Devotions

The Prayer of Faith Will Save the Sick

by  • 

What are we doing on this earth? How is it that we have the great beauty of creation around us and yet some suffer? God has given himself to us as an example, He came and walked among us in Jesus Christ. Even so, many still refuse to recognize the way God intends for us to live. Not oppressed or oppressing, not sick and suffering, but living together in love. He has left us, believers in Christ, in 1 Peter 2:9–10 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”

You Have Lived Self-indulgently on the Earth

James 5:1–6
God created the earth to produce fruit from our labor, and it does. It produces abundantly. So why is there any lack? Well, we certainly can excuse sickness and disease that is the result of the fallen nature of the world, but not all disease because some are brought on directly by our own bad actions. We could prevent it if we would. And that is exactly the other problem, the other reason for lack by some is that others have in

James 5:5–6 You have lived self-indulgently on the earth and have lived luxuriously. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous person; he does not resist you.

What does he mean, “you have condemned, you have murdered the righteous person”? It is unfair labor practice in

James 5:4 Behold, the wages that were held back by you from the workers who reap your fields cry out, and the cries of the reapers have come to the ears of the Lord of hosts.

It isn’t labor unions that will right the scales, they will always fight the losing battle until the day of the Lord and the message to the oppressor is clear in

James 5:1 Come now, you rich people, weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming upon you!

There are those that may enjoy self-indulgent living for a time in this life, but that is fleeting and they can’t take it with them into eternity. Instead, they have stored up for themselves the cost of eternal misery.

Be Patient Until the Coming of the Lord

James 5:7–12

The Prayer of Faith Will Save the Sick

James 5:13–20
We sometimes think that the Christian life is all blessing, and yet we live in this fallen world where in

Ephesians 6:12 because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

so James says these things in James 5:13-16:

  • Is anyone among you suffering misfortune? He should pray.
    The Lord is the one that can answer us and show us the way for our life.

    Psalm 120:1 In my distress I called to Yahweh, and he answered me.

    Psalm 55:16 As for me, I will call to God, and Yahweh will save me.

    Matthew 7:7–8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

  • Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praise.
    It is right for us to testify of the goodness of God when we overcome or any time we experience times of joy in our lives.

    Psalm 101:1 I will sing of loyal love and justice; I will sing praises to you, O Yahweh.

    Psalm 9:2 I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing the praise of your name, O Most High.

    Hebrews 13:15 Therefore through him let us offer up a sacrifice of praise ⌊continually⌋ to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.

  • Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the elders of the church and they should pray over him, anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much.
    Sometimes sickness is the result of sin, and when it is, we can be forgiven and healed. But sometimes sickness just comes and even then, we can be healed as Jesus said in

    John 9:3 Jesus replied, “Neither this man sinned nor his parents, but it happened* so that the works of God could be revealed in him

    Any time someone turns to God, we have a victory over sin and death as he says in

    James 5:20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save that person’s soul from death, and will cover over a great number of sins.

His Great Mercy Has Caused Us to be Born Again

1 Peter 1:1–12

The One Who Called You is Holy

1 Peter 1:13–25

You Yourselves, as Living Stones, are Being Built Up

1 Peter 2:1–12
There is a purpose for us being here, a purpose for us living in this fallen world. We are witnesses to the goodness of God as he says in

1 Peter 2:5 And you yourselves, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

God is making us, those that accept Jesus Christ, in

1 Peter 2:9–10 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, 10 who once were not a people, but now are the people of God, the ones who were not shown mercy, but now are shown mercy.

We have a new relationship with God, we know His character, we know His mercy and love and it is for us to show the world what righteousness and holiness looks like as it says in

1 Peter 2:12 maintaining your good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in the things in which they slander you as evildoers, by seeing your good deeds they may glorify God on the day of visitation.

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • James 5:1-20
  • 1 Peter 1:1-25
  • 1 Peter 2:1-12
Devotions

The Wisdom That Comes Down From Above

by  • 

Do we really understand the way God thinks? James challenges us to understand “the wisdom that comes down from above”. He uses this description in James 3:15, but it is defined in James 3:17–18 “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, nonjudgmental, without hypocrisy, 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace among those who make peace”. But James doesn’t leave it at knowing wisdom, he is challenging us to live by wisdom. How do you judge those around you? Are you merciful as God is merciful to you? Do you have faith to act and trust God to provide what you need? Can you hear the voice of the Lord as Elijah did and trust God by speaking out the future provision that simply wasn’t there? Didn’t Jesus say to his disciples in Mark 11:24 “For this reason I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be done for you”. What are you asking God to do in your life?

