He was the older brother the four younger ones looked up to. He seemed intent on life and his purpose in it. They had a good relationship with one another, but the younger boys just couldn't grasp what made their older brother tick. They didn't get him even though he was their big brother. They didn't want to.

Then he went off to service – to engage the enemy in battle. The reports they heard from the field were very harsh, the conditions brutal, the enemy strong – no one had escaped. They could count on their brother being killed, they were certain of it. Never again would he return to play ball with them, never would he be there to rough house with them, never again would they be amazed at his wisdom on walks in the field. Never again.

I was doing the main chores now as the oldest son. I had responsibilities and duties to my mother, brothers and sisters. I was in the shop working. I turned around when my name was called, hearing the sound of a voice I never expected to hear. I couldn't believe it. There he was. There he was. My mouth dropped, my voice disappeared, I gasped for breath as I saw the wounds of the battle on his body. How did he survive with such significant bodily harm? He couldn't have or shouldn't have – but here he was – it was like old times, but yet it wasn't. Something had changed, perhaps someone had changed.

It was me. I had to change. I couldn't deny it any longer. My brother was alive. He told me he did die in the most intense battle of the war of the ages, but his father raised him from the dead. It was Jesus – alive from the dead. Jesus, my big brother - now Jesus my Lord.

That still seems like yesterday, although by now he's been gone from this world, having ascended to his father and seated at the right hand of the majesty on high.

Why was I the recipient of a personal visit? Why do I get mentioned by the Apostle Paul that the Lord appeared to me? Why me, James? Only God knows. He chose to do a work in my heart – he had to, there was no way it would happen by my own efforts.

I know that I didn't believe all that Jesus said and taught. In fact, one time we all went to get Jesus – to take charge of him. He was in a house in Galilee – a house so crowded with people and those disciples of his – and don't get me going on those guys - so busy he couldn't even eat. We were going to get him and bring him home. "He is out of his mind" is all that ran through our minds. [Mk 3:20-21] When we finally arrive at the house, but we can't get in because there are so many people there. Fortunately we got someone to tell Jesus that his mother and brothers were there looking for him. And Jesus had the audacity to say:

Mark 3:33 (NIV) "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.
34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Do you know how that made us feel?

I recall another incident; it was just about time for the Feast of the Tabernacles, when the brothers and I, we told Jesus to take his show on the road –

John 7:3b (NIV) "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

I didn't believe when he was around. Jesus, my older brother the messiah? The Son of God? The Savior of the world? It couldn't be. Jesus – to restore the kingdom of David? Jesus- he would free us from the domination of Roman rule? Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one? I couldn't see it.

The miracle stories I heard? They couldn't possibly be true I thought.

But here he was, in the flesh in my workshop. I had to believe. I could reject him no longer. Crucified under Pontius Pilate, buried, and raised the third day.

I believed. I put my trust in him. Jesus, my brother, became my savior.

My life took new directions after that incident. It was a day I'll never forget.
Now I became a follower of Jesus. I now joined the others who believed.

There are people still who don't believe in Jesus. Oh sure, they believe that there was this person named Jesus, but that is about as far as it goes. There is no commitment or surrender to him. I see people like that all the time – just like I was until I saw the Lord. He's been ascended into heaven quite awhile now, but the words of the Scriptures, the writings of the Apostles, those words are true and the Holy Spirit uses them to speak about Jesus so that others would trust him. As I wrote in my letter, belief and behavior must go together.

Jame 2:14 (NIV) What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

My own belief was put into action because God had a plan for my life. My Jewish upbringing [recall in Jn 7 that the brothers went to the Feast of Tabernacles] and training came in handy when working with the church at Jerusalem. Peter had stirred things up by reaching out to Gentiles with the gospel of Jesus. Something had to be done as tensions escalated in the church, resentment was building against those Gentile dogs, pardon my Aramaic, who didn't keep the Jewish ritual laws, but then I remembered the words of the prophet Amos:

16 "`After this I will return
and rebuild David's fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
17 that the remnant of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things' {Amos 9:11,12}
18 that have been known for ages. [Acts 15:16-18]

I told them:

Acts 15:19 (NIV) "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."

For some reason, I had become a leader in the church in Jerusalem – a "pillar" according to the Apostle Paul [Gal 2:9]. But I want you to know that I didn’t play the "I'm Jesus' brother card" to become this pillar leader – in fact, when I wrote my letter I simply begin:

Jame 1:1 (NIV) James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.

You see, I wanted people to recognize me for being a follower of Jesus, reflecting his character and love rather than to be known as one of Jesus' little brothers – a 1/2 brother actually (same mother, Mary, different father).

I never sought a position in the Jerusalem church, but there I was in it. Jesus – the resurrected one- loved me enough to visit me in person and that changed everything. I had to follow him. I had to believe him. I had to serve him.

And it is a great privilege to serve him now – not like when I was a little kid and he asked me to do something for him – I didn't like serving him then. But now, there is no greater privilege. I agree with the words of the Psalmist:

One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.
I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God
than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin. Psalm 84:10 (MSG)

Some folks have even referred to me as "camel knees" – but I didn't get them from scrubbing floors. No, I got them from spending time in prayer.

I mentioned in my letter about praying for wisdom, praying with right motives, and praying in faith.

I prayed because I knew my limitations and I knew the power of God. If God can raise Jesus from the dead, then there's nothing he can't do.

You may be facing something in your life that you just can't seem to get your arms around – take it to the Lord in prayer. He's there for you. As I wrote in my letter:

Jame 1:5 (NIV) If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Jame 5:13a (NIV)

Jame 5:16b (NIV) The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

Let me pause for a moment on that phrase "righteous man." I lived with Jesus a long time- many years. But I thought I didn't need him. I was doing fine. I was keeping the law. I was a respectable Jew. I thought I was a righteous man. But I was wrong. I had to place my trust in Jesus – my brother, do you know how humbling that was? But when he made that resurrection appearance just for me, I didn't care about my pride. I knew I had to believe and I did. Now some call me "James the Just" – but more important to me is the fact that I truly am just / righteous before God by the work of Jesus.

You see, even though I was family, I still needed faith. Jesus doesn't have a family plan for experiencing forgiveness and receiving eternal life. I was related, yes, but not spiritually with Jesus until I saw him and believed. And if that was true for me –a 1/2 brother to Jesus, how much more so for everyone else! It has to be a personal response of faith to the person and work of Jesus.

Have you placed your trust in the risen Christ?

Are you one of his followers? You can be.

Your life will never be the same. Now you'll have an eternal purpose for living and a lifetime membership in the Kingdom of God. All because of the risen Jesus.