Category: faith

Oops

Old Testament: Haggai 1-2

Poetry: Psalm 141

New Testament: Matthew 27

Yesterday’s devotion was written to those with a strong faith.  Today’s devotion is written for everybody else.  Perhaps, some of you are a bit wobbly in your faith and have drifted away from God.  Some of you may not have decided yet to live for God instead of yourself.  I suppose it is possible some of you have no interest in becoming a Christian, but I am guessing most of those folks wouldn’t be reading this.  In Matthew 27, we read about the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross and the crazy events that happened right after he died.

Strangely enough, it was the religious leaders that schemed to find Jesus guilty so they could put him to death.  It’s not easy finding someone guilty when they never have done anything wrong in their life, but they managed to concoct a way to make it happen.  They believed in the Old Testament scriptures, but somehow ignored the many writings about a messiah that would be coming.  They also saw miracles, or at the very least heard about them from many others.  All the signs were there for them to easily accept the fact that Jesus was indeed God’s son, but they chose not to believe.

In verse 50, Jesus cried out and then died.  At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, the earth shook, rocks split, and the tombs broke open.  Here is the craziest part of all:  bodies of holy people who had died were raised to life and started walking around town where many people saw them.  Can you imagine what that scene must have been like?  I’m sure there were people flipping out all over the place, including those who had put Jesus to death.  In verse 54, the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened.  It says they were terrified and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”  Oops.  Just minutes after they had crucified Jesus, they realized they had made a big mistake, but there was no going back at that point.  There was no do-over; they were clearly warned, but they chose to not believe.  I’m sure they felt terrible about their decision.

So, what does any of this have to do with you?  Well, you have a decision to make as well.  You must decide if you are going to live for God or live for yourself.  It’s a big decision so don’t take it lightly.  You can choose to ignore the signs if you would like, the same way the religious leaders ignored the signs 2,000 years ago.  Look at the incredible masterpiece called creation and try to justify that it happened completely randomly.  Read the Bible and try to convince yourself that all the ways the Bible has been proven to be accurate are just a coincidence.

Maybe you actually do believe in God, but you are putting off the decision until later.  Risky, risky.  You may die today, losing your chance.  Moreover, Jesus says he is going to come back like a thief in the night, meaning a lot of people are going to be surprised when that day happens.  In fact, on that day, I think the most said word of that day will be ‘Oops’.  A lot of people are going to regret they blew their chance.  Don’t let that be you.

Reflection Questions:

If you are not saved, what is holding you back from making that decision?

If you find yourself on the outside looking in after Christ returns, what thoughts will be going through your head at that point?

-Rick McClain

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Too Scared

Old Testament: Zephaniah 1-3

Poetry: Psalm 140

*New Testament: Matthew 26

I am writing today’s devotion for those that consider themselves strong in their faith.  I’m talking about those of you out there that know there is nothing anyone can do to mess with your salvation.  You are going to stay faithful to the end no matter what may happen.  You just know you would never turn your back on God.  If Peter were around today, I am sure he would say he was in this group, but he surprisingly was not able to keep his word in the past.

In Matthew 26, Jesus was explaining to the disciples at the last supper that they were all going to fall away on account of him.  Peter spoke up and said that even if everyone else falls away, he never would.  I am sure Peter believed that with his whole heart, but then Jesus described how Peter was going to deny him three times that very night.  At that point, Peter did not politely agree with Jesus; instead, he doubled down on the fact that even if he had to die with him, he would never disown him.  The rest of the disciples then said the same.  So what happened?

Jesus was arrested after Judas betrayed him with a kiss.  A large crowd came to arrest him, and all the disciples deserted him and fled.  That didn’t take long.  They were too scared to stay with Jesus even though they said they would never do that just a few hours earlier.  Peter followed Jesus at a distance, but we know he was confronted three times that night and disowned Jesus all three times.  Why?  Because he was too scared.  He was tipped off it was going to happen that way so he could have been prepared to deal with it, but his fear made him act differently.

