Be Patient and Establish Your Hearts

Today’s reading is James 5.

Whether James is specifically talking about God’s judgment on Israel on Jerusalem, the final judgment, or some other coming in judgment that would deliver Christians from those who oppress them, James explains what Christians need to do. We need to be patient. We need to persevere. We need to be steadfast. We don’t need to switch sides. We don’t need to give up. We don’t need to take up arms and take vengeance.

The Lord is judge. We are not. The Judge of the Earth will do what is right. Remember what Jesus promised, quoting the psalmist, “The meek will inherit the earth,” not the raging warrior. Like the prophets of old, we will suffer. Like the prophets of old, we must be patient, waiting on the Lord. Again, remember what Jesus pointed out. When we suffer as the prophets did and face our suffering as the prophets did, we will be rewarded as the prophets are. Our reward in heaven is great.

James tells us to establish our hearts. That is, strengthen them. Fix them in place. Make them firm. The devil will try to make our hearts waver. Don’t give in. Hang on. The Lord’s coming is at hand. That is, it is not so far away we can’t hang on.

Please, notice this one further point. Don’t even let the devil get a foot in the door by grumbling against your brothers and sisters. James has already addressed the fights and quarrels among his original readers. What a travesty it would be if they remained steadfast against the oppression and persecution of outsiders, but they ended up facing God’s judgment because they didn’t get along with one another in the holy faith without partiality.

Whatever you are facing today, whatever wedge the tempter is trying to drive between you and God today, whatever wedge the enemy is trying to drive between you and God’s people today, remember we have read enough Bible to know God’s purposes. He is compassionate and merciful. Hang on to Him. His plans and rewards for us are more than we can fathom.

Be patient and establish your heart. The Lord is coming.

Tomorrow’s reading is James 5.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. How do you think we can establish our hearts?
3. What makes patience, perseverance, and steadfastness tough?
4. What blessings come with patience and steadfastness?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?

Godly Wisdom

Today’s reading is James 3.

At the beginning of James’s letter, he encouraged us to ask God for wisdom. If we ask in faith, with no doubting, God will give us wisdom. Of course, He gives us wisdom by letting us endure trials to produce steadfastness. Steadfastness will have its perfect work, growing us to maturity and completeness.

As we grow in wisdom, notice what will grow in our lives: purity, peaceability, gentleness (meekness), reasonability, mercy, good fruits, impartiality, sincerity. These are the exact opposite of all the power struggles we discussed with the earthly, unspiritual, demonic wisdom of jealousy and selfish ambition.

James says, “A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” Jesus said peacemakers are blessed because they shall be called sons of God. Peacemakers are following in the footsteps of Jesus. This statement about harvest and sowing can be seen in two ways. First, if we sow peaceful wisdom in our own lives, we will bear the fruit of righteousness. Second, in the context of the chapter, talking about teachers, those who teach from God’s wisdom sow in peace and harvest others who pursue righteousness.

May we sow God’s word and will in the meekness of wisdom in the lives of others. That doesn’t mean all others will respond properly. They have their own choices to make. However, the only way to a harvest of righteousness is to sow in the peace and meekness of wisdom.

Next week’s reading is James 4.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. Notice that wisdom is demonstrated in James 3 the same way faith is in James 2. How is that?
3. What do the characteristics of God’s wisdom mean? What will our lives look like if we live by them?
4. Why is it hard to pursue the meekness of wisdom when the world is telling us to pursue the strength of power and revolt? What advice would you give to pursue meekness and peace?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?

Perfect

Today’s reading is Matthew 5.

Please, please, please, do not make the silly mistake so many Christians make when they come to the final verse of Matthew 5. Jesus says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Christians say, “Don’t let that stress you out. ‘Perfect’ just means ‘mature, complete, whole.'” Really? Does that make this sentence any easier to deal with? When the modifier is “as your heavenly Father is,” does changing the word from “perfect” to “mature” or “complete” or “whole” really soften the statement? Not in my book. I am no more mature or complete or whole as God is than I am perfect as God is.

Surely, this stands out even more when it is in the context of loving like God instead of as the Gentiles, tax collectors, scribes, and Pharisees do. I am called to love as purely, as perfectly, as maturely, as completely, as wholly as my heavenly Father does. Does that just mean making my best stab and trying really, really hard to love my enemy as well as my neighbor? Wouldn’t such a claim actually be relaxing Jesus’s command? We know what that does. Or does this statement’s standard actually take me right back to the first sentence of Jesus’s sermon?

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus isn’t calling me to love a bit better than Gentiles and tax collectors. He is calling me to love like God does. If I just had to love a bit better than Gentiles and tax collectors, I could probably pull that off. I could probably work really, really hard and be able to tell everyone how much better at loving I am than them. Of course, that wouldn’t be very poor in spirit, would it? However, when I realize the standard is not surpassing other people, but measuring up to God, suddenly, I realize my poverty of spirit, don’t I? Not only that, I start to mourn. I’ve got nothing to offer God in order to be His child. I will never be perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect.

Does this free me from the obligation? Of course not. Recognizing I never will be perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect is not permission to abandon the attempt. It is not permission to relax Jesus’s command. Rather, it is all the more reason I must meekly submit to His command and His guidance. It is all the more reason I must hunger and thirst for His righteousness. Only then will I have the kingdom. Only then will I be comforted. Only then will I inherit the reward. Only then will I be satisfied.

Understand, I will not be satisfied by dumbing down Jesus’s requirement. I will only be satisfied when I realize I will never reach His requirement and therefore humbly, mournfully, meekly, hungrily seek Jesus my King and His kingdom. Only then will I be perfect as the Father is. Not because I’m so perfect, but because my perfect King perfects me.

Praise the Lord!!!

Next week’s reading is Matthew 6.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. When you first read “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” what did you think?
3. Why is loving our enemies so hard?
4. When we consider this paragraph (and the one’s preceding it), why do we need Jesus so much?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?