Steadfast Faith

Happy New Year, friends! 

I pray your year is off to a wonderful start! I had the blessed opportunity to spend time with family and friends over the holidays. And now I am ready to get this new year started!  

In my last blog post, we discussed what it means to “look to Him,” as it says in Psalm 34:5. We focused on the fact that ‘looking to’ the Lord means trusting Him. Today we will begin a series of blog posts based on the book of James. And as we begin our trek through James, we will definitely continue to explore the idea of trusting God.  

Specifically, we will learn to walk through any season of life with a Steadfast Faith.

Before we can even begin to glean from the book of James, we really need to take time to understand the author, context, purpose and themes of the book. Today, we will focus on the author - James.

James was the half-brother of Jesus. He was one of several children born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus’ birth. That means, he was also the brother of Jude. He was a Jew, in the line of David and of the tribe of Judah. He was raised in Nazareth and grew up alongside Jesus, his big brother. But he was not a believer while Jesus was carrying out His earthly ministry (see John 7:5 and Matthew 12:46-50). He may not have spent much time listening to Jesus’ teachings but if he did, he may have been a skeptic.   

It has always warmed my heart that James received his very own, individual visit from Jesus after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7). We know from Luke 19:10 that Jesus came to earth “to seek and to save the lost,” but in this case it just seems so personal! He was concerned about his little brother’s faith - or lack thereof. The details of that visit have not been made known to us in Scripture, but we can certainly conclude that something special happened during their time together! James not only became a follower of Jesus, He quickly became a leader in the early church!  

While other well-known apostles were traveling to other countries to share the Gospel, James remained in Jerusalem. James’ local ministry included pastoring the church in Jerusalem and caring for the impoverished believers of the city. He also developed a reputation for being very devoted to prayer. James actually acquired a couple of nicknames that may help us understand his character more fully. He was called “Old Camel Knees” because he spent so much time on his knees in prayer. And he was also called “James the Just,” not only as an advocate for the poor but also as a man of virtue and piety. 

This man of prayer and justice was not only a leader amongst the impoverished church in Jerusalem, but also amongst the apostles themselves. James was a leader of leaders! In Acts 15, a conflict arose amongst the apostles, and James served as a wise elder and peacemaker to guide the leaders into a biblical solution in the matter.

While he may have gotten a late start in his walk of faith, once he got started - his was a steadfast faith. It is believed that James was martyred for his faith. The story that has been told is that because of his witness for Jesus, James was thrown down from the high point of the temple in 62 AD - but he did not die! His persecutors then chose to beat him. While dying, James prayed for the very enemies who were killing him - just like Jesus and Stephen.

So this is James. Don’t you just love him already!? I can hardly think about his testimony without crying. It’s such a beautiful story! I can’t wait to tell you more…there really is so much more! But I think it’s important for us to take time to understand James’ heart as much as possible before we delve into the details of his letter, aka the book of James. It will definitely help us understand what James - and more importantly, the Holy Spirit - wished to say through the words of this eternal text. For now, may we align our lives so fully around Jesus, that we become as committed to prayer, justice, peacemaking, wisdom, and piety as James. May we too have a steadfast faith!

Looking to Him,

Tina

P.S. If you aren’t already a member of my Facebook group, please join us! We will be exploring and discussing some thought-provoking questions as we journey through the book of James! You will find a link at the bottom of the homepage on this website that will connect you with the group!