NT: “As you come to him, a living stone — rejected by people but chosen and honored by God —  you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame. So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected — this one has become the cornerstone, and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:4-10‬ ‭CSB)

Through out Paul’s epistles, he talked about our lives being the temple of God and our bodies being the temple of the Holy Spirit. In this passage, Peter paints a slightly different picture. As we, individually are the temple of God and the temple of the Holy Spirit, God also makes us into living stones that are built together into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood – the church of the Living God.

Jesus Christ was the stone that the builders rejected who has now become the chief cornerstone of God’s church. When we come to faith in Christ and walk obediently according to His word, we to – like Jesus – are often times rejected by people. However, in our rejection by people, we are chosen and honored by God. Just as Jesus was the chief cornerstone in God’s building, we are the living stones built on that cornerstone that construct God’s building.

Stones are not considered living things. They are made up of dead minerals and have no life or capacity for life. However, Peter wrote that we are living stones. We were once dead and lifeless. However, when we came to faith in Christ, we were made alive in Him. We have been grafted into the life-giving vine and now course with the life of Christ and the prophetic calling and promises of the people of God. All who are in Christ by faith become the called and chosen people of God. In Christ, we are part of God’s chosen race. We are part of God’s royal priesthood. We are part of God’s holy, set apart and called out nation. All of this is for a grand and glorious purpose: to proclaim the praises of God and His Son Jesus Christ, bring glory to them on the earth, and lead others to receive mercy and life through repentance and faith in Him.

Psalms: “My life is down in the dust; give me life through your word. I told you about my life, and you answered me; teach me your statutes. Help me understand the meaning of your precepts so that I can meditate on your wonders. I am weary from grief; strengthen me through your word. Keep me from the way of deceit and graciously give me your instruction. I have chosen the way of truth; I have set your ordinances before me. I cling to your decrees; Lord, do not put me to shame. I pursue the way of your commands, for you broaden my understanding.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119:25-32‬ ‭CSB)

The psalmist knew that true and vibrant life came from faith and obedience to the word, will and ways of God. Therefore, He wanted to understand and know God’s word, so that he could be strengthened by God’s life and taught to walk in God’s ways. Verse 32 in the New King James Version is written like this: “I will run the course of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart.” As a former runner, this verse means a lot to me. Running actually increases the capacity of your cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The more you run, your lungs are able to take in and process more oxygen and your heart becomes stronger and able to pump more life-giving blood through your body. The same is true with walking by faith according to the word, will and ways of God. The more we do it, the more we understand and the greater our capacity grows in the things of God. We become more alive and more able to sustain life. It all comes through faith and obedience.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you that through my faith in You, you have taken this once-dead person and made me a living stone – chosen and called for a glorious purpose. Your word is the word of life, and Your word has brought life to me. As I continue to run the course of Your commandments by grace, grow my understanding and increase my capacity to walk obediently in the things you have called me to do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

NT: “Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy. If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers. For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly, because you have been born again  — not of perishable seed but of imperishable — through the living and enduring word of God.” (‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:13-23‬ ‭CSB)

Earlier in this chapter, Peter wrote to the persecuted and suffering Christians in Asia Minor about the living hope that they had in Jesus Christ. That living hope was the joy set before them that would enable them to not only endure the present pain and suffering of their trials, but to experience inexpressible joy in the midst of their suffering. In this last section of chapter one, Peter wrote that not only should the living hope of Christ bring you joy, but it should also compel you to live your lives differently.

All who are in Christ by faith have been redeemed from their former empty ways of living. The redemption price was not paid with perishable money, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Before the foundations of the world were set in place, God, by His foreknowledge, knew that the blood of His Son would be needed to redeem mankind from sin. When the time was right, the Lamb of God was provided – and we now get to walk in and benefit from all that Christ has accomplished. All who are in Christ by faith died to their former lives of sin and have been born again by the work of the Holy Spirit through the living, enduring, and powerful word of God which is the gospel.

