Showing posts with label JAMES. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JAMES. Show all posts
Are any of you suffering hardships?
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. -James 5:13-16 NLT
I have prayed for a lot of people since I first came to Christ in 1976. For many years I weekly ministered as an elder praying for the sick - I have cried with many many hurting people. Even so, I have not had much success in praying for sick people. A small few have been healed as I prayed - I suspect less than one percent. Many would rationalize this lack of success to a lack of faith or some sort of hidden sin. I think that it would be very superficial to say that.
No one wants to be healed more than a person who is suffering. When I consider what James writes here I do not see a formula for healing miracles but one for spiritual community. When he tells a suffering one to go to the elders he is speaking of the healing power of a spiritual community. In telling us to confess our sins he proclaims the healing power of transparent relationships. Perhaps the prayer of faith mentioned here is all about prayers offered in community?
Bring us Lord to a community of faith where we can be real with each other - a place where inner healing can come.
To those who endure under suffering ...
For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
-James 5:10-11 NLT
A few years ago my son and I were in the car and he said that he thought I was a modern day Job - I had to chuckle as I told him that Job had nothing on me. Of course we all have a story and mine is not all that different than many.. it is just different than folks who have not dealt with the death of a spouse.. or a parent who has not dealt with grieving children.. or a person who has not struggled with a disabling disease that has attacked their spouse.. we all struggle.
The difference between the suffering of Job and that of folks today is the way that the pain is seen. This week I had a street preacher yell a prayer at my wheelchaired wife as she drove by his mock pulpit. Somehow some folks feel such a superiority towards those who struggle. It is hard to bless such people and not feel embittered towards them. In such times we need to guard our hearts and focus on the One who James describes as "full of tenderness and mercy".
Help us Lord to remember, pray for and honor those who endure under suffering.
The coming of the Lord is near ...
Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. -James 5:7-8 NLT
For thousands of years Christians have believed that Jesus would return in their lifetimes. Years ago, as the last millennium drew to a close, many people expected his arrival in the skies. Personally, I took two semesters of Bible College classes on the book of Revelation - don't ask me about my old theories concerning the rapture and other end time events. These days I honestly do not think about the end of the world as we know it or the coming new earth.
When I ponder what the Lord's return means to me, I usually think of what it will be like when He comes in the clouds for me on the day when I pass from this world to the next. I once had a vision of that day when my feet left the earth and I passed through the clouds. I am not sure how accurate that image was but I know that it gave me so much hope - and the Blessed Hope is what many of us associate with the day that we will see God ... and how blessed that day will be.
Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus to take us home to be with you. Come Holy Spirit to plant a seed of patience in us today.
A cancer in your gut ...
And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment. All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. -James 5:1-4 MSG
The apostle Paul warns us, in his first epistle to Timothy, that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. In this passage James seems to elaborate on that idea a bit. Interesting how the folks who paraphrased these verses describe our greed for luxury as a cancer in our gut. Greed causes us to do bad things. Greed separates coworkers. Greed causes us to buy things that we cannot afford. Greed enslaves us with debt. Small wonder James tells us to lament.
In the end the issue is not really money, wealth or even greed. The problem is the pride and arrogance that tells us that we do not have a responsibility to bless others with what God has blessed us with. The egocentric person does not see a need to share his wealth with anyone but himself. Pride takes us to strange places. In contrast humility acknowledges that we are simply managers and not owners - all that we have belongs to God. We must be wise with what He give us.
We repent of our greed Lord. Fill us and help us to love others with the things that you give us.
Your arrogant plans ...
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast about your arrogant plans. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin. -James 4:13-17 NET
I think that many people suffer from vision of fame and grandeur. When I was a boy I dreamed of becoming president of the United States - I had a grand vision of my future. Rarely do these dreams come true because they are based in our head and not our heart. These dreams and plans are built around our ego and have little to do with God's plans. In my life I have found that His plans are more about who I am becoming in my heart rather that what I am doing with my hands.
The last sentence of this passage intrigues me. Is James connecting our egocentric dreams to sinning? Or does the verse stand alone? I think both. Certainly sin can be defined as doing something we know that we should not do or not doing something that we know we should do. Seems like making plans apart from God's known will could also be sinful. The key in these ideas is that sin is contradicting what we 'know' in our innermost being to be God's will in our life.
