Shabbat Notes 10-24-2026

Has Your Endurance Fully Developed

 

James 1:1-18 NLT  This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings!  (2)  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  (3)  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  (4)  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.  (5)  If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.  (6)  But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.  (7)  Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  (8)  Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.  (9)  Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.  (10)  And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.  (11)  The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.  (12)  God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.  (13)  And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.  (14)  Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.  (15)  These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.  (16)  So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.  (17)  Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.  (18)  He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

 

“twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad :  James is talking about the believing Jews in the 12 tribes here. So when we read in Revelation about the 144,000 from the 12 Tribes these will be all believers as well because they are performing the same witnessing that what James is talking of here.  The mission is always to bring more to the harvest through the Good News of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Deuteronomy 32:20 NKJV  And He said: 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, For they are a perverse generation, Children in whom is no faith.

In Hebrew the word for faith: emun (ay-MOON): means: Faithfulness, trustworthiness, fidelity

Key Meanings and Contexts

• Definition: Emunah translates to steadfast trust, loyalty, and confidence in God's character and promises, rather than a purely intellectual belief.

• Root Word: It comes from the Hebrew verb Aman (אֲמַן), which means to support, confirm, be firm, or be faithful.

• Connection to "Amen": The common word Amen (so be it) shares the exact same root (a-m-n), signifying agreement, truth, and firm trust.

 

 

• Active Nature: In biblical Hebrew, faith is viewed as action-oriented and relational—implying faithfulness, living out a covenant, and relying on God's reliability rather than passive thought.

• First Appearance: The concept appears prominently in Genesis 15:6, where Abraham trusted (aman) the Lord, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness

Connections to New Testament Revelation                                                                               Greek πίστις pistis (pis'-tis): Faith, belief, trust, confidence, fidelity echoes the Hebrew emphasis on faithfulness as loyalty manifest in works (James 2:18). Jesus Christ is hailed as “the Amen, the faithful and true witness” (Revelation 3:14), embodying what Proverbs 14:5 idealizes. Believers are called “faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1), fulfilling Isaiah’s vision of a righteous, faithful people.

Verse 3 your faith is tested & endurance

2 Corinthians 13:5-8 NKJV  Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.  (6)  But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.  (7)  Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified.  (8)  For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.

Hebrews 10:36-39 NKJV  For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:  (37)  "FOR YET A LITTLE WHILE, AND HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME AND WILL NOT TARRY.  (38)  NOW THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; BUT IF ANYONE DRAWS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM."  (39)  But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

 

Verse 10 God has humbled

When the Bible says that God has "humbled" someone, it means He brings a person low—either through trials, discipline, or circumstances—to strip away self-reliance, arrogance, and rebellion so they recognize their total dependence on Him

James 4:10 NKJV  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Proverbs 11:2 NKJV  When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.

 

Verse(14)  Temptation comes from our own desires

1Co_10:13  No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

1Ti_6:9  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Closing:    18 “by Faith” statements 

 

Hebrews 11:1-14 NKJV  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  (2)  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.  (3)  By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.  (4)  By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.  (5)  By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "AND WAS NOT FOUND, BECAUSE GOD HAD TAKEN HIM"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.  (6)  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  (7)  By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.  (8)  By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  (9)  By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;  (10)  for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.  (11)  By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.  (12)  Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.  (13)  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  (14)  For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.