James 5:17-18

NIV: Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.  Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

The Message: Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

In verse 16, James spoke of the prayers of a righteous person being powerful and effective, or as The Message translates it, the prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.

Have you ever thought of yourself as a force to be reckoned with?  Do you really think that your prayers matter?  That you are significant enough for God to listen to what you have to say?  It is all too easy to believe that you don't matter, you don't count, that  even if you were to pray, why should God bother to listen to you as no one else ever does anyway.  What can you do to change things when nobody bothers about you anyway? How can you possibly make a difference when you are just a housewife, unemployed, sick, a person (in your opinion) of no account?

But look again what verse 16 says:

NIV: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

The Message: Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. 

The prayer of a righteous person….not a righteous person who has pots of money in the bank and is a high powered business executive.  Not a righteous person who is a charismatic leader, one on whom people hang on their every word.  Not a righteous person who is world famous, a star, followed by their adoring fan club wherever they go.  But a righteous person who is living right with God, who has a heart after God, even though they may mess up at times.

To emphasise this, James goes on to talk about Elijah, "a man just like us." 

Elijah wasn't some superstar globe trotting to give one concert after another.  He wasn't a politician striving for world peace, a Mother Theresa in India, or someone giving all their time and energy to the church. Elijah was actually an ordinary man.  His name means "Yahweh is my God" and he was a prophet in  Samaria during the reign of Ahab in the 9th century BC.  He stood up to the prophets of Baal, defended the worship of God, raised the dead, and was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind.  God used Him in amazing ways, yet he was just a man, as evidenced by his reaction when Jezebel threatened  him after the showdown with the priests of Baal.

1 Kings 19:1-5a Ahab reported to Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, including the massacre of the prophets. Jezebel immediately sent a messenger to Elijah with her threat: "The gods will get you for this and I'll get even with you! By this time tomorrow you'll be as dead as any one of those prophets."

When Elijah saw how things were, he ran for dear life to Beersheba, far in the south of Judah. He left his young servant there and then went on into the desert another day's journey. He came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: "Enough of this, God! Take my life—I'm ready to join my ancestors in the grave!" Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush. (The Message)

There he is, having just had probably the best day any prophet could have, having been used by God to call down fire from heaven, set alight a soaking wet altar, proving once and for all that there is  a God and His name is Jehovah, having all the prophets of Baal killed, bringing the rain back to the parched land (and yes, I know it was all God working through Elijah and not Elijah having special magical powers or anything), what does he do when the Queen turns on him>  does he run to God?  Does he take it to the Lord in prayer?  No, he is totally demoralised, in fear for his life and he runs away as far and as fast as he can, and his day ends with him telling God to just let him die now.  If that doesn't show Elijah's humanity. I don't know what does.

Elijah trusted God. Look how he had the people soak the altar he made with water three times (I Kings 18).  He then called on God:

1 Kings 18:36-37 When it was time for the sacrifice to be offered, Elijah the prophet came up and prayed, "O God, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make it known right now that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I'm doing what I'm doing under your orders. Answer me, God; O answer me and reveal to this people that you are God, the true God, and that you are giving these people another chance at repentance."  (The Message)

Elijah out his trust on God and God worked through Elijah to bring the people back to Him.  When Elijah prayed that the rain would stop, it stopped.  When he then prayed three and a half years later for the rain to come, it came.  Elijah prayed and God listened and answered his prayers.

In the same way, God listens to each of our prayers, whether they are big or small, and each one is answered.  We may not realise that our prayers have been answered at the time, it may take time for us to see how God has answered us.  Sometimes we have to wait a long time for our prayers to be answered.  But if a day is as a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years as but a day (2 Peter 3:8), then ten years to us works out at 14.9 minutes to God….. 

Elijah had faith.  He trusted God and knew that when he prayed, God listened and acted yet he was just a man, just like you and me. 

Mark 11:22-26 Have faith in God, Jesus answered. I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.  (NIV)

Mark 11:22-26 Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it's not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins." (The Message)

We are told by Jesus himself to pray for everything, big or small, and to have faith in God.  We just need to make sure our hearts are right with God first and that we have forgiven those who have hurt us, so that God may  forgive us. 

It's not always easy to forgive others.  After all, the drunk driver who killed your husband and son is still alive and well, with his wife and family, yet yours has been taken from you.  The man who enticed your wife into an affair is getting promotion after promotion whilst you have just lost your job.  Those other children at school who are always picking on you, making your life a misery,  never seem to get into trouble yet you are so worried about what they may say or do, you keep missing school and getting into trouble with the teachers.  The best friend who ran off with your husband, the thief who broke in and stole from you, the boss who always puts you down, makes you work long hours and refuses to pay overtime but you need the job and what little money it does bring in.  The father who abused you when you were young, the mother who was an alcoholic and neglected you….there are all sorts of things that happen I life and they are not always our fault. It is often easier to nurse a grudge, to hold it tightly in our hand and remind ourselves daily that that person did such and such and how much it hurt, how we have suffered as a result.

