LookingtoJesus

Session 7 (11/15/2023): A Living Hope

REVIEW

1. Biblical hope is an attitude characterized by a favorable and confident expectation regarding some unseen future reality.
2. It is a ministry of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our heart to the unseen and hopeful realities that we possess in Christ (John 16:14-15; Ephesians 1:15-19; Romans 15:13).
3. To stay hopeful, we must walk by the Spirit and allow the Word of Christ to richly dwell within us (Romans 15:13, 4; Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 3:16).
4. Biblical hope enables us to bridge the gap between our present sufferings and the future glory that God has promised and prepared for us (Romans 8:18-30).
5. The sealing of the Holy Spirit of Promise works to assure the believer regarding his future inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14).
6. The blessed hope for the believer is the imminent rapture into the presence of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Read Luke 22:54-62.  Reflect on Peter’s experience in his failure and the death of his hopes following Jesus’ arrest.  Have you ever experienced the death of something you’d hoped for?
2. Peter wrote 1st Peter some 30 years after his denials of Christ.  What had changed for him since that day?
3. Read 1 Peter 1:3-6.  What is the main theme of the passage? To whom was Peter writing? What challenges were they facing (1 Peter 1:6, 4:12)?
4. 1 Peter 1:3 “bursts forth” with lively themes.  Identify and describe each.  What is foundational to the living hope possessed by the believer?
5. According to 1 Peter 1:4, what is the nature of the inheritance you possess in Christ?  Contrast the imperishable nature of this inheritance with other perishable things (1 Peter 1:7, 18, 23).
6. What are the two ways by which this inheritance is assured to us (1 Peter 1:4-5)?
7. How does the prospect of this future inheritance work to encourage us amidst the troubles we face (1 Peter 1:6)?

APPLICATION

1. Peter thanked God for the living hope availed to us through the resurrection (1 Peter 1:3).  Are you even now “overflowing with gratitude” (Colossians 2:7) for the living hope you now possess?
2. How much do your present hopes align with that which is spoken of in this passage?  What can work to help you better refine your focus?

November 13

Bible Reading: 1 Peter 4

1 Peter 4:7-11, “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.  Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.  Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Remember Chicken Little?  That story, about a chicken who goes about yelling “the sky is falling,” actually arose from an old European folk tale.  In 1943, Walt Disney created a short film about Chicken Little.  It was an anti-Nazi film speaking to the evils of mass hysteria. Like with Chicken Little, the Apostle Peter also spoke about the world coming to an end, but his was no folk tale!

Some might suppose that Peter was mistaken, because it has been nearly two thousand years since he spoke of such things.  But he was speaking of the imminence of Christ’s return, not its immediacy.  Christ’s return is imminent, meaning it could happen at any time.  John MacArthur has commented on this matter:

“A natural reading of the New Testament yields the truth that to the early church Jesus’ coming was imminent; that is, that it could happen at any time. They believed that He could come back for them in their lifetime. For the early church, imminence contained elements both of certainty and uncertainty. They were certain that Jesus would one day return, but (unlike numerous modern date setters) were uncertain when. Not knowing when He might return, they wisely lived prepared for and hoping for Jesus to return at any moment.”

John MacArthur

There are many who are even now preparing for some kind of future doomsday.  They build shelters and stockpile supplies, but their motivation does not arise from a spiritual concern.  Peter’s instructions emphasize the importance of the spiritual and moral obligations for God’s children in light of the pending return of Christ. 

The imminence of Christ’s return challenges us to be “self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7).  We are to “continue steadfastly in prayer,” but mundane affairs and countless distractions work against our resolve and devotion (Colossians 4:2).  Our thoughts and behavior need to be as those awake to the reality of Christ’s coming (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8).

In view of the imminence of Christ’s return, we are to fervently love one another.  This is something we are to do “above all” (1 Peter 4:8).  Peter had previously written of the need to love one another in this manner (1 Peter 1:22).  This kind of sincere and earnest love for one another is to characterize the lives of Christ’s followers, as they await their Lord and Savior (John 13:34-35).

