Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
This first verse reminds us that we need to be seeking God at all times now because when His judgement starts in Revelation He is going to be hard to find. Right now today He is all around every day and every where just waiting for us to accept Him because it is His will that all should be saved and none lost. Verse 7 goes on to tell us that those who are not saved need to to forsake their ways and come to the lord. It goes on to say the ones who have drifted from their faith need to return to the Lord. God is a God of abundant mercy for all who come to Him in repentance and He says He will pardon all who come to him. Scientist have told us that we only use about 10% of our brain so we should understand that our thoughts and God’s thoughts are no where even close which also includes how we act and how God acts. If we could use 100% of of brain we would still not be able to comprehend God’s thoughts and ways. We just need to understand that if we put our faith and trust in God, He is faithful and just to forgive us. But it is important that we do not put this decision off because we are not promised tomorrow.
Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Who do you put your trust in? A lot of times we put our trust in other people as well as ourselves and most of the time we are disappointed in the outcome. But we need to put our trust in the Lord because that is where our hope is, Because too often we are let down by man. If we can keep our faith in the Lord we will be as a tree planted by the water. It will enable us to to reach out and spread to areas we never thought we could reach. Because we are trusting in God we do not have to fear what my come against us. We will always be ready for whatever comes our way. Now because we are not careful to share what we have we will always be producing fruit for our Lord. I know it hard sometimes to try to focused on God with society the way it is today but the rewards for doing so are out of this world. What a beautiful promise to those blessed of God!
We have come to the end of another book and I have been praying on whats next but have not felt the tug of which book to go to. So I ask my audience would you like to go through another book or just maybe select random scriptures and let the Lord tell us they say.
Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
This is saying to me, that we are to treasure each moment and do good in that moment. Take stock of how much time you have, and use that time wisely for the Lord. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. All of us can look back and see time we wasted on foolish things of the flesh. You cannot do anything about that, it is past and gone. Use the time you have left to do the will of God.
James 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
James now brings us to the people that were Christians and now have erred from the truth of God’s word or as we may say they are backsliders. These are people who have gotten out church for some reason and we know when this happens a lot times it is hard to get them back. But for us believers that that are still true to the Word of God it our job to do all we can to get them back. This also applies to those who have never accepted Christ as their savior, our friends and family. Verse 20 tells us if we can reach these people and get them to accept Christ as their savior a soul is saved from hell. It does not just benefit the one saved but also the one that helped them find their way to God, by covering a multitude of sins.We have all fallen short of being a perfect person so if we do the work God ask us to do it helps us with our own salvation.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
This scripture in James is showing us just how powerful prayer can be. Elias was a man just like us but who had enough faith to know that his prayers would be answered. He prayed for it not rain for 3 and 1/2 years and it did not rain. He prayed again after this time period and the rains came. You know this rain could symbolize the Holy Spirit and God likes for us to pray for the Spirit to rain down on us. If we are willing to do this are we going to put enough in our prayers to to see this happen. Because of the shape our world is in today this is what we need, for the Holy Spirit to rain down on everyone. I ask you to please find a church today that teaches the word God and try to make a habit of being there whenever the doors are open. I would like to put in a word for the church I attend if you would like to join us, Luverne First Assembly on the Glenwood Hwy. Sunday School at 9:30, Worship Service at 10:30.
ames 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
This verse says a lot more than it seems, first we are to confess our faults or sins one to another. This is not saying to our pastor but to a friend who we know will help us pray that we may receive our healing. When we share our faults with one another it helps both parties to hold up each other. This also require us to put our pride aside so can confess what ever it is we need help with. When we have someone who is an energetic and passionate about prayer they usually can help us touch the throne of God. Even though we may not know the needs of the ones close to us we should always be faithful to pray for them. A lot of times because we pray for others God will take care our needs without us even asking. A lot times we my not get the answer when we want it but we should continue to pray till we get an answer. This is what the effect of the fervent prayer of a righteous man means, to pray til you get an answer.
Mom and I are so excited! The kittens have been eating and growing and playing, and now they are big enough to go to their very own new homes.
In fact, one of the reasons we’re so excited is that two of them, Molly and Rusty, have already moved out. They’re going to be carriage house kitties. Our friends who have Camellia House Bed & Breakfast right here in the county adopted them and they’ve got their own great big area to play in and a beautiful yard to explore. I know they’re going to have a great life with the other beautiful kitties who live there.
Now we just need to find 4 more families who need two cute little kittens of their own… got any ideas?
James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
It is the name of Jesus that heals the sick. It is very important for the person who is sick to call for prayer. This shows that he believes he can receive healing. Jesus said, when he healed, Your faith has made you whole.The anointing with oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit of God. This cannot be just any oil in your cabinet. This must be pure olive oil. Olive oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit of God.Whoever is being prayed over must believe to receive the healing. Faith is people acting in accordance with God’s known purpose, the prayer of faith discerns God’s will and perseveres until it is accomplished. God’s will, however, is not to heal in every case, and true faith can discern and accept that. Also it is just awesome that when God heals He does a perfect work in that He not only heals the body but also the soul.
James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Here we are reminded of the patience of Job and what he endured. Job is probably one of the greatest examples of what it takes to endure hardships of every kind but in the end he was restored by God to a position greater than what he had before his hardship began. When we are suffering God’s mercy and grace is at its strongest. Again James warns us about our tongue and how we use it because it reveals how we really are in our heart. When we speak we should use straight honest speech otherwise we invite God’s judgement on us. Anything more than a simple yes or no is presuming that we have more power than we do. We do not want to be condemned of God for thinking too highly of ourselves. Verse 13 is talking about hardships we go through and the best cure for these things that cause us so much discomfort is prayer. After we see how God answered our prayer it should bring joy to our life so we should sing praise to our God. We should be happy to sing praises to Him every day for the mercy and grace He showed by sending His Son to die for our salvation.
James 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
Here the scripture is actually telling us not to murmur or talk bad about people or else we could be condemned because God is seeing and hearing everything we do and say every day. Jesus is sitting on ready to call his people home, do not do that which could get you left behind. James reminds us of the prophets of the old testament that endured suffering and a lot of them a terrible death but they still did the work God had for them and did it with patience. Today when some one gets their feelings hurt at church they act like they are being burned at stake when with just a little bit of patience and some forgiveness on both parties part everything could be like it should be. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be in church where everybody was on the same page and there was no confusion about anything and all the ministries in the church were working together to accomplish what God intended. For this to happen Pride has to be aside and a humble heart with patience has to surface.
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." I John 5:7
