​James 1: 12 – 18.
 
The trials and temptations in our lives are indicative of the testing of our faith as we seek to apply God’s wisdom towards life’s vicissitudes (James 1:5). The critical attitude over unrelenting distresses is to stave off any bitterness which may result in the capitulation of our faith. The realisation that God’s grace is available and that He remains in control over the circumstances in our lives are of paramount importance. However, the reality that life at times can seem unfair will persist! James in his Epistle provides us with some handles in coping with this perplexity. There is no doubt that suffering do impact our spiritual maturity, but when we learn to cling onto our central duty to love God wholeheartedly (Matt 22:35-38), we persevere through it, since we know that He loves us unconditionally (James 1:2-4). 
 
James is not categorically stating that trials and temptations are morally correct in themselves, but he is merely appraising the reality we face in a fallen world. The reward of our endurance is ‘the crown of life.’ Although the symbolic crown or head-wreath is given to one who had won his competitive race, notionally, James addressed the fact that the believer, at the end of the day, had been tried by trials and had prevailed over them despite the costs involved (c.f., 1 Cor 9:24-25; Heb 12:1; 2 Cor 10:18; 2 Tim 2:15; 2 Tim 4:8; 1 Peter 5:4). Throughout the ages, resilience has been the consistent hallmark of the persecuted church, due largely to an unquenchable faith in the divine eschatological promise of ‘the living hope’ (c.f., 1 Peter 1:3-9). This eternal hope for those who have committed themselves to Christ to share in His new life and to participate fully in it in the future (Rom. 6:4–5; 1 Cor. 15), enables believers to face even death without fear, for death is not an end for him, but a beginning of life in his Master’s presence. Sadly, our essential focus in the here-and-now concerning this eternal future inheritance is often subsumed by the cares of this world. There is definitively a need to refocus from time-to-time on our calling to ensure that life is not completely preoccupied with only the mundane (2 Tim 1:9-10).
 
James next follows through with an explanation of the mechanics of temptation by an outrageous allegorical example of the birthing process (James 1:13-15). The trajectory of trials, temptations and sins, in that order, indicates a personal accountability as each individual is completely responsible for exercising his own desires and will; i.e., our own lusts as symbolised by the mother figure giving birth to sin and eventually leading to death! Lest we confuse God’s motives in the trials He sends us in the proofing of our faith by claiming that He is tempting us, James reminds us that God is incapable of tempting anyone, as He is intrinsically holy. The objective of the trials in His sovereignty is to fortify our faith, never to entice us into sin, since He is the source of ‘every perfect gift’ (James 1:16-17). God is fundamentally incapable of making any mistakes and obligated to no one. Therefore, the Creator of the heavens casts no shadow (c.f., John 8:12; Rev 21:22-27), unlike His handiworks, being the only dependable Reference Point to all of His creations, both to the visible and the invisible. 
 
Juxtaposed against the earlier reference on our fallenness giving birth to sin (James 1:15), James then stated the obvious: due to God’s gracious will, “He brought us forth (viz., through the new birth) by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures” (James 1:18). Scripture is absolutely clear that everyone is dead in sin (Rom 3:23) but due to the saving work of Christ, the formidable gospel (i.e., the word of truth; c.f., Eph 1:13) transforms us through the exercise of faith in the Holy Spirit; resulting in the new birth in Christ, as precursors of the New Heaven and the New Earth (c.f., Rev 21). This challenging journey of trials and tribulations in our present existence serves one purpose: preparing us to unremittingly view circumstances with an unshakable eternal perspective as we serve our heavenly Master in walking in step with His Holy Spirit (c.f., Gal 5:16-26). Our life, here and now, is a dim reflection of eternity with our Creator! It will be glorious in His presence.

​Luke 2: 8 – 20; Matthew 2: 1 – 23.
 
Announcements of births are usually celebrative familial affairs, but the birth of Jesus went against the norm. Joseph and Mary were very much on their own, in an unusually strange environment to have their first child – an empty barn. Their predicament ensured their privacy, which allowed them space and time to recover from their earlier journey from Nazareth. They never anticipated a succession of total strangers to appear literally out of nowhere, lingering over them.
 
The abrupt appearance of angelic beings announcing the birth of a Saviour terrified the drowsy shepherds. The angels' subsequent chorus over the fields of Bethlehem did not reassure them either (Luke 2:8-14). It is ironic that a few shepherds were privy to this critical divine incarnational incident, rather than the Pharisees, who were the predominant religious intelligentsia of the Jewish establishment (c.f., Matt 2:1-6). They were not unacquainted with the Messianic prophecies. However, at this turning point in human history, God chose to celebrate His Son’s birth, with a group of nondescript men, who possessed a simple trusting faith. They came, saw the Child, worshipped Him (Luke 2:15-20), and got extremely excited about it.
 