There is also the need to show hospitality.  The Greek word translated “hospitality” means literally to be “friendly to strangers.”  Hospitality involves more than entertaining guests and is especially called for in times of need or persecution (Acts 2:45; Matthew 26:35-40). 

The imminence of Christ’s return motivates us to fully utilize our spiritual gifts.  Every believer in Christ has received a gift.  Whereas the Apostle Paul lists various gifts (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-10, 27-30; Ephesians 4:11), Peter speaks of two broad categories—serving gifts and speaking gifts.  “As good stewards of God’s varied grace,” believers are to use their gifts “to serve one another” (1 Peter 4:10).  Those serving are to serve “by the strength that God supplies” (1 Peter 4:11).  Those speaking are to speak as “one who speaks the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11).  Gifts are to be used for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7), to the building up of the body (Ephesians 4:12), and to the glory of God (1 Peter 4:11).

J. Vernon McGee spoke of the need to live our lives with a view to Christ’s soon return, “Today we see a lot of careless, slipshod living, but also a great emphasis on prophecy. I hear people say, ‘Oh, I’m waiting for the Lord to come!’ Brother, my question is not whether you are looking for the Lord to come, but how are you living down here? How you live down here determines whether or not you are really looking for the Lord to come.” 

J. Vernon McGee

We don’t know exactly when Christ is returning, but we know that His return is imminent.  In view of this, we need to pray earnestly, love fervently, care purposefully, and serve wholeheartedly.

Live each day as if Jesus’ coming is imminent. For it is!

Faithful and true would He find us here
If He should come today?
Watching in gladness and not in fear,
If He should come today?
Signs of His coming multiply,
Morning light breaks in eastern sky;
Watch, for the time is drawing nigh–
What if it were today?

November 10

Bible Reading: 1 Peter 3

1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

A man named John attended our weekly Men’s Bible study.  We’d begin our study by singing a hymn, and I often asked if the men had one that they’d like for us to sing.  Inevitably, John would ask for a hymn about heaven.  I later learned that John had been orphaned as a child, and had lived a difficult life, but you’d never know that from the smile he bore or the countenance of his face.  He was always talking about Jesus and heaven.  John was an older fellow, and his health wasn’t so great, so we were not too surprised when his time of departure came.  I attended his funeral service.  He had no family there.  And he left behind few belongings.  But at his funeral I heard story after story about how he’d talked to others about Jesus, and the impact he had on their lives.  He was a heaven-bound saint and wanted others to share in his hope. 

The context of verse 15 has to do with the suffering any of us might encounter because of being a Christian.  We are told not to fear or be troubled, but instead to set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts, trusting Him and submitting ourselves to Him in our response.  Note this!  The verse presupposes that others might ask us regarding “the hope that is in (us)” (1 Peter 3:15).  Having been born again to a living hope, there’s to be a manifest difference in our hopeful countenance.  Is your walk with Christ such that others see the difference in you?  The days in which we live are filled with uncertainty, and it’s easy to be drawn into the hopelessness that is pervasive.  But you possess a living hope, and others need to see the reality of that in you.

Hope translates the Greek “elpis” which speaks to the confident expectation regarding some future thing.  Contrary to the common usage of its English counterpart it includes no element of doubt.  We are exhorted to “set (our) hope fully on the grace that will be brought to (us) at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).  We are to fully invest our hope in the sure promise of Christ’s return (i.e., “the blessed hope;” Titus 2:13).

We need to be ready to “make a defense to anyone who asks” about it.  Opportunities abound.  Are you ready to do that?  The only way you can be ready is if you are walking by the Spirit and according to the truth of the Word.  Not only can the Spirit embolden you to speak without fear, He can give you the words to speak.  The term translated “defense” is related to our word “apologetics,” which has to do with “reasoned arguments or writings in justification of something.”  Whereas books and Bible School courses are devoted to that theme, the matter is relatively simple.  What is your defense or argument as to the source of the hope you possess?  It starts with the gospel, that glorious message of hope.  Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  Having put your trust in Jesus, you’ve been saved from your sins and given assurance of a future home in heaven.  No matter what happens to you here, you know that you are destined to heaven, and to that inheritance which is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4).  As someone once said, “When it comes to sharing your faith, it’s not a matter of how much you know, but Who you know, and how much you want others to know Him too!”

