What does it mean to be steadfast?

James 1:3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness...

    As we have discussed various portions of this sentence, I would like to reflect and conclude on what does it actually mean to be steadfast?

   My mind immediately thinks to our family passage this year. We are studying Matthew 7:24-27, the wise man and the foolish man. Jesus is teaching on what life in the Word looks like, those who listen; and life outside His teaching looks like... the foolish man. It is very applicable here. When we come to trials- are we built on the rock, which is Christ and His word, or have we bought into folly, worldly standards and help and built on sand?

   When outside trials hit- the storms of life- where does your house go? Look at the last storm you weathered? What was left when the storm passed? Where you anchored into Jesus, grateful, clinging and trusting all the yet more? Or did you turn to secular philosophies and hopes and found yourself on sinking sand?

    This is so easy to do, our climate right now is absolutely a trial. From Covid, to politics and racial tensions, it is so easy if you get your thoughts from the news, from social media or crowd surfing to see what is 'right,' to end up in a situation where you have built your house and your hopes on sand. 

    Christ is how you produce steadfastness. How? By hearing the Word of God and doing them (Matthew 7:24) Jesus literally teaches us how we can become resolute and grounded. Faith comes from hearing. And hearing through the Word of God (Romans 10:17). 

    James gives us the opportunity to access are we following true or vain religion. Looking back at the last few months would you say you were steadfast? Did you allow these trials to cultivate a steadfastness and hope in Jesus Christ? Or as we will read in a few verses did you find yourselves tossed to and fro?

Worship for today: O Love that wilt not let me Go

Steadfastness

James 1:3(b) For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

    We talked about what it means to know in light of this verse. We will now move onto testing of your faith that produces steadfastness. (I think this two might become two posts) 

   When James is writing that the testing of our faith...he is not implying a literal test. This is not a situation that would serve as a trick, or a pop exam. This is a testing as in a refining. Much more like a person working with metal will put it into a fire for refining and to work with it; this is the context. 1 Peter 1:7 says likewise. Trials come to strengthen our faith; or inevitably that we might have no faith at all. 

Romans 5:3-5 is a glorious transaction of what happens with trials have their work. HOPE. Hope springs forth, and not hope in ourselves, or our own strength but hope in Jesus Christ. As we discussed last time, when we can fix our gaze on Jesus we are able to see the scope of lives light and momentary afflictions for what they are. And when we set our gaze on Christ we are in respect looking towards eternal matters. I love verse 5, as we read, "because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." WOW. Do I encounter trials with the knowledge and confidence that God's love has been poured into my heart? Do I then reflect that when fire is put to my feet?

Psalm 91 starts out with He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. This is such a beautiful confidence that we may face trials with. When the testing comes, and it will, may we cling to the hope that is within us- and that hope- is the love of God poured in by the power of the Holy Spirit!! Ironically Psalm 91 is also used and misquoted when Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness. Notice tempts.... not tries. He says throw yourself down as angels will guard you. Do we not see that as the tongue and cheek response of false teaching today. Just claim Jesus and NOTHING bad will come your way. Name it and Claim it false doctrine that if you are doing good Jesus will bless you. Because no harm will come to you. Ah... but this is not so. We are not promised a life free from trials. James, Paul, Peter, they tell us to expect trials. BUT not without hope. That through our obedience in Christ we will be able to walk through them, and delight in them; because we seem them as a refining fire for the sake our of journey with the Lord. 

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 immediately comes to mind, "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 

Do we walk through trials with our eyes on glory?

Today I am linking to a documentary of a few missionaries with HeartCry. As we watching this Friday night with our kids all of us noticed, the people kept saying how thankful they were for their suffering!!! How can we change our grumbling to gratitude today?

Korowai Ministry

James 1:3 (a)

For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness...

   The deeper we dig into James the more my need to slow the pace and research and study and meditate upon each phrase becomes. As we study together, I learn ways to go deeper, have found myself drawn into a desire to know more, and shocked how content I have been for years with simply "reading" through the Word, without ever truly digging deeper. Scripture is the Word of God given to us; yet sometimes I treat it like social media blurbs, scrolling through 'liking,' this and 'caring,' about that. Without truly giving pause to seek it out and devour each morsel of life sustaining truth.

   James is simply put- so practical for us as believers. It is even practical for the unbeliever to understand how a person of faith should walk, and a good sifter for those who do profess faith, but are actually not Christians, to be able to sit and read and pause... and say I am a Christian, but...

