Today is the last day of the Fitness Challenge. It was kind of a bad time to start the challenge. It went over the weekend which can be harder because we are not in our normal routine. But we’ve made it. At least I hope some of you are still with me.
If there is enough interest I might do this again. Is there a book of the Bible that would interest you if I do this again? I’ve really enjoyed. I hope that you not only built some discipline to read the Bible but that you applied what you read. Here are my thoughts on chapter five…
- vs. 3 – “You have hoarded wealth…” I don’t want to be a hoarder! Have you seen the shows with hoarders? It’s awful. People store up an excessive amount of stuff and live in misery. How often do we do that with our finances. We have more money then we need and yet we get in debt and can’t stop spending. I hoard most of my money because I spend it on me. I want to be the type of person who is generous.
- vs. 12 – Do you struggle with saying no? I do. I am such a people pleaser that I hate telling people know. I’ve actually gotten better at it over the last couple of years, but it’s not easy. So often others will say yes because they are afraid to let someone down but then they never show up. Let your yes be yes and your no be no or “you will be condemned.” Those are strong words from James. Now his main point is that we shouldn’t swear using God’s name or sacred objects. Instead we should just say yes or no, but I think it applies to our inability to commit.
- vs. 13-16 – This is where you can see Jame’s heart. He has the heart of a pastor.
- vs. 17 – Elijah was an amazing man and James says he was just like us. Not just like preachers. Just like us. The point is that he prayed and God did amazing things through Him. The power came through prayer.
- vs. 19-20 – This is what I want to do. I want to help those who have fallen or are far away from God find Him again.
v16 is one that speaks to me, "The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results.". I often wonder about the power or usefulness of prayer, especially as God already knows what is going to happen. If everything is foreordained, then what difference does it make? The die is cast. This verse tells me that my prayers matter and that there is still much that I have to learn. So, I should not stop praying until I understand. I should keep praying and, in time, God will tell me what I need to know.
I really loved going through this with you. I would definitely love to do it again. How about 1,2 Peter?
v 5 "you have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence" This most applies to me in terms of wallowing in negative feelings. I don't want to be in the process of getting myself ready for slaughter.
v 7-11 This is definitely an issue for me. It tag-teams with persistence. When something doesn't happen in my time frame, I tend to give up.
v13 So glad that he mentioned a variety of circumstances in which to pray or seek prayer. I tend to get pretty narrow in what I pray for/about.
vs 9 – don't grumble against each other; what do you think…a good lesson in dealing with those that may "annoy" us?
I vote for Ephesians