Be Doers of the Message and Not Hearers Only

James 1:19–27 

Mercy Triumphs Over Judgement

James 2:1–13
God does not look at things the way we as natural human beings do. We see grandeur and wealth and fine clothing as if they were indicators of the character and value of a person as described in

James 2:3 and you look favorably on the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, “Be seated here in a good place,” and to the poor person you say, “You stand or be seated there by my footstool,”

James then goes on to say in

James 2:4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

but what “evil thoughts” is he talking about? Have you assumed the poor are lazy and useless and deserve their state because of their own bad decisions? That isn’t what God says about the poor in

James 2:5 Listen, my dear brothers! Did not God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?

and have you assumed the rich have gained position and power by their great wisdom that we ought to emulate? That isn’t what God says about the rich in

James 2:6b–7 Are not the rich exploiting you and they themselves dragging you into the courts? 7 Do they themselves not blaspheme the good name of the one to whom you belong?

These natural human judgments that are according to the way of the fallen world are contrary to “the royal law” in

James 2:8 However, if you carry out the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

and in the end, “judgment is merciless” in

James 2:13 For judgment is merciless to the one who has not practiced mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Those that are merciless and judge with condemnation, those that judge with separation (I am better than they are), those that raise themselves at the expense of others, will receive this same merciless judgment themselves. But those that show mercy as the Lord shows mercy in

Luke 1:78–79 because of the merciful compassion of our God by which the dawn will visit to help us from on high, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace.”

Those that show this mercy to others, helping where they can, directing toward peace where they can, these will triumph. 

I Will Show My Faith by My Works

James 2:14–26
Many have preached great messages from this passage. Certainly, we are not saved by our works. We are in

Ephesians 2:8–9 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast.

and it is by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. But that is not all it says in Ephesians. It goes on and says in

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we may walk in them.

It is these “good works … that we may walk in them” that James is talking about. If we only say we have faith in Jesus Christ but there is no compassion in us, how has our faith changed us? There is a truth in this natural world, that in

James 2:17 Thus also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.

If we believe God, if we believe God is good, if we believe God cares and is in our midst, then isn’t it right to also believe that God will provide, that God will make a way, that God will bless us as we take action to help those around us?

Take a look at how God operated in 1 Kings 17:10–16. Elijah came to a city and asked a widow woman for bread. She responded that she only had enough for one little cake for herself and her son and then they were going to die of hunger. Elijah responded in a way we might find unimaginable, he said “make for me a small bread cake from it first”. How could he ask such a thing? And if he was going to ask, how could he ask it of the poorest of the poor? Yet, in 1 Kings 17:13 she did it. What was death for all of them because of lack became the salvation for all of them as they each acted in faith and gave what they had.

We often quote this in

Matthew 19b:26 “with God all things are possible.”

James is simply saying, have faith in God and act on it!

The Tongue is a Fire

James 3:1–12 

The Wisdom That Comes Down From Above

James 3:13–18
James asks a question, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” in James 3:13a. How would you answer that? Would you say it is those with education or wealth or power or influence? James describes this, not as an attribute you might identify by looking at someone, but as a characteristic of their behavior, “Let him show by his good behavior his works, with the humility of wisdom” in James 3:13b.

The “wisdom that comes down from above” produces good behavior which produces works with humility. This wisdom is described and is easily seen in “those who make peace” in

James 3:17–18 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, nonjudgmental, without hypocrisy, 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace among those who make peace.

From Where are Conflicts and Quarrels?

James 4:1–12

You Do Not Know What Will Happen Tomorrow

James 4:13–17

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • James 1:19-27
  • James 2:1-26
  • James 3:1-18
  • James 4:1-17
Devotions

That the Fellowship of Your Faith May Become Effective

by  • 

We are often content in our personal relationship with the Lord, and it is good for us to experience his presence with us and in our lives. Paul, though is praying for Philemon, in Philemon 6 “I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective in the knowledge of every good thing that is in us for Christ”. It is one thing to have a revelation of God’s word, and another thing entirely to experience “the fellowship of your faith” with others. Paul is encouraging Philemon to lay aside the offenses against him and to go forward together with those who have now also accepted Christ. It says it this way in James 1:12 “Blessed is the person who endures testing” and our natural desire to defend ourselves and get back what we deserve can certainly test us. Instead, though, can we walk in love and forgive, just as we ourselves have been forgiven?

To the Church in Your House

Philemon 1–3 

That the Fellowship of Your Faith May Become Effective

Philemon 4–7
Paul prays for those that have been converted and are active in the work of the Lord. And, here, tells Philemon that he is praying for him in

Philemon 5 because I hear about your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints.

Paul prayed also for others, but Philemon’s active love toward the Lord and the saints is what has prompted Paul’s prayer. It is good for us also to notice those that are active in showing their love for the Lord and the saints. You will see them if you look, but they are not often those in the forefront.