   James is writing to the church, for you know...lets stop there. The word "know" here is a deeply rooted word. It is knowledge acquired by experience. Such as if you live somewhere there are seasons... you know that in the fall the leaves turn color. It is both based on observation around you and living through the experience of fall. This is a knowledge that comes through understanding. Strong's defines it as:to learn to know, to come to know, to perceive and to feel; also to become known. When James says for you know, he is leaning into a deep understanding not just saying as you have read...

    Throughout scripture it is laced with this truth. To know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Hebrews 11 is sometimes referred to as the 'hall of faith.' Pause to read through it. These are the testimonies of those who suffered and lived through trials of various kinds, who lived in the hope that is produced through the faith in God! Most did not see the promise this side of eternity. Hebrews 11: 32-38 lists the various trials, tortures, killings, and the author labels them as persons of whom the world was not worthy. Every time I read through this passage my heart swells. The faith of these people in God and in the Lord Jesus Christ so moved them they lived with the glorious hope fueled by the truth that Jesus is LORD. Not striving for things of this world they ENDURED the race set before them. Because their hope, their treasure, their joy...was eternal.

   Do we live with a joy set on the eternal? On a hope of that which is yet to come? Or do we find ourselves easily disappointed by things of the world around us? Are we constantly stumbling over things that in 100 years will not matter? Or do we run the race with the joy set before us?

   Hebrews 12:1-3 sums it up well. LOOKING to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

  How do we hold onto joy, how do we chose joy when trials come? By looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

   Next week we will look at Romans 5:1-5; Philippians 3:8; and Matthew 5:11-12.

Weekend worship! Psalm 57

James 1:2(b)

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. 

James starts the letter right off addressing the church knowing that they all will experience trials. The word here for various can mean variegated or many colors. James while addressing external trials does not put them as a one size fits all. He does not suggest they are only matters of persecution; but external life circumstances that will effect each of us. Whether it be financial, physical, emotional, mental, accidental or persecution each person will experience trials in their lives.

James is establishing the difference as we talked about briefly between external trials and then what he labels as temptations- these are temptations or internal trials that can lead one to sin. For example, cancer would be an external trial, or the loss of a job, or a break-up, or being mocked for your faith. Outside circumstances that now must be navigated through a Christ-centered and Word based response. 

Temptations can come out of these but are not limited to it. IE. You break up and are tempted to go drink away your sorrows with girlfriends and make lots of bad choices. This would be temptation. Or lust that gives way to action. Or loss of job that gives way to stealing. Or anger that gives way to physically or emotionally hurting someone. We will go much deeper to this portion as we hit 13-15. 

James tells us to respond with joy to all trials. We might feel this is silly or trite. But notice he does not use the word 'happy.' He does not say Don't worry, be happy! He does not sing to you somewhere over the rainbow.... He does not tell you you deserve happiness. Happiness is a fickle emotion. The word joy is purposeful. 

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Reverend Henry McCleoud says on his sermon of James, "Joy dear friends, was purchased for us by our Lord; it is part of our Christian heritage poured into our hearts by the Spirit; it is granted at the movement of conversion and cultivated over a life of obedience, prayer, study of Scripture, faith and good works!

We should chose joy before trials come. Because they will. By choosing to wake up and be in God's word, and sit under sound teaching, and participating in a local healthy body and church; we do well to prepare for trials. Trials have a way of us falling on whats familiar. Sometimes those are bad habits. We would do well to be mindful each time- am I responding in a way that points others, INCLUDING myself to Christ, or am I responding in a way that does not. 

It is not easy. But we studied in Philippians " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." That is not a cliche verse, it is purposeful and it is necessary to fall on truths like that when faced with various trials... that dear sister through the strength of Jesus Christ, we can chose Joy. 

Worship: Lord from Sorrows Deep I call

James 1:2

Count it all a joy my brethren...

We are going to be taking 2 days to break apart this verse. Maybe 3. In fair warning since we started I presumed James would take months to get through!!! LOL. But that is a good thing. 

Count, or consider is in its imperative form here in the verse. It means it is a command. James is not suggesting that we act out in "happiness," or respond with fake smiles; but that we count or consider it a joy when trials come. Why is that? because our knee jerk reaction is not joy. Joy comes from wholly leaning onto and into Jesus Christ. 

In John MacArthur's commentary on the book of James he writes, "We are not just to act joyful, in reluctant pretense, but to be genuinely joyful. It is a matter of will, not feelings, and should be the conscious, determined commitment of every faithful believer. And because God commands it, it is within the ability, under the Spirit's provision, of every true Christian. When faith in Jesus Christ is genuine, James assures us, even the worst of troubles can and should be cause for thanksgiving and rejoicing. 

It is good to remember, part of the theme of James is to separate true religion from vain religion. Tomorrow we will get deeper into the trials portion, however it is good to be mindful constantly that James is trying to help both the believer and the nonbeliever of what a response to circumstances looks like, or should strive to look like under the banner of Christ. 

