Living by Faith
James 5:13-20 (NRSV) 13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, 20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
We have reached the end of James, and after practical instruction on living the Christian life, we have come to my favorite part of this letter. “If any are suffering, pray…” Some have asked me why we have to suffer, and the biggest question is always why do bad things happen to good people. We suffer because when sin entered the Garden of Eden, along with it came sickness and death and disappointment. Why do bad things happen to good people? Jesus said in Matt 5 the rain falls on the just and the unjust. The umbrella of salvation does not keep us sheltered from the storms of life.
Jesus told us in John 16:33 (KJV) “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” So, it is not a question of if we are suffering, but how we respond to the suffering. 1 Thessalonians 5:13 tells us to give thanks in everything. Did you know when you keep a thankful heart, it is almost impossible to moan and groan about your circumstances?
The next big question is, “Pastor, I have faith. Why haven’t I been healed?” The only thing I can refer you to is Paul and the “thorn” in his side. Three times Paul prayed for this issue to be resolved, and three times the answer was “no.” Did Paul not have enough faith to result in his healing? I doubt that was the reason.
God will heal, but sometimes the healing occurs in heaven. Please don’t question your faith if your prayers for healing go unanswered. There are things we will never understand while on earth, which is why we must continue to live by faith and faith alone.
James finishes by telling us what a wonderful thing it is to be able to help restore someone to the Christian faith. I can tell you as a pastor, I have received more joy when someone is restored than when they come to faith for the first time. Why? Because the person brought back to the faith remembers what they had and what they gave up. It is a wonderful reunion of body and spirit with the Lord Jesus Christ and one that person is not apt to walk away from again!
There is a hymn by James Wells written in 1918. For some reason it is not in the Methodist hymnal, but read the words and I think you will find them comforting.
- I care not today what the morrow may bring,
If shadow or sunshine or rain,
The Lord I know ruleth o’er everything,
And all of my worries are vain.- Refrain:
Living by faith in Jesus above,
Trusting, confiding in His great love;
From all harm safe in His sheltering arm,
I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.
- Refrain:
- Though tempests may blow and the storm clouds arise,
Obscuring the brightness of life,
I’m never alarmed at the overcast skies—
The Master looks on at the strife. - I know that He safely will carry me through,
No matter what evils betide;
Why should I then care though the tempest may blow,
If Jesus walks close to my side. - Our Lord will return for His loved ones someday,
Our troubles will then all be o’er;
The Master so gently will lead us away,
Beyond that blest heavenly shore.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Father God, I pray that as we walk with you, we would be content with whatever state we are in, knowing that you are right beside us. Help us to live by faith in all things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Be Strong and Endure
James 5:7-12 (NRSV) 7 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10 As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
12 Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
I have always advised people not to pray for patience, but tribulation brings patience (Romans 5:3) James is saying disciples should be patient until the coming of the Lord. And, James says to be strong because the coming of Jesus is near. Then, James returns to the theme of this letter, do not speak against others.
I have noticed in my lifetime words have become so casual that they do not carry the weight they once did. We speak words that hurt others, and never give the pain we have caused a second thought. Our words have become so negative, and even children utter offensive language on a regular basis.
James references the endurance of Job, and I like the way he phrases this sentence. Most people refer to the “patience of Job,” when Job was not patient, but he certainly perservered. Perhaps we should purpose in our hearts to speak words of hope, encouragment, patience and strength. If we want our hearts to be filled with love and hope, then let us speak love and hope.
Finally, James says do not swear or take an oath because God alone knows and understands the significance of such words. I ask you today to sit down with your Bible and look up “Be strong” in the scriptures. You will receive such encouragement and who doesn’t need encouragement? In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Father God, I pray that you would enable us to be mindful of the words we speak, the oaths we swear, and realize once and for all that our strength comes from God. Help us to be kind to all, and to endure until the Day of the Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
What have you done with your Riches?
James 5:1-6 (NRSV) 1 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. 4 Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.
We are coming now to the end of the Epistle of James, and in these verses he speaks of what happens when we store up our treasures without thinking of others. James is probably not speaking to the believers, but instead to the Jewish unbelievers. The actual blessing of people having wealth is not so that the individual can live in luxury, but so the person who has money and belongings can help others.
James is not condemning those who have money, but he is making the point that what we have accumulated in this life will ultimately do us no good. But when we share with others who are less fortunate, then and only then will our wealth become a blessing for us and for those we help.
