The Joy of Glory

James 5:7-8 (click here)
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. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Reflection
Patience.

Let’s be honest… not many of us have a lot of patience (if any). And, it’s not like our culture of immediate gratification helps us to develop such a virtue…not at all. Scripture tells us that patience is fruit from the Holy Spirit’s work in us (Galatians 5:22-23). Patience is supernatural!

But, how does the Holy Spirit bear the fruit of patience in our life? That’s the question… how does this work?

The Spirit works in us by wielding his sword of truth…the Word of God. He uses it to cut apart the lies of this world and reveal to us truth upon which we can stand. The lie of immediate gratification is that we deserve the best and we deserve it now! Life is incomplete without the things we think we need, and we will never have joy without ___!

In James 5, our author has just finished giving warnings about seeking satisfaction in all that worldly riches can bring because none of that lasts! These are the lies the Holy Spirit kills with his sword of truth.

James then tells us, therefore, to be patient for the coming of the Lord. This is the truth that the Holy Spirit holds up for us to believe in place of the world’s lies. It is the very truth the Holy Spirit uses to kill the lies of immediate gratification. What is that truth?

It is the reality of the coming kingdom! It is the reality that Christ will come again and then will our joy be made full forever! We are like farmers who are in the long season of planting and cultivating… we are not in harvest time yet. Knowing that the harvest is coming empowers us to have patience with the rains in this season.

Knowing that Christ is coming, and he will make all things right forever…this truth empowers us to live in the present with patience. It empowers us to endure this long season of waiting and yearning.

Patience… none of us actually have it… it is supernatural… it is fruit the Holy Spirit bears in our life! Is he bearing it in yours?

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

1 John 3:1-3 (click here)
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1)

Reflection
Christians are strange.

I mean…let’s just be honest about it. Our values, our way of thinking, our worldview is very odd to the culture at large. We think the pursuit of happiness through wealth, fame, and sex is folly. We base our lives on a book that is over 2000 years old. We even see death as gain!

Not to mention we believe that God took on flesh, lived, died, and rose again.

I mean…we are just a little bit strange and even increasingly so in our modern western culture. Secularism has been on the rise for generations and culture Christianity in America has all but met its demise.

And this is good news.

We are strangers and exiles in this world, and now we look like it. “The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know [Jesus].” Our western world once thought it understood and even liked Jesus, but now recognizes that they don’t recognize him.

A world that once would have said, “oh yeah, we know Jesus,” is now ready to declare the opposite. And this is good news. The lost know that they are lost… and we have a Gospel to give! We have good news that the Father has given his love to us by making us his children through Jesus…and he does this to all who believe in Jesus!

We have news that is finally heard as news! Whether people in our culture accept it or reject it is one thing, but at least they can finally hear it! At least they finally recognize that they don’t recognize us or Jesus!

It’s good news that we, Christians, are finally seen for what we are… strange.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

2 Peter 1:16-21 (click here)
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts… (2 Peter 1:16 and 19)

Reflection
Historical fact.

Do we feel the weight that our faith is grounded in historical fact?

We don’t follow clever stories with nice morals because they make life more bearable. We don’t look to a mythical figure known as Jesus to inspire us to be better people. No. We truly believe Jesus was/is God in the flesh, that he entered into history, lived, died, and rose again.

Historical fact.

Our faith is based on the accounts of eyewitnesses to events…people so convinced of what they had seen that they gave their very lives rather than deny what they knew to be true.

Historical fact.

Yet, even those eyewitnesses believed there was something more sure than their own testimony. Peter points us to the prophetic word of God which has been confirmed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This, he says, is a light of truth shining into our dark world…pay attention to the Word and you will see the truth of Jesus!

And… just as sure as Jesus life is a historical reality confirmed by eyewitnesses and Scripture… we can know that so also will his second coming be a historical reality. It too will be confirmed by eyewitnesses and the proving of prophecy.

When the day of Christ’s return dawns and he rises like the morning star in our hearts, then the reality of our faith will give way to sight! Jesus will come again and that will be…

Historical fact.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.