Our response to others, even in the face of threats and harsh treatment, needs to be “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).  According to the example of Christ, and the example of countless others who have likewise testified about Jesus in difficult circumstances (1 Peter 2:21-23; Acts 7:59-60).  The uncertainty of these days has worked to open a door of unprecedented opportunity for us.  “In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” we are to “shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life” (Philippians 2:15).  You have hope.  Others need what you have.  The hope you possess in Jesus was meant to be shared! 

“Make us thy mountaineers, we would not linger on the lower slope, fill us afresh with hope, O God of hope.” – Amy Carmichael

Share His love by telling what the Lord has done for you
Share His love by sharing of your faith
and show the world that Jesus Christ is real to you
every moment, every day!

November 9

Bible Reading: 1 Peter 2

1 Peter 2:2, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.”

On one of our trips to Uganda, the incessant crying of a small child disrupted a visit with a pastor.  In speaking to the father of the child, we discovered that the girl—who appeared to be no bigger than a baby—was in fact about 5 years old.  She had a disorder that prevented her from digesting her food properly.  She had not grown because she could not eat.  Our team took steps to facilitate a visit to a specialist.

What is true in the physical realm holds true in the spiritual.  God wants us to grow up spiritually into Christ-like maturity.  Just as a newborn baby is expected to grow physically, the newly born-again child of God is expected to grow up also.  And there is something very wrong if a Christian is never growing.  The number one reason why they sometimes don’t is spiritual malnutrition.  They do not grow because their spiritual diet is lacking.

The command in this verse is to “long for” the Word.  The term speaks of having a great desire for something.  One translation uses the word “crave” to express the thought.  Our desire for the Word ought to be like that of a newborn baby craving mother’s milk.  There is nothing more important to a newborn baby.  They will loudly express their displeasure if it is denied to them.  Imagine if a believer did the same (i.e., loudly wailing) if for some reason the Word of God was not availed to him!

Newborn babies don’t need to be taught to like mother’s milk, they instinctively long for it from birth.  Christians are like that too.  The Spirit of God puts a craving for the Word into the heart of the newly born-again child of God.  By the Spirit, you craved the Word when you were first saved and through the influence of the Word you grew.  Underlying the craving for the Word is another Spirit-led desire.  Believers don’t crave the Word simply because they are commanded to, they crave the Word because they yearn to know Jesus better.

This craving for the Word has practical implications.  The believer has certain responsibilities to the Word of God that are to be approached with a “craving the Word” sort of attitude.  It is necessary to hear (Romans 10:17), read (Revelation 1:3), study (2 Timothy 2:15), memorize (Psalm 119:11), and meditate on (Psalm 1:2) the Word.  Spiritual growth then takes place as the Spirit of God applies the Word of God to the heart of the believer.

George Mueller once wrote of the need for us to find spiritual nourishment in God’s Word: “I saw more clearly than ever, that the first and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord.  The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished…Now I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be brought into experimental communion with the Lord.  I began, therefore, to meditate on the New Testament, from the beginning, early in the morning…for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul.  And yet now, since God has taught me this point, it is as plain to me as anything that the first thing a child of God has to do morning by morning is to obtain food for the inner man.  As the outer man is not fit for work for any length of time, except we take food, and as this is one of the first things we do in the morning, so it should be with the inner man…Now what is food for the inner man?–not prayer, but the Word of God—and here again not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts.”

George Mueller

To grow in Christ, crave the Word!

More about Jesus in His Word,
Holding communion with my Lord;
Hearing His voice in ev’ry line,
Making each faithful saying mine.