But we are not told to harbour grudges, to count up the hurts and slights for the day of reckoning.  Holding grudges only hurts ourselves as we cannot enjoy the things we do have, the blessings in our lives if we are always thinking back to what happened in the past or what is happening now as a result of the actions of others.  We only end up having our hearts turn to stone as we dwell more and more on the hurt, the anger, the pain.  It is not easy to forgive others, especially when the hurt runs deep.  But we are called to do this. 

I think that, as with all things, it is a case of telling God exactly what we think of the matter and asking Him to help us forgive, asking for His love to remove the pain, the hurt, the anguish and to let Him heal us.  For when we are healed ourselves, when we have learned to forgive others, the coldness the hate in our hearts will no longer be a barrier to God using us amazingly. And use us He will, for have we not been told that we will do even greater things than Jesus?

John 14:11-14 Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do.  (The Message)

God is just waiting for us to turn to Him, to place all things in His hands and to pray so that He can then get to work.  How amazing is that?  To know that if only we have the faith, we can do the things Elijah did, that Jesus and the disciples did.  Maybe the lack of miracles we see today is because we just don't have the faith to believe we can do them.  But we are told time and time again in the bible that we can do them and we can do even greater things than Jesus.   Even though we are just men and women, we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. We just need to have the faith to believe this.

James 5:16

NIV: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

The Message: Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. 

The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.  Absolutely awesome words and ones that I know I, for one, all too often don't appreciate.

For the thing is, we need to be living right with God, we need to get our hearts and minds focused on Him.  If we do not have God in our lives, if we are not striving to be right with Him, then exactly what are we doing with out lives?  What are our goals, our wishes, our desires?   Is it money? Fame? Sex? Drugs? Family, work, pleasure?  What is it that fills our hearts and wishes?  What are we trying to achieve with the things we do each and every day?  Do we long to have a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with God, to get to really know Him intimately?   Do we disbelieve in any god, or higher being, preferring instead to believe the scientists who say we are the result of a big bang, a fluke, the merest chance?  Or maybe we do believe in a god, but he/she/it takes the form of a tree, a statue we worship, an icon we pray to, a lucky charm we hold when things get rough, maybe a fierce god, a god who tells us that anyone who does not believe in him should be killed?  Or maybe our god is our work, our bank balance, a bottle of wine?

Whatever we believe, one day we will all find out whether or not there definitely is a god.  I for one, cannot understand how with all the evidence before our eyes, anyone  could fail to believe in God, a God of love and mercy and faithfulness, slow to anger and quick to forgive, but there are many who would disagree with me I know. 

Another part of living right with God is confessing our sins to one another.  I don't believe this means going to confession once a week or however often we feel necessary to tell a priest everything we have been up to and then receive  absolution after we have said nine Hail Marys or whatever.  This is more about being accountable to one another having someone who you can trust absolutely, someone who will not go and tell everyone they see exactly what your deepest darkest secrets are.  It's about having someone who you can confide in, who will tell you when you are going wrong, when you are sliding down the slippery slope of sin that we all go near each and every day.  It's the friend who will tell you not to sleep with that man, that girl, have that next drink, go to that event/party, talk in that way to your spouse, use that language, and so on,  the one who keeps an eye out for you no matter what is happening in their life and to whom you can turn when things get on top of you.  It's personal accountability to someone else. 

It's a case of praying for one another and with one another.  Have you never seen the results of prayer?  How a situation is turned around which you thought impossible, all because you or someone else prayed?  I have seen attitudes change because of prayer, changes of mind, of legislation, healings, easing of pain, successful operations, finances found, catastrophes averted, all because of prayer.  It truly is a powerful tool in our hands.

All too often we fail to appreciate the power of prayer, how we have direct access to God through the life,  death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  How Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and is actively interceding on our behalf with the Father.  After all, we're told in Revelation that the prayers of the saints  (who are us!!  And I for one find it hard to believe at times that I am considered to be one of the saints ;) ) ascend to heaven like incense:

Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Revelation 8:3-4 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.  The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand.

God hears each and every one of our prayers, and each and every one of them is answered.  Maybe not in the way we want, or when we want, but each one is answered.  It is not a case of going before God with a shopping list of things we want, prayers we need answers to, but instead of having a very real and deep relationship with God, of going before Him to talk to Him, spend time with Him, and yes, to ask for things.  But remember how it is with children and parents?  How your children will come to you for things but how they will also spend time with you, just talking to you, telling you about their day. Asking about you, going to places with you, on holiday, sightseeing, shopping and so on?  You don't expect your children to come to you only when they want something, so why should the relationship with you and God be any different? 

