...Strong In His Faith | Romans 4:20

Christian, take good care of your faith; for faith is the only way in which you can obtain blessings. If we want blessings from God, nothing can fetch them down but faith. Prayer cannot draw down answers from God’s throne except it be the earnest prayer of the man who believes. 

Faith is the angelic messenger between the soul and the Lord Jesus in glory. Let that angel be withdrawn, we can neither send up prayer, nor receive the answers. Faith is the telegraphic wire which links earth and heaven — on which God’s messages of love fly so fast, that before we call He answers, and while we are yet speaking He hears us. But if that telegraphic wire of faith be snapped, how can we receive the promise? Am I in trouble? — I can obtain help for trouble by faith.

Am I beaten about by the enemy? — my soul on her dear Refuge leans by faith. But take faith away — in vain I call to God. There is no road between my soul and heaven. In the deepest wintertime faith is a road on which the horses of prayer may travel — ay, and all the better for the biting frost; but blockade the road, and how can we communicate with the Great King? Faith links me with divinity. Faith clothes me with the power of God. Faith engages on my side the omnipotence of Jehovah. Faith ensures every attribute of God in my defence. It helps me to defy the hosts of hell. It makes me march triumphant over the necks of my enemies. But without faith how can I receive anything of the Lord? 

The one who wavers — who is like a wave of the Sea — should not expect to receive anything of God! O, then, Christian, pay attention to your faith; for with it you can win all things, however poor you are, but without it you can obtain nothing. “If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.”

As The Father Has Loved Me, So Have I Loved You | John 15:9

As the Father loves the Son, in the same manner Jesus loves His people. What is that divine method? He loved Him without beginning, and thus Jesus loves His members. “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” You can trace the beginning of human affection; you can easily find the beginning of your love to Christ, but His love to us is a stream whose source is hidden in eternity. God the Father loves Jesus without any change.

Christian, take this for your comfort, that there is no change in Jesus Christ’s love to those who rest in Him. Yesterday you were on Tabor’s top, and you said, “He loves me:” to-day you are in the valley of humiliation, but He loves you still the same. On the hill Mizar, and among the Hermons, you heard His voice, which spoke so sweetly with the turtle-notes of love; and now on the sea, or even in the sea, when all His waves and billows go over you, His heart is faithful to His ancient choice.

The Father loves the Son without any end, and thus does the Son love His people. Saint, thou needest not fear the loosing of the silver cord, for His love for thee will never cease. Rest confident that even down to the grave Christ will go with you, and that up again from it He will be your guide to the celestial hills. Moreover, the Father loves the Son without any measure, and the same immeasurable love the Son bestows upon His chosen ones.

The whole heart of Christ is dedicated to His people. He “loved us and gave Himself for us.” His is a love which passeth knowledge. Ah! we have indeed an immutable Saviour, a precious Saviour, one who loves without measure, without change, without beginning, and without end, even as the Father loves Him! There is much food here for those who know how to digest it. May the Holy Ghost lead us into its marrow and fatness!

For In Christ Jesus You Are All Sons of God Through Faith | Galatians 3:26

The fatherhood of God is common to all His children. Ah, Little-faith, you have often said, “I wish that I had the courage of Great-heart, that I could wield his sword and be as valiant as he! But, alas, I stumble at every straw, and a shadow makes me afraid.” Listen, Little-faith. Great-heart is God’s child, and you are God’s child too; and Great-heart is not one bit more God’s child than you are. Peter and Paul, the highly-favored apostles, were of the family of the Most High; and so are you also. The weak Christian is as much a child of God as the strong one. 

This covenant stans secure,
Though earth’s old pillars bow;
The strong, the feeble, and the weak,
Are one in Jesus now

All the names are in the same family register. One may have more grace than another, but God our heavenly Father has the same tender heart woard all. One may do more mighty works and may bring more glory to his Father, but he whose name is the least in the kingdom of heaven is as much the child of God as he who stands among the King’s mighty men. Let this cheer and comfort us when we draw near to God and say, “Our Father.” 

Yet, while we are being comforted by knowing this, let us not rest contented with weak faith but ask, like the apostles, to have it increased. However feeble our faith may be, if it is real faith in Christ, we shall reach heaven at last, but we shall not honor our Master much on our pilgrimage, neither shall we abound in joy and peace. If then you would live to Christ’s glory and be happy in His service, seek to be filled with the spirit of adoption more and more completely, until perfect love shall cast out fear.

