OnFire Encouragement Letter

Hi folks. We’ve had some snow here today and the boys came home early from school because of the conditions. This is the first snow we’ve had in a month. I like it. I like the change in scenery. This morning I drive into town and enjoyed the pretty snow stuck to the trees in white pillows. It was peaceful and beautiful.

Last week’s email generated some interesting thoughts re: the weather, weight loss, and Bible reading. People continue to sign up for the weight loss and Bible reading challenges. One letter in particular opened my eyes to the difficulties some people have with reading the Bible and so I’ll have a supplement later in the week which I hope will help with this. For your information, I’ve lost 10 lbs so far and I’m always hungry, but I can see progress so the hunger is good. The first 10 always seems to come off a lot quicker than the rest, now for perseverance.

At fire practice we had ladder training and went over the truck and pump again. It sounds silly, but I came home and wrote down everything. Its a weird combination of not wanting to mess up when it counts or let anyone else down, but also excitement at being involved. I’ve had some thoughts about how what I’m learning has parallels in the church, but these will have to percolate for a while before I pass them along.

This week we look at James as we continue with the characters in Mark’s gospel.

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My friend Dan and I are planning several canoe trips. One is to a local lake for fishing, but will involve a 2km trek in. Another is a 2.5 day trip on the Clyde River, a local river system, for the men of our two churches in June. The third is a 5-6 day trip on the Shelburne River in 2008, which will take us through the most remote areas of Nova Scotia.

An interesting thing about journeys - they have a start and finish. When we set out, we generally know where we’ll end. A case in point - last year we took the boys to Florida. The destination was Orlando, and home again. True - we didn’t know everything that would happen along the way and we had some surprises, but we knew our destination.

The Christian walk is often compared to a journey. Notice, I used the word Christian “walk.” It is usually a fitting comparison and I often use it in this letter. But sometimes it doesn’t work. Most times on a journey or a trip we know the destination. But when Jesus said to the disciples, “Follow me,” they didn’t know the destination, or at least didn’t know where they would really end up. This thought struck me as I was researching the apostle James.

There are 5 men named James in the gospels. The Son of Alphaeus was an apostle (Matt 10:3; Mk 3:18; Lk 6:15). Jesus had a brother named James (Matt 13:55; Mk 6:3). Another James was the father of the apostle Judas (not Iscariot , Lk 6:16). There was another James, called “The Less,” (NIV “younger”), whose brother was Joses and mother was one of the many Marys of the New Testament (Mk 15:40; Matt 27:56; Mk 16:1).

Our James was the Son of Zebedee, brother and business partner of John the apostle (Matt 4:21; Mk 1:19; Lk 5:10). In the early church James was actually the better-known of the two brothers. He was listed first more often than not and John was often listed as his brother (Matt 4:21; 10:2; 17:1; Mk 1:19, 29; 3:17; 5:37; 9:2; 10:35, 41; 13:3; 14:33; Lk 5:10; 6:14; 9:54).

James’ journey with Jesus brought him into the inner circle of the apostles. Along with Peter and John, he was present with Jesus at the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law (Mk 1:29-31), the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mk 5:37; Lk 8:51), and the transfiguration (Matt 17:1; Mk 9:2; Lk 9:28). Jesus taught them privately about the coming destruction of Jerusalem (Mk 13:3). Jesus brought them to stand watch at Gethsemane (Mk 14:33).

Jesus nicknamed James and John the “Sons of Thunder” (Mk 3:17). I don’t think this was as much about their father as it was about them. I remember a student at college whom we should have called a “Son of Thunder.” The man didn’t know the definition of quiet. His whisper was enough to wake the dorm. His laugh was like a roar. While he was friendly and charismatic, he could also be impulsive and cunning. Was James like that man?

Perhaps. James and John once asked Jesus if they could be his deputies (Mk 10:35). On their final journey to Jerusalem with Jesus, they were refused hospitality by the Samaritans. It was James and John who suggested impulsively that they call down fire from heaven against them, kind of like Elijah (Lk 9:54; 2 Kings 1:10,12).

Along the way James encountered all sorts of interesting experiences, but where would it all lead? In Acts 12:2 we read very simply that James was put to death by sword. I can guess that he didn’t know this would happen when he left the boat back in Galilee, or even when he pledged with Peter to follow Jesus to death (Mk 14:31).

There are some things in life we “sign up” for and we don’t fully know the destination. Following Jesus is one of them. I think this is what makes some people reluctant to follow. We have to give up control over our future so that we can let Jesus lead us. That’s part of being a follower. But, remember,  going with God into a future which is unknown is always better than staying where we are, even if it were to mean death.

Keep up the journey. Be encouraged along the way. Trust Jesus.

I hope this helps. Be on fire.

Troy

Jan 15, 2007. Troy is the pastor of Shelburne Baptist Church, Shelburne NS Canada. To subscribe, email onfireletter-subscribe@topica.com. Missed some OnFire letters? View the archives at http://lists.topica.com/lists/onfireletter/read and www.onfireletter.com.