LESSONS FROM JAMES (3)

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

“James...to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.” Jas1:1 NKJV

James addressed “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad,” those early Christians who had fled Jerusalem. The Greek word James used to describe this is “diaspora,” from which we get the word “dispersed.” The picture is of someone scattering seeds. After the martyrdom of Stephen in Acts chapter seven, the Christians in Jerusalem came under increasing persecution from the Roman Empire. They refused the Romans’ demand to confess “Caesar is Lord.” Instead, they insisted that there was only one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, the Bible informs us, “They were all scattered...except the apostles” (Ac 8:1 NKJV). James wrote to believers who had to leave their homes, their jobs, their properties—everything. Talk about stress! Yet God permitted them to experience the scattering and the resulting stress for a purpose. Had these believers stayed in Jerusalem, chances are the gospel would not have spread so completely through the known world. Everywhere these early followers of Jesus were scattered, they shared the Good News of Christ’s redemptive work, and in just one generation, the gospel had spread throughout the Roman Empire. That’s why James wrote to the church that was “scattered abroad”: “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (Jas1:2 NKJV). Their uprooting from Jerusalem resulted in the planting of the church throughout the known world. “Our God turned the curse into a blessing” (Neh 13:2 NKJV). With God, short-term pain can lead to long-term gain. He uses setbacks we sometimes don’t understand to fulfill His purposes. Is that what’s happening in your life right now? Trust God; He knows what He’s doing!