DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY DECEMBER 19:
WORD OF WISDOM
God says you are well able. He says you are equipped. He says you are
qualified. He says you are anointed, called and appointed to fulfill every
dream and desire He's placed within you!
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DAILY DEVOTION
Away in a Manger
"John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one
among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred
before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things
were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day
John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world."
John 1:26-29
One of the first Christmas songs most of us learned was "Away in a Manger."
It is routinely cited as one of the most popular carols. The origins of the
song are unclear. In its earliest published versions from the 1880s it is
attributed to Martin Luther, but it does not appear that he actually wrote
the words so many of us love to sing. Wherever they came from, they are a
reminder of the humility of Jesus Christ.
He is the Lord of glory, and the only one worthy of all praise and worship.
Yet He took on a human body, and was placed into a feeding trough for
animals. Paul wrote that Jesus refused to cling to His rights and
privileges: "But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in
fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:7-8).
A manger is a fitting place for the Lamb of God, no matter how out of place
it seems to be for the King of Kings. Jesus is both, and to provide a way of
salvation for us, He chose the manger over a throne. There is no more
touching symbol of the love of God for us than Jesus lying in a rough
feeding trough meant for animals because there was no room in the inn.
We must never lose sight of the amazing humility Jesus displayed by coming
to be our Saviour.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
James 4-5 New King James Version (NKJV)
Pride Promotes Strife
4 Where do [a]wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from
your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not
have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and [b]war. [c]Yet
you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive,
because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4
[d]Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the
world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the
world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture
says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
"God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble."
Humility Cures Worldliness
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you
sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and
weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Do Not Judge a Brother
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a
brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law.
But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12
There is one [e]Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who[f] are you
to judge [g]another?
Do Not Boast About Tomorrow
13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow [h]we will go to such and such
a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas
you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even
a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead
you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."
16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is
sin.
Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged
5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon
you! 2 Your riches [i]are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3
Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness
against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure
in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields,
which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have
reached the ears of the Lord of [j]Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth
in pleasure and [k]luxury; you have [l]fattened your hearts [m]as in a day
of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not
resist you.
Be Patient and Persevering
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the
farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it
until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient.
Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord [n]is at hand.
9 Do not [o]grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be [p]condemned.
Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My brethren, take the
prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and
patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the
perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord-that the Lord is
very compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or
with any other oath. But let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No," "No," lest
you fall into [q]judgment.
Meeting Specific Needs
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him
sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of
the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name
of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord
will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16
[r]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that
you may be healed. The effective, [s]fervent prayer of a righteous man
avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed
earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three
years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and
the earth produced its fruit.
Bring Back the Erring One
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns
him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his
way will save [t]a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
