2 Corinthians 1:3-5 | Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

How should we respond when, like a bolt out of the blue, our cherished ideals, family’s safety, future security, and all other dreams of life for which we’ve labored and invested are suddenly threatened? As I pondered and prayed about this question, it became clear to me that there are some answers.

First, we should respond with compassion and concern for those who’re suffering and for those who’re hurting. Since the advent of television, we’re no longer onlookers or passersby. We’ve become part of ongoing events, players in the action. This medium is able to affect us deeply and ignite compassion in us as we see how others in our world are suffering. But there must be a greater role for us to play than that of being deeply touched by what we see and hear on the airwaves.

What is our responsibility?

When we go through adversity, it’s reassuring to have someone there to walk with us. It’s comforting to know our God is “the God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3-5), who’s promised never to leave us or forsake us. One of the things we can do in the midst of a tragic circumstance is to reach out to others with compassion and understanding—to walk with those in need and to comfort them (Matt. 5:4). We need to reach out to others in troubling times. Compassionate people are those who feel the pain of others and act to help alleviate that pain in whatever way they can.

But I also want to remind you that as we reach out to comfort others, our greatest source of comfort has been and will always be God. He’s identified with us in our sorrows and pain because His Word teaches us that He is “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). He understands better than we do our unique situations, uncertainties, and fears. And as He comforts us in the difficulties of our lives, we are then able to help comfort others.

May I say to you who are suffering, who are deeply grieved and hurt over the losses in your lives, that God will be your source of comfort and strength. He grieves with you as you bear the weight of your losses and shares with you in the awful sense of emptiness and helplessness you may feel. Yet in that grief, He doesn’t leave you. He remains by your side, offering you His mercy in the darkest of days because it’s His desire to comfort your heart (2 Cor. 1:4).

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics.

Revelation 22:6-7 | The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

THE BACKGROUND of the writing of the book of Revelation involved the persecution of the early church. This is implied in the letters to the churches at the opening of the book (Rev. 2–3). We see the theme throughout the book of encouragement for believers to stand with Christ as the faithful few and to stand alone when necessary, in spite of persecution. As the book closes, this theme is addressed again in the words of an angel and Jesus Himself (Rev. 22:6-7). He gives a helpful testimony as to how a person can stand alone when doing so is not popular and not easy.

The first thing the angel tells John in Revelation 22:6 is that all that John has seen and heard in the vision is “trustworthy and true.” These are the same Greek words as those used in Revelation 19:11 to describe the Lord Jesus Himself as He returns from heaven on a white horse: “Faithful and True.” It is safe to believe what is faithful and true. The words of the book of Revelation have the same validity as the One who gave them.

This may not seem all that important to the hurried reader, but it gives us security to know that the words of this book have come from the very mouth of the Lord Jesus. They are trustworthy over the long haul, and they are never wrong or false. When we believe truth like this, we become more secure. Security comes from knowing truth. We’re living in a time of such intellectual erosion that if you call anything absolute truth, some academics will think you have lost your mind and that you have bought into a false notion. But in spite of the so-called wisdom of the age, everything is not relative. Some things are absolutely sure, and these faithful and true words are among them.

In Revelation 22:7, the angel delivers a message from the Lord; that is, he quotes directly what the Lord Jesus says. The message is that Christ is coming soon and that believers are to heed what has been written—to hear it and act accordingly. The book of Revelation is designed to spur holy living, since Christ’s coming could occur at any moment. It should prompt us to honor Him in the way we conduct our affairs and do business and relate to others. The word “obey” is key. The Greek word used here means “to keep,” “to hold fast,” or “to guard.” Obedience to God is not just the preacher’s job; it is the job of every follower of Jesus. Something wonderful occurs deep in a person’s life when he or she has a submissive spirit and a willingness to obey God.

So the testimony of the angel urges us to be sure of God’s true and faithful message and to act accordingly. It is profoundly simple, yet it is the only way we can stand alone for the faith in difficult times.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics.

James 2:14-26 | What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

ON THE SURFACE, the writings of Paul and this letter from James appear to present a contradiction. Paul is very clear that we are saved by grace through faith and not works. He argues that Abraham was saved through faith, apart from works of the law (Gal. 3). James, however, says that faith without good works cannot save (Jas. 2:26) and appeals to the example of Abraham to show that he believed and obeyed God when he offered up Isaac (Jas. 2:21-24). How can we reconcile these viewpoints?

I suggest that if we understand three specific contrasts between Paul and James, we see both of their perspectives in harmony. First, Paul is looking at the root of our salvation, while James is looking at the fruit after salvation. Paul emphasizes the point that at the time of conversion, the root of salvation is faith alone. James sees that the faith that saves us does not remain alone, though we are saved by faith alone. After salvation, there are things that will inevitably happen in our lives that show the reality of our salvation.

Another contrast is that Paul describes salvation from God’s perspective, while James is addressing the issue from a human perspective. It’s like Paul is sitting in the house and sees the fire in the fireplace. James walks by the outside of the house and sees the smoke coming out of the chimney. James says, “When I see the smoke, I have no trouble believing that there’s a fire in the fireplace.” People can’t see through walls, but God can. In other words, Paul says, “God sees the fire,” while James says, “I’m looking for the smoke.”

Perhaps the most important contrast of all is the difference in tone: Paul is instructing, and James is exhorting. The difference is clear in the way the two talk about justification. When Paul says “justification,” he is referring to the sovereign act of God whereby He declares a believing sinner righteous on the basis of faith. But James uses the word in the sense of validation. A person’s works validate him or her as a genuine believer.

So when James calls out faith without works as useless, he is questioning the value of a faith that is not validated. What good does it do to carry around a card that says “Driver’s License” if you never actually drive and couldn’t if you needed to? What good does it do to show somebody your high school diploma only to have them find out that you are unable to add two and two together? In a way, that is what James is saying. Now, this implies that a person’s professed faith can be phony, which leads to a deeper question: Can a faith that is not validated save? The answer is clearly implied by James’s argument: No, that phony kind of faith cannot save anyone. But of course, that is God’s place to judge, not ours. We tend to see ourselves as the standard of how much validation proves our faith.

In light of this, James is making the point that Abraham’s faith, which justified him before God, was validated in his life by his obedience to God. This sets a pattern for every believer’s life. James shows that faith is more than merely correct knowledge, which even the demons possess (Jas. 2:19-20). Faith includes a response of the heart to God, which inevitably bears fruit.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics.