Thinking Of Heaven

Heaven! James! 
And the Introduction! 

I was thinking of Heaven today. I was thinking of how exciting it will be when I'm in the presence of my Jesus! I picture myself arriving and hugging my Lord 1st and foremost and immediately asking him to show me where James is. I want to thank him personally for this amazing letter he wrote.

The book of James, is mind blowing bold in it's own right. You know how you can read and study a book in the Bible and then you read and study it again and it just speaks to you in a whole new way? Yup! Its like that.

James teaches us the right Christian behavior and doesn't sugar coat anything. It doesn't matter what version you try reading this book in, you will feel conviction in your heart if you are humbly honest with yourself. With well chosen words, James reminds us that it's not enough to talk the Christian faith, he says; we must live it (2.14) The proof of the reality of our faith is a changed life.

He...

Outlines general characteristics of the Christian life, 1 v, 1-27.

Exhorts Christians to act justly in society, 2 v,1-13. He follows this practical counsel with a theological discourse on the relationship between faith and action, 2 v, 14-27.

He teaches us the importance of our speech and how to control our tongue and distinguishes two kinds of wisdom. Earthly and Heavenly 3 v, 1-12 and 3 v, 13-18.

He encourages his readers to turn away from evil desires and obey God.
4 v, 1-12. James reproves those who trust in their own plans and possessions, 4 v,13- 5:6.

He reminds us to be patient with one another, 5:7-11, to keep our word, 5:12, to pray for each other, 5 v,13-18 and to help one another to remain faithful to God, 5 v 19,20.

A letter of confrontation, challenges and a call to commitment is what you will find in the book of James. Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don't give up- Galatians 6:9. I won't give up! Because God is not finished with me yet. He loves us. He wants for us to continue growing in our walks with Him. Being a passionate and feisty woman, I've had to learn to pick my battles, keep my mouth closed when I have nothing good to say and submit to God. James told us in 4:6 that God is against the proud but gives grace to the humble. I don't know about you, but I want and desire to please God, not man. When we come to the end of this life, we will be held accountable for everything we did and said. Oh! Lord, have mercy upon us!

So, tonight in thinking of Heaven I rejoice because it's going to be amazing. I will get to finally meet James, hug him and thank him for slapping me around with truth! I will also get to meet Paul, Ruth, Esther, Priscilla, Rahab, The Canaanite Woman and The Woman at the Well. These are just a few awesome men and women I love in the Bible and look forward to meeting. I'll get to see my Abuelitas Angela and Portalina and my other loved ones as well.

Oh, I get so excited!! Heaven will be majestic! It will be my home for all eternity! And, I will greatly praise God with my mouth, yea I will praise Him in the presence of many (Psalm 109:30) and the cool thing is that everyone will be praising Jesus! Because that's what we do in Heaven. We sing praises to our King of Kings ♥

I encourage and challenge you to read this book. Soak it all in, write notes and ask God to open and fill your heart with new insight as you go through it in depth. When we are honest with God, He will reveal things to us that will fill our hearts with new JOY! A knowledge and desire to hunger for more. And as James reminds us in Chapter 1:22 we are to be doers of God's word, not only hearers. Simply put, "Obedience over Sacrifice.