Burunche’s Blog

1 Peter 1:1- 2 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the exiles of the Dispersiona throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”

“Grace and peace” – So many of the epistles begin with those words that we might be tempted to think that this was just some kind of social convention in letter – writing. Nothing could be farther from the truth!

Simon Peter wrote this letter to the churches in the northern part of Asia Minor. Peter may well have been in Rome at the time and possibly wrote this letter about 63 A.D., shortly before his death. Why did Peter feel the need to wish grace and peace in abundance for these believers? The Amplified Version explains that “it was during the decade of the sixties that the Roman Government under Nero shifted its attitude from toleration to persecution in Rome.

According to tradition, both Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom in Rome in the latter part of the sixties.” In the meantime, believers in other parts of the Roman Empire were facing persecution from their pagan environment. Many towns were demanding that merchants sacrifice to the local gods before they were allowed to conduct business. Such restrictions would have worked an extreme hardship on dedicated Christians. The last emotion that these people were likely to feel was to feel peaceful!

Peter takes the opportunity to remind his readers that they have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God; in other words, God had a plan for these people before they were ever born. And the plan of God included being made holy by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ, receiving the covering of the shed blood of Jesus for forgiveness of their sins. Peter wants his readers to look above their earthly problems to their eternal call and destiny.

Peter might have started out as a fisherman, but by this point, he had been a church leader for nearly 30 years. Peter was a keen observer and nobody had to tell him that the church was heading into an era of persecution. In the letters we call 1 Peter and 2 Peter, the dominant theme is suffering. In both letters, Peter points to Jesus as the perfect example of grace in the midst of persecution. In Christian belief, grace is considered to be the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blesings.

Why should these simple phrases matter to us? Today Christianity is under attack. Voices of chaos and anarchy are screaming from all sides. Churches in Europe are being burned. Christians in various parts of the world are being martyred – Nigeria, Sudan, India, Iran, just to name a few. People are complaining that social media groups are eliminating prayer group posts. In America, the threat of COVID has been used to drastically curtail worship services. Some state governors have gone far beyond this restrictions and have attempted to ban on-line worship services.

At this point in time, if our belief in Christ is merely a social convention, we will crumple under persecution. Belief that does not withstand persecution is no belief.

In Revelations 2:10 Jesus tells the church in Smyrna, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

It takes the Grace of God to withstand persecution. But with that Grace, God also sends His Holy Spirit Peace, a peace so deep that nobody can understand it. Grace is not given so that we can hide somewhere; grace is given so that we can speak out boldly for the truth. And we can ask for God’s grace. God does not play favorites; the same grace that God gave to Peter and Paul as they were martyred is available to all of us, if we will only ask.

PRAYER: Father God, we admit that we don’t want to undergo persecution! We would like to live quiet peaceful lives. Lord, help us to love you so much that we will follow hard after you all the days of our lives. We thank you that you do give Grace and Peace and that you sprinkle all who believe with the Blood of Jesus. Thank you for loving us! Thank you for saving us from our sins. Help us to be channels of your love and grace and peace to others. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

James 5:19 – 20 “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”

Galatians 6:1 – 2 “Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

In Cornwall, on the west coast of England, there are places where there are high cliffs hundreds of feet above the ocean. Call the man John. John was walking along one of the cliff paths with his dog when a dense fog suddenly moved in, blotting out the landscape. John was not worried because he had walked that path many times before; however, now his faithful dog began growling and snapping at him. Perplexed, John began to move forward again, and again the dog growled and snapped. Suddenly, the fog cleared for an instant. John was horrified to realize that rather than being on the path he thought he knew so well, he had veered and was now at the very brink of the cliff. One more step would have caused John to fall to his death. Only the quick actions of John’s dog barking warnings had saved John.

There are times when we might feel very much like that dog! We can see someone standing at a crossroads and taking a decision that might lead to disaster. What do we do? If we say anything, our friend might become offended and sever all ties with us. On the other hand, if we don’t say anything, our friend may follow a course that will lead to ruin.

