Heavenly Father I praise You for the preaching at my church and how we have been working through the book of James. I praise You for the faithfulness and wisdom that has been coming from Pastor JJ as he lets You speak through him to feed us and teach us how to apply Your word to how we live. I praise You for a church that trusts in Your Spirit expounds upon Your word, demonstrates wisdom and humbly tries to live what they are taught.
Holy Spirit help me to internalize and then live the lessons from James chapter 2. Let me pray these words to make them true to how I trust and believe. Holy Spirit teach me to never show favoritism toward people who come to church. Help me to learn to love all, encourage all, and welcome all. Let me learn to discern their hearts not their outward appearance. Help me to be whatever is needed as I work with all who enter into our church. Help me to seek You, exude You, and live You to any and all people I face each day I walk this earth. Let me see beyond my petty ideas of right and wrong and learn to love both friends, enemies, and all neighbors. Let me leave the judging to You for You see a person’s heart, I do not. You see how You made them and what they have had to face in life. I need to demonstrate mercy and forgiveness if I am to receive them from You.
Holy Spirit help me to learn how to put my training, faith, and trust into action. Let me demonstrate my faith daily so all can see that my actions mirror my faith in You. Let me not be a listener to Your word but a doer of Your word. Let me live a life as a living sacrifice before You, growing and doing Your will not just knowing it. If I can’t live Your principles, Your will, and Your purpose for me, then what kind of life do I really have? Let my works be real and profitable for Your kingdom so that my faith is very alive and growing.
But you, man [or woman] of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. 1Timothy 6:11-16