2026 Devotions
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We All Stumble in Many Ways
I admit it: sometimes I stumble. I am not perfect – not even close. But I do believe I am growing as a Christian and maturing as a person in Christ.
Listen to what James 3:2 says:
“We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.”
James reminds us of something we all need to remember: we all stumble in many ways. Every one of us has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. That truth should humble us, but it should also keep drawing us back to Jesus for mercy, forgiveness, and strength.
Growing Through Our Failures
Stumbling does not automatically disqualify someone from teaching. After all, no teacher is sinless. But there is a difference between a believer who stumbles, repents, and keeps growing, and someone whose life shows no real evidence of faith, repentance, or God’s transforming work.
A faithful teacher does not have to be flawless. But over time, that person’s life should increasingly reflect the character of Christ.
Maturing in Christ
When James uses the word “perfect,” he is not talking about sinless perfection. He is talking about someone who is mature, complete, and growing in Christ.
One of the clearest signs of spiritual maturity is how we use our words. Our words matter because they often reveal what is really going on in our hearts. Jesus said, “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
Neither James nor Paul claimed to have reached sinless perfection. Paul openly admitted that he had not yet arrived. But he kept pressing forward in his pursuit of Christ.
A mature believer is not someone who has never failed. A mature believer is someone who responds to failure with repentance, receives God’s grace, and keeps growing in obedience.
A Question for the Heart
So, is God actively working in your life? Can you see evidence of His transforming grace? Are your words, your conduct, and your relationships beginning to reflect Christ more and more?
Teaching others is a serious calling, but spiritual maturity is not just for teachers. It is the calling of every believer.
May we humbly submit ourselves to God’s Word, depend on His grace, and allow Him to shape both what we say and how we live.
Faith That Lives: How Our Works Fit in
Christ’s Work Produces Good Works
As I said before, James 2:14 and James 2:26 are among the most misunderstood verses in all of Scripture:
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?”
James 2:14, NIV
“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
James 2:26, NIV
These verses do not negate or diminish the finished work of Christ. Rather, they teach that genuine faith in Christ results in good works. Our works do not save us; they are the fruit of the salvation we have received.
Ephesians 2:8-10 explains that salvation is the free gift of God. God has done all the work necessary for our salvation through Jesus Christ. We receive this gift through faith, not through our own effort or good works.
When we place our faith in Christ, God gives us new life. We are His workmanship, recreated in Christ Jesus and made new so that our lives begin to produce good works. Therefore, good works are not the cause of our salvation; they are the result of God’s saving and transforming grace.
Today, we will concentrate on the what happens when we trust in the work of Christ.
This brings us back to James.
James is not saying that our works save us. Christ’s work alone accomplishes salvation. James is saying that when we truly trust in Christ, His saving grace begins to transform the way we live.
Christ’s work is the foundation; our works are the fruit.
Christ’s work accomplishes salvation. Our works demonstrate living faith.
Christ’s work provides the basis of our acceptance. Our works flow from knowing that we are accepted in Him.
Christ’s work is perfect, sufficient, and complete. Our works remain imperfect, but they are increasingly shaped by His grace.
We are not saved by good works. We are saved for good works. We do not obey in order to earn God’s love; we obey because, in Christ, we have already received it.
A living faith begins to show itself through love, mercy, generosity, forgiveness, service, and obedience. These actions do not replace faith. They reveal that faith is alive.
A Question for the Heart
James calls us to examine ourselves. Has our faith remained only in our words, or is it beginning to shape the way we live?
This is not an invitation to anxious self-reliance. We are not called to stare endlessly at our own performance. We are called to look again to Christ:
God promised that Christ would come.
Christ lived the sinless life we could not live.
Christ died the obedient, substitutionary death we deserved.
Christ rose in victory over sin and death.
And Christ now gives new life to everyone who trusts in Him.
Saving faith looks away from self and rests in Christ. Then, strengthened by His grace, that faith begins to act.
Consider one practical question today: Because I trust in Christ, what act of love or obedience is He calling me to take?
Perhaps it is helping someone in need, forgiving someone who has hurt you, confessing a hidden sin, sharing what God has given you, or serving someone without seeking recognition.
Do not act to prove that you deserve salvation. Act because Jesus has already done everything necessary to save you.
Our works do not complete Christ’s work. Christ’s completed work produces good works in us.
Faith That Lives: His Death and Resurrection
Jesus Died the Death We Deserved
James 2:14 and James 2:26 are among the most misunderstood verses in all of Scripture:
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?”
James 2:14, NIV
“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
James 2:26, NIV
These verses do not negate or diminish the finished work of Christ. Rather, they teach that genuine faith in Christ results in good works. Our works do not save us; they are the fruit of the salvation we have received.
Ephesians 2:8-10 explains that salvation is the free gift of God. God has done all the work necessary for our salvation through Jesus Christ. We receive this gift through faith, not through our own effort or good works.
When we place our faith in Christ, God gives us new life. We are His workmanship, recreated in Christ Jesus and made new so that our lives begin to produce good works. Therefore, good works are not the cause of our salvation; they are the result of God’s saving and transforming grace.