Would you be strong enough if you were in the same situation as Peter?  I hope so, but how strong is your faith now?  Does fear ever get in the way of you doing something that should be done?  Have you invited your neighbor to church yet or are you too scared?  Maybe just haven’t gotten around to doing that yet, wink wink.  Are you willing to stick up for some kid at school that is being picked on or are you scared what people might think about you?  Is there a ministry at church you might be good at, but you are too scared to give it a try?  Is there a family member, co-worker, or friend that needs to hear about Christ?  If fear is holding you back in any of these situations, join the Peter club.

I honestly think if you had enough guts to deal with any of these situations, it would probably turn out well, or at the very least, not that bad.  You may get rejected or have people ridicule you, but you may also save a life for eternity.  I am always surprised what risks people will take to save a life for a handful of years now (running into burning buildings, etc.), but they are unwilling to put themselves out there when trying to save lives for an eternity.

Do you know who was really scared to do something he knew needed to happen?  Jesus.  He prayed three times for God to come up with a plan different than him having to die for everyone’s sins.  He was so scared that he said in verse 38 that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  He absolutely did not want to do what he was supposed to do.  But in those same prayers, he said he would follow his Father’s will, not his own.  Did the situation turn out to be easy and he was just over-thinking it?  Nope.  He had to go through a terribly painful death.  He was definitely scared, but he wasn’t too scared to do the right thing.

So those of you with the strong faith, Jesus gave you the example to follow.  Is there someone you need to talk to?  Make it happen even if you are scared.  Is there a ministry waiting for you?  Volunteer for that even if it makes you sweat.  Jesus saved a bunch of lives by facing his fear and acting.  Hopefully, you can help save some lives too.

Reflection Questions:

Is there something you should be doing for God that you have put off?  Do you make excuses so you don’t have to admit you are too scared?  Or maybe just try not to think about it?

It’s easy to put things off until later.  Is there anyone in your life that you waited to talk to, but now it is too late because they are gone (died, moved to a different state, got a new job at a different company, etc.)?  If so, how does that make you feel now?

-Rick McClain

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Home Alone

Old Testament: Habakkuk 1-3

*Poetry: Psalm 139

New Testament: Matthew 25

Christmas is approaching, and today’s reading of Psalms 139 reminded me of the movie Home Alone.  I suspect most of you are familiar with the family who went on vacation and didn’t realize until they arrived at their vacation destination that they had left their very young son home alone.  This seems like a bit of a stretch; did they not consider why they had a leftover plane ticket?  Anyways, it was a fun movie and I know that probably all parents have forgotten about their kids when they were supposed to be responsible for them many times.  This is how crayon drawings happen on walls, unexpected haircuts happen, etc.  However, today we read that we are never alone, not for a second, literally.

God is always with us, whether you like it or not, ALL the time.  From your very beginning in your mother’s womb to this very minute, He has been with you the whole way.  He doesn’t ever sleep, and He isn’t just in the next room over in case you need some help; He is staring at you all day and night long.  I doubt He even blinks.  That is intense!  But that shows how invested He is in your life.  Moreover, He knows more about you than you know about yourself.  Give that a minute to sink in.  I know myself really well because I can hear all the thoughts in my mind, but He knows me more.  He knows my thoughts before I think them.  Whoa!

He is totally inside my head, but He still gives me the freedom to live the life I want, even when it is something He dislikes.  He allows me to go the wrong direction, but you’ve probably heard Him like I have, saying “don’t do that, that’s a bad idea.”  Can you imagine how He feels when we ignore Him and do what makes us feel good instead?  On the other hand, can you imagine how He feels when we listen to Him in those moments and do the right thing?

Let’s put ourselves in God’s shoes for a minute.  I know, basically impossible, but let’s try anyways.  Let’s imagine that you were as brilliant as God, and you used your talents to create a new girl or boy.  You also loved your new creation more than can be comprehended and you wanted to spend all your time with your new person every minute of every day for their whole life.  Does it seem creepy to love someone so much that you never want to leave them alone?  Maybe, but it also shows the incredible degree of love you have for them.