Lord, we lay our dreams, visions, expectations and plans at the foot of your throne and ask to be filled with your will.
Don’t speak evil against each other ...
Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor? -James 4:11-12 NLT
Isn't it interesting how we sometimes judge each other using a rule or law of some sort? When a person does something we do not like we label them and judge them to be one thing or another. From a certain perspective this kind of judging might seem righteous. That is until you realize that the law that Jesus speaks of is the one that commands us to love God and the people that he has created. When it comes to judging others the law of love trumps all others!
I find it interesting how James writes of speaking evil against each other in the context of judging. Years ago a friend told me that we should not judge but we should inspect spiritual fruit. Hard to believe how some justify their actions. I do think that it is difficult to judge actions as evil, as James does here, without judging a person's heart as evil. But that is what we are called to do. Only God knows a person's heart and only He is qualified to make any judgment about it.
Lord, help us to not judge each. Teach us to love the way that you love..
Humble yourselves before the Lord ...
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. -James 4:7-10
It is hard to read these words and not think about the word 'repentance'. When I think about that word my mind wanders to the times when my heart and my actions have strayed from God's path. I also remember how humbling it was to find my way back to the narrow road. It reminds me of the story of the Prodigal Son and how he came to his senses after being away from home for so long. It took humility for him to admit that he was wrong and to come home.
Even so, it is impossible to tell the story of the Prodigal and not mention the Father. Jesus tells us that the Father saw his boy from far away and went running to him. It is the image I have of God when we turn away from our sinful actions, lifestyles and habits and turn towards Him. I think of the robe, the sandals and the ring that the Father clothed the Prodigal with when James speaks of God lifting us up in honor when we humble ourselves in repentance.
I am proud and independent Lord. I am more like the prodigal than I want to admit. Help to to return home.
Willful proud ... Willing humble.
You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.” -James 4:4-6 MSG
What comes to your mind when you read the words "the world"? It is a phrase that is often used in Paul's writings as well as here in James. I usually think of the flesh - things that are done apart from God and under our own power. It also reminds me of the war that often wages in my mind telling me not to let myself be "too religious". The phrase "fiercely jealous lover" reminds me that God wants all of me ... not just the religious part that shows up to church on Sunday.
In contrast to the religious life that seems to be able to coexist with a fleshly life, James tells us about living a spiritual life ... a life that has God at it's core. Now I am not implying at all that the spiritual life is one filled exclusively with doing all sorts of "spiritual" things. What I am saying is this sort of life flows from our innermost being and results in a humble life that is filled with love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, temperance, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness.
Help us Lord to begin our days in ways that acknowledge you and cause our hearts to be filled with your presence.
Your motives are all wrong ...
What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. [James 4:1-3 NLT]
These three verses scream motives to me - bad ones and good ones. On the bad side they speak to me of hedonism, the idea that is encapsulated by the phrases "if it feels good do it" and (on the religious side) "God wants you to be happy". This adventure in selfcenteredness is replete with jealous and envious motives. Interesting how James calls these "evil desires at war within you". Perhaps the first step in winning this war is to acknowledge our bad motives?
In contrast to these wrong motives is the God motive - love. Most of us can quote Jesus when he speaks of God so loving the world that He gave his one and only Son but I wonder if any of us really understands this sort of love? Perhaps, as James indicates, our prayer life can be viewed as an accurate barometer of where we are at with regard to motives. Are our prayers reflective of a deep love for others or are they more about ourselves? Food for thought.
Lord, I pray so much for myself and my needs. Help me to love others and pray more for the needs of others.
Humility that comes from wisdom ...
If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. ... the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. -James 3:13,17-18 NLT
I believe that these two words, humility and wisdom, are inextricably linked. Firstly they are both qualities of the heart - you cannot have one without the other. One must have wisdom to be humble and many err by thinking that they can be wise apart from humility. In my life both of these have come with much difficulty because I did not understand the nature of wisdom or humility. Sadly I confused wisdom with intellect and humility with a gentle demeanor.
I love how James describes wisdom. He does not say that it is about your IQ but about your ability to yield to others and find common ground. Perhaps this is why the Lord Jesus called peacemakers blessed. It takes humility and wisdom to find peace - achieving it often means that one has to compromise. To make peace in small and great ways one must be full of the kind of mercy that results in good deeds. And such peace will one day reap a harvest of righteousness.
