Learning to depend on the Lord in the trenches.

Practical Christianity:

Learning to depend on the Lord to take care of us in the trenches

Have James bring up a subject, and then turn to Jesus and Paul to have a full “discussion” as it were of the subject.

A school where the teachers are Jesus, Paul, and James.

Jesus will set the vision.

James will describe how it looks on the ground level.

Paul teaches how the Lord and the Spirit get it done for us.

JAM 1:1-12

James writes to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad.

So James is writing to Jewish believers in Christ who have fallen on hard times.

endurance
hupomone
It means to hang in there under pressure, perhaps for a long time.

Each of us has a trench in our lives.

It is our teacher Jesus who tells us about the trenches and comforts us as well.

Perhaps our trench is a physical or medical handicap. Or a mental illness.

MAT 4:23-24
MAT 14:14

For some of you, it may be the problems that one or more of your children experience on a chronic basis.

LUK 9:37-43

Perhaps it is the fact that you have loved ones who are unbelievers.

MAR 9:19-29
2PE 3:9

Or perhaps you mourn and grieve over a special person you loved who died.

MAT 5:4

Maybe you are very disturbed by the lack of goodness or justice in our country today.

MAT 5:6

Perhaps it is persecution of some kind for the sake of what’s right.

MAT 5:10

Maybe you are the target of slander or gossip or insults.

MAT 5:11-12

Maybe you are in a dysfunctional family. Or maybe you are poor.

LUK 6:20

Maybe you have had to endure losses of the kind Jesus speaks of here in Mark 10 because of your love for the Lord.

MAR 10:29-31