Now let’s look at some potential scenarios and see how you feel about them.  You love this person immensely and spend all day with them, but in the first scenario, they don’t ever even acknowledge you are there.  I would be devastated and extremely hurt.  How rude!  In the next scenario, they know you are there, but they rarely pay attention to you.  They could go hours or even days not saying a word to you.  Why are they ignoring me?  Do they not like me that much?  In the last scenario, they understand what you did for them and that you are there for them.  They stay in contact with you all throughout every day.  They appreciate what you do for them, and they love you as best as their human hearts allow.  That sounds like a great relationship that both people would feel great about.

God cares about you so much that He is always with you.  He nudges you along the way to keep you on the right path, but He lets you make the decisions in your life.  He invests so much in you because He loves you immensely and wants to have a personal relationship with you.  It is an understatement to say we are fortunate to have someone so knowledgeable, powerful, and loving on our side and so involved in our lives.

Reflection Questions:

Do you realize how important you are to God?  Have you thanked Him for that lately?

There is a lot to be upset and anxious about in today’s world.  Does it make it easier when you stop to consider that God is with you to the end through all the difficult times?

How long do you typically ignore that there is someone (God) with you each day?  Do you acknowledge Him throughout the day, or do you get to the end of the day, and say, “Oh, Hi God, I forgot you were there.  Sorry I didn’t have time to talk today”?

-Rick McClain

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This World Stresses Me Out

Old Testament: Nahum 1-3

Poetry: Psalm 138

New Testament: Matthew 24

Wars, diseases, crime, hate, famines, earthquakes, hurricanes, and a bunch of other bad stuff can really stress you out these days.  It really seems to have gotten worse lately.  I am 58 and a half years old, so I was growing up in the 70’s when nuclear weapons became a big topic of the day.  Many Christians I knew were saying that we were in the end times then.  In fact, I remember one person predicted that Christ may be returning in 1982.  Clearly, that wasn’t a very good prediction and it taught me not to make predictions about such things, but I do think events are a lot more aligned now with scripture and the end times could be starting now or soon.  Matthew 24 talks about the end times when things are going to get bad, really bad, but it also gives those who can persevere a lot of hope.

I am not going to review all the signs of the end times mentioned in Matthew 24 here; you can read those yourself.  However, my quick summary that I already mentioned is that it will be bad, really bad.  Jesus warned us in verse 6 that we will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but he also said that we should not be alarmed because these things need to happen before the end comes.  He went on to describe a lot of other disturbing events that will take place.  He was warning us of what is going to happen so we can stay chill during that time.  Unfortunately, he also told us that many would turn away from the faith at that time.  If we didn’t have this warning, I do think it would be difficult to keep our faith when we see the whole world crumbling before our eyes.  But c’mon, if you say you have faith now when you know these bad times are coming, it is not much faith if you abandon it when you see exactly what you already knew was going to happen.  It should increase your faith when you start to see events that were written about 2,000 years ago actually occurring.  That’s impressive.  Moreover, we already know how this story ends, and it is amazingly positive for those who keep their faith to the end.

It is true that some will lose their faith because they just can’t handle all the bad things that are going to happen, but Jesus has another warning for a different group of people.  He talks about a group of people that aren’t ready for his return.  They are people that even believe in Jesus, but they start thinking that he has been gone a long time, so they have more time before they need to get their lives in order.  They think they can live for themselves a bit longer before they need to repent and start living for God.  There are two major problems with that thinking.  First, your life could end today, and you will have missed your chance to be saved.  Second, only God knows when Christ is going to return, and it is going to surprise many people.  Jesus told a story about a master of a servant who will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.  There will be people that put off the decision to live for God because they think they have more time, but instead will find themselves in the place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  It will be too late the same way it was too late for all the people in Noah’s time who didn’t believe Noah until it started raining.

This has all been explained to us in scripture so you really shouldn’t be surprised when it happens.  It was explained to us beforehand so we can stay calm and know that once this happens, we will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.

Reflection Questions:

Does this world stress you out or do you realize that God is in control, and everything is going to turn out great in the end for His people?

Are you glad Jesus warned us of the bad things that are going to happen or would you rather have not known and be surprised when it happens?  Do you think it would be easier to keep your faith in the end if you knew what was going to happen or if you were in the dark?

