“James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.” – James 1:1

Two of the original twelve Apostles were named “James” (Matt. 10:2,3).
The JAMES who wrote this New Testament letter, however, was not an apostle. Known as “James the Just” by the New Testament Church, he was, in fact, the “brother” of the Lord Jesus Christ (in that Mary and Joseph were his parents). (Matt. 13:55).

James was not a believer at the start of Jesus’ ministry (John 7:5), but after the resurrection Jesus appeared to him personally. (1 Cor 15:5-7).

He was present on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1:13), became the recognized leader (overseer) of the Judean Church and pastored the Jerusalem Church. (Acts 12:17, 15:13-21, 21:18, Gal. 1:19, 2:9,12).

James was martyred after thirty fruitful years of ministry. Historians tell us that he was stoned to death while on his knees praying, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

This is the James who wrote this epistle around AD 60. The “brother” of the Lord and a renowned Church leader, he makes no claim to a unique relationship with Jesus, nor does he share stories from his youth.

No “name-dropping”. He is a man of HUMILITY and faith.

Val Waldeck
Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

A Study in the N.T. book of James

Christians are not immune to problems, trials and temptations and how well we know that.

There are some people, however, who believe that unpleasant events in our lives are proof that there is something wrong with our faith. They assume that there is a problem in our relationship with God and they tend to correlate goodness with prosperity.

This is not Biblical teaching and James gives us some clear teaching in his epistle on the subject. The Early Church in his time was a scattered and persecuted Body and James assures us that the Lord never allows anything in our lives without PURPOSE.

He always provides the WISDOM needed for us to deal with trouble. At the same time, He requires a very definite RESPONSE from us.

This is a very practical letter to Christians of all ages and is our theme for this devotional teaching.

Be blessed and encouraged in your faith as you follow the daily devotionals.

Val Waldeck
Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

” .. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” – Matt. 6:13

His Kingdom, His Power and His Glory are eternal. He is the caring, compassionate God who remains ever faithful to His children. (Malachi 3:6).

Our Saviour is Jesus Christ, the One who “is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Heb 13:8).

All the principles enshrined in this magnificent Prayer of Jesus are eternal too. We have the “headings” – all we have to do is fill in the detail specific to our circumstances.

We begin with worship as we contemplate Who God is. Then we concern ourselves with God’s interests and His Kingdom, co-operating with Him in the accomplishment of His Will in our world and our lives.

That brings us to people and their needs. The keyword is “our”. We must not be so full of false humility that we pray only for others and neglect our own spiritual well-being. Nor so self-centered, we care only about the things that concern us.

Finally, the Lord encourages us to spend time in worship, acknowledging that the God Who Never Changes is the One who has taken time to listen and Who has the power to meet our request.

Val Waldeck
Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

” .. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” – Matt. 6:13

One of my favorite scriptures is found in Psalm two. The Psalmist describes how the world falls over itself in their haste to reject the Lord. They plot and take counsel together, desperately trying to shut God out of His world, and to make the Name of His Messiah disappear forever.

Does this leave God powerless? Is He unable to extend and establish His Kingdom because of man’s rebellion? Is Christianity becoming an extinct religion? Is God’s Power being dissipated because of unbelief.

Far from it! The Church of Jesus Christ is growing mightily and hundreds of thousands are finding the Lord every day. God is doing great and wonderful things and His Power is sweeping across the lives of people in an unprecedented manner.

What does God think of all men’s attempts at rejecting His Message? Absolutely nothing!

Psalm 2:4 says, “He Who sits in the heavens shall laugh.”

The best of men’s puny efforts to shake their fist in Almighty God’s Face is as ridiculous as an ant raging at a giant. Totally laughable!

Val Waldeck
Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

” .. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” – Matt. 6:13

Long before the Lord spoke this world into existence (Genesis chapter one), He was King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is still the King and sovereign in creation. (Dan 4:35).

The Prayer of Jesus invites us to stop and contemplate His Majesty. The One to Whom we have prayed is indeed the Sovereign Ruler of Heaven and earth. He is the King of Kings and is establishing His Kingdom. What a privilege to be allowed to spend time with Him.

No prayer is ever lost or forgotten. Every one is recorded in Heaven by the King and will be answered in its time. John the Apostle records in his vision the moment when evil is finally dealt with and notes that the prayers of the saints play a vital part. (Rev 8:3,4).

Are you committed to His Kingdom?
Or the fulfillment of your own dreams?

