Daily Nuggets
Daily Nugget #1:
The book of James is actually a letter, written between AD 44 and 49 and may have been the first New Testament (NT) book written.
The letter states in v. 1:
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings” Which James was this? Of the 4 individuals named James mentioned in the NT, scholars believe this letter was penned by James, the oldest half-brother of Jesus (c.f. Mark 6:3).
James would have witnessed Jesus growing up, working together in the carpentry shop with their father Joseph and eating at the same table with their (step)mother Mary. You’d think Jesus’ brothers would be the first to proclaim that Jesus was the Messiah. But Mark 3:21 and John 7:2-5 tell us that James (and the rest of the siblings) thought Jesus was out of his mind. Knowing Jesus wasn’t enough.
What made James later declare himself a “servant of the Lord Jesus Christ”? 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 tell us that after Jesus resurrected He appeared to many people and specifically mentions James. Seeing the resurrected Jesus converted James from a detractor to a believer. In fact, James becomes the leader of the church in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9).
What does it take for you to believe? To go from being a skeptic to a witness? From a bystander to a leader? Knowing Jesus isn’t enough (His stories, His words). We need faith to believe in Him (to actually accept His stories and words as truth and live by them). We need an encounter with the living God.
Pray and ask God today to reveal Himself to you so that you too can be a servant of the Lord.
by: Jinha Kim
"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14