Blessed Are The Peacemakers, For They Shall Be Called Sons of God | Matthew 5:9

This is the seventh of the beatitudes: and seven was the number of perfection among the Hebrews. It may be that the Savior placed the peacemaker seventh on the list because he most nearly approaches the perfect man in Christ Jesus.

He who would have perfect blessedness, so far as it can be enjoyed on earth, must attain to this seventh benediction and become a peacemaker. There is a significance also in the position of the text. The verse that precedes it speaks of the blessedness of “the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” It is important to understand that we are to be “first pure, then peaceable.” Our peaceableness is never to be a contract with sin or toleration of evil. We must set our faces like flint against everything that is contrary to God and His holiness: When purity in our souls is a settled matter, we can go on to peaceableness.

In the same way, the verse that follows seems to have been put there on purpose. However peaceable we may be in this world, yet we shall be misrepresented and misunderstood; and we should not be surprised, for even the Prince of Peace, by His very peacefulness, brought fire upon the earth. He Himself, though He loved mankind and did no ill, was “despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Just in case the peaceable in heart should be surprised when they meet with enemies, the following verse reads, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteouness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

So, the peacemakers are not only pronounced to be blessed, but they are surrounded with blessings. Lord, give us grace to climb to this seventh beatitude! Purify our minds that we may be “fire pure, then peaceable” and fortify our souls, that our peaceableness may not lead us into cowardice and despair when we are persecuted for Your sake.

Remember The Poor | Galatians 2:10

Why does God allow so many of His children to be poor? He could make them all rich if He pleased; He could lay bags of gold at their doors; He could send them a large annual income; or He could scatter around their houses abundance of provisions, as once he made the quails lie in heaps around the camp of Israel and rained bread out of heaven to feed them. There is no necessity that they should be poor, except that He sees it to be best.

“The cattles on a thousand hills” are His--He could supply them; He could make the rich, the great, and the mighty bring all their power and riches to the feet of His children, for the hearts of all men are in His control. But He does not choose to do so. He allows them to experience need; He allows them to struggle in poverty and obscurity. Why is this? There are so many reasons.

One is, to give us, who are favored with enough, an opportunity of showing our love to Jesus. We show our love to Christ when we sing of Him and when we pray to Him; but if there were no needy people in the world, we should lose the sweet privilege of displaying our love by ministering by our gifts to His poorer brethren. He has ordained that in this way we should prove that our love stands not only in word, but in deed and in truth. If we truly love Christ, we will care for those who are loved by him. Those who are dear to Him will be dear to us. Let us then look upon it not as a duty but as a privilege to relieve the poor of the Lord’s flock, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” 

Surely this assurance is sweet enough, and this motive strong enough to lead us to help others with a willing hand and a loving heart--recollecting that all we do for His people is graciously accepted by Christ as done to Himself.

Keep Back Your Servant Also From Presumptuous Sins | Psalm 19:13

Such was the prayer of the “man after God’s own heart.” Did holy David need to pray like this? How needful, then, such a prayer must be for us babes in grace! It is as if he said, “Keep me back, or I shall rush headlong over the precipice of sin.” Our evil nature, like an ill-tempered horse, is apt to run away. May the grace of God put the bridle upon it and hold it in, that it rush not into mischief. What would the best of us do if it were not for the checks that the Lord sets upon us both in providence and in grace! 

The psalmist’s prayer is directed against the worst form of sin--that which is done with deliberations and willfulness. Even the holiest need to be “kept back” from the vilest transgressions. It is a solemn thing to find the apostle Paul warning saints against the most loathsome sins: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” What! Do saints really need to be warned against such sins as these? Yes, they do. 

The whitests robes, unless their purity be preserved by diving grace, will be defiled by the blackest spots. Experienced Christian, do not boast in your experience; you will trip if you look away from Him who is able to keep you from falling. You whose love is fervent, whose faith is constant, whose hopes are bright, do not say, “We shall never sin, “ but rather cry, “Lead us not into temptation.”

There is enough kindling in the heart of the best of men to light a fire that shall burn to the lowest hell, unless God shall quench the sparks as they fall. Who would have dreamed that righteous Lot could be found drunk and committing immorality? Hazael said, “Is Your servant a dog, that he should do this thing?” and we are very apt to use the same self-righteous question. May infinite wisdom cure us of the madness of self-confidence.

