In the Old Testament, the heart was considered the centre of the inner life, and people believed it dictated thoughts, emotions, and actions. It was, essentially a combination of someone’s soul and mind. When proverbs 4:23 tells us to “Keep our heart with all diligence”, what it is essentially saying is to pay careful attention to how you fill your inner life.

What goes into your soul and mind determines what comes out of your mouth. And what you say influences your actions and decisions. While you might not notice the effect your choices have on you today, over time they will impact the direction of your life.

So how do we intentionally take care of our inner lives? Our bodies were made by God, which means the thing they need most is God. He is the One who sustains us. So, some of the best things we can do for ourself is to intentionally seek God through prayers, studying Scripture, reflecting on His blessings, and inviting the Holy Spirit in our lives through the Apostle ministry.

The best way to guard our hearts is by giving our hearts to God through Christ. When we make Him the centre of our lives and the source of our strength, what we do will flow out from Him. So instead of fitting God into our daily routines, let’s create our daily routines around our relationship with God. Let’s create space for God to speak to us and restore us. This access is freely available from Jesus Christ. John 10:9 “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

So that what comes out of us is good, encouraging, and leads to an abundant, joy filled life.

A common proverb teaches us that ‘patience is a virtue’ where virtue is something of benefit and to be desired. Peter listed patience as something to be added along our faith journey 2 Peter 1:6 “And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;” and Paul writes to Timothy of the need to seek it. 1 Timothy 6:11, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” Along with James above, these three witnesses confirm the value and necessity of patience to gain our soul’s salvation. As the Lord’s ambassadors they shared His words, Luke 21:19, “In your patience possess ye your souls.”

James, however, included the aspect of continuing to endure as being linked to the benefit of patience. That is because the Greek language combined both ‘waiting’ and ‘cheerful endurance’ in the word ‘HUPOMONЀ’ translated as ‘patience’ in the English bibles. At its root meaning was the understanding of undergoing trials with the fortitude to persevere.

It is why he referenced the story of Job as we all wonder how Job was able to persevere through the persecution he experienced. Indeed, his name is now inextricably linked to patience in the proverbial phrase ‘they have the patience of Job.’

Apostle James’ point in this example was to highlight the purpose for enduring when we trust the Lord. He wanted us to keep the end in sight when going through troubles because of the promise that our Lord is ‘very pitiful and of tender mercy.’ A modern paraphrase of this section might be; ‘If you find yourself in hell, keep going!’ In other words, don’t stop but go through it because better times are ahead.

In workplaces, and schools, the current buzzword is ‘resilience’ which reflects the above thinking and confirms the truth of God’s word. Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

In a world obsessed with immediate gratification, and free from many of the struggles that existed in the days of old, it is no wonder that psychologists are finding that our resilience is becoming a cause for concern. Resilience is the ability to endure. Lack of resilience means we do not put up with things we dislike or that are difficult for us.

Sometimes the truth is hard for us to hear and that is what the Apostle Paul warned Timothy would come into the world. ‘Sound teaching’ is that which is built upon a solid foundation. The word of God in the Old and New Testaments is the solid foundation for the household of God. Ephesians 2:20 “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;”

When we try to build away from that foundation, even if that is the direction of the majority consensus, then it is the building that will not endure if any tempest should come against it.
There are many popular leaders and progressive ways of operating but if these stray from the truth and only tell people what they want to hear they too will not endure.

The danger exists even within the church when we hear the truth, but we do not like it. Our instinct is to listen only to what we like but that is not good for us. The only sound doctrine is the truth of God’s word. The English translation ‘sound’ means something that has vitality or good health. In short, ‘sound doctrine’ must be the ‘living word’ that can lead to eternal life.

God desires to mould us through His word, but this can only happen if we ‘endure sound doctrine’ and also correction, when required. Hebrews 12:7 “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” His word should show us ourselves as we are and encourage deep roots of faith to trust in that word.

