Suffering With Grace

:)

Beloved:
Is anyone among you suffering?
He should pray.
Is anyone in good spirits?
He should sing a song of praise. 
Is anyone among you sick?
He should summon the presbyters of the Church,
and they should pray over him
and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
The prayer of faith will save the sick person,
and the Lord will raise him up.
If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another
and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.
Elijah was a man like us;
yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land.
Then Elijah prayed again, and the sky gave rain
and the earth produced its fruit.

My brothers and sisters,
if anyone among you should stray from the truth
and someone bring him back,
he should know that whoever brings back a sinner
from the error of his way will save his soul from death 
and will cover a multitude of sins.

JAS 5:13-20

There are many reactions one can be inclined to have when suffering. I would know – I’ve been sick now for 4 years and have spent a good ammout of it in the hospital, seeing doctors, getting infusions, etc. Not to complain, but to give an idea of what suffering has been in my life. All this suffering can make one wanto to just crumble and grumble and blame – wondering why, if God is omnipotent, He doesn’t save us from this pain. In reality, He chooses not to. He uses the suffering to form us and shape us, among the many reasons He may have. Only God knows His reasons.

         So in the midst of this suffering, what should one do? Pray, sing a song of praise or just prayer of praise, and summon the presbyters of the church who will pray over the sick and anoint the sick with oil. Along with everything else this verse discusses, it also emphasizes the importance of prayer in our spiritual lives. (pray over the sick, prayer of faith, prayer of confession, prayer for one another,  

`In the midst of my suffering, as hard as it was to endure, I was encouraged to offer it up for others who need my prayer (i.e. sould in purgatory, the sick, lonely, friendless,  etc..) This offering of my suffering made me feel like my suffering had a meaning and that I was not suffering for a purposeless cause.

So this week when suffering comes your way, who can you offer it up for? Are you sick? Offer it for the ill. Sad? For the depressed. Pray about it! J have a great day!

Give Meaning

Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered.
You have heard of the perseverance of Job,
and you have seen the purpose of the Lord,
because the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

JAS 5:9-12

But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath,
but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,”
that you may not incur condemnation.

Do not complain, as you must remove the stone in your eye before pointing out the pebble in another’s. In this day and age, we have so many people we look up to as heroes and stars, like movie stars, artists, singers, etc. However, instead of looking to them as an example, God calls us to take hardship and patience as our example. The story about the hottest and newest “star” can be found on the television, internet, and usually on our mobile devices as well. But what about people who are “an example of hardship and patience” like Job, Solomon, and Mary’s path to becoming the mother of Jesus.

           

            Additionally, the verse addresses that of yes and no. It calls believers to let their words have a backing and intention – not to be flippantly said. So our words are to be carefully chosen that we night not lead someone to think we’ve said yes when we meant no and so forth.

Have a blessed day!

JAS 5:1-6

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,
your gold and silver have corroded,
and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;
it will devour your flesh like a fire.
You have stored up treasure for the last days.
Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers
who harvested your fields are crying aloud;
and the cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;
you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.
You have condemned;
you have murdered the righteous one;
he offers you no resistance.

JAS 5:1-6

If something isn’t really important to you, then you won’t be too upset if I take it, right? So if you’re eating your favorite brownie and I just come along and swipe it.. no harm done. No, you’d probably be kinda ticked at me for not asking.

            In essentiality, what the beginning of this verse is saying, is not to become too attached to our wealth and possessions –

           

            However upset we are to lose our worldly things is a TESTIMONY AGAINST US.

This verse at the same time, calls us to be fair to others – what we have taken in unfairness will make itself known

So you may be living the good and bountiful life here on earth, but what is waiting for us in heaven? We have only made it harder for ourselves to lose our possessions by withholding things from others – they will still be there at judgment  to speak for you.

Another minus about the gold and silver, this verse says, is that if we do not take care of our wealth that has been given us our wealth will be rotten and moth eaten etc.. basically, destroyed.

So just check yourself and make sure you are not becoming too attached to your possessions. Just ask yourself how upset you would be to loose your wealth etc..

Have a Blessed Day! (TGIF)

PUFFS OF SMOKE

Beloved:
Come now, you who say,
“Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town,
spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”–
you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.
You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.
Instead you should say,
“If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.”
But now you are boasting in your arrogance.
All such boasting is evil.
So for one who knows the right thing to do
and does not do it, it is a sin.
JAS 4:13-17

The biggest thing this verse reminded me was that we are a PUFF OF SMOKE. How lasting is that? Not very.
If you've ever smoked a cigarette, the smoke that is produced spreads and only lasts momentarily (albeit making its mark on cloth and furniture snd people that inhale it). 
This can be compared to our lives. We last only momentarly, but in that moment, we have a chance to make our mark. And this verse calls us to, in that moment, do the Lord's will. Noting quite strongly that if one knows the right thing and ignores it, or doesn't do it, that is sin. 
So go out little puffs and do the Lords will! have wonderful day!