Read: James 1:16-18

James says the forces that take us off course in our relationship with God originate from inside of us. They are the desires that make us do what is good for us at the expense of God and others.

This is the message in the first pages of the Bible. God made the first humans, Adam and Eve, and gave them a paradise garden to live in. His only request was for them to honour his wishes - since it was after all, his garden. But Adam and Eve decided to disregard God, and live according to their own sense of what was right and wrong. By choosing to live as if God were dead, they sinned, and they chose their way right out of the garden to live life on their own terms, to be their own gods.

James says the Creator God - the God who made the lights and had given us everything we need to live had not changed his intention for making humans and the garden. He is the same God, with the same intention of living in relationship with us. He has through Jesus found us a way back to him. Not only is he not trying to throw us off course, he is giving us eveything we need to keep us on course back to him.

James says God is rebuilding his garden. And we are the first harvest from that garden.

Write
Think about your faith story: how have you experienced God calling to you back to him, his desire to be in relationship with you?

What are the ways God is keeping you on course to him presently? How is God making you feel at home with him?

Who do you know is feeling their estrangement from God? In what ways do they express they are missing God in their lives?

Pray
What is God saying to you today?

Talk to God about how you experience his longing and love for you. How do you need God to remind you of his love?

Talk to God about how he is keeping you on course. In what ways you need to feel more at home with God?

Pray for your friend who is feeling their estrangement from God, and their need for him. Ask God how you can support them in their search for their Creator, and how you can show them God's love.

Pray for a fresh experience of God's love, grace and mercy as he reminds you how much he loves and longs for you, and as you find yourself at home in God's love.