I Am A Sojourner With You | Psalm 39:12

Yes, O Lord, with You, but not to You. All my natural alienation from you, Your grace has effectually removed; and now, in fellowship with Yourself, I walk through this sinful world as a pilgrim in a foregin country. You are a stranger in Your own world. Man forgets You, dishonors You, sets up new laws and alien customs, and knows You not. When Your dear Son came unto His own, His own received Him not. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world did not recognize Him.

There was never a foreigner who stood out from the inhabitants of any country as much as your Beloved Son among His mother’s brethren. It is no marvel, then, if I who live the life of Jesus should be unknown and a stranger here below. Lord, I would not be a citizen where Jesus was an alien. His pierced hand has loosened the cords that once bound my soul to earth, and now I find myself a stranger in the land. My speech seems to these pagans among whom I dwell a strange tongue; my manners are singular, and my actions are outlandish. 

A prince would be more at home in the ghetto that I could ever be in the haunts of sinners. But here is the sweetness of my circumstance: I am a stranger with You. You are my fellow-sufferer, my fellow-pilgrim. Oh, what joy to wander in such blessed company! My heart burns within me on the journey when you speak to me, and though I am a traveler, I am far more blessed than those who sit on thrones, and far more at home than those who live in their comfortable homes. 

To me remains nor place, nor time:
My country is in every clime;
I can be calm and free from care
On any shore, since God is there.
While place we seek, or place we shun,
The soul finds happiness in none:
But with a God to guide our way,
‘Tis equal joy to go or stay.

Why Are We Sitting Here Until We Die? | 2 Kings 7:3

Dear reader, this little book was mainly intended for the edification of believers, but if you are still unsaved, we are concerned for you, and we would like to say something that would be helpful to you. Open your Bible, and read this story of the lepers, and note their position, which was similar to yours. 

If you remain where you are, you must perish; if you go to Jesus you will live. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained” is the old proverb, and in your case the venture is not great. If you sit still in sullen despair, no one can pity you when your ruin comes; but if you were to die seeking mercy, if such a thing were possible, you would be the object of universal sympathy. 

None escape who refuse to look to Jesus; but you know that others are saved who believe in Him, for certain of your own friends and neighbors have received mercy. So why not you? Why not taste and see that the Lord is merciful? To perish is so awful that if you could only clutch at a straw, the instinct of self-preservation should lead you to stretch out your hand. We want to assure you, as from the Lord, that if you seek Him you will find him. Jesus casts out none who come unto Him. you shall not perish if you trust Him; on the contrary, you shall find treasure far richer than what the poor lepers gathering in Syria’s deserted camp. 

May the Holy Spirit embolden you to go at once, and you shall not believe in vain. Then when you are saved, share the good news with others. Do not hold back; tell your friends at church first, and join with them in fellowship; let the watchman of the city, the pastor, be informed of your discovery, and then proclaim the good news in every place. May the Lord God save you before the sun goes down this day.

You Shall Love Your Neighbor | Matthew 5:43

“Love your neighbor.” Perhaps he rolls in riches, and you are poor and living in your humble dwelling next-door to his mansion. Every day you see his estates, his fine clothes, and his extravagant parties. God has given him these gifts; covet not his wealth, and think no hard thoughts concerning him. Be content with what you have, if you cannot better it, but do not look upon your neighbor and wish that he was like you. Love him, and then you will not envy him. 

Perhaps, on the other hand, you are rich, and the poor live nearby. Do not scorn to call them neighbors. Admit that you are bound to love them. The world calls them your inferiors. In what way are they inferior? They are far more your equals than your inferiors, for “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.” Your clothes are better than theirs, but you are in no way better than them. They are men, and what are you more than that? Pay attention that you love your neighbor even though he be in rags of sunken in the depths of poverty. 

But perhaps you say, “I cannot love my neighbors because no matter what I do for them they respond with ingratitude and contempt.” All the more reason for the heroism of love. Would you be a feathered warrior instead of bearing the rough fight of love? He who dares the most shall win the most; and if the path of love is rough, tread it boldy, still loving your neighbors through thick and thin. Heap coals of fire on their heads, and if they are hard to please, do not seek to please them, but to please your Master; and remember if they spurn your love, your Master has not spurned it, and your deed is as acceptable to Him as if it had been acceptable to them. 

Love your neighbor, for in so doing you are following the footsteps of Christ.

“...Sin...Sinful Beyond Measure.” | Romans 7:13

Beware of thinking lightly of sin. At the time of conversion, the conscience is so tender that we are afraid of the slightest sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear of offending God. But sadly very soon the fine bloom upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough handling of the surrounding world: The sensitive plant of young piety turns into a willow in later life, too pliable, too easily yielding. It is sadly true that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous that the sin that once startled him does not alarm him in the least. By degrees men get familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds. 