Because we have been redeemed from our former ways… because we have died to sin and have been made alive in Christ… because we have been adopted into the family of God and made citizens of a heavenly kingdom, we should conduct our lives differently. We should be holy, just as God is holy. Holy means consecrated, set apart and different from the rest of the culture. A holy person is not an odd or weird person – but a peculiarly and compellingly different person that does not live according to the ways of the world, but the ways of God. The sure and living hope of our eternal destiny should compel us to be holy while on earth. When a couple becomes engaged, their entire way of life changes. Instead of living for themselves, the couple orders their life around that day when they become married. Their plans change, the ways they spend their money changes, the way they look at life changes… everything changes because their future has a new destination. The same should be true of us. Everything about how we live and conduct our lives should be informed by that future day when we are united with our heavenly Bridegroom to live forever with Him in the place that He has prepared for us. No longer should we be living for us, but living to honor and glorify God and our Lord, Jesus Christ.

How do we live holy lives? We do so by being obedient children. Instead of obeying our desires, we obey the word, will, and ways of God by the grace that has been brought to us through our faith in the now glorified Jesus Christ. Through our faith-filled and grace-enabled obedience to the truth, we are purified and made holy. As we live holy lives, even though we will go through various trials and sufferings, we will bring glory to God and lead other to Christ through our peculiar and compelling holy conduct.

Psalms: “Deal generously with your servant so that I might live; then I will keep your word. Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wondrous things from your instruction. I am a resident alien on earth; do not hide your commands from me. I am continually overcome with longing for your judgments. You rebuke the arrogant, the ones under a curse, who wander from your commands. Take insult and contempt away from me, for I have kept your decrees. Though princes sit together speaking against me, your servant will think about your statutes; your decrees are my delight and my counselors.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119:17-24‬ ‭CSB)

The writer of Psalm 119 knew that his dedication to and love for the law of God set him apart from those around him. He felt like an alien – not just in his community or nation, but in the earth. Because he longed to live by the commands and judgements of the world, he was different from everyone else, drawing insults and contempt from those around him. When we choose to live a holy life according to the word, will, and ways of God, those who are opposed to the ways of God will be opposed to us as well. But as we keep our eyes on the faithfulness of God and the hope He gives us, and stay true to His word, will, and ways; God will deal generously with us, rebuke those who rebuke us, and take the insults and contempt away.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for redeeming me from my past empty and sinful life and providing a way for me to be born again by the work of Your Holy Spirit and the power of Your word. Help me now, to live according to the new life that I have and the life that I will live with You for eternity. Grace me to walk in holiness as I look to You, follow You, and obey Your word, will and ways. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied about the grace that would come to you, searched and carefully investigated. They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven  — angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.” (‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:8-12‬ ‭CSB)

In the midst of the trials and sufferings of this life, we have a steadfast hope through faith. The writer of Hebrews taught that faith is the reality or assurance of what is hoped for and it is the proof or conviction of what is not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Faith enables us to see spiritually what we cannot see physically. Just like the believers in Asia Minor that Peter wrote to, none of us have actually seen Jesus Christ. Yet by faith, even though we haven’t physically seen Him, we can love Him and believe in Him. By enabling us to see the unseen, faith also enables us to bring things that we hope for into present reality. When we love Christ and believe in Christ by faith, we are able to experience now a level of that future ultimate salvation we all hope for and look forward to. It is by realizing our future hope now by faith that our sufferings and trials can be turned into inexpressible and glorious joy. The enemy of our soul wants to use trials and suffering to bring out the worst in us. God wants to use trials and suffering to bring out the best in us. If we love ourselves and trust in only what we can see, then the enemy will have his way. If we instead, love Christ and realize our glorious future by faith, we will shine with God’s glory and be refined more and more into His likeness.

The prophets of old prophesied of Messiah’s suffering, Messiah’s glory, and the resulting blessing that would come to the people of God – but they did not fully understand how all of that would play out and come to fruition. Apparently, even the angels are a little unclear on how God’s plan of redemption will accomplish everything God has willed to accomplish. Christ is the Word of God made flesh and the fulfillment of all the prophets prophesied. We can experience now, first hand, all the things the prophets looked for and the angels desire to see, by faith. Christ suffered and died in our place and was then raised to life and ascended to heaven. He will return one day in the fullness of His glory to claim all that is rightfully His. We now live in between those events – and by faith we can walk in the salvation that was purchased for us through Christ’s suffering, and also live in the reality and inexpressible joy of Christ‘s glorious return by faith.

