Ezekiel 35:1-36:38; James 1:1-18; Psalm 116:1-19; Proverbs 27:23-27
Isn’t it a great time of year? We’re getting closer to
Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday; the weather is turning cooler; for some of
you, the trees are changing color (palm trees are pretty much always green at
the beach); and we’re getting incrementally closer to our goal of reading the
Bible in a year. Way to go, us!
Today we get to start a new book – James. Written by Jesus’
brother, James, around 44-48 AD, this book gives us great practical applications
for living a life centered around faith in Christ. James was the leader of the
Jerusalem church. [As a side note, don’t you love that even though there are
times in the New Testament when Jesus’ words make us wonder about his
relationship with his family (Matt. 12:46-48), the fact that his brother leads
this large and prominent church affirms that they did love and believe in him
in the end?] We see in John 7:5 that James perhaps doubted, but 1 Corinthians
15:7 reveals that Jesus appeared directly to James and this compels his
conversion and, most likely, is the impetus for his rise to leadership.
Pressing on. So James writes this letter about ten years
after the death of Christ and ten years into the new life of the church. He
writes it to all the believers who have been forced out of Jerusalem (he calls them
the “Twelve Tribes”), in an effort to encourage them during their trials and to
exhort them to wholeheartedly commit themselves to God, who requires absolute
allegiance (Jam. 4:4-5). In essence, this is a letter of moral exhortation to
struggling and tempted believers (Moo, Zondervan
Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, 87-88). And exhort them (and us)
he does!
There’s so much even in this first section from today’s
reading, but I was particularly struck by verses 14 and 15: “But each person is
tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire gives birth
to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” Isn’t that just
such a true picture of what happens? We are drawn into sin by our desire – by
the things we want, that we perhaps feel we are entitled to. Satan doesn’t
tempt us with things that hold no power over us; he goes for where we are
vulnerable, for the places we’ve been letting little lies creep in. God isn’t good. There isn’t enough money. Her
house is better than mine. The website isn’t really that bad. My wife doesn’t
love me the way she should. We are enticed by our desire which gives birth
to sin – but instead of bringing forth life the way a normal birth does, it
brings forth death. The gossip we indulge in eventually becomes our world, the
only way we know how to relate to others. The comparison we give into about
other people’s houses or jobs or kids grows to make us dissatisfied with our
whole lives. The thoughts we entertain about someone else’s spouse becomes the
affair we feel we are justified in. Desire gives birth to sin, which grows into
death: the death of our families, the death of our relationships, the death of our
marriages, the death of our very souls.
Hooray for the psalm today, the gracious reminder we so need
– “I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy”
(Ps. 116:1). Have mercy on us, Jesus! We want to do the right thing, but we often
fail. Thank you that you hear our call and save us, no matter how many times we
fail. Have mercy on us!
- Esther McCurry
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