-Rick McClain

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Just Say the Word

Old Testament: Hosea 4 & 5

Poetry: Psalm 122

New Testament: Matthew 8

In Matthew 8, Jesus is recorded as miraculously healing several distinct individuals that represent three classification of people who were viewed with lesser status in Jewish eyes. The first is a leper, who is considered unclean for a Jewish man to touch (vv. 1-4). Next is a servant of a Roman centurion, who was a Gentile foreigner and likely part of the oppressive Roman Empire, which Jews considered to be their enemy (vv. 5-13). Lastly, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law (vv. 14-15), which is unique as women were not looked upon with much recognition or significance in Jewish society. In addition, the passage also reveals that Jesus healed numerous other people who were demon-possessed around Capernaum as well (vv. 16-17).

In verses 5-10 when Jesus is approached by the centurion, he concedes to the centurion’s request to come and heal his servant. Jesus’ agreement to come to the centurion’s home is quite a startlingly turn of events in this passage as a Jewish person would be deemed ceremonially unclean if they entered the house of a Gentile (cf. Jn 18:28; Acts 10:28). But nevertheless, Jesus humbly agrees to go and heal the man (vv. 5-7).

But the centurion replies quickly to Jesus expressing his “unworthiness” for Jesus to make the effort to come to his house. Rather, the centurion reveals a keen understanding of Jesus’ authority to speak with the power of God. The centurion explains that he knows what authority means because he speaks, and someone obeys, and the task is accomplished. In the same way, he claims that Jesus only needs to speak the “word,” and according to the authority of his “word,” the centurion’s servant will be healed (v. 8).

This proclamation amazes Jesus because the centurion understood the power and authority of God that Jesus represented. And in response to the centurion’s understanding of this reality, Jesus declares, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith” (v. 10). What an unsuspecting pronouncement—that Jesus would confess such a great faith from this Gentile that superseded any he had seen in all of Israel. The emphasis here is that even a Gentile, who was not considered a member of God’s people, will see the power of God at work when they trust in Jesus, God’s Anointed.

What the passage can teach us is that God’s power flows in response to the exercising of faith (trust) in God as the source of all power and in Jesus as God’s Messiah. If we want to see God’s power at work in our lives, it begins by recognizing that God moves when we believe and trust in him, knowing that he is able to do even what may seem impossible in our eyes. Our trust in God doesn’t make God move; rather, God responds when we trust in him. And we must also trust in his character—that he responds as the good and loving God that we know he is.

-Jerry Wierwille

(originally posted on March 11, 2018 for SeekGrowLove)

Reflection Questions

  1. What do you learn about Jesus in Matthew 8? What makes him worthy of celebrating and following?
  2. What has Jesus done that his followers ought to do too? How can you do that this week? What did Jesus do that only he could do?
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The Final Thanksgiving

Theme Week – Thanks: Revelation 11

Old Testament: Daniel 1 & 2

Poetry: Psalm 114

Revelation is one of my favorite books in the Bible. It’s weird. It’s full of metaphor and symbolism. There is warfare, warriors, and a dragon defeated by a King upon a horse. 

But you just read all this! 

I want to end our week on thanks with the words of Revelation 11. 

At the end, when the kingdom comes at the sounding of the last trumpet, the voices in heaven say “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” There is no wait, no delay, no other kingdoms. Every kingdom good or bad, across all of time and around the world, will now be the righteous, holy, eternal kingdom of God. 

Of course the elders fall on their faces and worship God with thanks! Notice what they call the Lord God Almighty, “who is and who was”. No longer is the the one who is coming; he is HERE! He has taken power, he is going to reign. There will be judgment, yes, but it is also time for the saints, the prophets, and the God-fearers from every time and place to be rewarded. 

My friends, you who desire to seek God through his word, grow through the word you read, and love God, his Christ, and your brothers and sisters because of what you read, you are in this promise. Today, I ask that you thank God not for what he has done or even what he is doing, but what he will do. In Revelation 11, we get to see a glimpse of the joy of those who love God because the God of all joy has arrived to be with his people. 