Psalms: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word. I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me wander from your commands. I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you. Lord, may you be blessed; teach me your statutes. With my lips I proclaim all the judgments from your mouth. I rejoice in the way revealed by your decrees as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119:9-16‬ ‭CSB)

How can a young man… or young woman… or older man… or older woman keep their way pure? By keeping God’s word, seeking God’s word, treasuring God’s word, learning God’s word, proclaiming God’s word, rejoicing in God’s word, meditating on God’s word, delighting in God’s word, not wandering from God’s word, and not forgetting God’s word. The psalmist wrote, “I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.” John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Word of God that became flesh is Jesus Christ. We now, in this age, keep our way pure by treasuring the Word of God in our hearts – loving Him, delighting in Him, obeying Him and following Him – by faith.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for the glorious salvation that You have won and secured for me through Your life, death, resurrection and ascension. I also thank You for the capacity you have placed in all of us for faith. I place my faith in You and on Your finished work of salvation. By the grace that You give me through faith, help me to see the unseen, walk in the reality of the not-yet, treasure Your word, will and ways, and rejoice through everything with inexpressible joy. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith  — more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire  — may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:3-7‬ ‭CSB)

The Apostle Peter wrote this epistle to Christians (mostly converted gentiles) scattered throughout parts of Asia Minor. They were suffering rejection from the world because of their obedience to Christ and their commitment to following His ways and not the ways of their former life. Peter learned of their trials and wrote this epistle to encourage them in their faith.

In the midst of their trials and persecutions, Peter, before he wrote about anything else, reminded them of their hope in Christ. The writer of Hebrews wrote that it was for the joy set before Him that Jesus endured the cross – even though He despised the shame. When we have hope, we are willing and able to endure so much. In Christ, our hope is not just an empty promise or a guarded “gee-I-hope-so” expectation. Our hope is living in the person of Jesus Christ. He rose from the dead, therefore we will rise from the dead. He ascended to heaven, therefore we will ascend to heaven. He has been granted eternal life, therefore we will be granted eternal life. He has a sure inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, therefore we have the same inheritance as His joint-heir. In Christ, we are guarded by the very power of God and are preserved in Him for an ultimate and complete salvation.

As Peter would go on to say later in His epistle, the gentile believers in Asia Minor were once not a people, but were now grafted into the chosen, confident and blessed people of God. Even though they would experience persecution and suffering, they could look to their sure, settled, and guaranteed eternal future with joy. And as they endured through the suffering and persecution, God would refine them into precious and pure vessels of praise, glory and honor. What was true of the early believers in Asia Minor is true of us now. Their future is our future as we remain in Christ by faith. We can either gripe and grow discouraged at our current circumstances or look to the future with hope and joy, and allow God to refine us to bear His glory forever.

Psalms: “How happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk according to the Lord’s instruction! Happy are those who keep his decrees and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. You have commanded that your precepts be diligently kept. If only my ways were committed to keeping your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed when I think about all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart when I learn your righteous judgments. I will keep your statutes; never abandon me.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119:1-8)

Psalm 119 is a masterpiece of a psalm – an ode to the blessings that are found by honoring and following the law of God. As magnificent as this psalm is, no one knows for sure who wrote it. This psalm is an acrostic poem with each eight-line section beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. As the author methodically went through each letter of the Hebrew language, he exhaustively described the benefits of living according to the word, will and ways of the Lord God.

Though this psalm was written specifically about the Torah, it can be applied to all of the word, will and ways of God. This is our hope as believers now in the New Testament age: through faith in Christ, our way is made blameless as we follow Christ in His way. Christ is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, and as we are in Him by faith, His fulfillment becomes our fulfillment. In Christ, we are not ashamed. In Christ, we will never be abandoned. In Christ, we are truly happy and blessed – not just in this life, but for eternity.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for all that You have accomplished and all that You have already received as the Pioneer of my faith and the Anchor of my hope. As I am found in You through faith in You, I am chosen, guarded, kept, assured, confident and blessed. Help me, in all things, to keep my eye on eternity and not just the challenges of this world. Help me to endure and persevere because of the joy set before me, and not give up hope. And through it all, may I be a refined vessel that bears Your glory forever. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. Elijah was a human being as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit. My brothers and sisters, if any among you strays from the truth, and someone turns him back, let that person know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” (‭‭James‬ ‭5:13-20‬ ‭CSB)

As we live our lives in faith, walk in the ways of the Lord in faith, and patiently await the return of the Lord in faith, there will be challenges that we face. There will be times that we experience various levels of suffering. There will be sicknesses that affect our bodies. There will be times when we fall into sin. What are we to do when we experience those things during our journey of faith? James told us the most effective way to face and deal with those challenges is to pray… pray for ourselves and pray for one another. We are not equipped nor graced to walk this journey of faith alone. We need the Lord and we need each other. We need to pray to the Lord and we need to pray for one another.

Prayer in the Bible has to do with making vocal, constant, faith-filled requests to God that are in accordance with His will for the earth and His will for His people. Prayer is not meant to be an attempt to overcome God’s unwillingness to act on our behalf, but an exercise in accessing all that God is willing to do on our behalf through faith. Just as James wrote in the beginning of this letter – if someone needs wisdom, he should ask for it in faith, knowing that God desires to give us His wisdom in times of trial. We don’t pray to convince God to give us wisdom – we pray to ask a very willing God for the wisdom He has for us in faith.

Those who are suffering through trials or tribulations, or are being faced with a temptation should first and foremost pray to God. As they pray, they should pray for grace, for wisdom, for endurance, for strength… all the things that God has said that He is willing to give us as we face the trials and tribulations of life. Those who are not facing trials at the moment should lift up their voice in praise and thanksgiving to the faithful God who has led them through trials and preserved them according to His word. For those who have become physically incapacitated due to sickness, they should call for the elders to lay hands on them and pray in faith for healing. For those who have fallen into sin, they are to confess their sin to a trusted brother or sister in the Lord and then pray for one another according to the word and will of God. When we see someone falling into sin or walking in error, we are to prayerfully make them aware of their sin and error and turn them back to the way of righteousness. Faith-filled prayer offered according to the word and will of God is powerfully effective. It is effective in seeing sick people made well. It is effective in seeing a back-slidden believer restored to right relationship with God and His people. It is effective in seeing us equipped, strengthened and graced for every trial and tribulation we face. One of the primary ways we remain faithful to the Lord and on the path of godliness until the end is through faith-filled prayer.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for the gift of prayer. What a powerful resource to faithfully come in agreement and alignment with Your will, and see Your kingdom come and Your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Remind me, by Your Holy Spirit, to not forsake prayer – but to consistently and fervently pray for myself and others to effectively see Your will accomplished in my life and the lives of others. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

OT: “He led me to the gate, the one that faces east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice sounded like the roar of a huge torrent, and the earth shone with his glory. The vision I saw was like the one I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like the ones I had seen by the Chebar Canal. I fell facedown. The glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the gate that faced east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” (‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭43:1-5‬ ‭CSB)

Beginning in chapter 40 of Ezekiel, we read of another prophetic vision that Ezekiel was given. In that vision, the Lord took Ezekiel back to the land of Israel where he was shown a new Jerusalem and a new temple. Throughout the following chapters, Ezekiel went into great detail as every aspect of the new temple was measured and recorded. The description given of this new temple does not match the re-built temple that was constructed when the exiles returned to Jerusalem – so the temple seen by Ezekiel in this dream must be the new temple of God and the new Jerusalem that is part of the new heaven and earth that will be established at the end of the age.

