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READ:

James 5:11a

^11a Behold, we count them happy which endure.

EXHORTATION:

James wrote these words when the church was under much persecution. It was not too long ago that Stephen, a zealous Christian, had been stoned to death by a mob of Jews who were angry at his preaching (Acts 7:59). Not long after, James himself, the brother of the apostle John, would be slain by King Herod (Acts 12:2). In between, Peter and the other apostles were also imprisoned (Acts 5:18). Men, like Saul, “made havock of the church”, entering into Christians’ houses, dragging men and women away to prison (Acts 8:3). Great persecution was unleashed “against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). This epistle was written to such persecuted and scattered Christians (James 1:1).

James sought to comfort and strengthen the suffering Christians, saying, “Behold, we count them happy which endure.” But are these words still relevant and significant to those believers who no more experience violent persecution? Yes, they are no less pertinent to Christians who live in times of quietness and repose! Even in the absence of concerted hostility and persecution, the Christian has to endure abundant labours and trials of faith in his life and ministry. No Christian should expect a trouble-free life and service. Due to spiritual conflict, our paths will be strewn with many stumbling blocks and obstacles. To overcome them, we must move forward with a patient and enduring spirit.

We must also endure the troubles brought by our own temptations of sin and sins of others. Every Christian must fight gruelling battles against sin and all kinds of provocations! We cannot expect to live our Christian lives without struggles.

When we are in the midst of heart-wrenching trials, it may be hard to see how enduring such experiences would benefit us. But let us remember that only he who endures is truly happy. An easy life will not bring out the virtues and powers of the soul. It does not test the mettle of one’s faith and commitment. Endurance will form and fashion our character, regulate our temper, build up our faith and confidence in the Lord, nurture humility within our hearts, and bring out our best for the Lord. It is by enduring and overcoming our trials that we taste the joy of victory. Honour and joy belong to those who endure.

READ:

James 5:10

¹⁰ Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

EXHORTATION:

While all kinds of people experience suffering, James here specifically points us to the prophets as our example in enduring our afflictions. The prophets were, in general, a much-persecuted group of God’s servants. Though they were sent by God and had declared God’s Word faithfully in His name, they still suffered much in the midst of their ministry.

Our Lord Jesus, on several occasions in His preaching and teaching ministry, referred to the hatred and violence the prophets had endured. For instance, Matthew 5:12 records Jesus as saying, “for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” According to Matthew 23:37, Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee”. Likewise, the writer of Hebrews, while recounting the exploits of the prophets’ heroic faith, said that they “had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:36-38). So, it is no wonder that we are pointed to the prophets as our example in the midst of our sufferings.

If the prophets were oppressed and abused, it may well be expected that other godly men will also be persecuted. Let us not yield to the suggestion that we suffer affliction because God has abandoned us, or that our woes prove that we are wicked men. Righteous and faithful people have always endured great hardships in this world. Let those who suffer as Christians rejoice that they are in the company of God’s honourable servants, like the prophets. If God has decreed that it is necessary (and even useful) that His faithful servants endure suffering, let us not grow despondent in the midst of our afflictions!

Let us conduct ourselves in patience, as the prophets did in their sore trials. Their afflictions were many and great, yet they bore them very patiently. Let us fill our minds with all good examples of those who were acquainted with hardships while they faithfully served the Lord, so that we may, like them, also exhibit enduring faith and ardour in our trials.

READ:

Psalms 34:22

The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

EXHORTATION:

The LORD’s amazing love and care for the souls of all His servants are explained here. Their redemption is the LORD’s gracious work. They had no power to deliver themselves. They were once ensnared in a pitiful state of perilous entanglements with sin, awaiting to reap its eternal consequences. But the LORD took pity on them and redeemed them from their many sins that pushed them towards eternal peril.

Now they are His servants, being freed from the terrors of sin. They live daily in all the accompanying blessings of His redemption. Their hearts rejoice in the forgiveness of their sins. They now live not as those who are alienated from God, but as those who are redeemed to serve Him. The LORD is the Master of their souls. They rejoice that they are the servants of His kingdom. As they serve Him each day, their experiences as His servants constantly put them in remembrance of the greatness of the redemption they have received from their Redeemer and LORD.

While they serve Him, they sing one to another, “Bless the LORD … who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Psalm 103:2-4). They serve Him more and more, ever thankful for His great redemption.

