Devotional - May 10th, 2023
Scripture: James 5: 13-16 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 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.
As James concludes his letter, you come to know what church meant to him. Or should I say, what it meant to be a church. When reading the verses for today, what picture does it create in your mind? Is it not a person dealing with various situations often encountered in life, being sick, being happy, or in trouble? Yet, in all these experiences they are caught up in the greater experience of God in the church. But not in any church, James is specific about the type of community God blesses. It is a caring community, a forgiving community, a righteous and loving community. James makes a profound point when he describes the relationship between healing, confession, and forgiveness. However, there are some who will try to use the last few sentences in this text like a formula. They try to do these things so they can have powerful and effective prayers. The emphasis being on them and the power they want to achieve for their own glorification. Oh, they may bring God into it, but it is for their glory. They fail, because they missed the point. It is not a prescription, something to follow to get a desired effect, it is instead a description of the Kingdom of God. Elders were folk in the church who were time tested and God approved. They bore the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5: 22-23) in their lives. Their relationship with God flowed forth as living springs of water (John 7:38). Sounds pretty good huh, the road getting there is rough (Matthew 7: 13-14), but for them it was everything (Phil 3: 13-14). You know when you encounter people like this and yes they are still out there today. You know them because you just feel better after being with them. Hopefully, they inspire you to let go of all that is holding you back. These elders were there for the church, ready to be called upon, to anoint and pray for the sick in the name of the Lord. They knew from whence the healing would come. James was calling the church to be a church, not a business. Businesses go under, but the church will continue on. You may say, but what about this church or that church, they closed. They went under. The Church is the Body of Christ here on the earth (Colossians 1:18). First church of so-and-so or Main Street this-or-that is not the Church. They are a part of the Church and, yes, they may close for many reasons, some good, some otherwise. James calls to his church, that is a part of the Church, to be a part of the Kingdom of God in spirit and in deed.
Pray with me.., Holy God, thank you for giving us a community that can be trusted in hard times. Continue to bless us, so we can be Your people, a part of Your Church. Be with those we care about, our loved ones. We ask that You bless them in accordance with their needs. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
God's peace,
Pastor Brian
