In nearly every activity and decision in our lives, at some level there exists a conscious choice about avoiding and embracing. For example, if I desire to become a better steward of my time, I will avoid hours of Facebook, internet surfing, and Netflix binging and embrace time spent developing friendships or reading a good book; if I desire to lose weight, I will avoid Cap’n Crunch and Cold Stone ice cream and embrace exercise and the eating of more vegetables; and if I want to be a better husband I will avoid Saturdays and Sundays consumed with watching football and embrace time with my wife, family, and lending a hand in household chores.
The same is true in our relationship with God. As we learned last week from Pastor Dave, if we desire to live in the sphere of divine favor, we will avoid worldliness, pride, and practicing hypocrisy in our our evaluation of others. This week we will look again at James 4 and the idea of living in the sphere of divine favor, but from the view point of embracing, answering the question “to live in God’s favor, what shall I embrace?”