James, chapter 2 - Part 2

Praise be to the Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the One who has given us breath to live and the grace to worship Him with our lives through His Beloved Son Jesus, all glory to His holy name, Amen.

Today's lead Word is from James 2:19-22 (NKJV)

19. "You believe there is one God. You do well, Even the demons believe - and tremble!

20. But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

22. Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?"

Amen, thank you LORD.

The above lead Word reminds us that faith without works is dead. In the previous post, I shared on the importance of blessing others because you have been blessed and the Apostle James, encourages us to especially help a weaker brother/sister, orphans and widows (James 1:27).

However, for this particular post, I would like to share on faith with works in the area of grief. Grief is a part of life and we thank God for grief because it reminds us that we are human. It helps us to relate with one another and have compassion for each other especially when you see someone who has experienced pain. There is a time I was learning at my church about 'a soft heart and hard feet'. You may or may not be familiar with this phrase. My understanding is, in order to be Jesus' disciples our hearts have to be soft enough to be broken and experience pain evoking humility and compassion for others. While on the other hand, our feet must be hard enough to be able to move forward despite the pain and brokenness that one may feel. Now to say grief is a blessing without the acknowledgment of the miracle and blessing of Jesus' healing would be an incomplete statement.

When I look at the Bible all through starting from Genesis, God's people experienced grief at a certain points in their lives and this did not make them any less qualified for God's calling. But they continued, they walked the journey of faith because the joy of the LORD was their strength (Nehemiah 8:10). This did not mean that they never felt the pain and deep sadness of grief but it only shows that they trusted God and put their faith in His goodness and His redemption plan for their lives more than the grief. Often times, I share on sin and how it separates us from God. At the same time, a grieving heart will not separate you from God but it may cloud your heart from communing in relationship with God. In the Bible is a prophet and judge of Israel called Samuel who was instructed by God to anoint Saul as King of Israel but Saul ended up disobeying God which led to the end of his reign as king over God's people. Now Samuel loved Saul and was sad that he was not going to live out God's promise for his life so he grieved for king Saul. Until God asked him, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, For I have provided for Myself a king among his sons." (1 Samuel 16:1 NKJV).

Thankfully, faith in God is not the absence of emotions. God is love (1 John 4:19) and so He created us to have emotion just like He does. God is not insensitive to your emotions. However, our emotions must always draw us closer to God's presence, His purpose and not further away from Him. If you are in a grieving season and its drawing you closer to God, even when you may not have all the answers but you are in prayer and surrounded by supportive brothers and sisters in the Lord, then by all means I believe you are aligning your faith with actions. On the other hand, if you are in a grieving season, but on the other hand you are starting to feel distant from God's ways, His people and finding comfort in isolation or environments that may not exactly line up with God's will for your life, could it be that it is time to re evaluate a few decisions? It is important to note that grieving is not only limited to the bereavement of a loved one, unexpected turm of events just like Samuel and King Saul, it could be losing a job or the end of a season and relationships. I have shared before the love of God does not exempt you from trials but thankfully there is victory in Christ.

The LORD promises a covenant of peace and kindness for every grieving heart (Isaiah 54:10) and continues to provide hope in Isaiah 54:11-12 (NKJV), "O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal and all your walls of precious stones."- AMEN.

In Isaiah 53:4-5 (NKJV(, an exchange took place when Jesus took on all of our griefs just like He did with sin and sickness. The Word says, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." AMEN.

Invitation to salvation: If you do not know Jesus, I would like to invite you to a personal relationship with Him for I have found Him to faithfully heal grief and mend broken hearts. If this sounds like you, please say these words with me: "I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could have a new life where I am dead to sin and alive to God. I repent of my past sins and enter the Kingdom of light where I choose relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and with God as my loving Father today and forever." AMEN.

Now that you know Jesus, pour out your heart to Him. God is a heart God and He does not play hide and seek for all those who seek Him. In case you have been a believer all your life and your are grieving, I invite you to consider putting a time cap to the memory of whatever and whoever you are grieving, placing it into God's hands. A time cap for me is making a promise to yourself and decide that after a certain time, you let go by refusing to hang onto every old memory, conversation that would feed your grief with the help of the Holy Spirit. Let this be the action that perfects your faith as you have receive God's comfort and continue your walk with the LORD. God has a beautiful future planned for you child of God. The LORD says in Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." - AMEN.

Prayer: Abba Father, we count it all joy, because to know Christ is to have victory and hope in grieving that though weeping endures for a night, joy comes in the morning. Thank you LORD Jesus that You will leave the ninety nine to go find the one, let that one be the one with a grieving heart that refuses to be comforted. Touch their heart LORD and remind them of Your wholesome love and may they know that You bore all of their griefs and sorrows when You died on the cross. I thank you LORD for courage and boldness for those who have chosen this day to put an end to every past memory, relations and status that no longer serves their growth. Thank you that You are also honouring their decisions LORD and ordering their steps into deeper dimensions of Your love and presence over their lives in the name of Jesus. Thank you LORD that as new creations in Christ, You are giving them the oil of joy for mourning and a garment of praise over every spirit of heaviness in the name of Jesus. Thank you LORD for the freedom of Your sons and daughters for he who the Son sets free is free indeed in the name of Jesus. Amen.

I'll end with this Word found in James 1:25 (NKJV)

"But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does."

Amen, thank you LORD.