Author: David Short

James 5:13-15

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Encouraging Words

Faith is such an important part of our Christian journey. In faith, we pray while we are suffering, expecting God to be there with us and help us to be cheerful in that suffering. In faith, we sing psalms when God answers our prayers and even when He doesn’t. In faith, we call upon God to heal those who are sick knowing that God knows best what they need. In faith, we petition God for the forgiveness of our sins and rejoice in His mercy and grace. Glory be to God!

James 5:7-11

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

Encouraging Words

This passage presses us to be patient in all that we do and in our anticipation of the return of our King. In today’s culture, which is all about instant gratification, it is difficult to slow down and be patient. But in that patience we can find peace that our God desires for us to experience His compassion and mercy As we exercise patience with those around us we experience Gods’ blessings and are able to endure that which is going on around us. Glory be to God!

James 4:17

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Personal Challenge

We often get all caught up in focusing on the sins that we commit and forget that there are also sins of omission. There are things around us that need to be done in the name of our Lord and we ignore or reject them. We are asked to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of the widow and the orphan, and love our neighbor. When we do not do these things when the opportunity arises, that is a sin. It may be something as simple as speaking a kind word or as complex as getting all dirty helping someone out of the mire that they are in. These are the sins that can easily separate the sheep from the goats. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

James 4:11-12

Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

Personal Challenge

Ultimately, when the great day of judgement is upon us, every single one of us will be judged by our creator. It is not for us to judge another. Whether the other person is a Christian or not, only God knows their heart. This is always a difficult thing to do. People hurt us. They abuse us or take advantage of us. They exercise their free wills in ways that harms those around them. However, as we are called to love our neighbor, we are also called to not speak evil of them or judge them. I know that this is an area of my life that I still need to work on. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

James 4:10

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Command with a Promise

Are we in a relationship with God? If so, are we humbling ourselves before Him? We cannot stand upright in our pride for anything before our God because He is the one who has given us everything. He is due our love, respect, and worship. If we humble ourselves before Him, He will lift us up to be with Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

James 4:8-9

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

Personal Challenge

We need God to be the center of our lives. No matter what is going on around us, whatever the pressures of life that are bearing down on us or pushes us to consider doing, we need to seek God for His guidance and mercy. This means that we cleanse ourselves of our sins through repentance, working diligently to purify our hearts, and to stop being double-minded with one foot in the heavenly realm and one here in this earthly realm. We must lament and mourn when we sin and turn to God, drawing near to Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

James 4:1-7

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Personal Challenge

Even in the early, first century church, there were divisions and disagreements. Why? It all comes from personal desires and expectations. Some want the music to be their way…more contemporary, more traditional, more like we hear it on the radio. Some want the design of the church to be what they think is right. Some want the older people to step aside so that the younger people can take over and make the church new and modern. Why do we take thriving and effective churches and break them down to be something totally different and destroy the legacy and the relationships in the process. We do this so that we can satisfy our own personal desires and passions. We do this because we are more aligned with the world than we are with God. We do this because of our pride. By doing this we must be prepared for God’s resistance because He prefers humility over pride. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

James 3:17-18

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Encouraging Words

We have been blessed, and cursed, to live in the information age. We have all sorts of information available at our fingertips. Unfortunately, all too many people, including many Christians, believe that access to this abundance of information makes us wise. Many thrive on the number of websites that they peruse or the quantity of books that the read. They proclaim to be wise on their own accord. However, true wisdom comes from above, from our God, outside of all this man-created information-based wisdom. This is the wisdom that we should be seeking and cherishing. With this wisdom in our lives we will be makers of peace. Glory be to God!

James 3:14-16

But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

Personal Challenge

The truth should always be upheld and defended. It is not something that we can twist to feed our own envy of others or drive our desires to be ahead of others. Truth, true wisdom, comes from God and not any earthly sources. Those powers that drive people to twist the troth are earthly, sensual, even demonic. Not only should we defend the truth but we should also flee from the presence of those who do not Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!