If we are unable to ‘endure’, and turn away from God’s word because it offends, we become those described by Jesus, Matthew 13:20-21 “But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.”

It is not the seed or word that differs, but how we receive it and what we choose to do as a result that will bring forth the fruit!

During this section of Apostle Paul’s letter to the bishop Timothy, he names those who have helped him along in his journey. It is an acknowledgment of their efforts and identified them as supports for continuing the work being requested of Timothy.

Surprisingly, the Apostle also names those who have placed barriers in front of the work of the Lord. The surprise is not that such people existed, nor that they would need to answer for their deeds, but that he would publicly name them for their behaviour.

We could all be accused of being a barrier to the Lord’s work at some stage in our life and, in this text, Paul shows a valuable lesson we should follow. Just as all the disciples forsook the Lord at His crucifixion, Paul experienced the ‘turning back or away’ from the work by those to whom he had preached the gospel.

Thankfully, he then prayed that God would ‘not lay that to their charge’. In this he taught a critical lesson of forgiveness. Firstly, by granting release from this offence committed against him that was then released in heaven. Matthew 18:18 “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Secondly, he then moved on to show how forgiving others their trespasses is a great help to our trespasses being forgiven Mark 11:25-26, “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”  and subsequently, the ability to stay connected with God to fulfil His purpose for our life 2 Timothy 4:17-18, “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

It is a lofty ideal that Christians may be ‘as He is’ in this world.

Of course, in order to work towards such a goal, we actually have to start in the opposite direction. Until we realise we are a Sinner, and will remain imperfect during our life, we cannot access the means to become like Christ. Apostle James said, James 4:6, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

It is by this grace that we are able to begin the spiritual journey to be ‘as He is’. We can only be like God if we have part of Him in us because, without Grace, every part of our being is corrupted. Our body ages and experiences illness, our mind is driven by our carnal nature and even our best emotions are not pure. It is the very reason Jesus came to this world to remove the judgement from those who believe. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should, not perish, but have everlasting life.

The context of John’s message is also the understanding that God IS love.

God does not exhibit or show love, but His very character is love. He is not just any love. He is a love that is more than emotional love, more than family love, more than soul love. He is godly, divine, perfect love.

Such a perfect love is the goal for every Christian. It is only able to be perfected under Grace by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. With that Spirit within, perfect love allows us to fulfil our Lord’s greatest commandment.  Matthew 22:37-39, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

The love of God allows us then to dwell in God and He in us. Verse 16, “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

According to its Latin roots, the word ‘inspire’ means to blow into something. Hence, all scripture is literally, ‘God breathed’. This is an important concept to grasp in faith because it allows us to trust in God’s word recorded as the Holy Bible. The original Greek and Hebrew transcripts of God’s word were all inspired in this way. Jesus confirmed this when He said, that every jot and tittle of the law He would fulfil (Matthew 5:18 “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled”) and that man should be sustained by the word of God (Matthew 4:4 “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”). These examples show His belief in its truth and value.

To trust that scripture is God’s inspired word should then encourage us to use it ‘for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness’.

Apostle Peter adds to the ‘life’ within the written word by teaching that the Holy Ghost brings that word to life in its spoken form. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). That is why our Lord promised that He would send the Holy Ghost to be the means by which mankind could learn of Him. He would teach us all things and bring His words to our remembrance.

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26).

Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy in our text above, so that he would have confidence in the word of God and use that word as directed. The result was that he then wrote to the Church at Corinth instructing them to listen to Timothy because he was faithful in such matters and, therefore, in a position to be a teacher of Christ’s way to them. “For this cause have I sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church” (1 Corinthians 4:17).

Faith and trust in the word of God and bringing it to life through actions is a major factor in the continued growth of the Lord’s house. The Lord, as recorded in John 6:63 in part says, “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

The evidence of the truth, accuracy and reliability of God’s word can be witnessed by looking back over history and this knowledge should then inspire us today to trust in it on our life’s journey.