James addresses the persons reading as brothers. This is because in Christ we are all a family. We become united together as brothers and sister's in Christ, under the love and salvation of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This letter is not a diatribe from someone sitting somewhere safely saying you should do this, or that. This is a man who at one point did not believe in Jesus; who came to a saving faith in the Lord and now is walking, running yet, in hardship and toil to spread and lead the church in the likeness of Jesus Christ. James would shepherd well and die for these convictions at the hand of those who claim religion. And it is this vain religion that he is warning against. It is good to examine one's heart as we study, do I say I believe in Jesus in word only, or has Christ become King of my heart?

James 1:1

Please read James 1:1-18. We will be paused here for quite a while! So this will be our daily reading  as we work our way through! 

Today's focus: James 1:1. 

James, a  bond servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who is James? James is the half brother of Jesus. Born to Mary and Joseph. He is not one of the original disciples whom Jesus called. In fact, James would have not identified himself in the way he starts his letter during the life of Jesus. 

Jesus brothers did not believe he was the Christ at first. During his lifetime James was with his brothers as the called out Jesus to show who he was in John 7:2-5. How does one go from disbelief to belief? From standing aside to dying a martyr's death? The power of the resurrected Savior.

We can sometimes this day and age just say the "resurrected Savior," devoid of the power and truth it represents. We tie it so tightly into our ' Easter Story,' that we lose the centrality and necessity that Jesus, being risen from the grave is a key point. He died AND ROSE AGAIN. He fulfilled the prophecies and conquered death and now sits on the right hand of His Heavenly Father; yet we can be dismissive of the miracle of this momentous life changing reality. James lived on both sides of the testaments. He knew the Old Testament well, grew up in the household of Jesus, Son of Man, and then became a follower of Jesus Christ His Lord post resurrection. He came to the place and then lives zealously in the truth that Jesus is the Christ! And we get to see the transformation. 

It is therefore, no little thing that James does not identify as Jesus' half brother but as his bond-servant. A slave to Christ willing serving His Master.

Jesus appears to James after His resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:7. He is then likely found in the upper room Acts 1:13-14. Through faith in Jesus Christ now and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit James becomes a pillar of the local church. We actually see him time and again, perhaps without notice. He is a leader in the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:13) is called a pillar by Paul in Galatians 2:9, and Paul would go to visit him twice that we know of, one his first mission to Jerusalem after his conversion and on his last journey through. James is known historically as James the Just. 

Foxes Book of Martyrs has his death recorded in his 90's by being cast down from the top of a temple and then beaten to death with clubs.

This is James. Identified in God and the Lord Jesus Christ. May our new birth in Jesus Christ and the indwelling of His spirit within us, so too change our identity and titles. In our culture people typically ask your name and then quickly followed by what do you do for work? We can become identified with a trade. My hope is that I become identified souly with my Savior. Not that I am the wife of so and so or mother of them, and them...but as Jenny, servant of the Lord and my Savior Jesus Christ. We can be so consumed or motivated by our identities we hold or identities we desire- may ours be Christ in every way.

Portion B of verse 1, we find James writing to the 12 tribes of the dispersion. After reading many commentaries the prevailing thought seems to be this would have been early Jewish Christians, thus the 12 tribes reference; and they would have started to be scattered abroad. After the martyrdom of Stephen in Acts chapter 8 the church scatters. At the time of this writing most likely James son of Zebedee would have too, already been killed, Peter would have been imprisoned by Herod (Acts 12). The church was right off the ground in an intense season of persecution. This letter was written to those early believers as a way to live the faith they are now professing. Keep in mind this is written, much like several other letters of the New Testament to those in times of trials and persecution. Keep in mind what is addressed... but also what is not. 

James teaches and urges with zeal to live a life worthy of the calling of Christ. The church we attend today was built of the blood paved roads of those who went before us. Who to live was Christ and to die was gain! May we use the book of James to calibrate how and why and to whom we serve, to whom we point to, and to how we love. 

Worship today: Why did life get harder

(just a forewarning I cry often when I hear this song, a beautiful, true, honest song before the Lord)

Introduction to James

James. 

Please read James chapter 1.

 

Today will be a brief outline and then tomorrow we will dig into James 1.

James is considered the earliest written book of the New Testament. With the only exception possibly being the book of Galatians. This then, would have been the first book written to the very earliest of the Christian church. James is also designated as a "general letter," going back to early church historian Eusebius in his writings "Ecclesiastical History." Often New Testament letters are written to a church or people specific IE to the church of Galatia (Galatians), however this book along with 1,2 Peter; 1,2,3 John and Jude seem to be written to the church at large or a general audience. 

