Day 324: James 4:1-17

"And he gives grace generously." - James 4:6 ESV

The pull of the world is strong. In fact, it is so strong that we don't generally have what it takes to withstand its temptations. We may criticize and look down upon Adam and Eve for their mistake at the beginning. I mean, it was a piece of fruit! The Devil will never tempt us with something that we don't desire. Each temptation that is brought before us is custom fit to our own unique desires.

What is it that really pulls at your heart? Is it the longing for wealth? Sex with someone who isn't your spouse? Is it fame before crowds? Is it to be the expert? What about the desire for everyone to like you?

The Devil knows, and he will exploit every inch of our desires.

So what is your plan to resist the Devil? (verse 7) If you go into any day without a plan to resist our enemy, you are dooming yourself before you start. God wants to equip us with what we need to resist any and all temptations that come our way each day. Do you want His help?

Maybe we need to start there.

J.B. Phillips powerfully translates 4:7 as "he gives us grace potent enough to meet this and every other evil spirit."

The NLT reads, "He gives us more and more strength to stand against such evil desires."

Realize how much you need Jesus' final work on the cross, and realize how readily available and willing He is to meet you in your time of need. All that's left is to go to Him in prayer right now.

Day 323: James 2:18-3:18

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” - James 2:19 ESV

Acknowledging something as true isn't biblical belief.

I can acknowledge that 44-year-old Tom Brady is a statistical anomaly and is good at football, but I am for sure not going to go out and buy his new Buccaneers jersey. It probably isn't fair to go from talking about Tom Brady to bringing up a conversation about demons, but here we go.

The first part of this verse is dripping with sarcasm, and the second part is terrifying. The thought that a demon would know more about the fear of God than I do really bothers me. Darkness is well aware of the light's capabilities.

So, what should separate us from the demons? James says it is the activity of faith. It is the act of getting up every day and submitting our entire lives to Jesus. Like we discovered in yesterday's post, genuine faith in God is going to find its expression one way or another.

I love that the two examples James gives are a patriarch and a prostitute (vs 21, 25). Both Abraham and Rahab were obedient when it counted. Were they always obedient? Well, no. Abraham was a liar, and Rahab was... you know. Yet they found expression for their faith when it counted most, and it is reflected in their legacies.

“For Jesus, whose teaching may be in James’s mind, love of the God who is one leads to love of the neighbour. The challenge to James’s man of faith is to show what response his profession evokes from him.” - Sophie Laws

Day 322: James 1:19-2:17

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” - James‬ ‭2:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As you can already tell from our time reading James, he loves to talk about faith and action (works). He mentions faith 13 times in his little book and speaks of works 16 times.

In the original language (Greek), James is doing a little tongue in cheek. The word used for faith is the word pistis. Volumes and volumes have been written about this one word! Another way to translate it is as "trust" or "faithfulness" or "persuasion."

So faith, by itself, is defined as active. It is definitely not a passive word. All we have to do is re-read Hebrews 11 to see that faith is an activator and that it brings a level of constancy that is needed to sustain the Christian life.

Do we see needs around us? Meet them.

Do we see racism around us? Actively love those that are different from us.

Are we tempted to shirk the poor to complement the rich? May we repent and look for ways to show mercy.

“Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

"James shows the inadequacy of a merely claimed faith by the use of another powerful hypothetical example. Someone who is more than a neighbor, a brother or sister in Christ, comes to you in obvious need of the bare necessities of life. What should you do?" - Holloway, G. (1996). James & Jude (Jas 2:14)

Day 321: James 1:1-18

“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” - James 1:18 ESV

We've all done things out of mere obligation. When we do, there isn't much passion behind our actions. Our bodies are going through the actions, but our hearts aren't quite activated. So we lumber forward, putting one dutiful foot in front of the other.

This may be how you think about God's disposition toward you, but it isn't in the least bit true. This verse in James shuts down that thought. The Greek word used for will here is boulomai, and it means to desire to have or experience something, with the implication of some reasoned planning. (Louw/Nida)

Listen, God has eternally thought it through. He's made His decision. He wants you to be the part of his crop that He brags most about (the firstfruits). God hasn't made a haphazard mistake by choosing you. Instead, He has used His bedrock of truth to set your life upon. His love for you cannot be shaken from its place.

May this grace fall afresh on you today.

Now we have the perfect place to stand in order to take on all 90 of James' imperatives he lays down in this little book. Our only chance of acting like we should (longterm) is to be fully confident in who Jesus says that we are.

Day 320: Hebrews 13:1-25

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” - Hebrews‬ ‭13:15-16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus’ sacrifice was a setup for our salvation, and all that flows out of this regeneration is to be beautiful. We are now freed to offer sacrifices as an overflow, a response to the sweet saving.

SACRIFICE OF PRAISE // This is the only time this word appears in this way throughout the New Testament. Nida and Louw define it as to speak of the excellence. Regular praising should come naturally from our mouths! Sunday mornings, at work, when we are driving, working out, walking to class—it is appropriate at all times.

SACRIFICE OF GENEROSITY // Jesus met our greatest need. He saved our souls, gave us a new heart. Meeting the needs of others is an obvious response. What do you have in place to ensure you never forget to share?

Here's the thing about sacrifices: they hurt, stretch, and push us into places we wouldn't have defaulted toward on our own. Praise and generosity are acts of worship that we will never regret offering.

Jesus has done the heavy lifting, and now we get to respond to his great work on the cross!