The first time God took Ezekiel to Jerusalem in a vision, Ezekiel witnessed the glory of God departing the temple and leaving the city of Jerusalem. In this vision, Ezekiel witnesses the exact opposite. Instead of witnessing the glory of God leaving the temple followed by the destruction of the city, Ezekiel witnessed the glory of God entering the new temple and filling it with His presence once again. When heaven and earth are made new and the new Jerusalem is established, God will inhabit the new city, and His people – those who were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb – will inhabit the city and dwell in the presence of the Lord God and His Son Jesus Christ forever (Revelation 21:1-8).

NT: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, 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.” (‭‭James‬ ‭5:7-8‬ ‭CSB)

After writing about the importance of following the will of God and not our own, James gave a warning to the rich and powerful who use their wealth, power and privilege for their own gain at the expense of others. It is not wrong to be rich or powerful. However, it is wrong to use those riches and power to take advantage of others and line your pockets. To those people, James warned that judgement would surely come – if not in this age, in the age to come.

When the Lord comes again, He will bring His righteous judgement to bear on the earth. Those who lived wickedly on the earth will receive their due. Those who lived righteously will receive their reward. All things will be made right and evil and death will be defeated forever. To those enduring in faith, waiting for the ultimate fulfillment of their hope, James said, “be patient.” The Greek word for patient in these verses means to not lose heart – to endure misfortunes and troubles, bear with the offenses and injuries of others, and be slow to anger. The Lord will return, and when He returns, He will avenge His people. We need to be patient and not sin by taking matters into our own hands. When a farmer plants a field, he does so in hopes that a harvest will come. He also knows that time must pass for the harvest to be ready… and during that passage of time, a lot of challenging things can and often will happen – yet he remains patient and trusting. The Lord will return. The day of the Lord will come. It is inevitable. We need to remain in faith and patiently endure in hope.

Psalms: “Open the gates of righteousness for me; I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the Lord’s gate; the righteous will enter through it. I will give thanks to you because you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This came from the Lord; it is wondrous in our sight. This is the day the Lord has made; let’s rejoice and be glad in it. Lord, save us! Lord, please grant us success! He who comes in the name of the Lord is blessed. From the hose of the Lord we bless you.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭118:19-26‬ ‭CSB)

When the exiled Jewish people returned to the land of Israel, the temple was reconstructed under the leadership of Ezra the priest, and the walls of the city were rebuilt under the leadership of Nehemiah. It is believed that this psalm was written to celebrate the completion of Jerusalem’s restoration. When the wall around Jerusalem was finally completed, all of the Jews in the region came to Jerusalem to dedicate the wall and celebrate God’s faithfulness. Nehemiah organized two large thanksgiving choirs that stood atop the wall and sang God’s praises. Perhaps this psalm is one of the psalms that they sang.

Though the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem was a glorious occasion, this psalm looked forward to an even more glorious time. Hundreds of years later, the gates of the city were opened and Jesus of Nazareth entered through the gate sitting on a lowly donkey as the crowds shouted out in praise. The words that the people sang and shouted came from this passage of Psalm 118. The crowds shouted, “Hosanna (Lord, save us!) to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord (Matthew 21:9)!” The stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone of the Church. The cries of God’s people over the centuries for salvation would be answered within that week. That was the day that the Lord had made, and it was a truly joyful moment… so worthy of rejoicing, that if the people didn’t rejoice, the very rocks along the roadway would have cried out. Salvation had come!

Though that day was truly glorious, a day even more glorious has yet to dawn. One day, the Lord Jesus Christ will return again. He will establish His new eternal Jerusalem. God’s ultimate salvation will occur as death is swallowed up in victory, the kingdoms of this earth will become the kingdoms of our God, and He will reign forever and ever. That definitely will be the day that the Lord has made, and all who are in Christ by faith at His returning will rejoice. Though that day has not happened yet, all who walk in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can experience the joy of the not-yet in the present day. We can rejoice in the hope that we have in Christ. We can rejoice in the salvation that we live in currently and experience day to day. With everyday, we can say, “This is the day the Lord has made; let’s rejoice and be glad in it!”

