fbpx

Month: August 2016

My Brother’s Keeper

James 5:19,20 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. James previously warned me not to judge others, but this does not mean…
Read more

Will God Heal Me?

James 5:14,15 Is anyone among you sick? … The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick… I am afraid of writing on this passage, as I would rather skip over a topic than get it wrong. I am afraid of getting it wrong, as I know what some of you are going…
Read more

The Losers

James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. When, in life, have you felt closest to God? When have you pursued him the most desperately? I have had a few routine times that I can recall (summer camp, church events) when I felt close to God,…
Read more

Playing the God Card

James 5:12 But above all, my brothers, 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… I swear to God that I’ll that I’ll change… I’ll never eat a whole box of donuts again… I’ll never yell at the…
Read more

I Need Patience…Now.

James 5:7,11 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord…you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. I am not a patient person. I want what I want and I want it now. This defect expresses itself even when I think I am doing right. When…
Read more

Rustproof

James 5:2,3. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded… In perhaps his most blistering words yet, James plays the grand auditor, sifting through the eternal worth of my life, searching for anything of permanent value. What will he find in me that will truly stand the test…
Read more

Do the Next Right Thing.

  James 4:17   So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. I picked up this phrase, Do the next right thing, in recovery as I learned that my first instinct is usually the wrong one. The first impulse of my flesh usually does not provide…
Read more

The Hardest Prayer

James 4:13-15 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”…You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and…
Read more

Playing God

James 4:11,12 Do not speak evil against one another… Who are you to judge your neighbor? This is the third (and not final) time that James warns me not to speak evil of those around me.  Is God trying to tell me something that I am missing? I have not spoken evil about anyone since…
Read more

Living On Grace

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Last night I looked back at yesterday’s entry and I realized that I am not ready to move on from it yet. I wrote yesterday of mourning my destructive behavior but I barely mentioned the eventual outcome of that…
Read more