Several years ago, riverboat gambling came into northwestern Illinois. One farm couple decided to visit “the boat” just to see what it was all about. What a tragic mistake! That night, that couple began gambling and before the night was over, they had lost their farm that had been in their family for generations. They had lost their entire livelihood, all because they chose to “just see what the gambling was all about.” If only someone had been able to advise them and stop them!

The question is this: how much do you really care about your friends? Do you actually love them, or are they merely convenient companions when you don’t want to be alone? Love is a verb; it is not just a noun. True love acts; it does not sit back while a loved one plunges into oblivion.

We have some friends who faced a horrible decision. One of their adopted sons had gotten messed up in drugs and was refusing to quit using drugs, even when he was living at their home. Finally, they were forced to demonstrate “tough love.” In the middle of a cold Illinois January, they had to order their son to leave their home. Their son lived in his car on the street for three weeks, but he finally realized that he could make better choices and became drug – free.

How is someone to be brought back? Galatians 6 advises us that we must restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness, realizing that we are just as vulnerable to temptation as our friend whom we are helping. But we must realize that our temptations might be different from those faced by our friends. While our friends might be struggling with addiction to gambling or on – line pronography, we might be addicted to gossip, to judging, to self – righteousness. Remember, God does not grade on a curve! All sins are abhorrent to a pure and holy God. If we are busy feeling that we are holier than the next person, we have already sinned. That is why we should be gentle in restoration, realizing that we might be the next ones in need of help. It has been rightly said that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. All of us have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

PRAYER: Father God, thank you that you are merciful and loving and gracious. If not for your mercy in sending Jesus to die for our sins, none of us would have any hope. Lord, help us to restore others gently and lovingly, realizing that we might be the next candidates for restoration. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

James 5:16 – 18 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. 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 yielded its crops.”

I ran across a term the other day – “virtue shaming.” Evidently now one is not allowed to behave in a virtuous manner because it will cause others who are misbehaving to feel guilty. Ironically, the same people who wish to misbehave generally expect that everyone else will behave properly. For example, the person stealing from his workplace will be outraged if someone pads a bill he is expected to pay; yet, what is the difference? Both parties are cheating! Those who claim not to believe in moral absolutes are generally incensed when others fail to behave in a moral manner.

We human beings have a congenital problem: we are born with the ability to sin. Sinning is simple; anybody can do it. But we are also born to worship. Everyone worships something or somebody. There are those who worship themselves. There are those who worship a sport team. There are those who worship a celebrity. There are even Christians who don’t really worship God so much as they worship a particular evangelist. But all of us are going to worship, and the object of our worship determines our moral character. If we worship a pure and holy God, then we will feel ashamed when we do not behave in a pure and holy manner.

At the same time we are sinning, we also have the ability to feel guilty. The question is, what do we do with this guilt? How can we get rid of guilt? Running away from guilt doesn’t help because we carry it inside us. We can distract ourselves with hobbies or work or alcohol or gambling or drugs or social media or movies or books or travel or shopping; but sooner or later, that guilt will still be there. And that’s where confession comes in.

James advises us to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another? Why should we confess our sins OUT LOUD to SOMEBODY ELSE?? Well, for one thing, if we are keeping something inside ourselves, we can always make excuses and give ourselves a free pass. “Well, I was stressed out!” “Well, he shouldn’t have spoken to me the way that he did!” ”If she had only listened to me the first time, I would not have gotten angry!” “That @##$%^ idiot! Where did he learn to drive?” But the minute that we begin voicing our shortcomings, we find that they are much worse than we had imagined.

Why confess our sins to another person? We need feedback from someone else who is gracious enough and wise enough to listen. Confession is not a one – way street; frequently the confessors become the confessees. Confession demands humility, and only a humble person can really pray effectively for another.

Notice that you must be careful about your choice of a person to whom you will confess. This person must be a person of prayer, a person of patience, and a person who has lived long enough and who has seen enough that he or she will not rush to judgement. The idea behind confession as described in James is that once you have confessed your sin, the other person is to pray to God, interceding on your behalf and asking God to forgive you, but not accusing. Satan has been described as ”the Accuser of the brethren,” but many times there are Christians who are more than willing to fill that role as well! You might find that once your friend has prayed for you, he or she will then ask you to pray for him or her.