If all of us Christians spend more time getting to know God and praying to Him, the world would be a far different place than it is now.  Prayer is such a powerful thing, direct access to God to ask for anything we want.  Of course, there is the usual caveat about whatever we ask for being in line with God's will, but if we really know God, then we will want the things He wants anyway.  Yes, I know I am  glossing over this area as there are many times when prayers which seem to be in line with God's will are not answered, or at least not answered in the way we want.  We don't see the healing, despite all our prayers.  There is a lady we have been praying for and she has cancer.  We were praying for healing, and yet she is dying, and only has weeks, possibly days left.  She hasn't had the healing, yet through the way she is approaching her death, she is sending out a very real and positive message to her friends and family, which is speaking volumes.  There is such a peace about her and her husband as they face her approaching death that is drawing her non believing son to God. 

I don't have all the answers.  I don't know why some prayers seem to be answered yet others don't.  But I do know that all our prayers are answered, that there is a loving God in heaven who cares for each one of us, and that the prayer of a person living right with God is something to be reckoned with.

James 5:14-15

NIV: Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
 

The Message: Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you've sinned, you'll be forgiven—healed inside and out.

What exactly is James telling us here?

• If you are sick, call for the elders of the church;
• The elders of the church should pray over you;
• The elders should anoint you with oil in the name of the Lord;
• Prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well;
• The Lord will raise the sick person up;
• If the sick person has sinned, he will be forgiven.

These are the verses that are always offered up when someone gets cancer, has a major operation, is unwell for any reason.  Sometimes the sick person is healed, and sometimes not.

So how do you know, really know, when someone is going to be healed and when someone is not?  How do you pray with faith, a real faith where you trust God for the outcome, believing in healing, not a wishy washy prayer where you ask God for healing "if it is His will" and then use that as a cop out if the person is not healed?  Is it your lack of faith when the person remains unhealed or is it because you didn't pray with enough faith, for long enough, hard enough, often enough?

These are the questions most people ask themselves.  After all, why does God heal one person and not another? God moves in answer to prayer so what differentiates the success of one prayer from the failure of another when both are offered up in faith?  What really makes the difference?

Ask in faith

It is no good asking God for something when you don't really believe He can do whatever it is that you are asking, or that if He can, He will choose to do so for you.  But what exactly is faith?  How do you "get it"?  How can you have a strong faith, a deep faith rather than one that vanishes when you hit problems, when things go wrong, when life doesn't turn out as you wish?

Paul tell us in Hebrews 11:1 that "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. " (NKJV).  It's when you instinctively know there is a God, despite not having any evidence, and you place your trust in Him.  When I look around, and see the beauty of the world around me, the lush green hills (I have to live on one of the most beautiful counties in England, Shropshire, God's own county and one which many people don't even know exists!) then I see the handiwork of God wherever I look.  On the drive to take my youngest to school there are amazing sunrises, the early morning mist in fields is awesome, the sound of the birds singing, which I can hear even here in my office, all to me are proof that there is a God.  How could such beauty, such amazing things be unless there was a God who created them all in the first place?  I just don't believe for one minute that we are here as a result of chance, a big bang that just happened for no reason.  After all, what caused the big bang in the first place if there was nothing here to begin with?

Faith is also a belief and trust that God is in control of everything, that no matter what happens, that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28, NIV).  Something that is not always easy to hang on to when your entire world is crumbling around you.

For instance, my husband has had severe depression and anxiety for a number of years now and a close friend has been ill for even longer, so where is God in all this?  Why are they not both healed?  Numerous prayers have been offered up for both of them, there are good days, bad days, but both are still ill.  I don't know the answer to this, I don't know why neither of them is healed,  but I am trusting God.  Maybe the answer is "not yet", maybe the answer is "no".  But then you have to ask why a loving and merciful God would choose not to heal someone who is in chronic pain a good deal of the time, or one who spends many hours wondering what the point of it all is and thinking they would be better off dead.

Nevertheless, we are told to ask in faith, and like the father with the demon possessed son, all I can say is "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief " (Mark 9:24, NIV)

Persevere

Keep on asking, keep on praying, seeking God:

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 NIV

He said: In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!" Luke 18:2-5 NIV

Don't just mutter a quick prayer and leave it at that but keep persevering, keep asking, keep knocking on heaven's door.  If it really matters, if it is something you truly want with all of your heart, then you will not give up, no matter how long it may take.  Be like the persistent widow who kept nagging at the judge until he finally gave way.  Nag God until you get an answer!

