This is the first message in a new series on the book of James. Our lead pastor, Bart Wilkins begins with Chapter 1 in his message entitled, “Faith That Works In Our Confusing World”.
Direct link to podcast.
Read
1This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is written to Jewish Christians scattered among the nations.
Greetings!
Reflect
Have you ever been confused, scared, sad, cheated, lonely, sick, poor or alone? Perhaps you are experiencing some of those feelings right now. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone come alongside you to encourage you in your situation?
That’s what James is doing in writing this letter. These young Christians of Jewish upbringing were now being persecuted by the same people who had been their leaders in Judaism. They were scared. One of their leaders, Stephen, was just stoned to death and Saul (who later became Paul) was determined to destroy the church. These believers had scattered to many nations and James, identifying himself as one of them (“a slave of Christ”) was writing from Jerusalem to these young Christians. He knew that they were being persecuted. He knew that they were feeling alone, scared, confused. They were poor. They needed some encouragement. James’ messages to those early Christians is just as applicable to us today.
As we will see, his message is: “Don’t put off your life of faith until times get better. Right now, in the midst of your suffering, is the very time to be putting your servanthood toward Christ into practice.”
Respond
James identified himself as a “slave of Christ”. How can we develop an attitude of servanthood?
During the times when you experience trouble in your life, do you feel your servant-Lord relationship with Jesus waning?
Think of a friend who came alongside you during a tough time? Call them or email them today to tell them how much you appreciate them.
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If you would like a printable copy of this devotional, we have provided one here.