November 8

Bible Reading: 1 Peter 1

1 Peter 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

Sometimes hope dies.  Like in Peter’s case.  Following Jesus’ arrest, and in spite of his earlier commitment to stand by Jesus, Peter denied even knowing Jesus.  While he was still speaking, “the rooster crowed.”  Jesus then turned and looked at Peter, and Peter “went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:60-62). Can you imagine what must have been going through Peter’s mind?  He had hoped for things–that Jesus was soon to reign as Messiah; that life and ministry with Jesus would continue; that he’d have the resolve to stand by Jesus.  He had devoted himself to a dream and a cause, only to have all his hopes suddenly swept away.  I’ll bet you can relate to Peter.  Who amongst us hasn’t hoped for something, only to suffer bitter disappointment when it didn’t come to pass?  It is a part of our human experience.  And in that we go through a kind of a refining process.  For there are, in this life, hopes that are mere expectations and hopes that are firmly assured to us in the working and promises of God.  That’s our focus today.

Thirty years after his denials, Peter wrote these words in 1 Peter 1:3 about a “living hope” to believers who were enduring persecution.  Note how the verse bursts forth with lively themes: “born again;” a “living hope,” and “the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!” For the three decades following his denials, Peter devoted himself, as “a dying man, speaking to dying man,” (as Richard Baxter once put it), proclaiming God’s glorious gospel that folks might be born again to this living hope.

There is such a thing as a living hope because of the resurrection (1 Peter 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:9). There could be no living hope if there were no risen Christ. Jesus Christ died for sins and rose again from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). He is the resurrection and the life and is able to impart life to sin-dead souls (John 11:25-26). “Whoever has the son has the life” and the hope that goes along with knowing Him (1 John 5:11-12).

A living hope is not something anyone can self-generate or conjure up.  You can’t purchase it or bargain for it.  You can wish for such a thing, but you’ll not possess it unless you are born again to it through faith in Jesus Christ.  But for the born again, the hope borne in them is as alive as Our Risen Lord Himself.  In contrast to the perishable things, we are prone to hope in and for (1 Peter 1:7, 18, 23), this living hope is unassailable.   It equates to the hope of heaven, the confident expectation of being brought safely home to that “inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4). 

“And, truly, this is a blessing, beyond all comparison or imagination, that we have been begotten again by (God) unto a ’living’ hope…Our first birth brought unto us sin and sorrow, but our second birth brings us into purity and joy.  We were born to die; now are we born never to die, ‘begotten again’ unto a life that shall remain in us forevermore, a life which shall even penetrate our mortal bodies, and make them immortal, “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Charles Spurgeon

Peter wrote his epistle to persecuted believers, many of whom were suffering the loss of friends or homes or even the risk of their lives. But none of those losses could work to kill their living hope. Same with Peter. A few years after writing this epistle, his living hope met with fulfillment when he was martyred into the presence of Jesus.

There’s a lot of uncertainty in this world.  And there is a lot of hopelessness out there too.  But the “God of hope” has caused you to be born again through Jesus to a living hope.  That hope is meant to be shared (1 Peter 3:15).  Praise God for it! Rejoice in it! Focus on it! Encourage others in it! Spread it around!

The Believer Has Been Born Again to A Living Hope Through the Risen Christ to a Lasting Inheritance

When from the dead he raised his Son,
and called him to the sky,
he gave our souls a lively hope
that they should never die.

November 7

Bible Reading: James 5

James 5:7-11, “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.  See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.  You also, be patient.  Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.  As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast.  You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

The preceding context of this passage has to do with the oppression of the righteous poor by the wicked rich, who were guilty of hoarding their wealth, not compensating their employees, indulging in luxury, and committing murder.  In view of such oppression, the brethren were exhorted to “be patient” (James 5:7).

The terms “patient” and “patience” occur four times in the passage.  They translate the Greek “makrothumeo” which has to do with showing forbearance towards others.  A different Greek term, “hupomeno,” is sometimes translated “patience” in our English Bibles and is translated “steadfast” by the ESV in verse 11.  It has to do with patiently enduring trials.  The first term has to do with being patient with people, the second with demonstrating patience in circumstances.  Patience is necessary because people sometimes behave badly, and circumstances are not always what we wish them to be.  Both work against our determination and resolve and can cause us to lose hope.

Three examples of those exercising patience are given in this passage: the farmer (James 5:7-9); the prophets (James 5:10), and Job (James 5:11).

