James Reading Day 14

Post by Micah Hutchison on September 18th, 2010

If only we could bottle a virtue like steadfastness so we could pull out a flask and take a sip when we feel ours fading in the midst of a trial. Wouldn’t that be great? Seems like it would, probably isn’t, and either way…we can’t. Three words: “establish your hearts.” These three words in James 5:8 offer a gem of divine wisdom. We’ve discussed the context of James– the trials that will certainly beset us as Christians. We’ve seen that in the midst of these trials we have a faith that is productive. We are saved by faith alone, but true faith is not alone: it changes us.

I was listening to a David Crowder song with these words about Jesus: “Yeah he loves us, oh how he loves us”. Do you realize that? Is your heart fixed upon that truth? You are loved by God. Jesus’s death for us on the cross showed the depth of God’s love for us. If your faith is anchored in Jesus the Messiah, whose death has earned you freedom from sin, then you have a new life. You have God’s own Holy Spirit dwelling in you, empowering you to live this new life in the Messiah.

What’s more, God is on a mission in our world, and you have been invited into his plans. In part of God’s plans for our world, we have the assurance of the scriptures that Jesus the Messiah will come back again someday. It’s a fact. Have you thought about that lately?

My wife left for a couple days on a women’s retreat recently. When she left I didn’t trash the house. I didn’t fall back into my old bachelor tendencies of cleaning only when necessary, leaving clothes on the floor and dishes on the counters. I knew she was coming back, so I cleaned up the place for her arrival.

“Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:8)

Are you convinced that Jesus will return someday? Are you living to be ready for him? Maybe you need to pray through this verse today and ask God to help you fix your heart on the reality of Jesus’s love, and of his return.