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A Devotional Journey through the Epistle of James

01 Sunday Nov 2026

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Day 13: Freedom under the Perfect Law

But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free.
God will bless you in everything you do,
if you listen and obey, and don’t just hear and forget.
(James 1:25, CEV)

Reflection

We live in a consumer culture and that culture permeates our daily life. We are consumers of food and drink, products and services. We are consumers of sports, music, and entertainment. Furthermore, when we step inside a church we become consumers of religious services.

God help the poor pastor who doesn’t realize that the people gathered before him have arrived with a consumer mentality. Will the pastor rise to the occasion and meet their expectations, or will they leave disappointed with the message they hear? Will the message that is preached make it to the parking lot, or will it be forgotten and neglected?

James addresses our consumer mentality head-on. First, he urges us to continually look to God’s word:

But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. (James 1:25a, CEV)

James is not writing his epistle to full-time pastors. He is addressing all believers in Jesus Christ. All believers must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets [them] free. This means our Bibles should not be gathering dust on a shelf somewhere. A good Bible is a Bible that is worn, marked, and tattered through daily use.

Why is immersing ourselves in the Word—the perfect law—so important? James tells us this perfect law sets us free. Free from what?

In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul answers that question.  For he [the Father] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14, NIV)

We are set free from the dominion of Satan and our fetters of sin. Now through the redemptive work of Christ, we are living under new management—the management of a loving heavenly Father. All this happens through the cleansing power of the Word that in the person of Jesus comes to dwell among us. (See John 15:3.)

For the Word to become effective in our lives we must become more than consumers of Sunday sermons. We must become doers of the Word. Doing triggers God’s blessing.

God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don’t just hear and forget. (James 1:25, CEV)

Response

Lord God, help me to genuinely value your Word. I want to be a doer of your Word by applying what I hear and read. Lord Jesus, I want to know your Word experientially in my day-to-day life. Her my prayer. Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law (Psalm 119:18).  Amen.

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A Devotional Journey through the Epistle of James

25 Sunday Oct 2026

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Day 13: Freedom under the Law

But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free.
God will bless you in everything you do,
if you listen and obey, and don’t just hear and forget.
(James 1:25, CEV)

Reflection

In my discussion of James 1:18, I stated that, “Jesus didn’t just proclaim the message of salvation. He is the message of salvation.” (See Day 10.)

In his Gospel, John verifies this perspective when he writes:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, NIV)

The message—the gospel message—is personified in Jesus. It logically follows that when James commands us to “Obey God’s message!” he is also commanding us to “Obey Jesus!” Paul also reminds us of this truth when he writes, “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” (Colossians 2:9, NIV). So, it logically follows that obedience to the message is obedience to Christ.

 

As followers of Christ, how does Jesus view our relationship with him? In his own words Jesus answers this question in one of the last conversations he had with his disciples. (See John 14:15-21.)

Jesus begins this intimate discussion with these words, “If you love me, keep my commands.” (John 14:15, NIV).

There are two central truths about the Christian faith that are evident from this brief verse. First, Jesus expects—no requires that we love him. Love is both an emotion and a motivator. Love is not simply a feeling. Love is an emotion that puts us into motion. True love is not passive. It’s active.

This brings us to the second point. Love is demonstrative. Jesus demonstrated his love for us by suffering and dying for us on the cross. In turn, how do we demonstrate our love for Jesus? We show our love by keeping his commands. This means we need to know his commands.

And where do we find his commands? We find his commands in the message—the Scriptures—the living Word of God. When we love the Word, we are loving Jesus, and when we obey the Word we are obeying Jesus.

Let’s become genuine lovers of Jesus. (See Peter’s restoration, John 21:15-19, CEV.)

Response

Lord God, I want to obey your message. Lord Jesus, I love you. Thank you for first loving me. Help me to practically demonstrate my love for you through the way I live, through my words and deeds. I want to apply your Word to my life and so become a doer of the Word. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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A Devotional Journey through the Epistle of James

18 Sunday Oct 2026

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Day 12: Humility and the Message Planted in You

You must stop doing anything immoral or evil.
Instead be humble
and accept the message planted in you to save you.
(James 1:21, CEV)

Reflection

Humility. Who needs it?

Humility is a much-overlooked character quality. But then, that’s rather unsurprising. Afterall, humility doesn’t announce its presence with loud shouts, a red carpet, or a trumpet fanfare. But here in today’s reading from the Epistle of James, we have humility playing the central role—a pivotal role.

Humility changes everything.

Change in the human condition cannot happen—will not happen without humility. Humility is the precondition for personal change. Furthermore, today’s verse is all about change:  

You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. Instead be humble and accept the message planted in you to save you (James 1:21, CEV).

We have no trouble in agreeing with the first part of this verse. You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. We can all see that evil and immorality are rampant in the world. It’s all around us, in our newsfeeds, in the breakdown of societal norms, in harmful addictions, in crime and corruption. We have no problem identifying the problem. We are steeped in it.

We see the immorality and evil in others. But do we see it in ourselves? Far too often the words of Jesus apply to us. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3, NIV)

That’s where self-reflection and humility enter the picture. We only see our faults, imperfections, and misdeeds when we humble ourselves. Pride blinds us to our sins and shortcomings.

What can save us from our blind and wretched condition?

James 1:21 clearly tells us that the message is planted in you to save you. Jesus is the message of salvation. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Jesus lived a sinless life and suffered in our stead to purchase our redemption.

Today will you receive the message—the gospel message? Will you let it grow within you? That will take humility. It means admitting your failures and your needy condition.

Who needs humility? I do.

Response

Lord God, forgive my pride. I humble myself before you. Thank you for sending Jesus. I need his help. Lord Jesus, I receive you as my Savior. Plant your word—your message within me. Help me to grow daily in my knowledge and love for you. I thank you for your amazing grace and love for me. Amen.

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