As they serve Him, they also trust in Him. The Hebrew word for “trust” also has the idea of “flying to a refuge, or to betake oneself to some defence in order to get shelter there”. All His servants take their refuge in Him. They do not trust in their own strength as they serve Him. They know that only by trusting the LORD every day can their souls be free from the fear of desolation. The Hebrew word for “desolation” carries the idea of guilt and condemnation. Because they believe in the LORD, they know that there is no condemnation. By faith in their LORD, they ward off the fear of being confounded and condemned!

The LORD’s servants do not act in self-confidence. Their confidence is in the LORD. They are characterised by humility and faith in God. When doubt and fear assail them, they look to their LORD for courage and strength. Hence, they serve Him even in the midst of adversity, for their hearts are strengthened by their faith in their Redeemer and LORD.

READ:

Psalm 31:24

²⁴ Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

EXHORTATION:

Here we have the antidote to the despairing hearts of believers under trials and temptations. They are exhorted to “be of good courage”. It is not at all uncommon that God’s people become weary and disheartened in this world. Spiritual and moral courage is much needed to inspire our hearts to do right, especially in adverse circumstances.

In most Scriptural instances of the exhortation to be courageous, it is coupled with the exhortation to be strong. When courage is gone, the heart would melt in the fear of adversity. So the exhortation is given, “Be strong and be of good courage.”

In Deuteronomy 31:6, through Moses the Lord told the people of Israel who had to battle the giants who dwelt in their promised land, “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Their new leader Joshua, who had to lead Israel to conquer the promised land, was also told in  Deuteronomy 31:7, “Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.” This exhortation to be strong and of good courage had been repeatedly given to Joshua and Israel (Joshua 1:6,9,18; 2:11; 10:25).

Christians have very many duties to be carried out; and they are often arduous. We have heard the troubled Christian asking, "How would I overcome these problems and fulfil all my tasks?” Another one murmurs, “I am already exhausted. Where shall I get the strength to do these things?” Every Christian must remember the exhortation, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13).

In our verse, we are given the divine promise that “he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.” God would give us His supernatural aid, strengthening our hearts with His gracious favour. We must not let our hearts become pessimistic. Let not doubt and gloom fill our hearts. We must hope in the Lord. Distrusting hearts will grow weary and fearful. By trusting God’s promise, let us behave valiantly for the Lord. Expect trials. Remember the promises. Maintain faith. Serve the Lord.

READ:

Psalm 34:19

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

EXHORTATION:

One’s faith in God does not exempt him from suffering. The believer is subjected to afflictions that are common to man, whether it be sickness or financial crisis or relational problems. His virtue will not secure him from losses and disappointments, infamy and contempt, bad health and hardships. The godly may also be deserted by his friend, and maltreated by his enemies. Death may deprive him of those dear to him, and fill his heart with sorrow. Besides his own personal afflictions, the righteous man bears the burdens of his fellow brethren. Even more, the godly man may face opposition to his faith. He may be ridiculed and persecuted for his commitment to his God. Righteousness sometimes draws upon itself the hatred of bad men, with all the evils they are able to inflict. One’s virtue, especially when it outshines others, may provoke their envy and hatred. Moreover, one’s integrity may lead him to oppose the unjust and mischievous actions of wicked men which would provoke bitter and vicious response from them.

David, the psalmist, himself was afflicted with innumerable problems. But he was sustained and guided by the Lord through all his afflictions. Having received the Lord’s help and deliverance, he now exhorts all the suffering people of God never to lose their courage, whatever evils that threaten them. He assures them that God is able to deliver them. Even if a thousand troubles would surround the godly man, God is able to deliver him from them all. So God’s people should never give up their expectation of the Lord’s help and deliverance.

It would be of great help to observe how David clung to his hope of deliverance from the Lord. In earlier verses of this psalm, he tells us that he poured his heart’s troubles to the Lord in prayer. In verse 6, he said, “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles”. In verse 15, he testified from his experience that “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry”. So in verse 17, he boldly declared, “The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles”. It was through constant pleading in the midst of his afflictions that David sustained his heart in the hope of deliverance. Let us also therefore, hope and pray for the Lord’s deliverance in the midst of our troubles.