At first a little sin startles us; but soon we say, “Is it not a little one?”THen there comes another, larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a small matter; and this is followed by an unholy presumption: “We have not fallen into open sin. True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright for the most part. We may have uttered one unholy word, but as for most of our conversation, it has been consistent.” So we toy with sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it dainty names. 

Christian, beware of thinking lightly of sin. Take heed in case you fall little by little. Sin a little thing? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sine a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doesn’t the tiny coral insect build a rock that wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual drippings wear away sontes? Sin a little thing? 

Sin put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. If you could weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would run from it as from a serpent and abhor the slightest appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Savior, and you will see it to be “sinful beyond measure.”

I Said In My Prosperity, “I Shall Never Be Moved.” | Psalm 30:6

Give a man wealth; let his ships bring home continually rich treasure; let the winds and waves appear to be his servants to carry his vessels across the bosom of the might deep; let his fields produce abundantly; let the weather be kind to his crops; let uninterrupted success attend him; let him stand among men as a successful merchant; let him enjoy continued health; allow him with braced nerve and brilliant eye to march through the world and live happily; give him the buoyant spirit; let him have a song perpetually on his lips; let his eye be ever sparkling with hoy--and the inevitable consequence of such an easy life to any man, even though he may be the best Christian who ever breathed, will be presumption. 

Even David said, “I shall never be moved”; and we are not better than David, nor half so good. Brother, beware of the smooth places of the way; if you are treading them, or if the way be rough, thank God for it. If God should always rock us in the cradle of prosperity, if we were always enjoying good fortune, and there were no clouds in the sky, and not bitter drops in the wine of this life, we would become intoxicated with pleasure, and we would dream that were standing--and stand we should, but it would be upon a pinnacle; like the man asleep upon the mast, each moment we would be in jeopardy. 

We bless God, then, for our afflictions; we thank Him for our changes; we extol His name for losses of property; for we feel that if He had not chasteneed us in this way, we might have become too secure. Continued worldly prosperity is a fiery trial.

Afflictions, though they seem severe,
In mercy often are sent.

He Is Altogether Desireable | Song of Solomon 5:16

The superlative beauty of Jesus is all attracting; it is not so much to be admired as to be loved. He is more than pleasant and fair--He is lovely. Surely the people of God can fully justify the use of this golden word, for He is the object of their warmest love, a love founded on the intrinsic excellence of His person, the complete perfection of His glory. 

Look, the disciples of Jesus know the sweetness of his voice and are able to say, “Do not His words cause our hearts to burn within us as He talks with us on the road?” You worshipers of Immanuel, look up to His head of much fine gold, and tell me, are not His thoughts precious unto you? Is not your adoration sweetened with affection as you humbly bow before that face that is as excellent as the cedars of Lebanon? Is there not a beauty in His every feature, and is not His whole person fegrant with such a savor of His goodness that we love Him? Is there one aspect of His being that is not attractive--one facet of His person that is not a blessing to our souls and a strong cord to bind our hearts? 

Our love is not as a seal set upon His heart of love alone; it is also fastened upon His arm of power, nor is there a single part of Him upon which it does not fix itself. We worship His whole person with the sweet fragrance of our fervent love. We would imitate His whole life and character. All other beings are best incomplete; in Him there is all perfection.

Even the best of His favored saints have had blots upon their garments and wrinkles upon their brows; He is nothing but loveliness. All earthly suns have their spots: This fair world has its wilderness; we cannot love the whole of the most lovely thing. But Christ Jesus is gold without alloy, light without darkness, glory without cloud. Yes, “he is altogether desirable.”

Joel 2:12-13

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

This week, we have placed a great emphasis on repentance. Repentance isn’t meant to make us feel deep shame about our sins, but to turn a new direction and have a change of mind in light of the work Jesus has done for us; that is, atoning for our sins on the cross. 

Repentance is a strong word and often used by God and the people of God in various ways. One of the ways in which it is used is by pleading. While God has made us for himself, you and I are prone to wander and repentance is an invitation to come home and return to God; finding rest in Him alone. 

In repentance, we experience grief. Grief is when we understand that our sin, before effecting anyone--which it inevitably does--is against God and him alone (Psalm 51:3-4) and it demonstrates that our hearts have, in fact, wandered! However, genuine repentance, one that grieves sin, always sends us back to Jesus (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). 