Day 319: Hebrews 12:14-29

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,” - Hebrews‬ ‭12:22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I think we’ve all heard our phones declare, “You have arrived at your destination!” It is a relief to listen to these words, especially if we were wandering aimlessly for a while. Verses 22-25 is God reassuring these Hebrew Christians that all of their sufferings are a reminder of what they are now approaching. The detail provided is also helpful for us today.

Now approaching…

• Heavenly City (an allusion to Revelation 21)

• Thousands of angels, singing (they’ve been doing this since the beginning, Job 38:7)

• All of our Christian family (not yet fitted with resurrection bodies—to come later)

• God Himself (the Judge)

• Jesus and His blood (allowing us to approach God the Judge)

Our future is literally bright and will be nonstop joy. The singing, the unity, the majestic presence of God—all will be made right.

“You will one day arrive at your destination.”

Until then, the following quote is great to consider:

It is interesting that he employs the perfect tense here rather than the future: “you have come to Mount Zion” (v. 22). The heavenly reward of the believer may become complete at the consummation but we can begin to experience it in the present. - Girdwood, J., & Verkruyse, P. (1997). Hebrews (p. Heb 12:22)

Day 318: Hebrews 11:32-40, 12:1-13

“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” - Hebrews 12:3 ESV

Reading our passage today, being from the United States, may cause us to feel disconnected from what has been the norm throughout the church's history. Our country provides the freedom to worship, for the most part, without fear of harm.

Yet we are the living legacy of Christians (and Jews) who suffered unthinkably at the hands of their oppressors. Even today, we know that millions of Christians worldwide live with the reality of putting their lives at risk to follow Jesus. All we have to do is spend five minutes on the Open Doors website to get a glimpse of what is still happening.

The writer of Hebrews flows from backs being ripped open, to the grandstands of heaven cheering us on, to the example of Jesus, and then considering it all as a helpful discipline. This may seem inconsiderate to us, but again, we don't really know what it's like to experience this kind of physical suffering.

We do know that God is moving us ALL forward, encouraging us to take "a new grip" and to "stand firm."

The Christian life is historically hard. Yet, at the same time, it is the best life, not only for now but also for all of eternity.

”…as conquerors and as sufferers, they witness to His power and faithfulness; and those who regard them cannot but be strengthened by their testimony.” - Brooke Foss Westcott

Day 317: Hebrews 11:17-31

“By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.” - Hebrews 11:29 ESV

Death by drowning has to be one of the most fearful things to think about. Would we be willing to risk this fate by stepping out in faith if God commanded us to do so? The Israelites walked across on the dry land, through the Red Sea, with water walls on either side. Surely they had to wonder if the barricade would hold for all 1.5 million-ish of them to cross. God kept the waters at bay and allowed them to cross. Their faith had not been misplaced.

As we meander through Hebrews 11, we see people who did things by faith, causing them to take risks. Faith will always call us to take uncomfortable action. The Greek word used for faith throughout the New Testament is pistis, and it can also be translated as trust.

If we trust God enough to see us through, we need to believe He'll support us as we step into an unknown/exciting space.

In these moments, if God doesn't come through, we will fail miserably. History has shown, though, that God has always responded significantly to people who put simple trust (faith) in Him. What step is Jesus asking you to take next?

“There are two redemptions: redemption by price and redemption by power. Redemption by price was typified in the paschal lamb and the Passover. Redemption by power was typified in the passage of the Red Sea, when the children of Israel went through it dry-shod and the Egyptians were drowned.” - C.H. Spurgeon

Day 316: Hebrews 11:1-16

“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” - Hebrews 11:16 ESV

The word used for ashamed here is epaischynomai. Jesus used the same word in Mark 8:38 when he said, "Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

We know what it is like to be ashamed of association with someone else. Maybe we don't want some of our friends to know about another group with which we are close. Possibly you dated someone, and it went wrong, and it continues to be awkward when you run into them. Shame floods in with a simple glance.

When it comes to His children, His faithful ones, God doesn't shrink back when He thinks of us. He isn't worried about his reputation being weakened. If this is how you feel about Jesus, the feeling is promised to be reciprocated.

Need proof? Check out the cast of characters that God used as laid out in Hebrews 11. None of them were perfect. I mean, Abraham even lied about his wife twice to try and save his own life.

God is getting ready for us. Are we getting ready for Him?

"Despite the obvious failings of all these men, God was not ashamed to be called their God. He had prepared a spiritual city for them, and he was delighted to be known as their God." - Lea, T. D. (1999). Hebrews, James (Vol. 10, p. 202)

Day 315: Hebrews 10:18-39

“let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.” - Hebrews‬ ‭10:22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This verse may not hold that much significance with us until we consider the reaction of those in the Bible that came into contact with God’s presence (or even an angel). Abram was overcome (Genesis 17:3). Samson’s parents fell face down (Judges 13:20). Ezekiel also fell on his face (Ezekiel 1:28). Daniel did the same (Daniel 8:17). A leper fell before Jesus as well (Luke 5:12). John fell as if dead (Revelation 1:17).

So, are you ready to stroll right into God’s presence with your sincere heart? Yeah, it makes me a little nervous as well to think about it.

Yet, we have no reason to fear God’s presence. This isn’t because we’ve finally started to sin less often. It is all because of Jesus granting us access through his blood and resurrection!

In Christ we are to see accomplished all that is needed for atonement. But there are conditions also required in ourselves, expressed first by the “true heart”, and the “fulness of faith”, and then by the clauses that follow. - Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. (1909). Hebrews (p. 266)

This context makes the iconic Hebrews 10:25 so much richer. Since we have access to God's presence and all of our guilty consciences have been made clean, why wouldn't we want to share in this fellowship with other Christians? It is a joy to walk side-by-side with those who can encourage us with these truths.