God hears every prayer offered up in faith, every single one, and He answers each and every one of them too.  It may take time, it may not be an instantaneous response, but we will hear an answer to every prayer. After all, if a day is as a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is as a day (2 Peter 3:8), then around 15 minutes to God is the equivalent of 10 yearss to us!   So no wonder we have to wait a long time to get the answers to some prayers.

God's will

This is like when my children were little and "needed" so many things at Christmas time.  They needed a Playstation, they needed a new computer, they needed a DS, games, toys, Lego, a bike,  or whatever.  And whilst we would have loved to give them everything they asked for, that would not have been the right thing to do (even if we had had the money!).  If you give a child everything they ask for, when they ask for it, then pretty soon you have a selfish child who gives no thought for anyone else, takes everything for granted and assumes that they will always get what they want in life.

Well, it is kind of like that with prayer.  God has promised to supply all of our needs:

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

But there is a vast difference between "needs" and "wants" as my children find out every Christmas!  It's all very well praying for that new car, the promotion, the pay rise and whatever, but are these things you need or just something you want?  Are you actually praying in line with God's will or your own?

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us— whatever we ask— we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)

It is, as always, a case of trusting God no matter what.  Believing on Him that our prayers will be answered, that we will receive the healing or whatever we have asked for and waiting on Him for the timing.  Not always an easy thing to do when a loved one is dying, or seriously ill, when you've lost your job and can't provide for your family, when your home is about to be repossessed, when the marriage you longed for is falling apart before your eyes, or the desperately hoped for children never appear. 

I don't know the answers.  I don't know why some people are healed and others are not, why some suffer hardship and others seemingly have a gifted life. I don't know why there are catastrophes, disasters, plane crashes and so on, why there is such suffering in the world, such misery.  I know that man has a large part to play in this, wanting to keep natural resources for himself, trying to build up riches and wealth, power in this world.  Then you have the whole other question of original sin and the devil.  "I don't know" seems to be my answer to a lot of questions, all the ones I am storing up in my head to ask God when I get to heaven.  

What I do know is that I can trust God no matter what is going on in my life and the lives of others, that He is an omniscient, omnipotent, awesome and amazing god, one who loves me even more that I can imagine.  He is at work even now in my life and the lives of others, He is amazing and wonderful, and I am at a loss to know how people manage without God in their lives

James 5:13

NIV: Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

The Message: Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing.

This is such good advice from James.  No matter what is going on in our lives, no matter how hard things may be, or how god, he is telling us to turn to God, to give it all to Him.  Pray when times are bad, give Him praise when times are good.  I would actually take it further than that and say we should praise God no matter whether we are going through good times or bad.  As Paul says:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (NIV)

To be honest, this is not always easy to do.  After all, when a loved one is ill, or something bad has happened, probably the last thing on your mind is giving thanks.  After all, how can you be thankful for illness, death, problems and worries?  But the thing is, when you turn to God, albeit perhaps in anger at everything that is happening in your life or to those around you, you take the focus off yourself and others.  Your eyes are turned towards God and, like David in the Psalms, you end up p[raising God.  Mind you, the praising might come a ling time after the complaints, the moans, the hurt, the anger that you end up throwing at God. 

I always think that when you get so wrapped up in yourself and everything that you are going through, then that is when the devil has a far better chance of having a go at you.  You end up wallowing in self pity and depression, feeling sorry for yourself, being hurt, neglected, abused or whatever.  I'm not saying it is wrong to dwell on the things that are happening, but you need to get your priorities right, your focus right.  I'm also not saying it is easy or that this is something that can be done at the drop of a hat.

God wants us to take everything to Him, the good, the bad and the ugly.  It's no good only turning to God when things are tough, just as it is no use praising God when things are good.  God is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow.  We can't praise Him one day because everything in the garden is rosy and then ignore Him the next because troubles have come.  If God is worthy of our praise when the sun is shining, why should we think any the less of Him when it rains?

And then there is the matter of prayer.  I have seen in my own life and the lives of my family and friends just how prayer can change things.  I know of one woman who is undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy and the medical staff are amazed at how she is doing because the side effects are minimal.  Things have happened in the life of one of my sons that you would have though impossible given the circumstances and can, in my opinion, only have been due to God intervening. 

Prayer is always answered, even though it may not be answered when we want or in the way we want.  My husband, for instance, has been ill with severe depression and anxiety for a number of years now, and there is still no sign of healing but I am having to trust God for this every day. 

So James and Paul, and the other apostles, are telling each and every one of us to take everything to God in prayer and praise, no matter what is happening around us, because when we turn to God, we take our eyes off the things of this world and place them firmly on Him. What better place is there to be than there?

James 5:12

NIV: Above all, my brothers, do not swear— not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your Yes be yes, and your No, no, or you will be condemned.

