James's Final Warnings (Part 3)
a commentary on James 5 (Application)
Thank you, Lord, for this day. May it be used for your glory!
Good morning everyone and welcome back to this week’s Biblit on James chapter 5!
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In yesterday’s Biblit, we dove a lot deeper into James chapter 5 and studied some of Jesus’s teachings that parallel what James was writing.
Today, we are going to dive in once more and explore how we can apply these truths to our own lives today.
Stick around to the end for an exciting update on Biblit!
Let’s jump into this commentary on James chapter 5!
Application
Warning to the Rich
The fight against greed and money has been a hard battle for centuries.
Jesus knew our hearts towards money as we see Him talk about wealth or use it as an example in many of His teachings.
This is why James himself talked about it several times in his short book.
The final warning here is a big one we should all take seriously. How often do we get wrapped up in the things money can buy? It might not be a materialistic item like buying a Bugatti or new furniture. It might be the ability to purchase experiences like a family trip.
I think the struggle in life for me is that none of those things are bad on their own.
It all goes back to the heart.
If we go back to yesterday’s Biblit and read those verses again, Jesus makes it very clear that our treasure is where our heart is.
We know Jesus’s famous words that we can’t serve both God and money.
So here is my application point today: If money is my heart’s desire, not God, then I’m worshiping the wrong thing.
I think a good exercise is to replace the word “money” with the thing that money will buy for you personally.
Money in itself doesn’t bring too many people joy. If it’s cash money like today, it’s just paper that we deem some value to. Or as we head more into the digital world, it’s just a bunch of digital numbers that again, we attribute some value to.
That value is the key.
For me, money a lot of times means security in a worldly asset instead of God. Another big one for me is that money means more flexibility and freedom with my time. Even though God has already given me the greatest form of freedom, and a life truly devoted to Him means work.
But take the time to think of what “money” might be for you.
I don’t think it’s wrong to enjoy the gifts God gives us, but when we replace God in our hearts with those things money buys, we are fattening our hearts for slaughter. And we may not even realize it.
Waiting for the Lord
This application point comes in both a warning and an encouragement.
We see all over the New Testament that Jesus is coming back soon.
That word “soon” is a hard word.
It could be in our lifetime, or it could be in generations to come.
But the reason we talk about it is because we should always be ready. Are we living our lives for God, ready and excited for Christ’s return, or are we fattening our hearts for the impending slaughter?
The encouragement here is that, again, Christ is coming soon. He promised us that as Christians we would face hardship in life.
He prophesied that as we get closer and closer to His return, that hardship would only get worse and worse.
Great news, right?
James opened this whole book talking about trials.
One way to keep your joy high in the midst of trials is simply to remember that whatever life throws at us, it is all temporary. This doesn’t make hardship “easy”. But it does make it possible.
Truthful Speech
The application for truthful speech is pretty straightforward.
Whatever you do, wherever you are, whoever you talk to, just be fully honest.
Remember how powerful the tongue is from chapter 3? It can be a small flame that leads to a forest fire.
We’ve all seen the stories or movies or books where one small white lie snowballs into this insane lie that eventually explodes and destroys relationships.
One section above we talked about hardship. Well, telling the truth to someone can hurt and will be hard sometimes.
Just suck it up and do it.
Always be honest.
Effective Prayer
Last but certainly not least is prayer.
Should we start anointing each other with oil?
Eh, probably not. I don’t think there is harm in it, but I think the more common practice today is the laying of hands that kind of means the same thing.
But even that’s not necessary. I have found the laying of hands means more for the other person to show them intentionality and care. Not that it literally transfers the Holy Spirit or something.
Let’s not over spiritualize things or make prayer legalistic.
Prayer isn’t going to be perfect. There isn’t a special perfect way or place to do it.
The extremely fortunate thing we have in the US is the freedom to pray whenever and wherever.
So for me, the biggest takeaway for prayer is to trust and remember it is a powerful gift from God.
The challenge I have for you and for me is that the next time someone says they are sick or hurting, or they need prayer, stop right there and pray with them immediately.
Why wait?
With that, we’ll call it a day!
And that means we’ll call it on James!
Crazy it’s already over!
Now, next we are going to jump into the book of Acts. This will be a 28 week or so series (with a couple of breaks here and there).
But I also need just a couple of weeks to get ready for Acts. As such, Acts will start back the very first week of May!
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