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for Your faithfulness. I thank You for Your salvation. I rejoice that salvation has come and that I get to live in the present reality of Your salvation through faith in You. But I also look forward to the day when You return… when all that is wrong will be made right… when all injustices will be reconciled justly… when evil and death are completely defeated, and I am able to live forever in the joy of Your presence. Help me to both live in the reality of the not-yet by faith and to continue patiently enduring in faith until that day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring — what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.” (‭‭James‬ ‭4:13-17‬ ‭CSB)

In the previous verses, James talked about the necessity of humbling ourselves before God and submitting to Him in order to effectively and victoriously resist the devil. But what does submitting to God look like and how do we do it? Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.” Those who have been redeemed by faith in Christ have been purchased with the blood of the Son of God. We no longer own our bodies nor our lives. Our lives belong to Christ. Submitting to God means that we no longer act as lords and masters of our own lives – we live under the Lordship of Christ. No longer do we decide what we are going to do with our lives. Instead we determine what the Lord’s will for our lives are and walk accordingly. James even expounded further, explaining that living by our own will is futile and a risky gamble anyway. We don’t know the future, we have a relatively short past, and the extent of our earthly lives is but a puff of smoke in the vastness of eternity. How much better it is to align with the will of the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful eternal God who can lead us down paths that will allow us to transcend our finite and limited mortality and do something eternally impactful.

How do we determine what the will of God is? Paul taught us how to prove out the will of God in Romans 12:1-2: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” It all begins with offering our lives to God as an act of worship… saying, “Here I am – speak to me, lead me, guide me, mold me, shape me, use me as Your instrument of righteousness.” As we no longer conform ourselves to the world, but conform ourselves to the ways of God’s kingdom, the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, will “re-wire” our thoughts and attitudes and give us the ability to discern the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

That is God’s will for us: to submit to Him that we may know His will and have the ability to walk in it. Don’t be arrogant, thinking that you have a better will for your life than God. Don’t resist God’s will or knowingly disobey it. That is how this whole mess called sin got started in the first place. Humble yourself before God. Submit yourself to the Lord of your life. Seek to determine God’s will for your life through a life lived in worship to Him… and when you determine God’s will, walk in it by the grace you receive through faith.

Psalms: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humanity. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in nobles. All the nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I destroyed them… They pushed me hard to make me fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. There are shouts of joy and victory in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly! The Lord’s right hand is raised. The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!” I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the Lord has done. The Lord disciplined me severely but did not give me over to death.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭118:8-10, 13-18‬ ‭CSB)

By faith, we come to see and understand the unseen spiritual world to be more “real” than what we can see, hear, touch and smell. It is definitely easier to trust in tangible humanity, in the ways of the world, and in our own understanding that is framed by what we know naturally. However, the Lord that has given His life to save us from sin is greater than and transcends all that we experience in the natural. The Lord that was able to save us from sin is well able to save us from any challenge, threat, obstacle or fear. When we humble ourselves before God, submit to His will and come under His Lordship, He will become our strength, our song, and our salvation. It is not dangerous to follow God’s will, for in Him and under Him, we will live for eternity. The dangerous thing is to reject His will and walk in the way that seems right and safe to us.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that You both desire for me to know Your will and You provide a way for me to know Your will. It all begins by offering my life to You in worship. I am not my own. I have been bought with a price, and I now belong to You. Therefore, here I am yielded and submitted to You. Transform my mind to discern Your will and grace me to walk in it as I keep my faith in You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God. Or do you think it’s without reason that the Scripture says: The spirit he made to dwell in us envies intensely? But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (‭‭James‬ ‭4:1-10‬ ‭CSB)

What is the source and cause of wars and fighting? That is an age-old question. Many over the years have surmised that religion is the cause of wars. Probably because, at the surface, many wars have been between people of opposing religious beliefs. However, if you peel back the proverbial layers of the onion and get down to the root cause, what you will find is pride. Pride is the exaltation of self over everything and everyone else. Pride leads to self-serving, selfishness, envy and selfish ambition. Earlier in chapter 3, James said that whenever and wherever those things are present, you will find confusion, disorder and every evil thing. Pride takes what it wants instead of asking – and if it does ask, it asks only out of a self-serving, self-appeasing motive.