The Message: Above all, my brothers, do not swear— not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your Yes be yes, and your No, no, or you will be condemned.

Just take a walk down any street, go to the shopping precinct, sit on the bus, or just listen to what is going on around you.  I am always shocked by the language I hear.  I know I shouldn't be but when I hear young children aged 10 or so, teenagers and others, saying "f*** this, f*** off," and all sorts, I find it so upsetting.  I don't break down in tears or anything, but inside, I am grieved.  Why cannot people use their minds and think of a decent word to use instead of coming up with a profanity every other word or sentence?  What sort of parent uses language like that in front of their children so they think it is commonplace?

Then there is the blasphemy, when they take the name of God in vain, when they use Jesus Christ as a swear word.  Do they not realise what they are doing?  I know some don't even know they have said anything wrong, it is so much of a habit that they use  these words without thinking.  You can just picture the devil laughing his socks off every time someone blasphemes or uses profanity. 

And note how James starts off this verse, with the words "above all".  In other words, this is really important and needs to be remembered above everything else as otherwise, says James, "you will be condemned. "  Jesus said exactly the same thing:

Matthew 12: 36-37 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.   For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

By your words you will be acquitted, by your words you will be condemned.  By my words, I will be acquitted, by my words I will be condemned.  Scary stuff indeed and this is all hidden away in the bible, the sort of verse that you are liable to skim read as you nod your head and say "yeh, right, of course, no swearing" and pass quickly on to a verse that seems more important, more relevant.

But the thing is, nothing is in the bible without a reason.  If you genuinely believe the bible is God breathed, written by men but inspired by the Holy Spirit, every single word in the bible has meaning and relevance.  Every.  Single.  Word.  Even all the so and so begat such and such verses.  If James took the trouble to tell us that, above all, we should not swear, and Jesus made sure he warned us what would happen if we used words idly, without thinking, then don't you think we need to pay attention and heed these words?

Men (and women) swear to emphasise a point, to show how serious they are, how annoyed they are or to stress how honest and truthful they are and that you can trust them absolutely.  Swearing, or using an oath, shows they mean business.  After all, why else when you are in court do you have to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing else, so help you God?  So does this mean that when they don't use an oath or swear, they could be lying?  So when they say "For God's sake..." they are being totally honest and up front, and when they don't , well, your guess is as good as mine whether their word can be trusted?

But James is not talking about just using bad language here, coarse language, double entendres and worse.  No, he is talking about the whole culture of using the name of God as an affirmation, a witness to what you were about to do.  As John MacArthur puts it:

Well the oath, the word "oath" in the Hebrew is the word shebuah, it means "to swear." The Greeks used the word horkos which means to bind or strengthen. In other words, you strengthen your word by swearing by some higher authority. And an oath or swearing had three parts. It was a testing to the truth, calling for God to witness and, thirdly, invoking God's punishment if you violated your word. To say "I swear to God" meant I want you to know I'm telling the truth, I want God to witness I'm telling the truth and I want God to punish me if I'm not telling the truth. Very serious. You're invoking the curse of God on you if you lie in an effort to try to convince somebody that you're really telling the truth.

And in those days when there weren't contracts and there weren't the binding kinds of authoritative documents and court rooms to enforce them and all of that like there are today, it was very important that people be trusted. And if a person said, "Look, I promise you I will hold your money." And the guy said, "Boy, I hope you do it, I want you to swear to do it." "I swear by God, may God strike me dead if I don't." That was a way in which you bound your conscience to do what you were supposed to do. Now believe me, it was a solemn thing to call God to witness and invoke the judgment of God on you if you defaulted.

Pasted from <http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/59-32>

There are times when we are called upon to swear an oath, when we take the witness stand in court, when we swear an affidavit, when we get married in church and so on.  But the oaths James is talking about are when you say something along the lines of "I swear by my mother's grave...by the live s of my children... and so on as well as the ones where we swear by God. 

 The NASB translates James 5:12 as:

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

Going into this even further, the condemnation, the judgment James mentions is not the judgment of Christians.  Far from it.   The word "judgement" here comes from the Greek krisis which means:

1. a separating, sundering, separation
1. a trial, contest

2. selection
3. judgment
1. opinion or decision given concerning anything
1. esp. concerning justice and injustice, right or wrong
2. sentence of condemnation, damnatory judgment, condemnation and punishment

4. the college of judges (a tribunal of seven men in the several cities of Palestine; as distinguished from the Sanhedrin, which had its seat at Jerusalem)
5. right, justice

It is apparently never used to describe the judgment of believers, but is the decision of a judge when he passes sentence.  So in this context, it effectively means the judgement of non believers and the condemnation they will face on the Last Day.  In other words, being thrown into the lake of burning fire along with satan and his minions. 

