Christians and if they do not convert to Islam, they are killed.  In North Korea and China, if they determine someone is a Christian, they will be sent to Concentration Work camps, known in China as re-education camps to be forced by torture, starvation and slavery work until they either convert or die.  Here in the United States, Christians are persecuted in our public schools and colleges.  Christian monuments are under threat of being destroyed and businesses are being attacked for upholding Christian beliefs.  It is only a matter of time, if things continue to get worse, until it will be illegal to be a Christian and live those beliefs in public.

I have one question, do we have the courage of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego to stand strong and not compromise, or will we be like the other Jews taken into Babylon who bowed and worshipped the golden image?  It is time for us to prepare for extremely difficult times.  We must draw closer to God and yield entirely to Him.  We must decide that no matter what, we will not deny the living God by worshipping idols and other false gods.  If we truly believe that Christ is our savior and that there is no other God but ours, then we must stand strong and unwavering.

We must start preparing now, for who knows when we will have to make “that” decision.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.