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You remember it like it happened yesterday: the whirlwind ministry of your half-brother, Jesus. His crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension. Then the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, and you witnessed the birth and growth of the fledgling church. That wasn’t very long ago. Your journey has been no less incredible; from doubter to believer, you were called to lead the Jerusalem Church.

Then the persecution came. Your church family was arrested, imprisoned, killed, or driven out of their homes. How can you encourage them? What can you say to them? How can you keep them focused on living for their Lord and Savior?

It is impossible to know every thought that coursed through the mind of James as he penned his letter to his brothers and sisters in the Christian faith undergoing persecution and hardship. However, his incredible letter to the church has given encouragement and guidance to hundreds of millions of Christians throughout the years.

Through this Holy Spirit-inspired letter, we catch a glimpse of James’ heart for persecuted believers. The letter has also given believers a roadmap to righteous living for the past 20 centuries. The words of James are brief, strong, and sometimes downright sharp, but the love driving this incredible pastor is plainly evident through his deep concern for the eternal state of his audience.

For the next few months, we are going to take a journey through this amazing letter. We invite you to join us and be blessed by the words of this incredible pastor of the early church, a man who was brutally martyred for his faith in Jesus: none other than the Lord’s half-brother, James.

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A central theme of the first few chapters of Genesis is the complex relationship between God, the Creator, and man, His uniquely created creature. Humans were created according to God’s pleasure. They are God’s image bearers, a feature of their nature that is completely unique from every other created being.

God designed man to be in a relationship with Himself, and as such, worshiping God is the central purpose of humanity. However, when sin entered the world and humanity fell, the separation from God became impassable by any ability that humans possess.

The introduction to Genesis stands as a microcosm of the entire Scripture: the story of the one true God pursuing His disobedient creation, driven by love to stop at nothing in accomplishing their salvation.

Through these chapters, the love of God is on full display as He continually pursues a relationship with humanity. His holiness, justice, love, mercy, and sacrifice are evident as He works His will to accomplish His ultimate purpose: to save and purify a people for Himself as a priestly inheritance.

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Has it ever occurred to you that God never forgets? Of course, He does more than that, He remembers. You might say, “That’s the same thing!” but is it? It is one thing to never forget anything, but it is quite another to keep something continually in the forefront of your mind. When the Scriptures say that “God remembered” what it means is that His mind is active in keeping the plight of those who call upon Him in the center of His attention all the time.

This is intentional language! God doesn’t just have His people somewhere in His memory. We are the object of his thought. Those who are called by His name and sealed by His salvation have His FULL and UNDIVIDED attention at ALL times. What a demonstration of God’s goodness and mercy to His people. God never forgets, and more than that, He intentionally and continuously remembers His people. His love is fixed upon them, and they can rest in the peace of that reality.

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What would it be like as a Christ-follower to have God say of you that you “did everything He commanded you?” It would definitely be the greatest and most humbling thing that had ever been said about you.

In our modern day, so many proclaiming Christians have discounted this story, even going so far as to call it myth. However Jesus cited the story of Noah as fact, and even used it as an example of the impending  judgement that would accompany His second coming. 

If our Lord and Savior looked to the account of Noah as a real, historical example of God’s wrath and judgement for those who reject salvation, than those of us who proclaim to be Christ-followers should not dismiss what the Bible has to say. 

After all, the Scripture says that “God commanded” Noah to do the things he did. The words of Genesis were written by Moses who received the account directly from God Himself! If none of this happened, the God is lying about his commands to Noah and all of Christianity is void. Genesis is true. Noah’s story is true, and as Christ-followers, we ought to learn about this incredible man who “did all that God commanded him.”

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From time to time, as we study the Scriptures, we encounter passages that force us to pause and consider a deep and profound call to action or belief. For many people, both Christ-followers and unbelievers, these passages are so uncomfortable that the easiest approach is to skip over them and ignore them.

However, Scripture makes it very clear throughout its pages that this is not an option for anyone who claims to have a saving relationship with God. The Scriptures are one complete work, spoken in one cohesive voice, God's voice.

The Word, as it is referred to in the New Testament, is both the written Word of God, which He has handed down to His people through divinely inspired human authors, and also Jesus Christ, the living Word, who affirmed the written Word of God as "God-breathed.