When you take the name of God in vain, you are risking eternal damnation, suffering the torments of hell for eternity.  James is actually writing to the church about this though, because this is all about getting your heart and your life right with God.  When we open our mouths, we reveal what is in our hearts by the words we speak.  Do we speak words of love, of God's grace, tell others of His forgiveness and compassion, His grace and mercy, show our faith by the things we do and say,  or do we take His name in vain, treat everyone with contempt, disregard their feelings and concentrate on our own, because we "have a right to be happy", behave just as many in the world behave,  having no regard for anyone else and taking God's name in vain all the time?   Do our lives demonstrate our faith and trust in God, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit?  Do our works provide the outward evidence of our inner faith?

Revelation 21: 6-8 He said to me: It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.  He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.  But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars— their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.

Judgement is coming and coming soon.  Do you want to be one of those who overcome all that is in the world, whom God will claim as a son, or one of those who gain a place in the lake of burning sulphur?  The choice is yours.

James 5:10-11

NIV: Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

The Message: Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honouring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course, of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.

There are numerous examples in the bible of prophets who suffered for their faith and trust in God.  In the Old Testament you have (according to Wikipedia):

•  Isaiah, who was allegedly sawn in two (definitely not nice) by Manasseh;
• Jeremiah who was stoned to death;
• Ezekiel who was martyred;
• Amos, tortured by Amaziah and then killed by Amaziah's son;
• Zechariah, killed by Joash.

I am sure there are others too who were killed for their faith.  In addition to those old testament prophets, you also have:

• John the Baptist, who was beheaded;
• Stephen, the first Christian martyr; and
•  all the apostles (except Judas and John) who were killed for their faith.

But more Christians have been killed for their faith in the last century than at any other time in the two thousand years since Jesus' death and resurrection.  What does that tell you about man, and about how the devil must fear God? 

You would think that after two thousand years, a faith might be dying out, that people would forget, turn to other faiths, other religions, other ways of life.  But apparently something like one third of the entire world believe in Jesus and Christianity is growing at an amazing rate.  In India, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, Eritrea, Nigeria, and other countries, places where the church is under attack, suffering persecution, the church is growing in leaps and bounds.  Just compare that to here in the west with declining church numbers.

But persecution is coming here too.  Here in the UK earlier this week, there was a case in the High Court where a married couple sought to have the local council decision to refuse to allow them to be foster parents overturned.  The couple had told the council that as bible believing Christians, they were unable to promote homosexuality to children in their care.  The Equality and Human Rights Commission made a submission to the court advising that children risked being infected with Christian moral beliefs.  The judges took this into consideration and in their summary, stated that  Christian beliefs on sexual ethics may be inimical (i.e. harmful) to children.  Further details can be found here.

I find this absolutely unbelievable when our entire legal system is based on Christian morals and beliefs and is a scary foretaste of what is potentially to come here in the UK.

Back in the days of James, Christians were facing the lion's den, stoning, beatings, imprisonment, harassment.  There were apparently around 2,000 Christians who dies as a result of Jewish persecution but this pales into insignificance when compared to the persecution by the Romans.  But all the deaths in past years are nothing compared to the millions who have been killed in the last century.  If anything, persecution is getting worse.

So James is telling the early Christians, and us, to have patience, to look at the example of those who have gone before us and learn from their attitude, their behaviour.  Their focus was on God, first and foremost, no matter what was happening to them.  Just look at Isaiah who went naked for three years in obedience to God, or Hosea who was instructed to marry a prostitute .  Then there was Jeremiah who was so grieved at the state of Israel and what was going to happen that he became known as the weeping prophet.  But each one of them obeyed God, just as we are instructed to do. 

It is a case of having a close walk with God, of getting our hearts right with Him so that we face each day fully clothed ion the armour of god, ready to face whatever may be thrown at us, and to stand strong and upright in the strength and power of God.  Not in our own strength, but in God's power and might, using His word, His armour, and calling on the name of Jesus , for greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.

  

James 5:9

NIV: Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

The Message: Friends, don't complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner.

It is clear we are living in the End times, that it will not be long before Jesus returns.  It may be in my lifetime, then again, it may not .  After all, as Peter says, "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day" (2 Petere3:8, NIV).   But whenever that day may be, are we really living as if it could happen today, tomorrow, next week?

It is so easy to be in the world, to behave like everyone else, to get so engrossed with the daily routine, breakfast, school run, work, and so on.  The routine may be different for each one of us, but in reality, do we give God a thought during the day?  Does our behaviour reflect the fact that we are Christians? Do we demonstrate the love of Christ by our thoughts, our words, our deeds?  Are our lives so very different from those who are not believers?  Do we stand out, stand up, make a difference?