Give thanks that God in the ages past created a good world, with great care, empowering humanity to carry his image. 

Give thanks that God gives faith, hope, and love through Jesus Christ and salvation in his name, and that God takes the the brokenness and pain of life and turns it into something beautiful. 

Give thanks that God will rule over the world, that God will destroy all wickedness, death, destruction, and pain, and that God will allow only righteousness, life, flourishing and joy to remain. 

Give thanks to God today!

Reflection Questions

  1. How long did you spend in prayerful thanksgiving this week? Did you keep track of everything for which you gave thanks? How many different items did you think of?
  2. How many of the things for which you gave thanks were about what God has done in the past? What God is doing now? What about what God is going to do in the future?

-Jake Ballard

Jake Ballard is pastor at Timberland Bible Church. If you’d like to hear more from him, you can find Timberland on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TimberlandBibleChurch/ ) and on Instagram (https://instagram.com/timberlandbiblechurch?igshid=t52xoq9esc7e). The church streams the Worship Gathering every Sunday at 10:30. Besides studying and teaching God’s word, he is raising three beautiful children with the love of his life, is a big nerd who likes fantasy (Pendragon), sci-fi (Star Wars) , and board games (Dungeons and Dragons). If you’d like to reach out to talk Bible, talk faith, or talk about your favorite nerdy things, look Jacob Ballard up on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jacob.ballard.336 ) or email him at  jakea.ballard@yahoo.com. 
God bless you all!

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One Bad Woman

Old Testament: Ezekiel 27 & 28

Poetry: Psalm 102

New Testament: Revelation 17

     Revelation 17 begins a section about “the great harlot,” or Babylon the great (17:1) which finishes in chapter 18. One of the seven angels from the seven bowls introduces the topic, and later John is shown the bride of Christ, meaning the new Jerusalem (21:9‑10, perhaps by the same angel). So, in these chapters John sees two cities portrayed as women, one a pure bride partnered with Christ, and the other an immoral prostitute partnered with the antichrist. God is making the sides in the conflict clear and wants us to be clear about our choice.

     Babylon’s fall had been announced in 14:8 and 16:19 – from those verses alone we know that it made nations drunk on the wine of its immorality and was given the wine of God’s wrath to drink. Revelation is picking up from Old Testament texts about Babylon with a somewhat different feel, there Babylon brought punishment on countries for God in war. Babylon was described as itself being the cup of God’s wrath which those nations drank from, maddening them. But after its work was done God turned against Babylon, and the city was also defeated (Jeremiah 25:15ff; 51:7, 11). With Revelation Babylon the great’s immorality is key, and it brings destruction to others by association; it is then destroyed for what it did to God’s servants, and the destruction comes at the hands of its allies.

     The vision shows Babylon as a wealthy, richly dressed prostitute, drunk on the blood of God’s servants and offering her immorality from a valuable cup. She is sitting on “a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns,” which is a simple depiction of the Beast from Revelation 13:1. We may be meant to see Babylon as trying to use the Beast, in riding on it, but the Beast uses Babylon, gaining influence from it. In 17:18 we are told that Babylon is the “great city” that reigns (or “has a kingdom”) over the kings of the earth. The identity of the city remains in dispute, but like so much about Revelation it should become much clearer later. The city is presented like an imperial capital, though some authors want to treat it as a culturally unifying site important for its influence in other ways.

     People often question how ‘literally’ to take things in scripture, particularly if they don’t see how events favor a near-term fulfillment. The reestablishment of Israel in 1948, for example, was highly significant for earlier generations in the Church of God but many other groups doubted it would ever take place. As another example, when the two witnesses die their bodies are seen by “the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations” and “those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them” (11:9, 10). In 1962 the communications satellite Telestar I launched, and it was hailed as allowing live broadcasts to be relayed around the world. A few years earlier people would have thought in terms of the witnesses’ photos being published in newspapers. And technology keeps advancing, along with the speed at which changes increase. The iPhone was introduced in 2007, and it is thought that already over two‑thirds of the world’s population has a smartphone – a much simpler way for ‘everyone’ to be shown events happening anywhere in the world. I’ve begun to wonder if the fact that those devices permit use of translation services, which at least partially undo God’s choice to confuse the languages at Babel/Babylon (the name through Hebrew and Greek) could end up relevant to the fact of Babylon the great being the name given for the city, and an aspect of its influence. What is a global false religion without the ability to communicate globally, after all? It’s just a thought.