READ:

John 14:21b

^21b And he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

EXHORTATION:

God is greatly pleased with everyone who loves His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He loves such a one. Thus, if we love Christ, there falls upon our hearts the blessings of the Father’s love. This is not to say that the Father’s love for us is caused or motivated by our love for Him. Neither does it mean that His love towards us begin only when we begin to love Christ. We could not have loved Him, if He did not love us first. What the Lord Jesus asserts here is that when an individual loves Him, the Father would express His pleasure to him by new and grander expressions of His love. The one who loves and obeys the Lord Jesus Christ shall know the depths of the Father’s sacred love and favours.

Moreover, he who loves Christ is also assured of Christ’s abiding love. As we walk in the way of obedience, motivated by our love for Him, Christ will favour us with the increasing unveiling of His love. The more we love Christ, the more of His love we shall know. Those who faithfully follow their loving Lord shall be granted greater experiences of His love.

Jesus also assures the one who loves Him that He will manifest Himself to him. He is talking about revealing Himself in a spiritual sense. He shall reveal Himself in a man’s heart or to his spiritual senses. An unsaved person does not have spiritual perception; the only one who can comprehend the manifestation which Christ is talking about, is the one who loves Him and shows his love by obedience.

In John 14:23, Jesus said, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” It is the pleasure of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as it is with His Father, to bless those who love Him with His presence, and thus with more intimate, vivid and compelling demonstrations of His love.

In 1 Corinthians 2:9, the apostle Paul, in citing Isaiah 64:4, said that “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” All which the Lord has prepared for those who love Him are so wondrous that they will cause them to love Him even more. If we continue in our love for Christ, we shall be led by Him to greater enjoyment of His presence, truth, grace, comfort, power and all such blessings as He has promised.

READ:

John 14:21a

^21a He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.

EXHORTATION:

Here Jesus Christ, our Lord, speaks about the one who truly loves Him. No one makes an impression on Christ by claims of love to Him. The Lord says that it is he who has and keeps His commandments that truly loves Him.

The possession of His commandments is the first sure sign of love to Him which Jesus identifies here. He said, “He that hath my commandments... is that loveth me”. Certainly, He is not saying that everyone who has a copy of the Bible is a true lover of Christ. The only kind of “having” that Christ regards as real and valid, is the possession of His words in one’s heart. A loving heart will take to heart the will of the One whom he loves. He not only hears the Word of God, but also receives it with faith and love. He cherishes the commandments of God, and considers them to be most precious. He is like the psalmist who says, “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). He will regard as useless and reject every thought that is contrary to the Word of God. His heart will say, “I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love” (Psalm 119:113). He who loves Christ will treasure His Word in the head and heart.

The second mark of the one who loves Him is obedience to His commandments. Jesus said, “He that ... keepeth them, he it is that loveth me”. True love to Christ will produce obedience. Having known Christ’s commandments, we must keep them. The surest evidence of our love to Christ is our obedience to His Word. Jesus has repeatedly affirmed that obedience to His commandments is the true mark of love to Him. In John 14:15, He said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” In John 14:23-24, He said, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” Again in John 15:14, He said, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

The love for Christ has an unmistakable hallmark: obedience. Passionate, sweet, pure and deep though it may be, it is no mere emotion or sentiment. A disobedient man will be a great dishonour to Christ. The friends of Christ are those who live for His cause by diligently studying His Word and by cheerfully obeying His commandments.

READ:

1 John 4:19

¹⁹ We love him, because he first loved us.

EXHORTATION:

Genuine Christians are lovers of God, hence the assertion: “We love him”. They cherish great affection for God. This is certainly not representative of humanity at large. The vast majority of mankind ignore or oppose God. What Scripture tells us about the human race is that “there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:11). We who now love God were once also His enemies until He loved us and sought to reconcile us to Him through Christ. Colossians 1:21 declares, “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled”. Likewise, Romans 5:10 reiterates, “when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son”.

If you do love God, you must have been loved of God. True love for God could not have come into your heart in any other conceivable way than that you are the object of His eternal love. You may rest assured that love to God is a clear evidence of the salvation of its possessor.

Our love for God springs out of His great love for us. The source of our love for God is God’s love for us. “We love Him because He first loved us.” Observe, therefore, that our love to God does not spring from the power of our own will. The first cause of our love for God is that He loved us.

