April 28: James 1:1-5

Key Verse: James 1:1
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

Devotion:
The epistle of James is generally believed to be written by James the brother of Jesus, otherwise known as James the Just! The letter is written to all of the tribes of Israel who have been scattered about a bit. People just don’t like to be kept in – which makes this lock-down all the harder for us all to endure! The twelve tribes still had their allocated land as defined by their ancestors, but they had moved about quite a lot over the many hundreds of years since being given the land.

James is writing this to all the people to give them various reminders of just who they are as God’s chosen race. This does not exclude everyone else but is directed to the Jews who have been facing a hard time being caught between the upholders of the law and those who were upholding Jesus. James is convinced Jesus is the Messiah and wants all of the people in the twelve tribes to believe this same truth he has grown to understand.

Through following what Jesus had gone through, James understood the meaning of trials and how we have to lean on our faith to be able to get through the hard times. I have found it such a great comfort knowing I have Jesus as my Saviour during these times we all live in today. My faith has given me the courage to continue on and to also trust God has my back. When everyone went mad about shopping and being greedy, I continued to ask God to keep me supplied in essentials and to look after me (my nearest and dearest included in the ‘me’.) All the time I knew God would not let me down just as He did not during my time in hospital.

It was these times of trials which broadened my faith and which I wish to pass on to you just as James was passing this on to all the people of Israel. The perseverance we gain allows us to finish the work God has appointed us to do so we can gain more faith and more strength to do more for Him. Christ was able to gain everything by giving everything!

Points to Ponder:
What do you do for God?

Will you trust Him to give you more to do?