While the shepherds were witnessing to Jesus’ birth after leaving Joseph and Mary, far beyond Bethlehem, towards the east, astrologers were on their way to pay their respect to the King of the Jews. The unusual star disappeared as they approached Jerusalem, and unknown to them, their quest stirred up a hornet’s nest in King Herod’s court (Matt 2:1-8). Leaving Jerusalem, the star reappeared and guided them to the stable where the Baby lay. They paid homage to Him, offering gifts normally accorded only to royalty. Then being warned in a dream, they returned home by-passing Jerusalem (Matt 2:9-12). It is not uncommon that when the religious elite are spiritually unconcerned about what God is doing in this world, He would disclose to others to carry through His purposes. 
 
What are we to make of these two extreme groups of diverse characters, who were the only ones privileged to witness the arrival of God into time and space? God sovereignly chose the underprivileged, scruffy Jewish shepherds and the wealthy, learned, and probably non-Jewish stargazers, because the latter correctly anticipated His arrival, while the former simply believed what they heard and saw (Luke 2:15; Matt 2:2; c.f., Matt 24:42-44; Matt18:2-4). The unqualified worship accorded to the King of kings and Lord of lords contrasts with our modernistic individualism, where the absolute power and authority an ancient king or lord possesses over his people, in eliciting their unreserved obedience, loyalty and honour is often questioned (c.f., Isa 9:6-7). This may explain our muted reaction and inability to fully identify with the Nativity events. In view of this Divine intervention when God became man to save us from our sins (Rom 6:23), how we worship Him with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matt 22:37), and remain as faithful witnesses to Him becomes significant; revealing our genuine trust and faith in our Lord and Saviour (c.f., Gal 4:4-7).

​Psalm 32.
 
Reflecting on sorrow for sins, Psalm 32 is one of seven Penitential Psalms or Psalms of Confession (viz., Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143), categorised as such in Cassiodorus’ commentary of the 6th century. Repentance is synonymous with the Christian life and when we become inured to its implications and process, our rapport with Yahweh is likely to be in jeopardy. Pertinently, the psalmist draws our attention that it is emphatically God’s responsibility to forgive, to cover our shame, and to restore the sinner back to a state of grace to full humanity in Christ (Ps 32:1-2). Incidentally, the word ‘blessed,’ or ‘happy’ in some translations, is an inadequate definition for the Hebrew root ‘to go forward’ or ‘to go straight,’ which implies a way of life rather than a condition. Guilt, as a human trait, possesses a curious symptom that is ingrained and enduring, and it can, over a period of time, result in physiological symptoms that are either psychosomatic or authentic: viz., “my body wasted away… my groaning all day long…my vitality was drained away (Ps 32:3-4). At times, guilt can and do make us very ill, as there is an obsessional quality about it that resists our efforts to repress it. Conscience and guilt are irretrievably linked, and intrinsically, we have minimal control of both. The degree of our psychiatrically blighted mental state of mind will often determine the desperation of our attempts at handling our guilt; from avoidance altogether to shifting the blame to others or disparaging others, from resorting to drugs, alcohol, or material splurging, to numbing our sensations to irrationally and cynically explaining it away; from over-achieving or over-compensating to doing penance. None of these absolve our conscience in the long-term. But these are just symptoms of a deeper malaise - our alienation from our Creator.
 
When our conscience has been sensitised towards obeying God’s laws as a result of a relationship with the Almighty, guilt due to sin causes a loss of our moral integrity before God, disclosing our shame. Our desire to invariably control our destiny in solving problems apart from God would further uncover us. When we acknowledge and confess them to Him, only God is able to forgive our transgressions and alleviate its accompanying guilt (Ps 32:1-2,5). All this tied into the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and hence never on the basis of our own efforts: “to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness’ (Rom 4:5). And with forgiveness, God’s own righteousness is credited or reckoned to be ours (Rom 4:22-25, i.e., imputed to us; c.f., 1Peter 2:24; 2Cor 5:21). So, what is the process of repentance?
 