Today, we will concentrate on the heart of that saving work: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The death of Jesus was not an accident or a tragic defeat. He willingly obeyed His Father and gave Himself for us.
Philippians 2:8 says:
“He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!”
At the cross, Jesus bore the judgment our sins deserved. He took the place of sinners so that we could be forgiven and reconciled to God.
1 Peter 2:24 says:
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.”
Notice both parts of that verse. Jesus bore our sins so that we could be forgiven, but He also died so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. His saving work changes both our standing before God and the direction of our lives.
Christ’s sacrifice was complete and final:
“For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
Hebrews 10:14, NIV
Nothing needs to be added to what Jesus accomplished. Our good works do not help pay for our sins. Our obedience does not complete His sacrifice. We receive the benefits of His finished work through faith.
Jesus Rose in Victory
Jesus truly died, but death did not have the final word. On the third day, God raised Him bodily from the grave.
The angel announced:
“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”
Matthew 28:6, NIV
The resurrection declares that Jesus is the victorious Son of God. His sacrifice was accepted, and the powers of sin and death were defeated.
Romans 4:25 says:
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”
The resurrection is not an optional addition to the gospel. It is essential to our hope. Paul writes:
“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
1 Corinthians 15:17, NIV
But Christ has been raised. Because He lives, everyone who trusts in Him receives forgiveness, a new standing before God, and the power of a new life.
Romans 6:4 says:
“Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
The risen Jesus does not merely make our old lives a little better. He gives us new life.
Faith That Lives: The Work of Christ
James 2:14, NIV
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?”
James asks a searching question: What kind of faith do we have?
He is not asking whether our good works can save us. They cannot. He is asking whether a faith that exists only in words – a faith that never changes us or moves us to action – is genuine saving faith.
To understand the relationship between faith and works, we must begin not with our work, but with the work of Jesus Christ.
Saving faith is not confidence in our sincerity, effort, or goodness. Saving faith rests entirely on who Jesus is and what He has accomplished. The gospel announces what God promised, what Christ fulfilled through His sinless life and obedient death, and what God confirmed by raising Him from the dead.
God Promised a Savior
The work of Christ did not begin at Bethlehem. From the beginning, God promised that a Savior would come.
After humanity fell into sin, God declared that the offspring of the woman would one day defeat the serpent:
“He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3:15, NIV
Though the Savior would suffer, He would ultimately conquer the enemy.
Centuries later, Isaiah described a suffering servant who would bear the sins of others:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.”
Isaiah 53:5, NIV
When Jesus was born, an angel told Joseph:
“You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21, NIV
Jesus did not come merely to offer moral instruction or set a good example. He came to save sinners. His coming reminds us that God is faithful. What God promised, He fulfilled in His Son.
Jesus Lived the Life We Could Not Live
Our deepest problem is not that we need better habits or greater determination. We have sinned against a holy God, and no amount of human effort can erase our guilt or produce the perfect righteousness He requires.
But Jesus did what we could never do. He lived in complete obedience to His Father.
First Peter 2:22 says:
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
Jesus experienced genuine temptation. He knew weakness, hunger, sorrow, rejection, and suffering. Yet Hebrews 4:15 tells us:
“We have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin.”
Jesus was not merely better than us. He was completely without sin. His sinless life was essential to His saving work. Because He had no sin of His own, He could offer Himself as the spotless sacrifice for sinners.
Second Corinthians 5:21 says:
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Jesus does not simply help us improve our moral record. Through faith, we are united to Him. Our sin was laid upon Him at the cross, and His righteousness becomes the basis of our acceptance before God.
The Royal Law a Devotion on James 2:8-13
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”[b] also said, “You shall not murder.”[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
We are incredibly happy that Jesus has given us a law that rises above every other law—a law that doesn’t just govern our behavior, but shapes our hearts. James calls it the royal law, and it’s simple enough for a child to understand yet deep enough to transform the world: love one another.
His command to love is meant to guide our every step and shape our every thought. It’s meant to influence the way we speak, the way we respond, the way we see people, and the way we carry ourselves in a world that desperately needs hope. When we choose love, we aren’t just being kind—we’re reflecting the very character of Christ.
And when we choose mercy, we’re spreading the truth of the good news. We’re showing the world that Jesus Christ brings eternal life—not just someday, but life that begins changing us right now. His love doesn’t only save souls; it reshapes communities. It heals relationships. It softens hearts. It pushes back the darkness in the world we live in.
James tells us that if we really keep the royal law—the law that reflects the very heart of God—then we are walking in the way of Christ. And that royal law is simple: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s the kind of command that sounds easy until you actually try to live it out. Because loving your neighbor means loving the person who frustrates you, the person who disagrees with you, the person who can’t give you anything in return.
James says that when we show favoritism—when we treat some people as valuable and others as disposable—we break that royal law. We step out of the rhythm of grace and into the rhythm of the world. And he wants us to feel the seriousness of that. He wants us to understand that favoritism isn’t just a bad habit; it’s a violation of the gospel itself.
