The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – James 5:7-11 (day four)

James uses a farming metaphor to teach patience.  The farmer recognizes the value of the produce of the soil…James calls it precious…and is willing to wait for it.  Likewise, the prophets knew the value of the word of the Lord…it was worth waiting for.  When God promised Abram and Sarah a son, they waited twenty five years for fulfillment of the promise.  They knew it was worth it.

If we give value to something, it is easier to wait to receive it.  Who wants to wait for something if you really didn’t want it in the first place?  James tells us that whatever God has for us, has worth.  Once we settle that truth in our heart, it is easier to wait for the early and the late rain.

God has made many promises to us…all have not been realized.  God is full of compassion and mercy and James teaches that if we endure and are patient, we will be blessed.  Have you given up on any of God’s promises?  Wait on the Lord!

Re:Verse passage – James 5:7-11 (day three)

“You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.” 

Few attributes seem as devoid of life as the characteristic of patience. Perhaps thinking of past attempts at patience brings to mind memories of stifled emotion, forced calm, mind-numbing hours, anger-inducing delays, or the like. It seems exhausting, oppressive, infuriating, useless, wasteful of everybody’s time. Shall we just smash all the clocks and burn all the calendars? Such so-called patience is actually impatience. True patience, on the other hand, will only become possible as one contemplates reality instead of pretense. When you fancy that a new job will make possible all your treasured ambitions, that’s mostly fantasy. When you become increasingly familiar with the qualities of the kingdom of God, you will treasure patience as that space that will allow you to grow into the joy of it.

Re:Verse passage – James 5:7-11 (day two)

We count those blessed who endured. vs. 11 a

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  James 1:2-4

As James completes his letter by gently restating his observation about enduring trials. This time he doesn’t say “count it all joy,” but he reminds us of those who have come out of the fire and how we all have admired their faith as a result. Be like them, he would say to us. Have you read “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom? It is an incredible testament to this sort of faith. Her story of perseverance during the Nazi occupation of her homeland was extraordinary, and it continues to be a reminder to us of how the Lord is faithful during all chapters of our lives. Hang in there, the Lord is near. Your devotion at this time will be a defining moment in your journey.

Re:Verse passage – James 5:1-6 (day seven)

Did you think that peer pressure ended when you left your teens and entered adulthood? It never stopped, it just changed vehicles. Instead of popularity in school, it became standing in the community. Instead of the words of a bully in the lunch line, it became the condescending look from the other moms in the pick up line. Instead of the gossip in the locker room, it became the gossip around the water cooler. No matter where we are at in life, there is pressure to conform to be more like those around us.

I imagine the wealthy Christians in the first century were much like you and me. I doubt they set out to marginalize the poor. I imagine they were “keeping up with the Joneses” and just trying to maintain their social status. In doing so, they conformed to be like any other rich person, lording their status at the expense of the laborers. Their conformity came at a cost.

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” The only conformity a believer should experience is conformity into the likeness of Christ.

Re:Verse passage – James 5:1-6 (day six) 

Where you treasure is,  that’s where the desires of your heart will be. -Jesus, Matthew 6:21

Pastor James’ intent is to teach his readers that Jesus takes our treasure seriously. Our treasure, like an x-ray, gives us the clearest image of our heart. It never lies about our truest desires; what we leverage our time and energy to obtain.

And those desires have real and lasting consequences, literally life and death. Your desires can bring life to others, or bring great harm. They can bear the fruit of righteousness, or eternal death.

So, Pastor James would say, don’t be cavalier with the desires of your heart. Jesus isn’t.

Re:Verse passage – James 5:1-6 (day five) “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.”  God’s economy is so different than the human economy we find here on earth. Those materials we store and hoard on earth as valuable treasures, God uses to adorn gates and pave roads in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21).
Like a “dangerous curve ahead sign” James warns all who travel the road of life on earth (believers and non-believers) that danger may be lurking for those who are so self-focused (attaining and maintaining wealth) that they pay no attention to their surroundings (a gracious and generous God, people created in His image, and an eternal existence where being in relationship and in the presence of God is all that will matter). James warns that wealth and riches can place on a path where grave danger lies ahead. Do you see the sign??  Check your surroundings- your heart, your relationships, your priorities.

Re:Verse passage – James 5:1-6 (day four)

James’ treatise on the misuse of wealth and riches was not an isolated passage in Scripture.  Several of the Old Testament prophets called out the wicked rich.  Isaiah, Amos, Jeremiah, Micah, Ezekiel, and Malachi all condemned those who misused their wealth.  In the gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus likewise addressed those who did not walk in obedience to God’s commands concerning money.  James notes four sins that lead to the severe judgment that come with the misuse of riches.  He points out that not only were their riches uselessly hoarded, but also unjustly gained, self-indulgently spent, and ruthlessly acquired.

What does your handling of the material wealth that God has allowed you to possess say of your relationship to God?  We can misuse small portions of money as well as large sums.  What do people recognize when they see the role that riches, big or small, play in your life.  Is the witness of money in your life a positive witness to others of your faith, dependence, generosity, and goodness?

Re:Verse passage – James 5:1-6 (day three)

James just doesn’t let up, does he? He circles back to the topic of money here, with an admonishment echoing that of chapter 2. When Scripture repeats itself, it should cause us to perk up our ears.

Wealth dazzles. It pulls at the fleshly part of us that covets. It causes us to look at what is sparkling and turn our heads away from the injustice often lurking underneath. But the Lord’s eyes are focused. His ears are tuned to the cries of the exploited. He will not be fooled. We serve a God who is just, and He is willing to show us the way to act more justly.

Let’s face it, friends – many of us live with some amount of wealth, and James is calling us to go against the grain, using our wealth to pursue justice and godliness, not the flashy things of the world. Our awareness of this should cause us to lay it all humbly at the Lord’s feet. With his help, we can act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

Re:Verse passage – James 5:1-6 (day two) Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. vs. 4

Everyone has a desire to be successful. There are many different models on how to get ahead in business, relationships, and personally, but as believers there should always be a caveat. How does getting ahead impact your witness? Whatever you employ as a means of success; what does it say about your faith? No matter the words we use, how we treat others will speak volumes. Perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate gain. If you can continue to be a success and a faithful witness, may your tribe increase. If, on the other hand, you struggle with how you treat others on your ascent: stop. Our treasure is in Heaven, and that is what we must be measured by. The Lord will help.