October 10 Daily Discovery
October 10 Daily Discovery - Read James Chapter 5
This passage below is from the King James Version (ekjv.org).
Remarks from the Berean Fellowship follow the passage below.
[1] Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
[2] Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
[3] Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
[4] Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
[5] Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
[6] Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
[7] Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
[8] Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
[9] Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
[10] Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
[11] Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
[12] But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
[13] Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
[14] Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
[15] And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
[16] Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
[17] Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
[18] And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
[19] Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
[20] Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Patiently Wait for the Lord
We do still wait for the Lord.
Psa. 40:1-5
[1] I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
[2] He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
[3] And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
[4] Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
[5] Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
But not like they did!
They were waiting for the return of the Lord. Our waiting involves patient endurance and seeking God in prayer for His provision in life. Since Jesus returned long long ago, we are no longer waiting for His return.
1 Thess. 1:5-10
[5] For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
[6] And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:
[7] So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
[8] For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
[9] For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
[10] And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
The Return of Jesus was Drawing Near
In the gospel records, Jesus stated repeatedly that He would be returning after His death, burial, resurrection and ascension. He made it clear that He would return within one generation. This is why all of the apostolic writers were anticipating the imminent return of Jesus Christ in their day. Because in their day it was imminent.
We use what is called the Gregorian calendar (created by an apostate religion) and the history that we read tells us it was created in 1582 to fix a small error in the Julian calendar, ensuring our dates align with the sun and the seasons. It's a solar calendar, with 365 days and leap years every 4 years. If we accept it as accurate, then the imminent return of Jesus that the apostles were expecting within their generation (by 70 A.D.) was 2, 000 years ago!
And you are expecting Jesus to return soon?
Admonition for the Rich and Powerful
There is the golden rule of the Bible as well as the golden rule of men.
- The golden rule of the bible is essentially this: "Treat others the way you want to be treated."
- The golden rule of men is essentially this: "The people that have the gold are the ones that get to make the rules."
With wealth comes additional power and influence among men. This power and influence can be used for good or evil but it is unfortunately almost always used for evil. This is what James is warning about.
Being rich brings with it the ability to get away with evil things, -- in this life. Ultimately no one gets away with anything because we all are going to stand before the Judge someday and will be rewarded for our deeds both good and evil.
The love of money is the root of all evil indeed.
What You Should Do Depends upon Your Condition
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Personal problems: pray
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Extremely happy: sing
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Sick: ask for healing
Care for One Another Spiritually, Too
A Christian could be well emotionally and physically and could be materially blessed, but if they are not walking in fellowship with God they are not well and we should care and do something about it if we can!
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