Pride is the foundation on which the kingdom of darkness is built on. Pride is the core motivation for all of the devil’s activities. Satan seeks to exalt himself above all others, especially God, and when we give into the exaltation of ourselves, we actually end up bowing the knee to Satan. Pride is completely opposed to everything godly and is completely contradictory to all that God is. God resists the proud. Whenever you step into pride, you step away from God and remove yourself from any of His goodness.

How do we bring an end to war and strife and incapacitate pride? We humble ourselves. How do we resist the work and influence of the devil in our life? We first submit to God. God gives grace to the humble. Humility is all about having an accurate understanding of yourself and placing others before yourself. Instead of exalting yourself, humility is ultimately about coming under the Lord and Creator of all things and placing your trust and faith in Him. By humbling ourselves, we are rinsed of the evil of pride, allowing us to draw near to God to receive of His life, peace and grace. As we draw near to Him, He draws near to us and welcomes us in. From that place, we are able to effectively resist the devil… because we are submitted to and under the covering of God. From that place of humility and nearness to God, instead of having to exalt ourselves, God will exalt us. Instead of having to take things we want, God will lavishly give us the things we need. It all begins with humility.

Psalms: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever. I called to the Lord in distress; the Lord answered me and put me in a spacious place. The Lord is for me; I will not be afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me? The Lord is my helper; therefore, I will look in triumph on those who hate me.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭118:1, 5-7‬ ‭CSB)

When we humble ourselves and submit to the Lord. When we trust Him above ourselves and place our faith in His love and goodness, there is no need to fear. The Lord is for those who place their faith in Him – but He resists those who trust in themselves.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that You perfectly exemplified humility. You submitted Yourself completely to the will of the Father and placed my need for salvation before the desires of Your fleshly body. Because You walked in humility, I can now walk in humility as I remain in You through faith. I choose to humble myself, submit to You, and resist all the works of the enemy. Help me to remain humble before You, so that my life can bring You the greatest glory. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way… Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.” (‭‭James‬ ‭3:7-10, 13-18‬ ‭CSB)

The faith that opens the door to saving grace is also the faith that opens the door to transformational grace. Our flesh is stained with sin and hindered by inadequacy. Outside of our redemption and restored relationship with God through faith in Christ, there are things that we cannot do and things that we do not have. An unredeemed person, for instance, does not have a pure heart. Because of that, an unredeemed person cannot tame their tongue. Jesus taught that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). If one’s heart is, at its core, impure, then impure things will come out of the mouth. When we are redeemed and our life-giving relationship with God is restored through faith in Christ, we are given a new heart that has been cleansed from sin and made holy before God. That same grace that came through faith to give us a new heart is also the grace that works in us to stay pure and continue being transformed into the image of Christ Jesus. That grace empowers us to leave behind old sinful patterns and ways of speaking as we submit ourselves to the work of the Lord in us by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes that transformation happens instantaneously, but many times that transformation is a process that takes a while as we learn to walk by the Spirit. Because of that process, it is understandable that a redeemed and fully-restored person would still speak impure, hateful and hurtful things. However understandable it is, it is not acceptable. The person who is full of dynamic living faith will desire and allow unwholesome talk to be rinsed from their life as they are transformed from glory to glory by grace and the work of the Holy Spirit.

An unredeemed person does not have access to the wisdom of God. Instead, they live according to the wisdom of this world which is ultimately informed by the wisdom of the kingdom of darkness. That wisdom is based on lust, envy and self-seeking. When we are redeemed and our life-giving relationship with God is restored through faith in Christ, we are given access to the wisdom from above through the indwelling Holy Spirit. As James explained, that wisdom is “first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.” The more we walk by living faith in Christ Jesus and the leading of His Holy Spirit, the more we will walk in the wisdom from above instead of the wisdom from below. While it is understandable that a redeemed person would still conduct themselves at times according to the wisdom from below, it is not acceptable. Christ has a much higher standard for us to live by, and that standard is attainable by grace through faith and the work of the Holy Spirit within us. In Christ, grace and mercy abounds – but we need to allow our living faith to accomplish all that Christ has provided to us and made possible for us by grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for the transformational grace that is available to me as I continue to place my faith in You. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit that comes to convict of sin and righteousness, fills me with the wisdom from above, and leads me to walk in Your righteousness. Let the effect of my living faith in You continue to be my transformation from glory to glory by grace, and help me to not settle for anything less. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works. You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe — and they shudder. Senseless person! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works in offering Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete, and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers and sending them out by a different route? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” (‭‭James‬ ‭2:18-26‬ ‭CSB)