Very often, probably nearly all of the time, I fear my life is no different from those who do not even believe in God.  Life can be so busy, hectic with one demand after another on my time and never enough hours in the day to get everything done.  It is so easy to become engrossed in the world, noting every word, every action of others and pulling apart their motives, their reasons for whatever they do.  We can get so wrapped up in our own world, our own worries and problems, we don't notice when others are hurting.   Even worse, we can misconstrue what someone has said or done (or even picking on the things they have not said or done) and imagine they are criticising us, laughing at us, not doing their fair share of the work. 

But one thing I have come to realise with time is that God never does leave is.  He is always, always by our side, even when it seems He is further away than ever before.  He is watching, listening, seeing all things, noticing even the snide remarks we utter under our breath or even say in our minds but never speak.  He knows when we find fault with others.  He knows when we criticise others (even silently), when we sit and feel sorry for ourselves, thinking the world and his neighbour are against us.  He see all things, and knows all things.  He knows the right and wrong of each and every situation, and He knows why people say or do whatever it may be that has upset us.

How can we judge others for the casual remark they made that hit us to the core, when we may not know that they are struggling to cope with a parent with dementia, that they have just lost their family dog, that their home is about to be repossessed, that a close friend or family member has just been diagnosed with cancer?  As a result, they came out with that thoughtless remark because their mind was concentrating on what was happening in their life.  What about the times when we feel that everything falls on our shoulders, all the time, and there is no one prepared to help.  They are all a lazy bunch of self centred, idle.... Well, I am sure you can fill in the missing words!

When we grumble about others, when we moan about what they have or have not done or said, we become bitter, twisted, especially if that is all we focus on.  I know the times when things have gone on here, and I feel hard done to, put upon, taken for granted.  It is so easy to start criticising others, even if it is only in my own mind and then I start feeling sorry for myself, even begin to feel like a martyr, with everyone against me.  Then the hurt begins to solidify and I end up losing my temper, being cross and crabby for no apparent reason.

So James tell us to watch out, to not grumble against one another, because that is the start of the slippery slope,  when we listen to the lies of the enemy, twisting everything, and he drags us further and further down the path that takes us away from God.

1 Peter 5:8 Be self- controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV)

We need to always be alert, always be on guard because the devil is out to get each and every one of us.  This might sound a bit drastic, unlikely, after all, why would he bother with you and I?  He bothers because God loves us, and the devil does not want that.  He wants us to suffer the same fate as he will, being cast into the lake of eternal fire and he is determined to take as many of us as possible down there with him.

When we judge others , when we criticise them for doing something that we know is a sin, when we pull them to pieces either to their faces or behind their backs, aren't we doing something that only God has the right to do?  What gives us the right to judge and condemn others?  What makes us so superior, so "holier than thou", that we can criticise others for doing the very same things we do ourselves?

We need to treat others as would wish to be treated ourselves, to demonstrate the love of Jesus by all we do and say.  Not always easy when someone comes out with a side remark when all you have done is say "hi".  But if we retaliate in kind, if we give as good as we get, then we will be judged ourselves, because Jesus is there at the door, watching, and He will judge each one of us. 

I don't know about you, but I would far rather hear Him say "well done thou good and faithful servant" than "get thee behind me Satan" and proceed to go through each and every time I have done or said something unkind and cruel, and the times I have not done or said something I should have done.

James 5:7-8

NIV: Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.  You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

The Message: Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master's Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.

James' letter was written to the scattered Jewish Christians who were living amongst the Gentiles in the Mediterranean world because of persecution.  Imagine having to flee your home because you knew you would be killed if you stayed there. Having to take all your belongings (or as many as you could carry) and just run for your lives, no matter what the age of the family members - from the youngest babe in arms to the frail and elderly.  The one thing you would be longing for would be the return of Jesus to make everything right.

It's been 2,000 years now, and His return is still awaited.  Yet doesn't it tell us in the bible that Jesus will return?

Matthew 24:30-31 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Mark 13:26 (NIV) At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

1 Thessalonians 3:13 (NIV) May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

Just as the believers scattered throughout the world needed to have patience 2,000 years ago, so we need to have patience now.  It is clear from all that is going on around us that we are living in the End Times:

Luke 17:22-29 (NIV) The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.  Men will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.  Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

Luke 21:8-11 (NIV) He replied: Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and 'The time is near.' Do not follow them.  When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.  Then he said to them: Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

We have nations rising against nation, kingdoms against kingdoms - look at Sudan which has split into two countries and now North Sudan is arming militia to attack South Sudan.  There are earthquakes with people still suffering in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake last year.  There are famines - you only have to look at Africa to see that.  There are pestilences, with a pestilence being, according to the Oxford English Dictionary "a fatal epidemic disease, especially bubonic plague ".  Just look at the numbers of people afflicted by Aids, malaria and other diseases. 