The farmer waits patiently for the early and late rains, which are necessary for his crops to bear fruit.  In Palestine, the early rains occurred in October and November, soon after the grain was sown.  The late rains came in April and May as the crop was maturing.  Both were necessary.  With expectation, the farmer was willing to wait patiently until both rains came.  The Lord is coming.  Indeed, His coming is at hand.  We need to establish in our hearts the earnest expectation of His return.  We will inevitably be wronged from time to time in this life, but we are to respond with forbearance towards others (1 Peter 2:20).  In His coming, Christ will correct all wrongs. 

Difficult people and circumstances can also cause us to lose patience with one another.  So, we must be careful to not “grumble against one another” (James 5:9).  The term used here speaks of bearing an inner distress or resentment.  It is evident in the warning given that the Lord is displeased with such conduct. 

As Frank Gaebelein notes, the judgment spoken of, though not pertaining to one’s eternal destiny, is serious: “For the regenerate, judgment respecting eternal destiny of the soul is past; on Calvary Christ paid the price for the believer’s sin.  Yet for the regenerate, too, the Judge awaits, because the New Testament teaches that ‘we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his own body, according to that he hath done, whether good or bad.’…And while no redeemed will lose his salvation, there will be many who will suffer shame as they lose the heavenly rewards that they might have had” (Frank E. Gaebelein, “The Practical Epistle of James,” Doniger & Raughley, Inc.; 1955).

Frank Gaebelein

The second example of those exercising patience is the prophets (James 5:10).  They experienced affliction and responded to it with patience.  Jeremiah is a good example of this.  He was beaten and put in stocks, shut up in prison, and mired in the mud (Jeremiah 20:1-2, 32:2, 38:6).  Yet he patiently endured in his ministry.  We consider “those blessed who remain steadfast” (James 5:11; James 1:12).

The third example of one exercising patience is Job.  The term used in verse 11 (translated “steadfastness”) is the term which speaks of exercising patience in difficult circumstances.  Job experienced trying circumstances (Job 1:21-22; 2:10; 13:15; 19:25-27).  Though a positive outcome for Job seemed unlikely, “the Lord is compassionate and merciful,” and Job ultimately persevered.  God ultimately blessed Job by giving him “twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10).

These examples all illustrate the need for the believer to patiently endure in expectation of the Lord’s return.  Patient forbearance with people.  Patient endurance in difficult circumstances.  Patience is a necessary virtue for the heaven-bound saint.

“Problems patiently endured will work for our spiritual perfecting.” – A. W. Tozer

Trusting Him while life shall last,
Trusting Him till earth be past;
Till within the jasper wall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

November 6

Bible Reading: James 4

James 4:1-6, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?  Is it not this that your passions are at war within you?  You desire and do not have, so you murder.  You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.  You do not have, because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.  You adulterous people!  Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’?  But he gives more grace.  Therefore, it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

In a straightforward manner, James identifies the cause of the quarrels and fights that typify human existence on this planet.  The discord of which he speaks is pervasive—in marriages, families, churches, communities, and countries—and even exists amongst those professing faith in God.

What is at the source of the problem?  The word “passions” occurs twice in this passage.  It translates the Greek term “hedone” which speaks of “the gratification of the nature desire or sinful desire” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words).  It is the word from which the English term hedonism is derived.  Hedonism is “the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life” (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary).  The other particularly relevant words used in this passage are the terms “desire” and “covet.”  The first translates a Greek term which refers to evil desires.  The second speaks to the zealous pursuit of such things.

It is the continual lusting after things that is at the heart of the problem.  Man was created to find fulfillment and enjoyment in His Creator, but sin deceitfully distorts man’s way of thinking.  “The desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life” demand fulfillment (1 John 2:16).  The devil and the world would have us to believe that happiness is to be gained through pleasure (the desires of the flesh), profit (the lust of the eyes), or position (pride of life).  Man zealously pursues these things, although they can never provide true and lasting fulfillment and true joy.  They represent mere passing pleasures (Hebrews 11:25).