Is confession for everybody? Absolutely! Nobody should struggle to carry a load of guilt. David the Psalmist expressed this well in Psalm 32: 2 -6

“Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat.

Selah

Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin.

Selah

Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found.

Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.”

PRAYER: Father God, today many of us are carrying guilt that is eating us alive! Lord, help us to confess our sins to you and to another trusted person. Thank you that you have promised that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thank you for your love and your mercy and your grace. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen..

James 5:13 – 15 “Is any one of you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. 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 restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”

The patient’s condition was truly horrific! This nice lady from some small town in West Virginia had been suffering with uterine cancer for years. The doctors had done all the operations, had given all the cancer drugs, and had administered all the radiation treatments that they possibly could, and nothing had worked! When the patient lay flat on the bed, the lumps of tumor distended her abdominal wall. One leg was three times the size of the other due to blood clots, and we had even had to perform an appendectomy. Now the patient was preparing to be discharged. The biggest problem was pain; the swollen leg was incredibly painful and no amount of medicine helped.

When I visited this lady for the last time before discharge, I asked if I could pray for her. Anointing her with the hospital lotion, I begged God to heal her, but particularly to take away her pain. That afternoon the lady left for home, and I forgot all about her.

Two years later, I was making pre-op rounds one afternoon and entered the room for a patient who was to have a small incisional hernia repaired the next day. As soon as I entered, the patient asked me, “You don’t recognize me, do you?” I admitted that no, I did not recognize her. This was my lady with the horrible cancer from two years earlier! There were no tumors. Both legs were the same size and looked normal. Questioning the patient, I learned that she had become cancer – free shortly after returning to her home. Now she was coming because she had developed a small weak spot in the abdominal wall at the site of her appendectomy. This lady felt wonderful and all tests indicated that her cancer was gone, never to return. What had happened?

While I am certain that I was not the only person praying for this patient, I am equally certain that God chose to heal her miraculously. Since that time, I have seen other people who have been healed miraculously. The big question that bothers most of us is “God, why THIS person and not some other person?” Or if you are the person in need of healing, you might ask “Why are you not healing me?”

Several years ago, Edith Schaeffer wrote a book entitled “Suffering.” In that book, Edith contended that no matter how God chooses to deal with our suffering, His sovereign power will be displayed. Some people are healed; this demonstrates that God’s grace is sufficient for miraculous healing. Some people are not healed; Edith Schaeffer’s own husband, Pastor Francis Schaeffer, eventually died with Lymphoma. But Edith emphasized that those who were not healed suddenly and miraculously were given the grace to go through whatever trials they encountered as a result of their sickness. This perseverance was also God’s gift and a further demonstration of His unlimited grace.

In the course of my medical career, I have prayed for thousands of patients of all ages. Some patients have been healed through surgery. Some patients have been healed through medicine. Some patients have died, but I must content myself that my Heavenly Father is greater and wiser than I am and that He alone knows the needs of each patient and each family member.

The wise writer of a hymn expressed things well:

Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best–
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

PRAYER: Father God, today many of us need healing from all kinds of things! Some of us are dealing with emotional wounds. Some are dealing with physical illnesses. Some are dealing with wounds from family members. Lord, we beg you to bring healing, comfort, peace, and grace to each of these wounded people. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

James 5: 12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.

Exodus 20:7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

If you are a parent, you hope that your children will respect you. There are few things more painful for a parent than to find that their child has been saying terrible things about them. God is the ultimate Parent, and it grieves Him when we have no respect for His Name.

These days “OMG” has become a favorite text shorthand to express surprise. But why use this phrase? “OMG” stands for “Oh, my God!” This phrase is being used by people who have no experience of God, no use for God, and no respect for God. So, if you don’t really believe in God, is it still OK to use “OMG?” Well……no.

God is the sovereign Ruler of the universe, the Creator. Whether or not we believe in God is immaterial to His existence; God always has existed and always will exist. But the question is this: if we don’t believe in God, why are we referring to Him? And if we DO believe in God, why are we misusing His Name?