Repentance is our response to the gospel. It is our response to Jesus entering into human history, living a life in our stead, and dying on a cross in our place for our penalty and inviting us to turn to Him in repentance and belief. 

There is no condemnation for the Christian (Romans 8:1). What has gone unconfessed this week? Today? Bring it into the light and fix your eyes on Jesus today. 

Romans 8:1-4

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 

Paul describes a truth so beautiful that it should lead us to worship Christ at this moment and that is that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This reality tells us a few things as we observe this season of Lent. 

To begin, it tells us that the work of God for us in Christ where He reconciles us to the Father has been fully complete and accomplished and there is nothing we can do to take away or add to it. The season of Lent as an opportunity does not intensify our spirituality, but reminds us of Jesus' work for us. 

Secondly, if we belong to Jesus, we have the promise and abiding of the Holy Spirit in us who does a work in and through us; guiding, teaching, and convicting us of sin so that we might fix our eyes upon Jesus. 

Finally, as a result of the work of Jesus for us, my encouragement to you would be to slow things down today (if you haven’t already) and continue to untangle habits and our preoccupied minds. The goal of this week is to engage matters of the heart as they pertain to our fellowship with God himself. 

Begin today with the question: what have you learned about God and yourself in the last few days?

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins,  and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Ash Wednesday is the start of the season of Lent and during this time we have four goals:

1. Meditate on our need for Jesus; 

2. Examine the posture of our hearts to toward God in Christ; 

3. Confession and repentance; 

4. Deny ourselves comforts to grow closer to Christ. 

As we begin the season of Lent, start by rending your heart to Jesus. Over and over, you’ll hear about the season of Lent being an opportunity and it is! You see, the finished work of Jesus on the cross for sinners where He reconciles us to the Father has been completed--there is nothing to add to it or take away from it. Additionally, the work of Jesus on the cross is something that you and I forget often. The season of Lent serves as a concentrated reminder of why Jesus entered into human history. 

Because you and I are forgetful, we can sometimes diminish or justify our sin. But King David in Psalm 51 is in grief over his sin. He begins by acknowledging and agreeing that he has sinned and that he has sinned against God (Psalm 51:3-4). Does your sin grieve your heart? What do confession and repentance look like in your life today? 

King David begins to close Psalm 51 by telling us that it’s not about the sacrifice that God is after, but a broken spirit and a humbled heart (Psalm 51:16-17). You don’t have to participate in the season of Lent or Ash Wednesday, it’s not a season of super spirituality. But it does serve as an occasion that should point us to the pages of scripture where God reveals Himself to us. It is there that our hearts are genuinely exposed, but not forsaken. 

Christian, is your spirit broken and is your heart humbled before God? If it isn’t, take this opportunity to remove distractions and comforts for the sake of approaching the throne of grace in confidence and growing in godliness and obedience.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10

 9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

“Our aim during Lent is something like a wilderness experience. We want to shake up our lives significantly enough that when we reach for our usual comforts and grasp a fistful of air, we are forced to cling to Christ. 

The point of giving things up is not to be reminded of how much we miss them, but rather to be awakened to how much we miss God and long for his life-giving Spirit. 

• Having given up junk for, what will you do with the energy you gain?

• Having given up internet surfing, what will you read now?

• Having given up TV as a default activity, how will you use that time to cultivate quality time with friends and family? 

Don’t worry about whether or not your sacrifice is a good one. It’s not a contest. Just make your aim to know Christ more fully, and trust him to lead you. Seek to replace that thing with devotion to Christ--his Word and his mission. God may lead you to give up and take up more as you go. That’s good. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. 

- Excerpt from Journey to the Cross.

Matthew 6:16-18

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

When it comes to the season of Lent, many are most familiar with the ashes on foreheads and general discussions about giving up certain foods. However, the reality is that Lent is not something that external, but internal. 

For us at Storehouse McAllen, the season of Lent is simply an opportunity to evaluate and reflect on the condition of our hearts toward Christ and his work for us on the cross. When it comes to the spiritual discipline of fasting, it is meant not as a dietary restriction but by denying ourselves comforts we draw closer to Christ in worship. 

In this season, our hope is that as we deny ourselves of comforts we would draw closer to God in Christ in confidence. The reason we fast is because we want to remove as many distractions as possible in an effort to focus and rest in God alone (Psalm 62:1). 

