Embarking on a biblical journey offers invaluable lessons, one of the most crucial being the weight each word carries in enriching your devotional study. Take James as an example. He immediately describes himself as a servant, specifically of God and Jesus Christ, thereby identifying his allegiances. This leads us to the vital biblical principle: "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other..." (Matthew 6:24a).

This might prompt you to wonder: How can James serve two masters? Herein lies another essential lesson for studying the Bible—never interpret a passage in isolation, as that can distort its true meaning. To fully comprehend, let's examine the remainder of the verse: "...You cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24b).

The verse in its entirety clarifies that the two masters are contrasting forces: God and material wealth. In other words, it's a choice between God and worldly desires. To elaborate, the Bible states, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs" (1 Timothy 6:10)..

Take note, choosing to become a servant of both God and Jesus Christ will not guarantee an easy path. "If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you do not belong to the world and I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you" (John 15:19). As James continues to write, he emphasizes the importance of perseverance through trials and tribulations... as we will see later on.

Jesus himself affirms, "I have told you these things so that in me you may find peace. You will have trouble in this world, but take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). So, what does it mean to be a servant of both God and Jesus Christ --what the title entails will be brought to you in the following slides.

Before that, who is God? Who is Jesus? This will be where the afternoon (Genesis) and evening (the 4 Gospels) devotions will come in.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) God immediately introduced as the Creator of this world. More importantly, there is seen the establishment of boundaries serving as a framework for order....

(Continued in Afternoon Devotions)

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) Jesus immediately introduced to have some sort of duality with God while at the same time His own being. How do we know the Word is referred to as Jesus?

(Continued in Evening Devotions)

Another important thing to note is that the Bible is rich in history.

James also informs us that this passage is addressed to the twelve tribes who happen to be scattered, each going through their own trials. The history of who the twelve tribes are will be explored later as we go through Genesis in the Afternoon Devotions

Another essential lesson to note is that when reading the Bible, one should not dismiss its relevance simply because it was a letter written to another group. In this case, while James wrote this to the twelve tribes, the message is very much relevant to us today.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

This brings us back to the topic of servant of God.

The idea of being a servant and providing service is a topic emphasized frequently in the Bible and is the first topic brought to our attention by James. The qualities one carries being a servant are humility, obedience, and the willingness to serve others.

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:5-8) -Humility

"If you love me, keep my commands." (John 14:15) -Obedience

"Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:43-45) -Willingness to Serve Others

This path to be a servant of God should not be expected to be easy. As stated, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

But in humility, obedience, and willigness to serve "...If anyone would come after me [Jesus], let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24)

This is only the introduction. From this one verse alone, you can venture of into multiple other areas of the Bible with more/countless lessons yet to be learned.

As this text was James' greeting this is my greeting to you. This introduction may have been too complex for some but I assure you, the afternoon and evening devotions will be broken down as much as possible for all too understand. These morning devotions will be focused in a deep-dive into the Bible as it is my personal devotions in my personal journey.

Read the Bible for yourself, ask even the simplest of questions as it may lead you to the most surprising finds in your personal journey. I am simply here to show you possible connections but not all connections as that is too much even for me.

Swipe once more also for the Song of the Hour

Thank you,

Make Me a Servant- The Maranatha! Singers