Our country has become more and more separated, and much of the conflict centers on the great divide that wealth, or lack thereof, can create. The Scriptures do not condemn the rich unless they have no concern for the poor, or worse yet, have tried to take advantage of the poor.
This past week a synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA was invaded by one man who hates the Jewish people, and as a result of his hatred eleven people died. Did you that when Jews began to migrate to America, many did well economically because they were different than other immigrants. These early immigrants who were Irish and the Polish never intended to stay and make a life on these shores. They were here to make money, send it back home, and then eventually they would return to their homeland. As a result, many did not learn the language nor did they try to assimilate into our society.
For the Jews, America was the last stop. They learned the language, tried to fit into American culture as much as they were allowed. They worked hard and ultimately opened their own storefronts and became successful. Still, they were resented and the anti-semitism continues to this day.
For those people who hate people simply because of their heritage, may I tell you that none of us is pure-bred anything. Take a 23 & Me test and you will see just what a mixed breed you are. Until we understand that each of us is a Child of God, we will be doomed to continue in hatred and discord until Jesus returns again. All I can say is, Come Lord Jesus, Come. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Father God, we ask for Peace and Healing for the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania. May each of us be instruments of your peace, and may we be generous to those who look to us for jobs, for security, and, yes, even for those who need a helping hand and can offer nothing to us in return. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
…the Lord willing and the creek don’t rise…
James 4:13 – 5:1 (NRSV) 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” 14 Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.
How many of you have heard the expression, “we’ll be there tomorrow, the good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise”? When I read this verse about not knowing what tomorrow will bring, I immediately think of this old saying. Some attribute these words to Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. He was a politician and Indian agent. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. In his response, he was said to write, “God willing and the Creek (Indians) don’t rise.”
I know when I heard my father utter these words he was not referring to Native Americans. He was saying that unless something occurred that could not be prevented, he would do what he said.
I am a planner. I have lists for occasions such as Thanksgiving and I want a calendar near me so that I can schedule events. Even with care, I sometimes double schedule. But when I say I have something planned for tomorrow, or next week, or next month, I never consider my planning to be boasting. Yet James says we are boasting and being arrogant if we claim to know what will happen tomorrow.
Earlier this week we hit a deer. Thankfully, God spared us but my Preachermobile (Subaru Outback) was totaled. I had planned to keep this 2011 car for the remainder of my life. But in an instant my plans became nothing more than mist. Of course, Larry has plans to have my totaled car rebuilt. We’ll see.
For now, I think I will follow James’ advice to do the right thing, if we know what it is. And guess what? If we read the Bible faithfully, we will know the right thing. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Father God, help us to look to you for our plans, and when circumstances change, may we be willing to change with them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Judge Not
James 4:11-17 (NRSV) Warning against Judging Another
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?
Today’s scripture begins with the familiar strains of James’ warning us about speaking evil against others. James goes even further in these verses and says when we speak evil against others we are judging them. Why do we have to be warned against judging others? Shouldn’t we know within our hearts that judging others is wrong?
I believe we do know that talking against others is wrong. Perhaps we feel empowered if we can make others view a person as less than they are. Maybe it makes us feel better about ourselves if we can bring someone else lower. Yet, we continue to defy God’s instructions, which, if we would take the time to pay attention, are for our good as well as those around us.
Do you know that judging others almost always begins with gossip, spreading rumors that may or may not be true. It is so easy for Christians to fall into gossip, because in the church it is often disguised as “prayer chains.” God forbid that we turn our prayer requests into a gossip session.
So what is the answer? For quite some time, I have prayed John Wesley’s “Three Simple Rules,” which are to (1) Do no harm, (2) Do good, (3) and Keep the ordinances of the Church. Doing harm to someone else is most often a deliberate choice, so if I begin my day by purposing that I will not harm anyone, then I must be intentional about my efforts. When I decide I will do good, I must look for ways to help others. And when I choose to keep the ordinances of the church, I will pray, read my Bible and perform acts of mercy toward other people. When I engage in these activities during the course of my day, I have no time to harm others.
Let us become so intentional in our discipleship that if we even think of uttering an unkind word or spreading a bit of gossip, the Holy Spirit will so convict us that we would have to ask forgiveness of both Him and the person harmed immediately. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Father God, you know our hearts. Today we pray that you will soften our hearts so that only love lives there. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Seeking Holiness 