James is said to be the proverbs of the New Testament by some scholars and others consider it almost a commentary to the Sermon on the Mount. To that effect we will look closely as those parallels when we get there. (verses within chapter 2,3 and 5).

James is the half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet as he writes he does not claim this distinction. He claims one of servitude as a bondservant of God. We will discuss this in depth tomorrow.

James writes this book to encourage and exhort the believer to not just say they believe in Jesus but to LIVE in that exclamation.

This is what drove me to this book right now. There is a lot of noise around us. A lot. From pandemics to conspiracies to racial tensions and injustices to political pandering and diatribes and the unrest of an election year. As I scrolled through social media I found myself concerned, confused at times anxious and fearful and yet wondering what is a believer's response.

James will teach us. He will guide us and at times correct us. It is so relevant today where we are such a 24/7 news and knee jerk reaction society. Where we are full of anger and fear and frustration. Where believers are trying and struggling to hold dual citizenship as Americans and then citizens of heaven; to no avail, because truthfully to follow Christ we must have one leader, one Savior, One King. Our hope must be found in one place so that are actions and speech and response spring out of that commitment and loyalty. 

My prayer for this study, as long and as intense as it plays out is that it changes us forever. That we do not take cues from social trends or news networks but that we emanate the love of Jesus Christ because that is what our heart and mind knows best. May we learn to be women saturated in the Word. 

Verse to mediate on for the week: 1:2 Consider it a joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials

Worship: Take my Life

Last read through

Good morning!

     Today is our last read through. I have to be honest here. It was SO hard for me to sit and read this morning. I woke up late, meaning some of my kids were waking up with me, needed to get breakfasts and work lunches gathered; assist a cranky 6 year old with every life dilemma possible, and found myself frustrated. It is a reminder to me how much I have to be purposeful to be in the word. And not just in it- but immersed in it. I must have read the same sentence 12000 times today. I felt like it would be impossible to actually gather anything from my time in the Word and prayer. In fact as I write this my youngest hasn't stopped talking to me. And now my eldest. 

    So today I want to offer the gentle hope that we just need to be in His Word. Be purposeful, be present in it. Today, at some point find the time to sit and read through the book of James. Or listen to it. Monday we will start James chapter 1 which I think I can safely say we will be in for several weeks. 

Meditation for the weekend: Know this my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20

Worship Song: God the Uncreated One

Pure and vain religion

Good morning!

As we read through James I am amazed at the richness and relevance of the book. Today as we read through, think through and jot notes on pure and vain religion. What James writes about as a faithful witness and what is not worthy of the Lord. There is A LOT packed in. As I read, a million times over I am convicted of things in my heart, mind and on my tongue that must change. We are living in a world where everyone has the ability to have a platform...may our platform be Christ. 

Today's meditation: If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. James 1:26

OUCH. AHK. UGH. This can be me at times, heart breakingly so. Our bridle must be His Word so that we are guided by truth and profess truth. Nothing else can speak into a situation with peace, comfort and love than the very Words of God. If scripture is God-breathed, we then have the ability to speak that into situations. The way for this to occur effortlessly is to be saturated by the Word. Not my social media, not the news, not Instagram or paraphrased efforts of truth- but the Word of God. Living and Active. 

This is an article by Mark Dever of 9Marks which I found incredibly helpful about my online comments.

Worship for the day: His Mercy is More

JAMES

Good morning friends!

We are finally starting our James study, and while although it might feel very random of me to start on a Wednesday (lets be honest most things I do feel slightly random) I fear if not today then when!

Our schedule will look slightly broken up in July as we will be coming and going- please look for either the email or this posting or our FB group to see week by week what to expect. Starting August 1 we will resume our normal M-F study and still yet a virtual study a few times a month. 

I am not sure how long it will take us to get through the book of James. There is A LOT packed into these 5 chapters. A lot of meat and a lot of reflection that will be worth chewing on and meditating through. James feels very relevant right now. I have been wanting to study this book deeply and now seems like a good time. ( It was between this and Galatians) 

Please use these next three days with me well. The goal will be if you haven't gotten to already, to familiarize yourself with the entire book. It is 5 chapters, it can be read in a sitting and it you can try reading it through once in the morning and once in the evening. Or listening to it on audio bible. I will do this often while folding laundry or weeding or cleaning bathrooms. 

Then pray. Pray over our study, our time in the word, over the women doing this with us. That we would come to know our Lord even more and that our hearts and minds would be transformed and renewed.

And lastly...worship! Give thanks back to God for His Word, His truths, His promises. He is a good God. Again in this study I will be adding worship songs each week. 

So today: James chapters 1-5 <3