LEARNING DAILY

 

James 5:7-8, Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

 

I have several thought for these verses today. I am probably the last person you would think of that should write about patience. Secondly, James thought the Lord’s return was near, “the coming of the Lord is at hand”. His return must be really close now. Thirdly, I think of the words Dr. Ed Newton spoke several weeks ago in a sermon: “Plan for Jesus return to be in a hundred years and live each day as if His return was that day.”

 

Everyone has a thought about the return of Jesus. It is easy to look at everything going on in the world and wonder if the events we are experiencing are last day events. Jesus said deception, disease, famine, wars and rumors of wars, Russia in Ukraine, covid, natural disasters must occur before He returns; they are birth pangs. The fact is no one knows the time or day He will return.  Not one knows what tomorrow will bring. The reality is no one knows if tomorrow will be better or worse than today. Predictions can be made. They are foggy, at best. So, what do we do? We do not panic. We let God be God, believing He will work out all things for good and for His glory. God works things out in unexpected ways and His way is always best, always right!

 

I am not a patient person; in my mind I am getting better. But in relation to the Lord’s return, I believe I live in peaceful assurance of His return and am doing the best I can to encourage people to live in the knowledge that His return may be soon. I want Him to come today! But there are those who are close to me who might be left behind if He does. I am making no judgments here, just observations. So, the patience James is writing about is the ability to wait on the Lord’s return, committing my life to do what He wants me to do, in faith that He will make all things right in this life or when He returns.

 

James 5:9 states, “Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” This is a statement that should motivate all of us, especially grumblers, to be patient and persevere in the faith. It should motivate all of us to take a moment to reassess how we are living our lives. Grumbling may be indicating that we need to be especially thoughtful about the things we say. In previous verses, James writes about judging others. Let’s just be careful about this so we allow God to take care of those who do us wrong. The teaching here, in my opinion, is to be faithful because the Lord’s return is near and He is standing at the door to bring judgment. That door may not open until tomorrow, or next week, or next year, but it will open in His time.

 

You and I are to walk with the Lord on the narrow way today and tomorrow and the next day. We cannot be so worried about tomorrow that we forget about today! God is already working on tomorrow. You and I just need to be faithful today!

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB.