“When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” (Matthew 2:3)
The coming of God is troubling to the world and its rulers. The birth of Jesus threatened Herod’s power, and he was prepared to take wicked action to protect it.
Nothing has changed. Live your life, point toward Christ just like the magi did, and expect that some will be troubled by your good news. The King is coming. That’s good news whether or not the rulers of this age recognize it as such.
“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.” (Matthew 1:17)
Forty-two generations from Abraham to Jesus. God’s promise took forty-two generations to fulfill. To comprehend such a vast span of time, imagine your great grandparents… just add another 38 “greats” on the front. The amount of life that was lived and cascading waterfalls of history that flowed through the river of time between Abraham and Jesus is staggering.
God kept the promise alive through births and deaths, empires, tragedies, and the ebbs and flows of humanity’s faith (or lack thereof). The God who kept the promise of Christ alive through all that history is the same God who promises to work all things together for your good, too.
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.” (James 5:7)
In the dead of winter, spring seems so far away. The snow lies upon the ground, every morning is cold in your bones, and the car windshield needs constant scraping. All lies fallow, lifeless, and tired… but be patient.
Spring is here before we know it. The birds begin to chirp, the buds open up, and the green returns with its luster. The seasons teach us that when we are patient, the best days are ahead, and typically, they are here much quicker than we expected.
Our journey here seems long sometimes, but believe me, it goes by quickly. This life is but a vapor (see James 4:13) in the annals of eternity. You are planting a heavenly crop, dear Christian. Be patient.
“Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.” (James 4:9)
The insatiable pursuit of happiness is the devil’s trick to keep us from self-examination. We aren’t always meant to be happy. Sometimes, we should be sad – especially if that sorrow leads us to repentance of sin. James warns us that the effort to cover our sins with laughter and fun or to rationalize our sins away with pride and self-deception is both wrong and only a temporary fix. The sin is not expunged by us ignoring it.
The only path to forgiveness is godly sorrow. A mourning over our sin brings us humbly to the presence of God, hat in hand, to seek redemption. A heart that is gloomy with the sorrow over its errors is ready to be forgiven and exalted.
Don’t be afraid to grieve over sin. That mourning leads to reflection, repentance, and joy in Christ.
“But no one came tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.” (James 3:8)
An untamed beast makes surprising and unexpected decisions when instinct kicks in, and so does the tongue. What we really think slips out even when we try and control it. In the heat of the moment, or in a thoughtless quip, we say something that we hadn’t properly measured or considered. It will happen – you can’t tame the tongue.
So, if you can’t tame it, you must go deeper. Jesus says that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Our tongue is the spigot, but our heart is the well. Fill your heart with good things – charity, kindness, love, sympathy, grace, mercy, and truth. Overflow the wellsprings of your heart with that which is right, and what will slip out of your untameable tongue will be pure.
The tongue is the symptom; the heart is the thing we must empty of bitterness, selfish ambition, pride and jealousy. If the heart is full of good treasures, the tongue will speak accordingly.
“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” (James 2:10)
Don’t confuse doing the right thing some of the time with being righteous. You may have never murdered anyone, but that doesn’t clear your rap sheet of the charges of pride, greed, or laziness.
Sin is any act that falls short of the righteousness of God.
Don’t look down on others because they sin differently than you, and don’t elevate yourself based upon the sins you haven’t committed.
Prisons are full of all different types of criminals. Imagine a bunch of inmates try to prove which one is the best – even if one wins, he is still behind bars. The winner and the loser get the same prize.
Own your sin, so He can forgive it. Repentance is the beginning of the road to redemption.
“…and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation because like flowering grass, he will pass away.” (James 1:10)
Every American is rich, and we are all seeing that wealth chipped away by inflation, gas prices, wars, and rumors of wars. What an excellent chance for us to glory in our humilitation!
Isn’t it humiliating that it only takes a dip in the stock market to change the mood of the rich?
Isn’t it humiliating that a jump in gas prices can get us all worked up and complaining?
Isn’t it humiliating that we go the grocery store that carries thousands of items and are fouled up so easily by our favorite product not being on the shelf?
The humiliation of the rich is that our riches aren’t nearly as powerful as we think they are. Riches can’t buy joy, and they can’t buy peace.
Good news! Jesus is giving that stuff away for free! Embrace the humiliation. It will lead us rich folks straight to Him.
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)
The book of Ephesians is about God’s plan for the church, but it also reminds us that the devil has plans, too. Satan means ‘adversary’, and so he is. You have to factor him into the equation.
Sometimes things go wrong in your life because of the devil. When you start to get into a Bible reading routine, don’t be surprised when the devil throws a couple emergencies in to try and break up your good habits.
When you start working on your character, don’t be surprised when the devil takes and throws a couple extra temptations your way. Sometimes old habits die hard because Satan is trying to resurrect them.
From stressors to discouragement to prosperity, the serpent has a way of looking for ways to slither right into your life and stop progress.
“…and there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.” (Ephesians 5:4)
Some things just don’t fit together. Shorts and cowboy boots are not a good life choice. Black socks and sandals are apparently a no-no (just ask my kids!).
You know what also doesn’t fit together? Crude jokes and a Christian mouth. Filthy language and a life of faith just don’t work well together. They are like putting toothpaste in your coffee or scrambled eggs with your chocolate. It ain’t right.
We represent the King at all times – guard your mouth. And if you don’t know what to say, the verse also answers that question: “but rather giving of thanks”. A grateful voice is always a good choice.
“…until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13)
When Cain struck down Abel, his line of defense to God was, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” This angry retort was a defensive mechanism to hide his sin, but it also uncovered a very real temptation for us all – the temptation to view our lives as islands.
Ephesians sings a different song than Cain. It speaks of unity within the church… the type of unity found in diverse people bearing one another’s burdens and striving together “until we all attain”.
MY success is not good enough. OUR success is the goal.
What does such unity look like in practical terms? It is seen in weeping together at funerals and visitations. It is seen in rejoicing together at birthday parties and get-togethers. It is seen in mentoring of the next generation and in the care of the aging one. It is seen in conversations about our faith held in our homes and gathered around coffee tables. Ephesians cries for us to follow the Lord together.
We are one, and we rise to meet our Lord together.
You must be logged in to post a comment.