From the Kitchen Table

Kitchen Table Devotions

James 5 Day 8

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

James 5:14-15

Speak Jesus!  Remember, out of the heart the mouth speaks.  Learn to speak Jesus.  Speak Jesus over pain, problems, and people.  There’s power in the name of Jesus; He is our hope, help, and healer.  Why speak anything else but Jesus?  Don’t come into agreement with sin, sickness, or sorrow.  Come into agreement with the Savior and see what He will do.

Kitchen Table Devotions

James 5 Day 7

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

James 5:13

Keep your conversation with God and about God, not man.  He is our hope, our help, and our healer.  There is no hope in harassing others with our troubles and tiffs.  If we’re going to open our mouths, let our words honor Him, Jesus, our Savior and Provider. 

Kitchen Table Devotions

James 5 Day 6

Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.                James 5:12

Just be real!  Don’t worry about being the authority in the room, just speak with authority about what you know.  You are loved.  God is full of compassion and mercy.  Speak as someone who is loved to love.  God is the Authority in life, we just live in that authority speaking with the authority of someone He loves.  There’s no need to swear or make an oath. 

Kitchen Table Devotions

James 5 Day 5

As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.             James 5:11

Be patient!  What God has is always better.  Rather than shouting our opinions and judgments, let God show up and speak into the situation.  He is FULL of compassion and mercy.  His heart is with us and for us.  Wait for Him.  Look for Him.  Sometimes waiting is merely looking for Him.  Why settle for less when He has more?

Kitchen Table Devotions

James 5 Day 4

You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. ⁹ Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!               James 5:8-9

Be patient.  The blessing is for the patient who waits for what God has and can do rather than settle for what we have or can do.  God is at the door and in the room, you’re not alone or without hope.  The thing to do is to strengthen your heart by grabbing and holding God’s word rather than speaking your piece and calling forth the judgment of man and hell.  Living this life is about speaking for others according to God’s word rather than grumbling against them.  Usually, if we’re judging ourselves and taking care of our own lives, we don’t feel a need to carry around judgment for others. 

Kitchen Table Devotions

James 5 Day 3

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.                  James 5:4

Injustice hangs in the air like a heavy fog or a loaded cloud just waiting and wailing for release.  We can see it in the lives of the addict who needs to make amends for his/her wrongs and his/her experiences of being wronged.  We can be and are forgiven but wrongs are best made right.  It’s important to clear the air if we want to deal with the howl of those wrongs.  Receive forgiveness and release forgiveness and do it personally if you can.  You’ll know them, those wrongs that need to be made right, they will haunt you in the wind.  It’s not about forgetting, it’s about forgiving.  Don’t be afraid to deal with those voices inside and out by the victory of calvary, prayerfully and personally.

Kitchen Table Devotions

James 5 Day 2

You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.

James 5:5

We can’t dream big if we won’t dig deep.  It’s easy to see the obvious sins but it’s another thing to see the inconspicuous sin in our hearts.  That’s where our enemy does most of his work.  A fat heart makes a lazy believer.  It’s inconspicuous rebellion toward God that interferes most with the heartbeat of the believer.  This life is about obedience to the voice of God in all things at all times.  To get our spiritual heart in shape we must look deep to see the inconspicuous obstacles to a victorious Christian life.  It’s hard to look deep but it’s an honor to be able to dream big.  Don’t let the devil con you into a faithfully fat faith.

Kitchen Table Devotions

James 5  Day 1

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. ² Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. ³ Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days          James 5:1-3

Wow!  This is kind of tough.  I didn’t want to hear that first thing this morning.  But the truth is that finally, we’ve got to mean business and do business.  This all starts right here when this person called me.  I’ve looked at my spirit through the Scriptures and I see things in me that are keeping me from Him.  Don’t ever be afraid to “repent”, it will release God to do a mighty work in you.

Kitchen Table Devotions

James 4 Day 10

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.             James 4:17

Don’t do on the outside what you know is wrong on the inside.  Don’t sin against yourself and don’t go against your own understanding.  This life in Christ is lived from the inside out, from faith, with hope, and in love, according to God’s word and by the power of God’s Spirit.  Be true to God and yourself today.  Break your own rules and you’ll break your own heart.  Let your spirit live by faith in God the way it was created to live by faith with God.  It’s a beautiful thing.

Kitchen Table Devotions

James 4 Day 9

Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.

James 4:15-16

A good way to start the day is to think about how we want to end it.  This little habit will help us think about how we want to live it, this day in front of us.  And anyone who wants to live in God’s will, will seek & surrender to that will at the start.  Maybe the greatest sign of a surrendered spirit is a dedicated day to the One who gave His all for all of us.