     I find it disturbing to think that the corruption pictured in Revelation 17 with Babylon the great could come to pass through human failings. But I think that may be part of what God wanted us to recognize, that even before any supernatural power got involved the situation was awful. And that could be why the end of the age comes when it does, because things reach the point that it is time for change.

     Lord, I do not feel endangered today, where I am, but I know you have servants who face risks in many countries around the world today. Please strengthen the hearts of your people, and protect them. They are faithful, help them to remain faithful. Let them trust you and stand firm. Keep them from the evil one, and sanctify them in the truth. And Lord, as I do not feel endangered, let me be bold for you. Let me not forget what your son has done for me. In his name I pray this, Amen.

-Daniel Smead

Reflection Questions

  1. Do you ever struggle over whether a scripture ought to be seen as literal or figurative? What helps you to make up your mind about that?
  2. Is there a Christian or a ministry that you regularly pray on behalf of? If so, consider writing them a note today to share your appreciation for them. If not, consider saying a prayer today for someone whose ministry matters to you who you haven’t seen in a while.
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Upon Himself

Old Testament: Ezekiel 17 & 18

Poetry: Psalm 97

New Testament: Revelation 12

Ezekiel 18 describes three generations of men in a family, the first generation is righteous and follows God, the second generation is evil and does everything that God detests, and the third generation is Godly just like the grandpa.  According to the thinking of the Jews of that time each person inherits God’s blessings from their parents, so the evil man would be blessed by God and live a happy and fruitful life because of the righteousness of his father, while the son of the evil man will have a miserable and cursed life because of the evil of his father.  God is going to make it very clear to them that their thinking is fundamentally faulty, because obviously a person who goes around robbing the poor, sleeping with his friends’ wives, and worshiping false gods is going to have a miserable life.  He won’t have friends, and will never be trusted, no matter how great his father was.  How is that a blessed life?

The opposite is also true, if the evil man has a son and that man lives a Godly life and helps the poor, and gives money to the needy, and keeps all of God’s laws he will have a full and blessed life.  People might remember how horrible his father is, but his own actions will speak for themselves, and God will also see his actions and bless him.

This is summed up perfectly in Ezekiel 18:30-32.

“30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”

This verse is a great blessing, but also a warning.  It is a blessing if you or your family has a past that is full of sin and brokenness and you want to break the cycle, repent and live!  It doesn’t matter what your parents did, good or bad, God will judge you for your own actions.  This makes it very important to make our faith our own, because even though my Mom had and Dad has faith that can move mountains, that does not make me a Christian by default, I still have to work hard at it and build my own faith up.  Just like how knowledge will never transfer from your textbook to your brain when you use the textbook as a pillow, righteousness will not transfer from your parents to you when you sit next to them at church, you have to open the book and read for yourself.

Chris and Katie-Beth Mattison

(originally posted August 31, 2020 for SeekGrowLove)

Reflection Questions

  1. How are you like your parents and grandparents? How are you different?
  2. When have a seen an individual completely different (in regards to righteousness and wickedness) than his or her parents or offspring? What does God’s righteousness and justice mean to you?
  3. Ezekiel 18:29 says, “But the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Are My ways not right, house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right?” Like the house of Israel, have you ever accused the Lord of having a way that is ‘not right’? Who was right and who was not right?
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Maturity

Old Testament: Jeremiah 7 & 8

Poetry: Proverbs 7

New Testament: James 5

James has focused his entire letter on Christian maturity — both in our faithfulness to God and in our conduct toward others. It’s not enough to just call ourselves Christ followers; we must be continually striving to grow closer to Him in our behavior, our morality, and our internal attitudes. Now James concludes his letter, and he does so by talking about where we place our trust in this life. This is very much a continuation of the thoughts James shares in chapter 4:7–12: Trusting God instead of the world.