Momentary happiness comes from our plans coming to fruition.
Eternal joy follows the establishment of His Kingdom for eternity.

Val Waldeck
Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

” … For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” – Matt. 6:13

History is “HIS STORY” and prayer is all about building His Eternal Kingdom in the hearts and lives of mankind, bringing about His Will and purposes in the lives of individuals.

Let us never forget that “it’s all about Him” – and not about us. All our prayers and intercession for others, and ourselves, have one purpose only – that the Will of God may be accomplished.

We were born for a purpose and prayer is our co-operation with the Lord in bringing about that purpose.

This is the reason we should never become discouraged when God does not seem to answer prayer the way we think He should. His plans are very often beyond our personal comprehension. (Isa 55:8,9).

Let us be assured that God is working mightily “behind the scenes” to bring about His Eternal Kingdom. (Phil 2:10,11).

Are you disappointed about an apparent delay in the answer to your prayers? Bow before the Lord and submit your will to His.

His Kingdom is more important than our plans.

Val Waldeck
Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matt. 6:13)

We have had a wonderful time learning from the Prayer of Jesus. True prayer, we discovered, is first of all God-centered, then Kingdom-centered, and only then People-centered. Now we discover that what began in worship ends in worship as the Prayer of Jesus culminates in God-centered prayer.

Praise and worship are highly esteemed by God. “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel.”Psalm 22:3 (KJV).

It glorifies Him when we express our trust in and thankfulness to Him, our Heavenly Father. A “gratitude attitude” – or thankfulness – is deeply appreciated by the Lord.

Jesus healed ten lepers on one occasion, and only one returned to give thanks. “So Jesus answered and said, were there not ten [lepers] cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:17-18).

The Prayer of Jesus has taken us from the loftiest heights of Heaven to the deepest needs on earth, and assured us of our Heavenly Father’s love, care and compassion. How can we but stop and praise Him for His goodness?

True prayer must end in worship.

Val Waldeck
Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one..” (Matt. 6:13)

We are aware that we have an enemy who would dearly love to do us much harm and the Bible warns us to be constantly on our guard. (1 Pet 5:8).

This petition is an acknowledgment that we are “kept by the power of God” (1 Peter 1:5) and we need fear no evil (Psalm 23). It gives us boldness to step into our day, confidently expecting the Lord to watch over us.

Daniel and his three friends had this kind of faith. As they entered their fiery furnace, they shouted: “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” “We will burn, but we will not bow,” they said. “Even if its costs us our lives”. (Dan 3:17,18).

There are times that God performs miraculous deliverances in this life. Hebrews chapter 11 catalogues a number of them. But there are also times when His deliverance takes us out of this life. Either way we enjoy His Protection! (Heb 11:32-38).

Val Waldeck

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Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“And do not lead us into temptation ..” (Matt. 6:13)

“Enlarge my territory,” Jabez prayed. “That Your Hand would be with me.” (1 Chronicles 4:10).

The Prayer of Jesus incorporates that same request. This is a prayer that the Lord will guide our footsteps daily. We are saying, in effect: “Please do not allow us to get into that place where we may be overcome by temptation and fall into sin”.

It is a heartfelt and definite request that He would keep us from getting into situations where we may be liable to be tempted into sinning.

How often have we looked back on our day and wished with all our heart that we had not said and done some things? How different we may have reacted if we had been forewarned of certain situations and been able to avoid them.

This is a very important petition. We would avoid a lot of problems in our day if we spent time with the Lord first, asking Him to guide our footsteps and waiting for His direction.

The Lord wants us to seek His Face first before we go into our day and He promises to guide us clearly. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8).

Val Waldeck

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Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.” – Matt. 6:12

Before we leave the subject of forgiveness, perhaps we should ask the question: what happens if the one who has wronged us does not repent or admit the error of his/her way? Can we still forgive them?

The Lord forgave us at Calvary, but that forgiveness only becomes a reality in our lives and experience the moment we confess and forsake our sin.

In the same way, we are free to forgive those who wrong us. Does that mean we ignore their attitude and try to patch up our friendship with a “Christian Band-Aid”? Absolutely not! They do not receive the benefit of our forgiveness, nor reconciliation and restoration of fellowship until the matter is cleared. Reconciliation is a two-way street.

But we can go on our way, praising the Lord with peace in our hearts, after having done all we could to put the matter to rest. Their attitude becomes a problem between them and God. We do not need to walk around in bitterness and pain.

We are free to forgive because we have been forgiven! (Luke 6:28).

Val Waldeck

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Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow