Good morning everyone, Happy Saturday. I hope everyone has had a good week. This has been another very hard week as we buried my friend and boss, Cathy Feltner. There have been some definite ups though as Robert got his first paycheck at his new job and I got to spend the day with my momma yesterday celebrating her 86th birthday and then today, my sister is coming and we are celebrating today too (which is actually Mom's birthday). We are digging into the last chapter of James today and again, I am amazed at how practical James is for our lives today even though the book was written very close to 2000 years ago (most scholars estimate it was written between 45-62 AD).
So let's dig in!
James 5: 1-6
5 You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and killed innocent people,[a] who do not resist you.
We will look at verses 1-3 first
Highlight= the very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. Explain= All of these verses point to one thing but it is spelled out with this phrase- the very wealth you were counting on. There are people who misquote scripture regarding money all the time. You hear so often, "money is the root of all evil" and though I absolutely hate money and wish it didn't exist, that is not what the scripture says, 1 Timothy 6:10 says "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." the rest of that verse goes on to say, "And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows." Money is not the root of all evil. Turning it into your god is. Apply= I feel like there has been times in almost everyone's lives where you have had an issue and wondered where the money was going to come from to fix it. If you have not, you are truly blessed but one thing I have found out over the years is most of us normal people have times things come up and it just isn't good timing money-wise. The important thing though is not to let that rule you, let God rule you, and He will take care of the rest. As humans, that is so very hard but I have watched it work for many people. Every. Single, Time. It may not be the way you wanted it, and it may involve giving up things you didn't want to give up, but God will led you through it and take care of you. As many of you know I work for an agency that works directly with homeless people. I am fascinated by how many times our customers fail to meet the requirements to become sheltered, either in a shelter or in permanent housing because they refuse to seek help for things that keep them out in the cold, literally. These things, such as a drug habit, or alcohol has become their god, and they will sacrifice even a warm bed to worship it. And there is the one true God standing right there, reaching out His hand and saying, come to me and the draw of the sin is too powerful and they stay in their situation. I used this illustration because number 1, I know it to be true, and number 2, we tend to look at people who are putting their trust in money totally different than this and I wanted to point out it isn't. If you have all the money in the world, but you haven't accepted Christ, you are not homeless but your eternal home is going to be much worse than being homeless. And I don't think it is by accident that the last part of the phrase about says, it will "eat away your flesh like fire", a little foreshadowing of the things to come. Whether you have a little, a lot, or you feel like you got the short end of the stick as far as money, just remember, God will provide. Always. But you have to count on Him, lean on Him and just hand it over and say here, I can't do this, I know You can. Respond= Lord, help me to always, always remember You are in control. If I am thinking I want to do something but am not finding the money for it, help me keep my eyes on you and wait on you. You may be telling me as much as I think I want to do something, maybe You are telling me it isn't in my best interest. And I know your way is better.
Let's look at verses 4-6
Highlight = Hear the cries of the field workers who you have cheated of their pay. Explain= So, the only thing worse than making money your god is worshiping and hoarding it so much you cheat it out of other innocent people. Not only do you think you have to constantly have more, but you are willing to do evil to others to get it. Apply= I will be the first to admit, I like having nice things and getting to do cool stuff but I would never want it at the expense of knowing I was cheating someone else out of something so I could have those things. I also have friends that will tell you if I owe anyone even a few cents, it works on me until I get them paid, lol. One thing I treasure is that I have been told by others I am honest to a fault. I don't think that is possible, but I am glad I have that reputation. I have a hard time not telling someone the absolute truth. In my job, there are times I have information that is not ready for the public yet and I have come to know that instead of even acting like I don't know the answer, I have to just say, "I know more than I can say and when the time is right, I will share". I don't like saying, "I don't know, or answering purposely incorrectly because I feel that is a lie. Bottom line is, whether it is money, or knowledge, we just need to be honest and let God guide us. Respond= Dear Lord, let me always put You first and know that every second I am doing that, you are taking care of the rest.
Sure, there are always going to be times we think we need more money, but God knows what we need. Remember, we can ask God for anything our heart desires, but He will provide what He knows is best for us. Sometimes the answer is a quick yes, sometimes it is a quick no and sometimes it is wait. Sometimes, if you ask for a while, you realize something changes and what you thought you wanted isn't even a thing anymore. I think about the Garth Brooks song about unanswered prayers. I don't believe prayers go unanswered, I believe if you didn't get what you asked for, the answer was either no, or not now, and I am sorry, but sometimes we will never know the reason, but as your life unfolds further, you may see, you never wanted it in the first place. So, bottom line, let money have it's place. work hard to get enough to keep things going and make life livable here on earth, find joy in sharing it with those who don't have as much, but always, always know that God is who we should worship and thank for everything we have. Money is very much just a tool.
Hope everyone has a great day! I know I have been a bit absent from my Faithful and Fit Foundations site but life has gotten in the way a bit. I am hoping to get some new breath in the next couple of weeks and come back with a more structured page. I am working on a project near and dear to my heart at work though and it involves December 2nd being Giving Tuesday, so every spare moment between now and then will be focusing on that. Thanks for understanding!
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