Faith that Works Day 2

James 1:9-15

True Worth and Real Temptation

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

What did you think, feel, or see as you read?

True Worth: It is said often that comparison is the thief of joy. Nowadays, comparison is astronomically easier than before. Through social media, I can now compare my dinner, my outfit, my looks, and my personality not only with people I see each day, but with people across the state, nation, and world. Many are feeling like failures at work, home, and in life because someone they have never met is working out more, eating better, and vacationing to places they have never desired to go.

James speaks to our true worth in verses 9–11. Your worth is not based on what you own, make, or accomplish. Your worth is not determined by your goodness, giftedness, or generosity. Your worth is fixed in this—God loves you and Jesus died for you. You were worth it. You are His beloved, whom He lovingly desires! Don’t forget it!

Real Temptation: Our passage ends with a focus on temptation. Here the difference between trials and temptation comes into view. Trials are experiences that lead us to God. Temptation is an urge that leads us away from God. Temptation is not from God but is cultivated in our own hearts and expressed through our own desires. Temptation has only one end—death. It seeks to kill, not grow. It seeks to harm, not help. Temptation presses on the very things that we think will satisfy and then pulls the rug out from under us!

Are you struggling more with self-worth or self-sabotage?

Do you need to rest more in your identity as God’s son or daughter, or do you need to fight against the temptation you have opened doors to?

Faith that Works Day 1

James 1:1-8

Hope in the Hard

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

What did you think, feel, or see as you read?

Here are some of my thoughts: Rather than bemoaning the trials that come our way, James is calling us to a mindset shift—Count it all joy! Why? Because trials have a purpose. Nothing happens outside of God’s sovereign control. This can be hard to fathom as we struggle through challenges we never imagined facing or can ever find good in—yet the Word of God is sure. God has a plan in it! What is that plan? Growth. Steadfastness. Fuller understanding of His grace and deeper dependence on His person.

But what if it is too hard? James gives us hope in the hard. When you are struggling, you are not alone! Pray for wisdom, help, clarity, and hope. God will GENEROUSLY give it to you. God doesn’t hold back on the ones who come to Him. He lavishly pours out until our cup overflows (Ps. 23).

Finally, when we ask—actually believe! Pray with trust, not doubt. God is not an option to help us but the option to help us. Praying is not a wish we forget about, but a statement of trust in the One to whom we pray.

Questions to consider:

What difficulties are you experiencing right now? What is God growing in you through these? Where do you need Him to supply? Do you believe He can supply?

Life is worth the living just because He lives!

John 10:7-15

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

For all of the challenges and problems this life brings, there are also great joys—joys of being loved and loving others, joys of great food, deep conversation, and the true jubilation of victory and success.

Jesus tells us that life in Him is a life of abundance. A life of freedom. A life of easier yokes and lighter burdens. Will you lean into this life—a life centered around the will and way of God and not the urgency of society?

What is the role of the thief? Who is the thief?
What does Jesus promise He brings?
What does abundant life look like? Is that on this earth or only in the future?

Will you trust that a life lived in the rhythm of rest and work, of trust and obedience, of faithfulness and fruitfulness, is truly the blessed life? Will you not just hear but observe the commandments? Will you take to heart the Beatitudes of meekness, mercy, and righteousness? Will you allow the fruits of love, joy, and peace to spring up within you?

Life is worth living under the Lordship of Jesus. Do you believe that?

Because He lives…I know he holds the future!

1 Corinthians 15:20-22, 54-58

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

This week, we have reflected on the God who defeated death. The God who holds the whole world in His hands. The God who has given us not a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control!

Today, I want those thoughts to meld together as Paul reminds us of the glorious truth that our God holds the future. Why? Because “in fact Christ has been raised”!

This allows us to be hopeful that death has been defeated. Death has no victory. Death has no sting.

For all who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, their future is sure—heaven with their God. Paradise is the future of all Christians. This is why we can be joyful: our future is secure.

One last note: our future does not depend on us keeping it. Peter tells us God is guarding it (1 Peter 1:4). Paul tells us that nothing can separate us from our inheritance (Romans 8:38–39).

How does knowing your future give you peace in the present?
How does knowing the end give you peace in the middle?

Because He lives…all fear is gone!

2 Timothy 1:5-10

5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

We all have fears. Maybe it was fear of the dark. Fear of driving at night. Fear of being home alone. Fear of what might happen to our children. Fear of a terrorist attack. Fear of flying. Fear of snakes.

We all have fears, but our God does not want us to live in fear. Paul is writing to his protégé Timothy in our passage. Timothy has the tough task of being a young pastor leading a church in Ephesus. Paul encourages him with this truth: God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

Many of you live under the crippling fear of what could, would, or might happen. God does not want you to be a slave to fear, but a son or daughter living in freedom!

Consider today where you are living with a spirit of fear rather than power.
What does living in power, love, and self-control actually mean for today?