#KeepMakingJesusFamous

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him”

The letter of James in the New Testament is popularly known as the “Proverbs of the New Testament” because the book has practical, biblical, and Holy Spirit inspired wisdom that is given to the believers in order that they may hold fast and true to the glorification of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This letter is an early testament and could probably be argued as written within a decade after the ascension of the messiah. James encourages us in many biblical ways:  to control our tongue, submit to God’s will, and have patience and to live an authentic life for Christ. As the biological younger brother of Jesus he wants the reader to understand that to live for Christ is a wise decision and to stay active in your faith will produce spiritual fruits and will demonstrate your faith in action.

What we see in James 1:12 is that there are key fundamental biblical principles for the Christian walk that James breaks down for a person who is walking their own journey of Christian faith and also for the church at large as we walk together as brothers and sisters in Christ. First he says that the person who remains steadfast under trail will be blessed because that person refused to give up or be dismayed in the journey but rather kept their eyes and focus on Jesus Christ. See here is the thing as believers in the road of faith it will get difficult, impossible and the journey will a lot of times seem and feel like you’re on the wrong road but in those moments we must learn to fully trust the moving of the Holy Spirit to do his job and so when we are under trial we need to remain in the trust of Jesus’ care so we can be blessed. What we need understand fully is that being blessed may come during and from suffering but it will always result in the glorification of the Gospel and for our own personal good because Jesus can do anything but lie so if he tells us that if we remain steadfast we will be blessed then we must be willing to believe God even when it doesn’t feel or look that way.

The second part of this verse is key to because it gives us a bigger picture and it helps us as believers to look forward to heaven and our reward for the weary road of faith and it gives us assurance that what we endure will not be in vain. Listen faith is hard because you’re believing things that seem and look impossible but we have to be willing to trust the Holy Spirit. If you love Him, Jesus Christ, then we must be willing to give 100% as believers regardless of the results and you must know as a conviction in your personal self-constitution that NOTHING you do for the Lord is in vain.

My hope for you as you read this is first and foremost you would get over yourself and you would learn to die to your own personal gains in order to fully embrace and enjoy your service to the Lord because He alone has great plans for you as you grow and serve Him, you will love and know Him more and in that you will find personal fulfillment and joy. When we do that in our individual lives it will help us in our church lives because once we all realize that the only CEO is Jesus and that before Him we all are fully guilty then we will all be willing to work together and realize were all on the same team instead of working against one another. Your only calling in life is to make Jesus famous and if you get out of that lane then you will find yourself in a lot more trouble than you think. #MakeJesusFamous