The initial element is to be brutally honest and transparent about one’s transgressions against God (Ps 32:5, with no deceit in one’s inner being; c.f., Ps 51:4), with an unavoidable realization that no amount of blame-shifting is going to diminish our responsibility (Ps 32:3-5). Often our wilful individuality is the cause of our stepping outside of our hidden position in Christ into sin. Repentance not only entails a confession of our sins, but it includes a forsaking of our righteousness (i.e., in ourselves) that birthed the sins, and seeking God’s grace by remaining in Christ (Ps 32:7). It appears that our perpetual glaring misdemeanor is to forget that sin deeply hurts God (Isa 63:10; Rom 2:23), hence the need for that sacrifice on Golgotha. It is instructive that God chose to speak at this point to draw our attention to His purpose in our repentance: to repent is to admit human fallibility and to relentlessly and swiftly seek His forgiveness to reconnect with Him as soon as possible, in order to learn how to be more teachable to avoid similar pitfalls in future (Ps 32:8-9). The metaphor of the ‘bit and bridle’ posits a restraint towards sinning that comes through taking instructions from the Lord (Ps 32:6-8). The outcome of repentance: “he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him” (Ps 32:10-11). The Psalm concludes with God’s daily grace of forgiveness that allows us to know true happiness, for God does reckon us righteous in Christ.

​1 Kings 19: 15 – 21; 2 Kings 2: 7 – 18.
 
Jezebel, a Phoenician princess who married Ahab, was hunting Elijah after he killed the prophets of Baal at the brook of Kishon (1Kings 18-19). While he was on the run, hiding in a cave at Horeb, God commanded him among other instructions, to seek out Elisha, the son of a wealthy landowner Shaphat, and anoint him as his successor (viz., possessing 12 pairs of oxen, 1Kings 19:19). When Elijah tracked him down, Elisha was ploughing in one of his father’s fields. His call entailed him turning his back from a lifestyle of affluence and privilege to one which promised poverty and danger. Nearly two decades later, with Elijah’s imminent transition, Elisha requested to be as effective as his mentor (2Kings 2:9-10). Elisha’s request was not abnormal in line with Near Eastern practices, where he was asking for the status as rightful heir to the prophetic leader’s role, to be given twice as much as any other heir of an otherwise ancestor’s estate. Elijah replied that his request would be granted if Elisha witnessed his sudden whirlwind ascension. 
 
How would one who had inherited every advantage in life respond when God calls? Elijah’s prophetic stature made him easily recognisable in Israel. The two had never met previously. Having found Elisha, he walked toward him and threw his mantle over him! From the narrative, it appears there was no transactional communication. What transpired further was humanly astounding when Elisha ditched everything and followed Elijah - an indication of an inner revolutionary transformation. He straightaway sacrificed the two oxen and held a feast for everyone, and left soon thereafter, never again to return to his familial legacy. The Prophet’s off-handed retort to Elisha, “Do as you please, I was not responsible for choosing you” to his request to bade farewell to his parents was indicative that he was just following Yahweh’s instructions. God presence must have been palpable as the mantle wrapped itself around him! What was God looking for in His choice of Elisha? A selfless teachable man who loved God and who would obediently respond to God’s call (1Sam 15:22; c.f., Jer 7:21-23). Effectively, accepting God’s call on our lives puts Him at the centre of our being, with a spiritual motivation to follow our Saviour and Lord in whatever He has for us. To understand Elisha’s implicit response is to grasp the divine purpose for his life as purposefully planned by our Creator, and that goes for every Christian (Rom 8:28-30).
 
As believers, we have a high calling to model our Lord exclusively to the world and to execute His will in the time He has apportioned for us. The fact that it took Elisha about 18 years of apprenticeship under Elijah before he took over his prophetical office is indicative that any spiritual training is time-consuming and intense, where our flawed humanity is transformed into recognisable Christlikeness; a God-centred life in a self-centred world (c.f., 1Peter 2:9; Eph 2:8-10; Gal 5:22-24). It entails a deliberate sacrificial turning away from that which had preoccupied us with an unconditional servant attitude in devotional service to God. To neglect this primary focus is to undermine our labour for Him.      
 
To witness Elijah’s whirlwind trip into heaven would have been astounding for anyone. For Elisha, the sight of his master being ferreted into the skies on a flaming chariot undergirded God’s available power behind him in his calling (2Kings 2:11-12), authenticating his embryonic prophetic ministry. This dramatic demonstration of God’s commitment elicited a declaration of abandonment by Elisha to become God’s spokesperson to Israel and the nations: he tore his clothes in two pieces! In Jewish tradition, the rending of one’s clothes is deeply meaningful: it indicated not only profound grief and mental distress of a broken heart but also a way of showing that the considerations of status and respect for oneself had been put aside for a costly, self-sacrificing and self-forgetful devotion to Yahweh, repenting for his sins and the sins of the nation (2Sam 1:11-12; c.f., Joel 2:13). May our hearts be as sensitive and available as Elisha’s to the ministrations of His Holy Spirit, as we stand in Christ, representing Him to everyone in grace, truth and love.