This passage in James can become confusing to some, and critics of the Bible will point to this passage as evidence that the Bible contradicts itself. At face value, that would seem true, for the Apostle Paul wrote in multiple places about salvation and justification being based on faith and not works. In Acts 4:2-3, Paul said that Abraham was not justified by works, but was declared righteous by faith. In Galatians 2:16, Paul wrote that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Christ. In Ephesians 2:8-9. Paul again wrote that we are saved by grace through faith, not from works. The writer of Hebrews used the examples of Abraham and Rahab – but it was in the context of commending their faith, not their works. Yet, here, it appears that James is saying that works are required. Which is it? Faith or works?

On one end of the spectrum, there are people who teach that all you have to do is believe… the way you live your life is of no importance, for once you believe, your life is completely covered by grace. On the other end of the spectrum, everything is based on how you act and what you do, with little to any grace involved – constantly earning your salvation through proper behavior. I believe that James was saying that neither side of the spectrum is true. It is not either faith or works. It is both faith and works. The demons are not atheists or agnostics. They very much believe in God and even shudder at His holiness and glory – yet they are far from saved. Good living on its own does not save, for it doesn’t deal with the problem of sin. Salvation and justification begin with faith, which is then evidenced by works.

Living biblical faith is not just mental, nor is it merely emotional. It is spiritual, mental, visceral and corporeal. Believing in your mind that something is true is not fully-alive faith. Having a feeling or an emotion is not fully-alive faith. As Paul taught, faith begins by hearing the word of God or hearing the gospel message. The Holy Spirit causes that word to come alive in one’s spirit as faith. That faith then informs and forms our beliefs, stirs up a visceral conviction, shapes our will and motivates our body to act. Fully-alive biblical faith works, and it works itself out on our lives through obedience and action. Anyone can say they believe something, but it isn’t until that belief is accompanied with action that we realize that the belief is true, active and alive. Had Abraham simply offered Isaac on the altar from his own compulsion, it would have been a faithless act with no power. However, Abraham heard God, believed God in faith, and proved that his faith was alive by obeying the word of God. So it was faith along with the accompanying faith-filled action that led to Abraham being declared righteous. Faith that does not cause a change in your actions and behaviors is not alive, and is as effective as the faith the demons have in God. The grace to be changed… the grace to will and do God’s good pleasure comes through living, dynamic, convicting and motivating faith.

Psalms: “How can I repay the Lord for all the good he has done for me? I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭116:12-14‬ ‭CSB)

When you consider that it is very likely that Jesus either read or sang this messianic psalm at the end of the last supper, this psalm becomes much more poignant and powerful. Jesus did not simply believe in the Father and believe that He was God’s Son, the Anointed Messiah; He  acted on that belief and obeyed the word of God, even unto death on the cross. The cup of salvation mentioned in this psalm is a specific cup in the Passover meal – and it was that cup that Jesus took and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” Everything that Father God asked Jesus to do, Jesus fulfilled in the presence of all God’s people. Considering that, we can say, along with the psalmist, “How can I repay the Lord for all the good He has done for me?” What the Lord calls us to do is present our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice and obey all the things He taught and commissioned us to do in faith.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for dynamic, powerful, motivating, living faith. As I hear, read, study and meditate on Your word, Your Holy Spirit makes that word come alive in me as faith. That faith moves me to respond to Your gospel and unleash its power to save. That faith motivates me to step out in obedience, which then opens the floodgates of grace… grace to will, grace to do, grace to endure, grace to be transformed into Your image. Help me to not ignore the affect of faith and allow the flame to burn out and die, as I reach for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ that is only possible by faith. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.