As the Sovereign Lord, Creator and Ruler of the Universe, God deserves our respect and our worship. Yesterday we briefly told the story of Job, describing Job’s suffering. But in Job 38 – 41, God answers Job and describes in great detail all the ways that He, God, keeps everything going throughout the world and even throughout the universe.

Job 38:1- 7 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge? Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me! Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone, while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

Were God to show up and begin questioning any of us, we would fare worse than Job! Job’s ony mistake was questioning God, but God Himself verified that Job was righteous. None of us can truly make that claim. We must respect the Name of the Lord and not mishandle it or reduce it to the same level as a smiley face emoji! God has not canceled the commandment regarding the use of His Name.

“Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.” God wants us to be people of our word. We have all listened as announcers doing commercials on radio or TV talk at great length in an attempt to convince us of the worth of a product. If something is really good, we will know it. And if something is not good, there is no point in trying to overwhelm listeners with phrases. Most people realize that the more exaggerated the claims, the less likely the product is to be effective.

Today, let us give God the reverence He deserves. Let us eliminate “OMG” or the phrase it represents from our vocabularies!

PRAYER: Father God, forgive us for misusing your Name and failing to give you the respect you deserve! Clean up our speech! Help us to be careful about everything we say, so that we are honoring you and not treating you as if you did not exist. Help us to be people of integrity, so that others will be able to trust what we say. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

James 5: 10 – 11 “Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. “

In the Bible, Job is the book that comes just before the book of Psalms. Some people believe that the story might be at least 4,000 years old. When Job’s story starts out, Job is a very wealthy man who also fears and worships God. Satan and God even have a discussion about Job, and Satan claims that if God will strip Job of his wealth, his family, his reputation, and his health, that Job will turn his back on God. In the course of time, Job loses everything, including all his children, his wealth, and his health. Job’s wife even encourages him to “curse God and die.” (Job 2:9)

To make things even worse, several of Job’s friends show up. In the beginning, it appears that these men sympathize with Job, but it soon becomes evident that they are certain Job must be harboring secret sins. One after the other, these erstwhile friends bring increasingly worse guesses as to the sins Job must have committed to bring on such punishment. These accusations are so scathing that for years, those who are supposed to comfort but who only condemn have been referred to as “Job’s comforters.”

Job, meanwhile, attempts to defend himself; these accusations are false and ridiculous! Job would never even consider doing any of the things his friends have been mentioning. But Job has a problem: he wants a face – to – face encounter with God so that he can get God to explain why he (Job) is suffering unjustly. Job feels that God OWES him an explanation! In the end, Job gets his wish; in fact, when God shows up, Job realizes that God is truly sovereign and that he is only a man. Finally, Job says, “My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5- 6)

The story has a happy ending. God rebukes Job’s non – friends who had said such terrible things and orders them to ask Job to intercede for them. God honors Job because no matter how bad things got, Job always spoke about God accurately and always honored God, even in the depths of his suffering. After Job prays for his friends, God doubles Job’s former wealth and gives him 7 sons and 3 gorgeous daughters. All of Job’s family members, who have been noticeable by their absence during Job’s ordeal, suddenly turn up and give him rich gifts. And the story ends by saying that Job lived a long and happy life and saw his children and their children down to the fourth generation.

Sixty – eight years ago, we had a family tragedy. One of my aunts woke up paralyzed from the neck down with polio and remained that way for twelve years until she died. At the time, my cousins were 12, 9, and 6. Suddenly this family was forced to cope with enormous challenges and my uncle and his children suffered right along with my aunt. One thing all of my cousins agreed on was that their father behaved like an angel. Rather than give in to self – pity, my uncle rallied the family and was their mainstay, giving encouragement when he himself was probably in the depths of despair. Even today nearly sixty years after my uncle’s death, his children still remember the wonderful example of cheerfulness in the face of suffering set by their father. The example set by my uncle continues to bless his children today.

Today we have families who are struggling with the threat of COVID or its aftermaths. Nobody asks for these tragedies! But in the midst of suffering, God is still there, still full of compassion and mercy. And God can and will bless, even in the midst of suffering.