Dear Lord, we are proud. Help us to humble ourselves. We are foolish. Help us to be wise. Teach us the ways of peace.
A flame of fire ...
A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. ... Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! -James 3:5,6,9,10 NLT
James goes on from here to speak of how "you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring." In saying this he acknowledges that our words are often mere products of something that comes from deep within. In a sense, this tiny spark of fire comes from a raging fire that is burning within. I have witnessed such flames coming from my mouth. It reminds me of how the scriptures speak of reaping what we have sowed in the soil of our hearts.
Seeds sprout when we least expect it. Wounds buried in the depths of our beings surface with minor provocation - and people are burned with our flames. It speaks to me about how I need to keep my innermost being strong. To keep my spring clean I must acknowledge and confess my sins to God. To insure that fiery bitterness does not spew from my mouth I must forgive offences before they grab hold of me. It is an issue of being strong on the inside.
Lord, please show us how to keep our inner waters fresh and fit for others to drink.
Every time we open our mouths ...
We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life. A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything — or destroy it! -James 3:2-5 MSG
Describing 18th century Irish Parliamentarian Sir Boyle Roche a person remarked: "Every time he opens his mouth, he puts his foot in it." I sometimes feel that way. Sadly, I have said many things that I wished I could take back. The tongue, when provoked, can sometimes reveal things that we wish stayed hidden. Once the words leave our mouth we are helpless and unable to retrieve them. Many times I have had to ask forgiveness for my careless utterances.
I love the way that James likens our tongue to small things, like rudders and bits, that control big things. If he were living today he might describe the ways that steering wheels in the hands of pilots and bus drivers can affect many people. Our words have much power. The self image of a young child is molded by the things that parents say to them. The encouraging words of a friend can give courage to press on. Our words can accomplish great things.
Help us Lord to only speak words that bless. And when we sin with our words give us courage to seek forgiveness.
His actions made his faith complete.
Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. -James 2:21-26 NLT
That last verse speaks to me about the nature of faith in the life of a believer. Faith is the air that we breathe. It is what made Abraham, Rahab and everyone else right with God. Yet this kind of faith is not invisible in the sense that actions always accompany it and make it complete. The truth is that actions always follow faith or a lack of faith.
Consider those who Jesus considered great in faith. He called the centurion's faith 'great' when he believed God would heal his servant before Jesus even came under his roof. Or think about how he called 'great' the faith of a gentile woman who would not be refused when she asked for her daughter to be healed. Sometimes just the act of prayer is evidence of faith within. God called Abraham his friend because he acted in faith. We are his friends when we act in like manner.
We come in need of courage Lord. Help us to respond in the faith that you have planted deep within us.
Faith by itself isn’t enough ...
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? -James 2:17-20 NLT
Interesting how James speaks of faith not being enough when, in essence, it really is when it is the real thing. The issue that he speaks to here is counterfeit faith. Fake faith has always been with us. Many religious people know all the right things to say - they assent to God with their head but their hearts are simply not engaged. Sometimes knowing something with your head is simply not enough. Genuine faith is a matter of the heart and not of our own understanding.
The absurdity of demon-like believing reminds me that people often engage in religious activities for reasons other than faith. For sure many of these may have assented to a "Higher Power" and might speak of the "Man Upstairs". And often people with a bankrupt faith do good deeds. It speaks to me of how faith and works cannot stand alone. In truth, we are unable to know if another person has faith by simply looking at what they do. Only God can see our hearts.
Cause our hearts to embrace genuine faith today dear Lord. Transform us into people who are moved by compassion.
You have faith but don’t show it ...
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? -James 2:14-16 NLT
Interesting how James pivots from judging how a person treats the wealthy and to judging that person's faith by their actions. In these beginning chapters he seems to be interested in telling his readers what it really means to have a relationship with God. He tells us that having "pure and genuine religion" means having joy in trials, praying for wisdom, enduring temptation, caring for the helpless and keeping oneself unstained from worldly and ungodly thinking.
Now he appears to be distilling this genuine religion down to one word - faith. I love it how he defines the word as a force that has the ability to change the way we act. Instead of defining faith as something that causes us to love church services he tells us that it is something that causes us to love our neighbors. I think that genuine faith always produces love - and love is always shown in what we do. In essence James is speaking to us about both faith and love.
Help us Lord. It is so easy to keep our faith hidden. Lead us to be moved by compassion and to love our neighbors..