Then James takes us deeper. He reminds us that all of us will stand before the Lord one day. And on that day, God will judge with perfect justice. But James adds a sobering truth: judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. In other words, the way we treat people matters. The way we extend grace matters. The way we respond to the broken, the hurting, the overlooked—it all matters.
But James doesn’t leave us in fear. He lifts our eyes to one of the most beautiful truths in Scripture:
“Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Mercy triumphed over judgment when Jesus stretched out His hands on the cross. Mercy triumphed over judgment when He welcomed sinners, healed lepers, and restored the outcast. Mercy triumphed over judgment when He looked at you and me—empty, broken, unable to earn His love—and poured out grace anyway.
And now James says, Let that mercy shape the way you live. Let it shape the way you speak. Let it shape the way you treat people who walk into your life.
So today, James invites us to make a choice—not once, but every single day.
Choose mercy. Choose love. Choose the royal law.
Because mercy triumphs over judgment. It always has. And through Christ living in us, it still can.
Playing Favorites A Devotion on James 2:1-7
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
One lesson I’ve learned over the years is this: playing favorites never actually works. In my ministry and leadership journey, I’ve been called into many organizations to help troubleshoot what was going wrong. And time after time, I discovered the same issue—someone’s “favorite” had been placed in a leadership role.
They were likable. They were friendly. People enjoyed being around them. But they were not a leader.
And when someone is elevated because of favoritism rather than calling, gifting, or character, the result is almost always the same: instead of lifting the organization up, everything begins to sink. Morale drops. Momentum stalls. People feel discouraged. What was meant to help ends up hurting.
Favoritism doesn’t build the body—it breaks it.
When James opens with “My brothers and sisters” (James 2:1), he’s not speaking into the air—he’s speaking straight to the church. Straight to us. And his message is simple, direct, and honestly a little uncomfortable: If you belong to Christ, you cannot show favoritism.
The word James uses for “partiality” literally means “to receive the face.” In other words, judging someone by what you see on the surface—status, appearance, wealth, influence. Scripture pushes back on that again and again. Paul says, “God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11). The Law says, *“Do not pervert justice… judge your neighbor fairly.” (Leviticus 19:15)
James roots this whole teaching in the character of Jesus Himself. He calls Him “our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.” And that matters, because the glory of Christ simply does not mix with the favoritism of the world. How can we follow the One who welcomed the poor, touched the outcast, and humbled Himself—and then turn around and elevate the wealthy while ignoring the needy?
So James gives us a picture. Imagine a gathering—he even uses the word synagogue, which means there may have been unbelievers present. A rich man walks in, wearing a gold ring—maybe even marking him as an Equestrian, a Roman aristocrat. And then a poor man walks in—destitute, invisible, easy to overlook.
And the church—God’s people—give the rich man the best seat… while telling the poor man to sit on the floor.
James doesn’t soften it. He says when we do this, we become “judges with evil thoughts.” We step into a role that belongs to God alone. We start evaluating people based on what we see instead of how God sees.
So James raises his voice a little: “Listen, my dear brothers and sisters…” (James 2:5). He wants us to feel the weight of this. Because this way of thinking—this worldly way of assigning value—is completely out of step with the gospel.
Christians do not judge by appearance. Christians do not assign worth based on wealth. Christians do not treat people differently because of status.
Why? Because Christ treated us with mercy when we had nothing to offer Him (James 2:13).
And now He calls us to do the same.
A Non‑Polluted Christian Living in a Polluted World
I believe our generation faces one of the hardest seasons in history. Every day we are flooded with messages. Some lift our hearts and lead us toward God. Others tempt us—pulling us to chase things we don’t need or to live in ways that wound us and the people we love.
Two truths make this struggle real. We cannot escape the brokenness around us, and at times, our own hearts feel the pull of those polluted waters. Yet even here, God’s grace is stronger.
James 1:26–27 (NIV) “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
True faith is life‑changing faith. It begins with God revealing who we truly are. Think about it: God knows every flaw, every weakness, every failure—every sin you’ve ever committed. And yet He loves you still. You are not saved because you are good; you are saved because God is good, even when you are not.
Repentance means changing your mind about yourself—your self‑sufficiency, your illusions of moral strength—and turning fully toward God. And when you turn toward Him, He changes your heart and ultimately your life. As Scripture says, you become a new creation, washed clean through the death and resurrection of Christ. The old is gone. The new has come. You are spiritually cleansed.
But here is the question James presses on us: If God has made you clean, why step back into polluted waters?
James focuses on one specific polluted stream: the tongue. A tongue that runs wild. A tongue that deceives. A tongue quick to lash out in anger. A tongue that stains a life God has washed clean.
Are you a child of God—cleansed, forgiven, renewed—yet still opening your mouth and saying the wrong thing? We all have. I know I have. No believer escapes this struggle.
But here is the promise that keeps us from despair: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” — 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
God does not merely forgive; He cleanses. He does not merely pardon; He purifies. He does not merely overlook; He overcomes.
So guard your tongue. Care for the vulnerable. And keep yourself from the world’s pollution—not by your strength, but by His grace.