The season of Lent is an opportunity, that’s all. It’s not meant to be super spiritual and this shouldn’t be the only time that we as Christians practice fasting. And as an opportunity, we wish to search the depths of our hearts and consider through confession, repentance, and worship the work God has done for us in Christ. 

As Wednesday approaches, prayerfully consider what consumes most of our time and attention and draws you away from the person and work of Jesus. Would you consider giving it up for a season so that you would draw near to Him in confidence, humility, and worship?

James 5:13-20

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Author Randy Alcorn once wrote that “prayer is not preparation for the battle, prayer is the battle.” One of the ways in which we can cultivate joy in the Chrsitian walk is through communion with God and the people of God, especially through the means of prayer. Often, prayer is left only to requests toward God rather than adoration, confession, and thanksgiving. 

In this final passage of James, we are left with the demonstration and significance of prayer for the Christian. In short, prayer is a means of praise and worship of Jesus Christ. One of the acronyms I use to teach our students how to pray is “ACTS” which stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. I use this tool in order to teach and demonstrate the point of prayer is not only submitting requests to God, but humbling ourselves before God (Psalm 51:16-17; Philippians 4:4-7). When we humble ourselves, we adore God for who He is and what He has done for us. Here, we realize that our depravity demands dependence of God so we confess our sin. Then we give thanksgiving to God because it is only through Christ that our sins are forgiven and we are cleansed on the account of His righteousness. Finally, with a posture of humility, we provide supplication or make our requests known to God. 

Further, in community, we pray with and for one another for the same purpose--to pursue a humble posture toward God as we encourage, exhort, and support one another. Prayer is a means of praise and worship for the Christian. 

What does your prayer life look like?

James 5:7-12

7 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. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 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. 12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Have you ever heard the phrase “patience is a virtue”? I have. Too many times. Patience is often a struggle and not something we wish to hear (frequently) yet that’s the heart of our text today. 

To help us better understand and exhort our lack of patience, James uses the example of a farmer in order to connect fruitfulness. In seasons where we are (or ought to be) growing in patience, we first need to realize that it’s not punishment, but a time where God is molding and shaping us. James’ exhortation to you and me is to establish our hearts. To establish our hearts means to have the courage to persevere knowing that the Lord is at work even in the midst of struggle, chaos, or difficulty.

James offers three encouragements of patience: 

1. Seasons: Life happens in seasons and in times of difficulty or stress, it’s not punishment but refinement. 

2. Fruitfulness: God promises that He would complete the work that He began in you through Christ and as a result, we cannot rush fruitfulness. The objective is not simply to finish the season but to be more like Jesus on the other side. 

3. Faith Not Anxiety: We cling to the promises of God because our hope is anchored in what He has done for us and what He has revealed in His word. That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy, but we have a source where anxiety can be addressed.

James 5:1-6

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

Money is a sensitive topic, especially in the church. A few weeks ago, we addressed the differences in the godly rich and poor and the ungodly rich and poor. Here, James tackles the heart of finances once more but from a different angle. If we’re honest, money isn’t so much an issue as our heart is. And while James strongly rebukes the rich in this passage, it’s not about their wealth, but their misuse of wealth that’s at the center of the rebuke. 

Christians, must come to understand that there is a great difference in being an owner and being a steward of our finances (Genesis 2:15-17). These two ways of living are in conflict with one another and when it comes to money, ownership or stewardship will collide with our theology; what we believe shapes how we live. 

Ownership can be viewed as believing what we have doesn’t belong to God, but us because at the end of the day, we’re in control and it’s our life. This was the lie that Adam and Eve believed in the garden. It’s as if they believed that what they did defined who they were. 

Stewardship, however, begins not with what we have, but who we are. It begins with our identity in light of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. This is what God commissioned Adam and Eve to in the garden, to be stewards of all that He had given and entrusted them with. Stewardship breeds generosity because the Christian understands that generosity doesn’t begin with our wallets, but belief in the gospel as an act of grace (2 Corinthians 8:7). 

Wealth isn’t bad, but it can be dangerous because our hearts are deceitful and if we’re not careful, we will throw ourselves on a treadmill chasing after something we hope is going to finally grant us peace and satisfaction. We will worship creation rather than the Creator. 

God is not opposed to treasure. It’s where we store it that is of significance (Colossians 3:1-4). How we view ourselves (owners or stewards) is important because one leads to indulging in the temporary joy of sin and the other leads to contentment in Jesus and His eternal promises (1 Timothy 6:9-10).