“Therefore, brothers, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near. Brothers, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!

Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

Now above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. Your “yes” must be “yes,” and your “no” must be “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.”

James 5:7–12

The impatience and callousness that can come from trusting in our wealth compared with the patience and strength that comes with trusting in God is the theme of chapter 5 of James. He puts this patience in the context of a farmer who has to keep a long-term view of their work, knowing that a lack of patience could result in a ruined crop. Our trust in God encourages us to be patient with Him as well as with one another.

Take people like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Job as examples of this kind of patience and trust. Their examples testify to us that our patient faith can endure anything through the Father. These people should be role models to us, not simply icons of faith. We should look at the way they endured their trials, at the ways they overcame discouragement and outright persecution, and strive to do the same.

Then we get to the “above all” statement. This is the sum of everything James has written so far regarding our mature faith. Putting God’s word into action, showing generosity, overcoming prejudice, taming our tongues, growing in humility, and putting our trust where it belongs — all of this boils down to a very simple principle: be honest.

·       If we are honest with our perspective about suffering, we will understand that pains of this life are temporary and look to God’s greater purpose for us.

·       If we are honest with God’s word, then we will put it into practice when it tells us to change things in our lives.

·       If we are honest with the example Jesus has left us, then we will put others before self, discard prejudice, and seek mercy before judgments.

·       If we are honest with ourselves, we will be mindful of the ways we use our words and control our language even when angered or frustrated.

·       If we are honest about our place in Creation, we will be humble before God and put His will before our own.

·       If we are honest in humility, then we will place our trust in the Creator rather than the perishable things He has created.

Applying the wisdom in James takes time. God has not left you alone in this but will work this out for you if you are humble and honest. May you be blessed this week and always seek the Kingdom.

-Andy Cisneros

Reflection Questions

  1. Honestly evaluate what you most often put your trust in. Your wealth, the world, your job, your family, your Creator? How can you display more trust in God Almighty? What would that look like?
  2. How mature is your Christian faith? What would help you grow even more mature?
  3. How would you rate yourself on each of the “If we are honest…” statements above? Which one do you think God would most like you to work on right now? What would be a great first step? Pray and tell God about the change and action steps you would like to make.
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“Why Are You So Afraid?”

Old Testament: Isaiah 29 & 30

Poetry: Psalm 73

*New Testament: Mark 4

This will be a shorter one and something to reflect on throughout the day.  Something that can be applied to everyone’s life in a different way.  In this chapter there is a great windstorm.  Personally, I hate storms, ask anyone who’s been near me when one happens, I tense up and want to just get away from it, they terrify me.  And it terrified the disciples too.  They proceed to wake Jesus up who calmed the storm.  He asks them after “Why are you so afraid?  Have you still no faith?”.

If we look at our own lives, we also have storms.  Most of them won’t be actual storms that can shake a house or uproot a tree, but things in our own lives that cause worry and doubt.  They will differ from person to person and even day to day.  I’m also sure some of my storms would look like little spouts of rain compared to the hurricanes others face.  But look at what Jesus said, “Why are you so afraid?”.  I can’t pretend to know what everyone who reads this is going through.  But ask yourself – why are you so afraid?  Is what you’re afraid of that important in the grand scheme?  Take a step back and look at it. 

And the second thing Jesus asks them, “Have you still no faith?”.  Have you no faith that you can prevail?  Have you no faith that there is one greater than us who cares for each one of us personally, one who loves each of us?  Have you no faith there is a Kingdom coming that will put an end to every storm you face?  You can prevail.  Have faith in that, and have faith there is and always will be one stronger than you that you can always trust to be there. 

As you go through your day reflect on your own storms and ask yourself “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

-Philip Kirkpatrick

Reflection Questions

  1. What do you find yourself afraid of? Why? What causes you to worry or doubt? Why? Is there a better way to look at what causes you fear, worry and doubt?
  2. Do you know “someone” larger than your fears that you can always trust? How has he proven he is trustworthy?
  3. How can we each work at growing our faith so it is stronger in the storms?
  4. Who do you know who has a strong faith you can learn from?
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