Dear Friends,
Greetings! This is the first installment of our weekly e-devotion, but also think of it as a test run to give us the chance to correct email addresses that may be out of date or entered improperly. (If you’ve received this letter, then we have your correct information!) Feel free to forward this to friends and/or have them sign up themselves; plus it will be posted on our website (www.CutlerRidgeUMC.org). Besides some words of encouragement sent to you mid-week, we’ll also include any new prayer requests and relevant announcements for the weekend.
I have been pleased to hear that many of you are reading at home the book of James as I preach about it in church on Sunday. If you have not been able to be with us, you can still catch the second part of James as we talk about Chapter 3 this Sunday and finish the book through the rest of August. This week I’ll be talking about “What a Christian Says.” Careful and uplifting speech is a key characteristic of the mature Christian. Indeed, it takes wisdom to know what to say and how to say it. There are different occasions and different people in your life, and the wise person learns (usually with years of practice) how to use words wisely. For instance, how you may motivate one child or employee may not be how you speak to another, or how you give feedback to a friend may be different than how you like to receive feedback. Christian commentaries often define wisdom as the God-given ability to apply biblical truth to varied, real-life situations.
James 3:17 says “The wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.” Think about someone in your life whom you’ve considered wise. A teacher or pastor or grandparent or mentor who always had wise things to say. What was it about their words that seemed wise? Did they always have good advice or good stories? Maybe it was the thoughtful way they took time to respond. Perhaps, they resembled James’ description of wisdom. How might your words or presence convey more of God’s peace, show more mercy and sincerity, be even-keeled? James 1:5 encourages all of us to look to God to supply this wisdom–goodness knows we all need more of it! Just ask it says, and God is pleased to grant his people more wisdom. Just like Solomon, or my grandmother, or your favorite junior high teacher.
Peace to you,
Pastor Amber
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A Big Thank You! To all who came out for Vacation Bible School this week. We had a great time, adults & kids alike. A special thank you to our volunteers who made it happen: Sue Wendt, Julie Calloway, Patricia Sutta, and all those who helped serve and clean up food.
United Methodist Women will be having a General Meeting and pot-luck brunch on Saturday at 11am in the Fellowship Center. Ladies, come join us!
See you Sunday…