It is this always-wanting-more aspect of sin that works to put us at odds with one another.  Pleasure needs to be fueled.  Profit needs to be increased.  Pride demands more attention.  These things are often secured at the expense of others.  This sin borne attitude does not need to be learned, it is ours by nature.  It in in-bred in us through our relationship to Adam (Romans 5:12).  Adam and Eve sinned.  Then Cain murdered his brother.  Man has been fighting with one another ever since.  It doesn’t take too long for a seemingly innocent child to grow to display a propensity for selfish behavior.  The word “mine” soon enters a child’s vocabulary.  Children don’t need to be trained in how to fight over toys.

To live according to the dictates of one’s passions is to be a friend with the world.  The world functions according to “looking out for number one” way of thinking.  Passions are pursued according to a “whatever it takes to get ahead” philosophy.  But to befriend the world and live that way is to be at enmity with God (James 4:4).  God desires something better for us.  “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us” (James 4:5).  He deeply desires that we live according to His better purpose.  The world, the flesh, and the devil conspire to mire us in a quagmire of selfish pursuits, but “he gives more grace” (James 4:6).

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).  Humility is a sure antidote to the prideful attitudes and passions that give rise to such discord.  Humility involves an honest assessment of one’s self in light of God’s holiness and our own sinfulness.  Such a spirit-borne assessment is an absolute necessity.  Pride puts us at odds, both with God and with others.  But in humility, we relate to others according to God’s design.  The various problems addressed in this chapter: quarrels and fighting, sinful judgment of others, and sinful presumption, are all rooted in pride (James 4:1-17).  Pride and passions lead to discord, but humility bears a better fruit (Philippians 2:3-8; Ephesians 4:1-3).  James summarizes the matter this way: “Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:10).

Pride and passions lead to discord, but humility bears a better fruit.

Make me a servant
Humble and meek
Lord let me lift up
Those who are weak
And may the prayer
Of my heart always be
Make me a servant
Make me a servant
Make me a servant today

November 3

Bible Reading: James 3

James 3:5-8, “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

Though definitely not the largest of Oregon forest fires, the Eagle Creek fire of September 2017 will be long remembered for the widespread devastation and distress it caused.  It was first reported on September 2nd.  By the morning of the next day, it had grown to 3000 acres and had trapped 153 hikers, forcing them to spend the night in the woods. On September 5th, it hopped across the wide Columbia River and started a fire on the Washington side.  The community of Cascade Locks was evacuated, with 283 structures and 15 businesses being threatened by the fire.  The fire also threatened historical structures in the Columbia River gorge, including the iconic and much-visited Multnomah Falls Lodge.   Nearby salmon hatcheries were forced to move or release early hundreds of thousands of fish.  The main east-west thoroughfare in the region, Interstate 84, was shut down for days, and maritime traffic on the Columbia River was shut down for 20 miles.  As of October 7th, the fire had consumed some 50,000 acres.  The popular hiking trails in that area are shutdown indefinitely.  With the fall rains starting in earnest, warnings were issued for possible rock and mud slides.

How did it begin?  Witnesses reported seeing a group of teenagers lighting fireworks and throwing them into the Eagle Creek Canyon.  Oregon State Police later obtained cell phone video footage that showed a 15-year-old boy throwing the smoking firecracker that had started the fire.  Do you suppose that that teen could have imagined the extent of destruction that would be caused by that foolhardy stunt?  That’s the imagery James uses in his indictment of the human tongue— “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! (James 3:5).”

There is something very wrong with our tongues.  The indictment of the tongue here in our passage is unequivocal and universal.  The tongue is small, but powerful.  It is set on fire by hell itself.  We can tame big animals, but the tongue is untamable.  Though able to bless God, it is ready and all-too-willing to curse those made in His image.  The Bible’s claim about tongues causing harm is supported by ample evidence in marriages, families, churches, communities, and our country as a whole. This harm can be likened to a raging forest fire.  Untamable tongues set fires.  They cause misery and destruction.

The God-man Jesus Christ was born into a world of troubled tongues.  His speech was according to His nature, full of “grace and truth” (John 1:14).  He spoke only truth, but His speech was also always characterized by grace.  He who knew no sin and never sinned had a perfect tongue.  The Apostle Peter would later write of how we, as believers, need to follow Jesus’ example, saying, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:21-23).  Peter went on to say this: “To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead. For the one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.” (1 Peter 3:8-10).

