James 2:5

NIV: Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

The Message: Listen, dear friends. Isn't it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world's down-and-out as the kingdom's first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God.

Remember those words of Jesus in the sermon on the mount?

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20)

Have you ever wondered why those who have very little are more likely to have a strong faith than someone who has everything they could desire? I think when we set our hearts on the things of this world, when we let our natural desire for a good job, nice house, well behaved children, money in the bank and so on, take over, we end up pushing God out of our lives. We let the busyness of life take control, allow the prince of this world have his way and sidetrack us, draw us away from God.

It is so easy to make promises to yourself that you will get up early, you will have a quiet time, spend time in prayer, reading your bible but then the alarm goes off when you have had a late night the night before. You put it on for another 5 minutes, then another 5, then another and then suddenly, there is no time left and you are rushing around trying to get ready for work and everything else. Or what about those times when you do get up early, you sit down to spend some time in prayer and bible study and you remember you are waiting for that email from so and so, or you just have to check on this, or do that and before you know it, your allotted time has gone and you need to get ready for the day ahead.

And as for having a quiet time in the evening, well, I don't know about you, but I know I for one am always so tired. Maybe during the day? But then you are supposed to be working, there are the children to look after, the school run, college, lectures, and a million and one other things that need doing….

It’s not just the busyness of life that takes over but it is also the way we try and do things ourselves. Yes, it is good to be independent, self sufficient, but it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help from God and God should not be the last resort when all else has failed. He should be the one we turn to first, the one we go to no matter what the time of day or night, or what the reason.

When we can cope on our own, when we have no problems, when there is money in the bank, we have a job, our family around us, when everything in the garden is rosy, we have no need for God, no need to ask for his help, his guidance. We don't even need to bother spending time with him, because after all, we have everything we need. But when times are hard, when we have no work, no money, the children are in trouble, there is illness and death in the family, well, then of course we need God, and isn't He always there to help us out? Our own personal Mr Fixit?

We seem to have here on the west a very fickle faith which is there as and when it suits us, because the material things of this world get in the way. Or rather, we allow the material things of this world to get in the way. Making money, getting a job and so on take priority over God. Our need and desire for the riches of this world, to keep up with the neighbours, to look good, make an impression, blind us to the fact that we are spiritually poor.

Look at Revelation 3 and the words spoken to the church in Laodicea (Rev 3:14-22). That church had money, fine clothes, and were famous for making an eye salve, yet they were told to buy gold from Jesus, get white clothes from him and an eye salve to put on their eyes so they could really see. What they had was worthless as they did not have Jesus in their lives, which is what really matters. He accused them of being neither hot (on fire for Jesus) or cold (not believers) but luke warm, neither one thing nor the other.

I don't know about you, but the thought of Jesus telling me I am luke warm and that I make him want to vomit does not fill me with happiness and joy. Quite the opposite. I don't want to be a luke warm Christian, one to whom Sunday morning in church is the only time I give to God, and the rest of the time the world takes over. Don't want to be one of the ones that Jesus says he has never known them, even though they prophesied in his name, did good works in his name. I don't want to be an outwardly professing Christian but inwardly be taken up with work, getting accounts and tax returns done, paying bills, making ends meet, running the family, doing all those things that fill my time each day.

I want a real and vibrant relationship with Jesus. I want to get up there to heaven and have Jesus say "Well done thou good and faithful servant", to be one of the ones who didn't get to heaven by the skin of my teeth (as one escaping a fire) but one who is even now building up treasures there. But in reality, if I carry on the same way, keeping busy each and every day, never spending time with God, with God and I being people who just pass in the street and say "hello" without any real contact, is that likely?

God is calling each one of us to Him. Have you not heard God whisper in your ear today? Ask you to spend time with Him? Heard his voice calling you to you? HE is calling each and every one of us. Don't you think it is about time we began to listen?