TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
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? James 2:5
Read: James 2:1-5
Listen: James 2
TODAY’S MESSAGE
In his instruction about not showing favoritism, James returns to a subject he’s mentioned previously: the rich and the poor. He makes it clear that one isn’t valued more than the other. In this, he refers back to his words in James 1:9-10 where he tells those who are poor to consider themselves rich because of the gospel and those who are rich to be humbled.
This means that those who are poor, or in a tough stretch financially, need to take pride in their high position as a child of the King. If we’re poor, we need to be reminded that our value is immense because of the cross. It also means that those who are doing well financially need to respond with humility as they understand their need for God. If we’re rich, we need the reminder that our value comes from the cross and not our wealth or investments. And when it comes to favoritism or discrimination, our challenge is to look at people the way God looks at them: at their hearts. God seeks humility and examines hearts. Whether rich or poor, God desires for everyone to be poor in spirit.
TODAY: Reflect on where you find your value or identity. Whether you consider yourself rich or poor, thank your Heavenly Father for the cross. Confess those times when you’ve placed your ultimate identity, or the identity of others, in something other than the cross. Listen to the Beyond the Weekend Podcast HERE to dig deeper into this passage with Senior Pastor Aaron Buer and other staff members.
JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
Read Luke 22. Highlight anything that refers to the Old Testament and how Jesus fulfills it. Note how Jesus institutes the Lord’s supper on the Passover feast and how he fulfills this Old Testament feast.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