Those who would be true Christ-followers are not permitted to pick and choose what they will obey from God’s Word. They are called to live holy and obedient lives, fully submitted to the authority of God, which includes the authority of His Word.

In Genesis 6:5, we encounter a passage such as this. It forces us to look into our hearts and answer the question, “How evil is the heart of man?” This is an uncomfortable question, to be sure; however, the answer is of the utmost importance. Understanding the truth will lead to understanding God’s Word and work for mankind. Embracing Satan’s lie will lead the heart to reject God and face ultimate destruction.

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God is passionate about His family!

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How should fallen humans approach the Holy God to worship Him? Of course, humans should worship God; that is obvious, but how? How can sinful beings come before the perfect, holy, and all-powerful God without being immediately consumed?

This was one of the many problems that impacted humanity as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden. Their once open and intimate relationship with God was now limited by the sinfulness of their fallen nature. They could no longer commune face-to-face with God. Their access to His presence had been cut off.

However, God had a plan, a plan that would still allow Him and His people to fellowship together. At first, this plan was temporary and heavily symbolic. The sacrificial system was instituted to point the heart and thoughts of humanity towards the coming of the redeemer who would make the final sacrifice for all humanity. Yet, despite its symbolism, the sacrificial system was required by God because the nature of His Divinity required it.

Today, those who follow Jesus and are members of the family of God no longer need to sacrifice animals because Jesus’ sacrifice was final. However, God still calls his people to sacrifice themself to Him and to His will. He requires repentance and obedience from those who would follow Him. To follow Jesus is to give every aspect of one’s self over to God in totality. This is true in every area of our lives, especially in our worship.

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What is the ultimate consequence of sin? Is it a guilty conscience? Is it public embarrassment? Is it broken relationships, hurting others, or perhaps even loss? It could be all or part of these but are any of these really the ultimate consequence for sin? 

The reality is that there is only one ultimate consequence for sin, and that is separation from God. When we sin, we remove ourselves from the presence of God because He is holy and cannot be in the presence of sin. When we choose to sin, we walk away from our relationship with God, and we choose to glorify ourselves. 

Thankfully, God is merciful and just, and He extends His grace to us, with forgiveness, because He loves us and because of Jesus' sacrifice. God calls His children to be in relationship with Him, and sin is the opposite of that relationship.  

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Everyone knows the story of the fall. A creepy snake tempts Eve into eating some fruit from some tree in some garden that God had made, and just like that, sin, death, and destruction become part of the world we know and live in today. But is that really all there is to the story, or does the sin that caused the fall go deeper than Eve’s actions?

The reality is that it wasn’t just Eve; Adam took an active part in the sin that caused the fall. It also wasn’t just about a single action, like a child taking a cookie that spoils their dinner. At its core, The Fall was about rebellion and idolatry. The desire of man to vaunt himself into the position of God. The sin of Adam and Eve and the sin of Satan were the same sin. The Scripture is clear about it; they desired to be LIKE GOD, the creature coveting equality with the Creator. 

The Scriptures would later point out that the attitude of Jesus was completely different. Jesus, God Himself, would remain humble in His heart attitude. Paul described it this way, “...Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped…” (Philippians 2). Being God Himself, Jesus had every right to claim equality with God. However, so that He could fulfill the role of the sin sacrifice as a perfect HUMAN, He humbled Himself in His humanity and became obedient to the Father.

That is why Adam brought the world to ruin, and Jesus Christ accomplished redemption.

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“Let us make man in our own image.” How can we even begin to understand all that those simple words contain? We, as humans, are made in the image of God! What are the implications of such a reality? If we are made in God’s image, what does that say about us? What does that say about Him? What does it say about our uniqueness? What does it say about our purpose?

God did not utter those words about anything else that He created. Mankind alone is exclusively made in His image. We know from the Scriptures that even the heavenly beings, like angels, are not made in God’s image. This truth is so incredible, so unfathomable, and so monumental that it demands further investigation. We MUST look into this to understand the depths of its meaning for us. We must strive to learn all that we can about why the One True God chose to create us uniquely in His image. The more we contemplate this, the deeper we will understand why Jesus Christ died on the cross exclusively for our redemption. Humanity is precious to God for many reasons, not the least of which is that we are uniquely created in His own image.

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