The key to having tongues that speak as they should is to have a tongue that speaks according to our new nature in Christ.  We speak as Jesus would have us, when we speak not according to our human nature or fleshly tendencies, but according to the indwelling Spirit and the Word.  We still have the flesh; left to our own devices, we will speak accordingly.  Such speech is characterized by “enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions” (Galatians 5:20).  But by the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit (Christlike virtue), is born in us.  As we walk by the Spirit, our speech is consistent to who Christ is, and characterized by “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7).  Likewise, Ephesians 5:18 and Colossians 3:16 speak to the worshipful and edifying words that characterize the lives of those whose hearts are “filled up” with the Spirit and the Word.

We live in a day where hateful words and insults fill the airwaves and too many conversations. And that’s sadly true in too many “Christian” homes and churches! Even Christians toss fireworks into tinder dry regions. The fires started then quickly spread to destroy relationships and dishonor God. A raging firestorm exists in the spiritual realm—a raging firestorm set on fire by hell itself (James 3:6). Are you a firestarter or a firefighter? We’ve got to stop with the insults and name-calling that are so commonplace in our day (Matthew 5:21-22; Ephesians 4:29) and get back to the business of living out and sharing the good news. We are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). We are His representatives! Imagine an ambassador being sent out from our country to another. How long would he last in that role if he only cursed and insulted his fellow ambassadors and the people of the country to whom he was sent? As citizens of heaven, we ambassadors for Christ bear a message of reconciliation in the gospel. Let’s share that and words that are always “with grace” (Colossians 4:6)!

“Take my lips and let them be, filled with messages from Thee.” – Frances R. Havergal

May the mind of Christ my Savior
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and pow’r controlling
All I do and say.

November 2

Bible Reading: James 2

James 2:14-26, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!  Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”

The Apostle Paul vehemently and repeatedly maintained throughout his epistles that salvation is by faith not works (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Some suggest that James is herein contradicting Paul, but James is looking at the matter from a different perspective.  The kind of faith that saves is a faith that works.  Paul taught the same thing.  The kind of faith that saves is not merely intellectual, but issues forth from one’s heart (Romans 10:9).  Salvation is by grace through faith and not works (Ephesians 2:8-9), but it inevitably leads to good works (Ephesians 2:10).  Paul gave thanks to God for the Thessalonians because the genuine nature of their faith was affirmed by their works (1 Thessalonians 1:2-5).  Mere intellectual faith is “dead” and “useless” (James 2:17, 20, 26).  Dead orthodoxy or mere profession is no substitute for the God-given, life-transforming, variety of faith that inevitably leads to good works.

James makes his case through four separate examples, two negative and two positive:

• 1) the inadequacy of the kind of faith that would refuse to provide for a needy brother or sister (James 2:15-17; 1 John 3:17);
• 2) the inadequacy of the kind of faith possessed by the demons (James 2:18-19);
• 3) the efficacy of the kind of faith possessed by Abraham (James 2:20-24); and
• 4) the efficacy of the kind of faith possessed by Rahab (James 2:25-26). 

What good is a kind of faith that refuses to meet the needs of a brother or sister?  The demons have a kind of faith—of an intellectual variety—but it obviously does not lead to their salvation.  Abraham is a preeminent example of faith “completed” by works (James 2:22).  Rahab likewise deliberately acted with a kind of faith that was accompanied by works.  Abraham and Rahab are both cited by the author of Hebrews as examples of those who did certain things “by faith” (Hebrews 11:8-10, 17-19, 31).

Martin Luther, that great reformer and champion of the sola fide (salvation by faith alone) truth, addressed the genuine nature of true and saving faith: “True faith, of which we speak, cannot be manufactured by our own thoughts, for it is solely a work of God in us, without any assistance on our part.  As Paul says to the Romans, it is God’s gift and grace, obtained by one man, Christ.  Therefore, faith is something very powerful, active, restless, effective, which at once renews a person and again regenerates him, and leads him altogether into a new manner and character of life, so that it is impossible not to do good without ceasing.”

Martin Luther, “Justification by Faith,” in Classic Sermons on Faith and Doubt, ed. Warren W. Wiersbe; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Kregel, 1986; p. 78

Henry Ironside put it this way, “A faith that is not demonstrated by works of righteousness and deeds of piety is as dead as the lifeless clay.” 

Henry Ironside

The kind of faith that saves is a faith that inevitably results in transformation and is thereby and henceforth characterized by good works.  It is anything but “dead” and “useless” (James 2:17, 20, 26).

The faith that saves is a faith that works.

I gave My life for thee,
My precious blood I shed,
That thou mightst ransomed be,
And quickened from the dead;
I gave, I gave My life for thee,
What hast thou done for Me?
I gave, I gave My life for thee,
What hast thou done for Me?

November 1

Bible Reading: James 1

James 1:2-4, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

I’m a member of a spousal caregiver support group.  Its stated purpose is to provide support and resources to people of all ages who care for partners with chronic illness or disability.  Once a month, I join with others in a Zoom meeting to discuss the various challenges associated with caregiving.  Such challenges are something I’ve witnessed frequently in the lives of those I visit as a hospice chaplain.  The topic of discouragement came up in a recent meeting, leading to further discussion about how to not lose heart.  I mentioned how we need to try to keep focused on the positives.  But how is it possible to stay positive when pain, and illness, and even pending death cloud our vision?  In some more troublesome cases, emotionally and physically draining tasks burden a caregiver, consuming all their time with no end in sight.  Our text speaks to such matters.  Everyone faces trials.  Some trials can appear Goliath like.  But God is aware of what we are going through, and He can even use our trials for good in our lives.

“Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). Someone has said that life is 10% circumstances, and 90% what we make of them.  “When in trouble and in doubt run in circles, scream and shout,” might be the response of some, but God calls us, as believers, to something better.  He has called us to “joy” (Philippians 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:16).  “Joy” is not the same as “happiness.”  Happiness is a worldly commodity that is realized to the extent that one’s circumstances measure up to one’s expectations.  “Joy,” on the other hand, is that Spirit-borne contentment of the soul that is sourced ultimately in one’s relationship with God (Galatians 5:22; Romans 15:13).

One key to responding to trials appropriately is realizing (i.e., “for you know;” James 1:2) that God has a purpose in them.  The awareness of adults and infants leads to contrasting reactions in the dentist’s chair, for the adult realizes why they are there. The realization of what God is accomplishing in us amidst the trials we face makes a lot of difference in how we respond (Romans 5:3-4, 8:28).

In trials, faith is tested, as gold is refined by fire (1 Peter 1:7).  The heat drives the impurities to the surface where they can be removed.  Trials have a way of bringing “spiritual impurities” to the surface in our lives.  Attitudes, words, and actions—that are inconsistent to who we are in Christ—are made apparent.  The Spirit identifies such things to us through the Word, so that we can put them off during the process of spiritual growth into Christ-like maturity.

It is the knowledge of this reality that helps us to maintain a positive perspective (Romans 8:28).  Trials are not just problems, but teachable moments in God’s divine classroom. He uses them to shape us into Christlikeness.  God is so good at turning things around!  I love the truth that is found in 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”  The trials you are now facing might not seem light and momentary now, but they are so when weighed against the eternal weight of glory that awaits you in heaven. “We do not lose heart” because we are aware of this reality (2 Corinthians 4:16)!

Andrew Murray was suffering from a terribly painful back, when a woman who was in trouble came to him asking for counsel.  He passed on to her some advice he had just written for himself: “In time of trouble, say:

• First, He brought me here, it is by His will I am in this place: in that fact I will rest.
• Next, He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace to behave as His child.
• Then, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.
• Last, In His good time He can bring me out again—how and when He knows.

Therefore, say I am here, (1) By God’s appointment, (2) In His keeping, (3) Under His training, (4) For His time.”

The key to rejoicing amidst trials is the realization that God is using them to build in us Christlike character!

There’s joy that no language or thought can express,
It comes from His presence divine;
And when in His likeness at last I awake,
Its fullness I know will be mine!