Apostle James does not mince his words as he warns us of the power of the tongue and the words it produces both for good and for evil. God has given us an ability to communicate so that we can have relationships with each other and a relationship with Him as a Heavenly Father. We can use our tongue to praise God and request His Blessings, but that very same mouth and tongue can then yell at, criticise and abuse our fellow man. Throughout the history of the nations, we can see how the power of such a small vessel can either build up or destroy.

The message is clear. This ought not to be so in the Christian church. Earlier, James exhorted the church (1:19) to be ‘swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath’. If we pause before responding to any situation, particularly an offence, the Holy Spirit has time to act within us and allow us to hear the other person’s concern, but be slow to formulate a response so that the response does not escalate the matter to create wrath/anger. When we do respond with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can do as Solomon wrote in his wisdom (Prov 15:1) “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” The soft answer in James’s teaching would be considered sweet water or good fruit and that should be our goal.

There is a blessing to both the hearer and the user of soft words but, as highlighted in this text, there are also negative consequences as a result of bitter words. The creation teaches us that if we plant something and water it with bitter or salty water it will die. If fruit is bad there is no nourishment from it and ultimately it will rot. Similarly, the result of our words can affect our own spiritual growth, or our relationships with others and even our relationship with God. We need to ask ourselves, “Is my speech building up or tearing down?”

The opposite of ‘soft speech’ is harsh (‘blas’) speech (-phemia). Blasphemy! Originally from the Greek language and now meaning to defame Holy things. Evil speaking, backbiting, defaming, slandering, complaining are all used in the New Testament to demonstrate how the tongue can destroy. Yes, even complaining. The people murmured against Moses and Aaron. Our Lord taught a parable of those who murmured against the good man of the house (Matt 20:11). The disciples murmured against Jesus (John 6:61) and we can read many times during our Lord’s life His disappointed response to those who murmured.

This topic is particularly relevant and visible within modern forms of communication. On social media, someone will ask a question or make a statement and within a very short period of time it is easy to find a raging bushfire of bitter and harsh speech. Unfortunately, this also leads on to judgement. People are demonstrating Apostle James’s teaching that these negative responses can even destroy people’s lives. Many people respond negatively because there is a perceived anonymity to their response, but we should not be deceived, God knows even our very thoughts.

Using negative words impacts on the user as much as the receiver. When a water source begins to be contaminated it can go from sweet to bitter very quickly. The time to fix the problem is early and maintain sweet water within all our communication.

This text shows in the first question the real insignificance of man as it asks what is man? The Prophet Isaiah in chapter 40 verse 22 sums up the difference between man and God, when he declares, “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers.” Job describes men and women as nothing more than tenants that dwell in houses of clay and asks the question, “What is man that thou shouldest magnify him? And that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him.”

The answer to this question was put into verse by a modern-day Poet, Sylvia Fraser, and answered the question as follows:

YOU ARE SPECIAL

You are someone special,
Precious and unique;
And you will find in Jesus
The inner peace you seek.
There isn’t any pain or hurt
That Jesus does not know,
For He has felt all those things
So many years ago.
He knew a time of loneliness
When, for forty days and nights,
He fasted in the wilderness
And Satan gave Him no respite.
He was rejected by His people,
Deserted by His friends,
Despised by the Pharisees
With whom He did contend.
All these things He did endure,
He knew how it would end,
But, to Him you were so special,
He would do it all again.

This verse should help us in part to also understand the love of God to mankind, in allowing his Son Christ to come to us. The answer we find in Proverbs 8 as it describes Christs role and presence with God in the Creation. Verse 30-31 “Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.” We see man is declared by Christ to be His delight. That is why He came to save.

As we travel through life and sometimes feel depressed and badly done by, let us always think of the verse ‘YOU ARE SPECIAL‘.