PRAYER: Father God, we do not understand why suffering is necessary, but we thank you that in the midst of suffering, you are there. We thank you that there is no valley so deep, no river so wide, no night so dark, that you are not with us. We lift up all those who are suffering with any health problem and ask that you comfort them, strengthen them, encourage them, and keep them in your tender care. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

James 5:7 – 9 “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains. You too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near. Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!”

Johnny, age 6, and Timmy, age 5, were having a fight. Their mother heard the noise and came to investigate. Both boys were instigators; what one couldn’t think of, the other one did. And they were forever teasing each other and pestering each other. The only time the boys were quiet was when they were asleep! So the boys’ mother asked Johnny, “What happened?” “He hit me and I didn’t do nothin’!”Johnny replied. “Timmy, what happened?” Timmy’s reply was the same, “He hit me and I didn’t do nothin’!” Finally, the boys’ mother in exasperation asked both boys, “OK. You say you didn’t do nothin’. HOW MUCH “NOTHIN” DID YOU DO?”

Here in northeastern Ghana, farming season is underway with a vengeance! Families are spending every possible moment out on their farms because we have a short growing season. When the rains come, the farmers must quickly plow, plant, and keep handling their crops; mistakes can lead to families having nothing to eat during the lean season. But as much as farmers want a good harvest, they must be patient. Different crops take different amounts of time to mature, and the process cannot be hurried. No matter how anxious a farmer is, he or she must exercise patience.

Here James is encouraging us that just as farmers must wait for the turn of the seasons and for favorable weather, so we as believers need to be patient with one another and wait on God’s timing. One friend used to have a sign in his office: Lord, I want patience, and I want it right now! We wince as we read those words because we know that there is nothing instant about patience! And we must be patient with one another as believers.

There is an Ashanti proverb that says, “Just because you hear the sound of fufu being pounded does not mean that you know what kind of soup they will take with it.” Soup ingredients can be costly, depending on the kind of soup you are making. Fufu, the starchy staple food made from yam, cassava, or plantain, is the cheap part of the meal. The quality of soup depends on the family income. You can’t make any judgments about how well the family is doing unless you know the quality of their soup.

Many times we rush to judge others without waiting to see what is actually happening in their situations. We are very quick to judge others and slap labels on them! At the same time, we are offended if someone judges and labels us. God hates labels! And James warns us that we need to be as patient with one another as are the farmers waiting for their crops to mature. Like Johnny and Timmy, we want to portray ourselves as being innocent, “I didn’t do nothin’!” But God is the only one qualified to judge.

PRAYER: Father God, please help us to be patient with others and refuse to judge them, realizing that you are the only One who knows the human heart and only you are fully qualified to judge. Forgive us for labeling people. Help us to love as you love. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

James 5:5 – 6 “You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.”

There used to be a television program in America entitled “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Each week, the program would focus on different movie stars, millionaires or billionaires, and others with opulent lifestyles. For most of the people watching, these programs seemed to be merely fairy tales; but in fact, there were – and are – people who live that way. For most of us, reading these verses from James might make us feel a bit smug. After all, WE aren’t living in luxury and self – indulgence! We haven’t been victimizing people! We haven’t been persecuting the righteous; in fact, many of us feel that we are the righteous who are being persecuted. No! We don’t see ourselves described by these verses at all!

But wait a minute. When we buy clothing as cheaply as possible, do we care that it might have been produced by sweat shop workers earning only token amounts for long arduous hours under terrible working conditions? Does it bother us that we feel we deserve to take luxurious vacations while there are those living in our communities who can scarcely keep going financially? Do we really need to live in big new houses in gated communities? And who gave us the right to trade cars for ever more expensive models, simply because we have the means? What are we doing about single parents, particularly women, in our communities who are struggling to raise their children on minimum wage jobs while living in near – slum conditions? What are we doing to stop human trafficking? What are we doing to help school children from poor families, particularly those whose parents are in prison, who might need tutoring or a financial boost?

The question each of us must face is this: WHY has God given us the resources that we have available? Have we not been given these resources so that we can help others?

One of the last stories Jesus told his disciples before he was crucified is this one from Matthew 25: 31 – 46

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Prayer: Father God, forgive us! We confess that we have taken resources you have given us to help others and have wasted them on ourselves! We have not reached out to those in our communities. We have not asked you why you have given us money or possessions. We have treated all of these things as if you were of no consequence and your Will did not matter. Lord, have mercy on us for our hardness of heart and for our selfishness! Help us to change completely and to become channels of your love, your grace, and your provision to those around us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

James 5: 3b – 4 “You have hoarded treasure in the last days. Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.”

GOD DOES NOT LIKE CHEATERS OR PEOPLE WHO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE VULNERABLE!!! Throughout the Old Testament, God warned the Israelites to be careful to watch out for widows and orphans and strangers. And God demanded that His people should pay wages fully and promptly. Deuteronomy 24:14 – 15 “Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.”

There are many tests of righteousness, but one of the most fundamental is this one: how do you treat those who are powerless? Are you merciful and generous, or do you try to avoid paying them and force them to wait as long as possible for their small wages?

One of the international tragedies about the COVID – 19 situation is that the restrictions work the heaviest burdens on those who have the least resources. One friend in India informed me that 85% of Indians in his area are day laborers who must work every single day so that they will collect some small money at the end of it. If these people are forced to stop working, they and their families will starve.

“But,” you say, “I don’t do those things! I would never dream of cheating someone in that fashion!” Hmm. Is that true? Search your heart and your mind. Have there been times when someone needed to hear an encouraging word from you, but you were too busy or too tired or too preoccupied? Have you borrowed items and then delayed returning them? Have you left interpersonal conflicts unresolved while you nursed your hurt feelings? Remember, God does not grade on a sliding scale of sins. If you know you need to do something and you have failed to do it, that still is sin. If you know that someone needs your help, but you keep postponing assistance, that is still sin.

One problem we all have is that we fail to understand the deep holiness of God. God is totally righteous and pure and perfect. Viewed from God’s perspective, none of our excuses are worth anything.

What should we do? We must pray and ask God to search our hearts. If there are deeds that we have left undone, God will show us. If as we are praying, God brings someone’s name to mind, we need to ask God to show us what we are to do. And we should try as much as possible to keep short accounts and to make sure that at the end of the day, we have cared for all the vulnerable whom God has sent to us.

PRAYER: Father God, sometimes we look at the world and the needs are overwhelming! But you ask us to start by helping those closest to us. Please let us look around us to see the needs with Your eyes. Let the things that break your heart also break our hearts. And help us to not only sympathize, but to act and to release the resources you have given to us, knowing that as we do so, you will cause more resources to flow through us. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

James 5:1 – 3 “Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail for the misery to come upon you. Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire.”

“And I KNOW that God wants to make you rich!!!” The famous evangelist was magnificent in his shining white suit! Looking over the thousands gathered in the huge megachurch, Pastor X congratulated himself on another outstanding service. Today the collections should be enormous, and there was still money to come in from on – line donations. Yes, this was what a truly successful ministry looked like! He could scarcely wait to hop into his Mercedes Benz and drive back to his mansion in the finest part of town. Suddenly, on the curtain behind the evangelist, a huge hand wrote a single word “FINISHED!” And as the horrified congregation looked on, the evangelist crumpled to the floor, clutching his chest. A doctor in the congregation rushed to the platform and began CPR. Others in the congregation called for an ambulance. But all attempts at resuscitation were in vain. And the ministry that appeared to be an unqualified success that morning began a downward spiral into oblivion.

What are we worshiping? If we worship anything or anybody less than God, we are deceiving ourselves. Jesus warned his disciples about this very thing. The story is found in Luke 12:15”And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance. So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods. Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

If COVID – 19 has taught us nothing else, it should have taught us that businesses and careers can disappear in an instant. Things that appeared so trustworthy a few months ago have disappeared completely.

God is the only One worthy of our praise and our worship. It is God whom we should trust and not money or any organization. Organizations are man – made; the day the men who have created them fail, the organization can fail as well. And serving groups that encourage violence is highly dangerous; what if the organization decides you are expendable?

Later in Luke 12: 32 – 34 Jesus gives us the only answer that will last: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

PRAYER: Father God, help us to trust you above all else. Help us to serve you and love you. In this way, we will have treasure in heaven. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.