Getting to Know James

Yesterday we looked at James in the context of being one of Jesus' half-brothers. We looked at an account from the Scriptures that showed us a moment in time when Jesus' brothers and mother were trying to get in to see Him, but Jesus shut them out. I'm pretty sure that Jesus did love His earthly family, but He also knew that their thoughts about Him were not the thoughts that the Father had for Him.

This Sunday we will look more in-depth at that, but today I want you to read John 7:2-9. These verse share the account of Jesus' interaction with His brothers just before the feast of Tabernacles. His brothers want Him to go show Himself to the world at this feast, but Jesus says His time has not yet come. There is something here that is troubling, and as you read it, see if you can pick up on what it is. Then come back and read the rest of this post...

Are you done? Good. Did you see what it was? Jesus tells His brothers in verse 8, "I am not going up to this festival." But then in verse 10, he goes up to the festival. So this begs a few questions. Did Jesus lie to His brothers? Was there ulterior motive in what Jesus did here? Did Jesus not keep His word? These are questions that we will discuss more in detail and try to resolve Sunday morning, but suffice to say, we know that Jesus does keep His promises, that He is not a liar and that His sincerity is unquestionable. So there is definitely something else at work here, and we will talk about it Sunday.

But for today, I want you to think about those who would push you to do things that you know God does not want you to do...or to not do something that you know God wants you to do. I had a youth who told me that he wanted to go to Moody Bible Institute and become a youth minister some day. I cannot tell you the joy that my heart felt when I heard him say that. But a few weeks later I found out that he had told his parents and they discouraged him from it because "there's no money in that". I wish I could tell you that this young man listened to God over his parents, but he did not. Today he is an agnostic and has nothing to do with the church, and very little to do with spirituality.

So when God is calling you to something, do not settle to do something else easier, or more comfortable. Do what God is calling you to do.

Please feel free to leave a comment or question. And we will see you on Sunday!