James 5

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James 5 (The Message)

I don’t think I will have to worry about falling into this category. I have pretty much determined that there isn’t going to be any retirement for me. I’m gonna have to work till my last days. Even now I do my best to pay the people that should be paid and honor them. On the other hand I do spend too much money on stuff I probably don’t need. Today I just went out and bought a new monitor for my computer and my old one was fine. This is a very strong statement by James and I used to have a real problem with the love of money.

7-8Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.

Waiting on God’s timing can be very difficult especially in the now world we live in. Take twitter for example. I like it so much because it’s an instant status update of whats going on right now. This past week it has been down due to a database crash and I feel disconnected. I wasn’t getting my updates right away. I am no way comparing God to twitter but merely using twitter as an example of how I don’t like to wait on things. This passage lets me know that hey just be patient it’s coming and be ready for it. The reward for waiting is going to be great.

9Friends, don’t complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner.

I saw a church sign quote that rings the same bell as the above passage, “Make your words sweet because someday you might have to eat them.” Don’t judge unless you want to be judged. I don’t want to be judged at all. I am by no means perfect and if someone judged my flaws it would hurt.

10-11Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You’ve heard, of course, of Job’s staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That’s because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.

Don’t quit on God continue to honor him through the bad times and the good. When you continue down the road of honoring God everything will work out just as he planned it. Never give up! When I read this I think about this cartoon.

12And since you know that he cares, let your language show it. Don’t add words like “I swear to God” to your own words. Don’t show your impatience by concocting oaths to hurry up God. Just say yes or no. Just say what is true. That way, your language can’t be used against you.

Let your yes be yes and your no be no. I tend to elaborate on the yes and no answers a little too much. James lets me know here that elaborating could get me into trouble. Don’t make any great promises that you can not keep.

Prayer to Be Reckoned With

13-15Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out. 16-18Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

The power of prayer is truly amazing. James is just reminding us here how important it is to pray. I don’t get down on me knees enough. I really should because I have so much to be thankful for and some healing to do also.

19-20My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.

Just one person wandering away from God can cause an epidemic. To me this is saying don’t over look the small stuff. I like to think about big ideas and directions and movements toward God but for me it’s a lot of dreaming and thinking. In reality the work God does through me is one person at a time. I’m not a pastor so I don’t preach to large congregations. It’s one on one for me.

2 Comments to James 5

1. 

   Yes. One person straying can cause an epidemic. Negativity breeds.

   We were all struggling last week (and this) w/ twitter being on the fritz. We’re addicted

   Mandys last blog post..Blogger Small Group
Mandy on May 27th, 2008
2. 

   Sorry it took me so long to comment on your small blogger post. I am right there with you… I love the graphic, and the comment about working.

   I think my wife and I will be working all of our days here on earth, don’t see any retirement for us either, but I am not so sure that retirement (as defined by us here in the U.S.) is all that biblical anyway, but that is a whole different topic all together.

   Great post.

   Scott Fillmers last blog post..Blogger Small Group, James 5
Scott Fillmer on May 28th, 2008

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