Paul has used almost exactly the same introduction (compare Ephesians 1:15-16 with Philemon 4-5) but has a very different prayer for wisdom and revelation in

Ephesians 1:17–18 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him 18 (the eyes of your hearts having been enlightened), so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance among the saints,

but here, Paul prays in

Philemon 6 I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective in the knowledge of every good thing that is in us for Christ.

It is not that Philemon needs more wisdom or revelation, it seems he has that already. What Paul is praying is “that the fellowship of your faith may become effective”. In our culture of independent personal drive, we often focus on only the very first step of becoming a Christian, accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord, our savior. Paul is encouraging Philemon in the fellowship of his faith. How much more might we do for God’s kingdom if we were able to work together with one purpose as in

Acts 2:46 And every day, devoting themselves to meeting with one purpose in the temple courts and breaking bread from house to house, they were eating their food with joy and simplicity of heart,

But Now He Is Useful To You

Philemon 8–16 

I Know That You Will Do Even Beyond

Philemon 17–22
Slavery was a part of the culture in Paul’s day and the former slave of Philemon, I might better say, the escaped slave of Philemon, had been converted and was working with Paul for the Lord. As Paul comes to understand the history, he sends Onesimus back to Philemon to make amends. Philemon has every right to prosecute Onesimus, yet Paul asks Philemon to not to exact what is due from Onesimus, instead, Paul asks in

Philemon 18 But if in anything he has caused you loss or owes you anything, charge this to my account.

but Paul also reminds Philemon that his own salvation came as a gift from God at the hands of Paul in

Philemon 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will pay it back, lest I mention to you that you owe me even your very self besides.

But Paul is not saying these things to extort more than what Philemon is willing to give, in fact, Paul knows Philemon is a willing servant of the Lord he is in

Philemon 21 Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you because I know that you will do even beyond what I say.

My Fellow Workers

Philemon 23–25

Consider It All Joy

James 1:1–8 

Blessed is the Person Who Endures Testing

James 1:10–18
There are natural laws that govern in the world, and there are spiritual laws that govern in God’s eternal kingdom. People work their lives away for things that “will wither away” in

James 1:11 For the sun rises with its burning heat and dries up the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is lost. So also the rich person in his pursuits will wither away.

But there is another kind of action we can take that results in “the crown of life” in

James 1:12 Blessed is the person who endures testing, because when he is approved he will receive the crown of life that he has promised to those who love him.

But what is this “endures testing”, it is resisting the temptation that comes to all. It is not temptation that comes from God, it is the temptation that comes from our fleshly desires in

James 1:14–15 But each one is tempted when he is dragged away and enticed by his own desires. 15 Then desire, after it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is brought to completion, gives birth to death.

It is for us to follow after the spirit of God and resist the temptation, the sin that is in the world.

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Philemon 1-25
  • James 1:1-18
Devotions

Renewal by the Holy Spirit

by  • 

 

The Lord Helped Me and Strengthened Me

2 Timothy 4:9–22

In the Hope of Eternal Life

Titus 1:1–4

Exhort With Sound Instruction

Titus 1:5–16

The Grace of God Has Appeared, Bringing Salvation

Titus 2:1–15 

Renewal by the Holy Spirit

Titus 3:1–7

 

People Must Learn to Engage in Good Deeds

Titus 3:8–15

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • 2 Timothy 4:9-22
  • Titus 1:1-16
  • Titus 2:1-15
  • Titus 3:1-15

References

Devotions

Preach the Word Be Ready in Season and Out

by  • 

I Know in Whom I Have Believed

2 Timothy 1:8–18

Be Strong in the Grace That is in Christ Jesus

2 Timothy 2:1–7 

That They Also May Obtain Salvation Which is in Christ Jesus

2 Timothy 2:8–13

Present Yourself Approved to God

2 Timothy 2:14–26 

In the Last Days Difficult Times Will Come

2 Timothy 3:1–9

All Scripture is Inspired by God and Profitable

2 Timothy 3:10–17 

Preach the Word, Be Ready in Season and Out

2 Timothy 4:1–8

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • 2 Timothy 1:8-18
  • 2 Timothy 2:1-26
  • 2 Timothy 3:1-17
  • 2 Timothy 4:1-8

References

Devotions

The Worker is Worthy of His Wages

by  • 

 

The Worker is Worthy of His Wages

1 Timothy 5:17–25

 

Regard Masters as Worthy of All Honor

1 Timothy 6:1–2

Godliness With Contentment Is a Great Means of Gain

1 Timothy 6:3–10

Fight the Good Fight of The Faith

1 Timothy 6:11–16 

Be Rich in Good Works

1 Timothy 6:17–19

Guard What Has Been Entrusted to You

1 Timothy 6:20–21

Rekindle the Gift of God That is in You

2 Timothy 1:1–7

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • 1 Timothy 5:17-25
  • 1 Timothy 6:1-21
  • 2 Timothy 1:1-7

References