It is only a matter of time before Jesus returns, and in that time, the whole world needs to hear the gospel in order that all people might have the chance to be saved.  Just as the farmer waits patiently for harvest before he can bring the crops in, so we are told to wait patiently for the return of Jesus.  This is an event that all Christians long for, but then I always worry about my family, what will happen to them, and know they need more time before they become believers.   I take comfort in the words of Jesus that "In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost" (Matthew 18:14, NIV).   I am just thankful that God is willing to wait.  On the one hand, the return of Jesus would be amazing and wonderful, but on the other hand, I want my family to be there with me, not to be cast into the lake of eternal fire.

What about you?  Do you long for the return of Jesus?  Do you actually believe in Jesus and that He will return?

One day, the truth of whether or not He exists will be made clear to all men and we will all face the judgement seat of Christ:

Revelation 20:11-15 (The Message) I saw a Great White Throne and the One Enthroned. Nothing could stand before or against the Presence, nothing in Heaven, nothing on earth. And then I saw all the dead, great and small, standing there—before the Throne! And books were opened. Then another book was opened: the Book of Life. The dead were judged by what was written in the books, by the way they had lived. Sea released its dead, Death and Hell turned in their dead. Each man and woman was judged by the way he or she had lived. Then Death and Hell were hurled into Lake Fire. This is the second death—Lake Fire. Anyone whose name was not found inscribed in the Book of Life was hurled into Lake Fire.

Whether you are alive or dead when Jesus returns, you will face Jesus and every knee will bow to Him.  You will also be judged by the way you have lived your life and whether or not you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.  If your name is not in the Lamb's Book of Life, if you did not accept as your Lord and Saviour, you will be thrown into the lake of fire.  If your name is in the Book of Life, then you will be rewarded on the basis of how you have led your life.

Don't leave it too late before making a decision.  Once you are dead, there is no changing your mind.

James 5:6

NIV: You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.

The Message: In fact, what you've done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.

Woah, what an indictment for the rich.  They have condemned and murdered perfectly good persons who stand there and take it.  It reminds me of Jesus words about having anger in your hearts:

Matthew 5:22 (NIV)  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

It is what is in our hearts that matters, not what is in our purse, or in the bank, or on show in our homes.    It doesn't matter how well dressed we are, what sort of job we have, how powerful we may be, how inconspicuous we are, what matters to God is what we have in our hearts. 

These words to the rich aren't just to those who have pots of money, the ones people look up to, men (and women) of power.   James isn't just warning them of the impending judgment, the time when we have to account for all our actions.  No, he is speaking to each and every one of us.

Take a look at this website:

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

Put in your annual income and see just how rich you are in comparison to the rest of the world.  It is a sobering fact that most of us here in the west are amongst the richest in the world.  You may think you have no money, you can't get a new car every year, or buy complete changes of wardrobe every season.  Holidays abroad have had to be replaced by holidays in your own country, or maybe even "staycations".  You have takeaways once a month instead of once a week, you only dine out/go out once a week instead of several nights a week.   Your children get presents just on birthdays and Christmas not whenever they see something they "need" (and it is amazing how children find they "need" so much!).  Maybe you struggle to pay the bills, finding it hard to make ends meet, to have enough food in the house to last the week and pay for everything else that needs sorting, yet even so, you are still amongst the richest in the world. 

If you earn £50,000, you are apparently in the top 0.71%.  If you earn £10,000, you are in the top 11.5%.  Even with an income of £5,000, you are still in the top 13.48% and if you only earn £500 a year, you are in the top 50%!!!!

Those are sobering figures, and just go to show that James' words aren't just for the ones who pay more in tax than my annual income, but are actually meant for each and every one of us.

When we do others down in order to better ourselves, or to keep the status quo, to make ourselves look good, feel good, or whatever, we are doing exactly what James is accusing the rich of doing.  Instead of storing up treasures in heaven for ourselves, we are actually storing up judgment and condemnation.  Judgment and condemnation.  Not the sort of words you want to have spoken to you.  I know I don't like the idea of judgement and condemnation, but that is what is in store when we fail to show the love of Christ to others.  What about the times when we (and if you don't do this, I know I do) walk past the person selling the Big Issue and pretend we don't see them, or tell ourselves they need to go and get a job and they are just scroungers?  When we don't make a donation or give to the church because we have bills to pay, debts to meet, and they have enough money anyway, there are others who earn far more who give so they don't need our offering, and anyhow, you might be supposed to give 10% but really, how can anyone manage on 90% of what our income is?

But is that showing the love of Jesus to our fellow man?  Is it really what Jesus would have us do?  When we in the west the richest people in the world?

Matthew 6:19-24 (NIV) Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 

No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.