James 5 (HCSB)
Warning to the Rich
1 Come now, you rich people! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your wealth is ruined and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your silver and gold are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You stored up treasure in the last days! 4 Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers who reaped your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. 5 You have lived luxuriously on the land and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned—you have murdered—the righteous man; he does not resist you.
Waiting for the Lord
7 Therefore, brothers, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
9 Brothers, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!
10 Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. 11 See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
Truthful Speech
12 Now above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. Your “yes” must be “yes,” and your “no” must be “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.
Effective Prayer
13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him after anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will restore him to health; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours; yet he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit.
19 My brothers, if any among you strays from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his life from death and cover a multitude of sins.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 12-13): Lord, please forgive me for not sticking to my word in the past and for putting my oath/word in anything other than You. Also forgive me for not being more consistent in my prayers when suffering and in praise, whether it's for me or others.
PROMISE (verse 11): You promise us that You are both compassionate and merciful. Allow me to trust, understand and lean on that, Lord.
ATTITUDE (verses 7-9): Lord, please help me to grow a Godly attitude of patience and to lessen my worldly judgmental mindset.
COMMAND (verse 12): You command us to not swear by any means in that our yes should be yes and our no should be no at all times. Our word/promises should remain true and stand alone.
EXAMPLE (verses 17-18): Please allow me the ability and relationship with You to pray righteously and in Your will, Lord, just as Elijah did over his lands and the rain. You proved to him that You are faithful to righteous prayers. Help me to align to Your will so that my prayers are always Christ-focused and not self-focused.
*DAILY NOTE: I definitely need to work more on knowing God's will and living a righteous prayer life. More practice and relationship with God will get me there for sure.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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