Hasn’t God chosen the poor?
Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. -James 2:5-9 NLT
Money and the seduction of wealth is a consistent theme throughout the scriptures. With money comes power and the powerful usually accumulate much wealth. Consider Solomon, a truly wise king, who received over twenty-five tons of gold every year - in the end he was disillusioned by it all. Perhaps the saddest example was the rich young ruler who Jesus advised to sell all he had - this man walked away from God in the flesh because wealth had a hold over his heart.
Interesting how James speaks about the command to love each other. I wonder if people back then were using love as an excuse to rationalize their discriminatory practices? Ironic because God's kind of love is the sort that loves people who cannot do anything for us. When we show favor with a hope of getting something in return we are not loving but manipulating. It is why God has called us to love the poor - the ones that He has chosen to be rich in faith.
Lord, open my heart to love those who cannot do anything for me. Help me to be a friend to the friendless.
This discrimination ...
My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? -James 2:1-4 NLT
I so wish that these verses were no longer applicable to the church universal. Looking back it is so hard to grasp how masses of people have been discriminated against by church people. In our own country people with dark skins were once forbidden to worship with lighter skinned religious people. It is as if church leaders had never read verses like these. And even today, there still seems to be a divide along racial lines in Sunday morning services.
Beyond race and ethnicity James speaks to his readers, and us, about the power of money in the church. I wish that his rebuke was no longer relevant today. I so long for a day when we really believe that wealth is not important to sustain the church. Unfortunately inflated salaries and ornate edifices require religious leaders to cater to wealthy people. The bottom line, for James and for us, is that we must not be guided by evil motives of discrimination.
Examine our hearts Lord Jesus. Shine your light on our motives. Help us to accept all people in our churches.
Pure and genuine religion ...
If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. -James 1:26-27 NLT
The word 'religion' comes with all kinds of negative connotations. The religion of Islam was dragged through the mud when terrorists flew planes into skyscrapers in New York City. The Christian religion was slimed by the extramarital affairs of televangelists in the 1980s. In my own life I have steered away from being a 'religious' person even though I did all the things that one associates with being religious. I guess there is just something Pharisaical about the word.
In these few sentences James tells us what it means to be religious and what genuine religion looks like to God. He begins with a full-on assault of our self-righteousness when he tells us how worthless our religion is when we speak things that embarrass our religion. The last sentence of this passage reminds me that pure and genuine religion is wrapped up in one word - love. When we love we do not hurt others with our tongue but bless them with our deeds.
Help us Lord. We have been corrupted by the world. Lead us in ways that bless the ones who need love the most.
Like glancing at your face in a mirror ...
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. -James 1:22-25 NLT
The bible is not a book meant only for theologians. It is not a book only understandable by deep thinkers. It is not an ancient book that is all about revealing the mystical secrets of life. It is a book that is meant to show us how to live. In it we read about people who made big mistakes. We also read about how many of those people found forgiveness and power to live a life of faith. The bible is one of the most practical books when we, in faith, simply do what it says.
Interesting how James speaks of doing God's word. I wonder if, as he writes, he remembers how Jesus confronted the Pharisees because they did not obey the scriptures. Perhaps James is warning his friends, and us, to not become religious hypocrites who deeply know the scriptures but do not do what it says? Perhaps he recalls how those religious folks studied and prayed so hard but did not love their neighbors? We also do well when we remember the Pharisees.
Help us Lord to daily examine ourselves in the mirror of your word and the One who reflected your glory on earth.
Quick to listen, slow to speak ...
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. -James 1:19-21 NLT
These words are hard to walk out. This New Yorker has always been quick with a response. My mouth has gotten me in so much trouble. You think that I would have learned by now. What is it about us that finds it so hard to simply listen? I wonder if we confuse the word 'hear' with 'listen'. Hearing is something you do with your ears but listening is something that you do with your heart. To listen requires us to engage a part of ourselves that is often hard to access.
Perhaps if we really listened and engaged our hearts we would not be so angered. Paul tells us in the book of Galatians that self control and patience are fruit of the Holy Spirit. When we are following His lead in our hearts we find the ability to hear past the words and the emotion of the moment. In truth, many disagreements escalate to fights simply because we only hear with our ears. What is needed most in these times is the patience and self control to listen with our hearts.
Place a guard over my mouth today dear Lord. Help me to listen with my heart instead of with my ears.
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