JAMES 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

TO PONDER

Too often I think that the church (generally speaking) is too worried about being perfect and having all the answers. To some extent I think it is why our society and culture make such a big deal when the church fails in so many ways as we have seen it do time and again throughout its history. We say, 'come to us we have all the answers' but then more often than not we become part of the problem.

What if instead, we acknowledged the reality that we are in fact no better at life than the rest of the world. What if we actually shared the gospel of Jesus which says, you don't have to get it right or have all the answers because Jesus has taken care of all that on your behalf. What if we were truly a community where it was okay to acknowledge or failures to each other, to admit our faults and our flaws and trust that we would be met with grace and forgiveness?

It seems to me that this is what many people in our communities are desperately searching for, a place to belong and be accepted as they are. That is exactly what a vibrant christian community should be.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, please forgive me for the times I fail to accept people openly, the way you have accepted me. Help me to be ready to humble myself and take the time to really listen to and appreciate the people that you bring across my path today. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.