By the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we have come to know His love. Romans 5:5 says, “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Having experienced God’s love through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, we are now drawn to love Him. His love for us is the motivation for our love for Him. When the reality of His love is fully affirmed in our soul by the Holy Spirit, a fervent love to God will spontaneously rise from our soul, even as flowers effuse their fragrance under the influence of the dew and the sun. We experienced His love in our hearts first, before we turn to Him in love.

Perhaps some of you have become cold in your love towards God. Now, know that your love can only be restored by the way it has been first instilled in you. Even though your love for Him has become dull, know that His love for you has been steadfast. In John 13:1, it is said of Christ’s love for the disciples that “having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.” His love towards you never diminishes! Believe it, and turn to Him in repentance. His love will rekindle your love for Him.

READ:

1 Corinthians 16:22

²² If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

EXHORTATION:

This sombre declaration found at the end of the apostle Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians is a denunciation or a curse. It is presented here as the summary of all that he had been teaching in the epistle. The word “Anathema” means accursed or given up to destruction. The word “Maranatha” is made up of two Aramaic words (maran and atha), meaning “our Lord has come”. It is an exclamation uttered in connection with the approaching judgment when the Lord returns (cf. Jude 1:14, 15).

If one neglects to love Christ, the penalty is that he shall be accursed at His coming. Though the curse will be executed only at His coming, the doom of the one who chooses not to love Christ is certain. Yes, both the lovers of Christ and those who do not love Him continue to live. Yet, “Behold, the Lord cometh”; at His coming, He will separate those who love Him and those who do not love Him. The tares and the wheat grow together till the harvest; we cannot separate the hypocrite from the sincere ones until the Lord on His judgment day incontestably proves their profession is false. Though no government would punish a lack of love for the Lord Jesus, though no church would excommunicate all who do not love Him, those indifferent to Him shall not escape His judgment at His coming. While the coming of the Lord is eternal salvation to those who love Christ, it is doom to those who refuse to love Him. There is not a more fearful denunciation in the Bible. Oh, the awful horrors of an eternal curse! Surely, those who neglect to love Christ shall be condemned. How important it is then to ask whether we have sincere love for Christ. Let us not forget to examine ourselves whether we love the Lord Jesus.

We must love Jesus Christ for He is the sum of the Divine perfections. He is the Son of God; He is God. In Him dwelleth the fullness of God. All His infinite perfections as God deserve our love and devotion. He is worthy! He is worthy of our love. If you would not love Him fully, you would have rejected the One who came to reveal unto us God Himself! If you would not love Christ, you would have neglected the only way of salvation. Not to love Him is to choose the path to eternal damnation. There is no other Saviour for our souls but Christ. We are bound to the necessity of loving Christ, that we may escape the eternal damnation. We must love Him reverently, sincerely, and passionately.

READ:

Ephesians 6:24

²⁴ Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

EXHORTATION:

This is Paul’s benediction at the end of his epistle to the Ephesians. Paul had also, at the beginning of his epistle, prayed for the favour of God’s grace to be with all His people: “Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:2).

What a great blessing it is to be vessels of His grace! To always have grace with us is a glorious prospect. To Christians, the word “grace” encompasses all the blessings which the Gospel of Jesus Christ affords. All our salvific blessings (justification, reconciliation with God, inheritance of all spiritual blessings, His Holy Spirit, etc.) are the gifts of His grace. It is God’s grace that initiates, sustains and consummates our Christian life and service. Without the grace of God, we possess nothing (both physically and spiritually speaking). Without His grace, we can achieve nothing. Hence we are prone to say, like Paul, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

If we are convinced of the importance of God’s grace in our Christian life, let us pray, like Paul, that His grace will be abundant upon our brethren. Let us pray for His grace, for we believe that God is “able to make all grace abound” towards His people, and that they, “always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:8).

Let us also take note that Paul does not pronounce the blessing of God’s grace on everyone, but only upon those who love Jesus Christ “in sincerity”. The object of our love must be the Lord Jesus Christ. Our love for Him must be genuine, not pretentious. When our hearts are free from all hypocrisy, it will be free from all corruption. Genuine love for Christ prepares us to be clean vessels for God to bestow more of His grace. It is they that love Christ who will have free access to the throne of grace and the promise that they shall be heard and accepted there.

Our love for Christ must be real, not pretentious. Our love for Him must be abiding and supreme. All our decisions and conduct must be guided and fashioned by our sincere love for Christ. May we not have a cold and indolent attitude towards Him; but rather, let our lives be characterised by a passionate affection for Christ!