“You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.
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.”
James 5:8,15
Dear HBIC Family,
I have always thought that if I ever write a book, I want it to be called The Price of Convenience. For as long as I can remember, I have noticed that we are often too quick to pay whatever price for our convenience. I first learned this about myself. Why make dinner if I can grab fast food? Why walk if I can drive? Why call if I can text? We can probably all think of tons of other daily examples, because the truth is, we have all become creatures of habit enslaved to convenience.
One of the challenges that James consistently writes about in his epistle is that, even though it’s easy to think that our present situation is all that there is, there is actually so much more than our eyes can see and so much more than what we experience. Yes, we face trials and temptations, but we have God with us, teaching us to persevere. Yes, it seems like the rich and wealthy are prospering, but in the end, it is only those who fully trust and rely on God who will triumph. Yes, it is easier to say what we believe, but we must also really know it and then also be living it.
Though convenience seems to be our default, living for Christ is something about which we have to be intentional. We not only have to fight our nature and nurture, but we have to consistently be surrendering to the Spirit. We have to live, always keeping Jesus at the center. We must be fully dependent on God every single day and in every single way.
To help us be faithful, James writes this epistle. To keep us focused on God and not the world’s convenient traps, James writes this epistle. And before leaving us, James leaves his final words of advice stressing the importance of patience and prayer. As you prepare for this week’s services, I would like to invite you to read and meditate on James 5:7-20. As you reflect, I would like to ask you to focus on the following questions:
How is God calling you to be patient right now?
Where is God currently demanding more faithfulness from you?
How are you currently praying and hearing from God?
Where is one example of earnest prayer that helps to encourage you still?
Who is one person on your heart that you will pray for this week?
There is a reason why we hold on to the final words of people who have gone on. These words may be offered at the very end of life, or sometimes we just remember them in our most clear memory with the departed. Often, they’re full of wisdom and given as a gift to help us carry on. James has long gone on to heaven, but his concluding words still encourage today: patience and prayer will be used by God to help us keep on keeping on.
I look forward to worshipping together this week. What a blessing to be able to accept God’s invitation together and to worship as a family our God who is our Maker and the Lord Almighty who watches over us. We will also be having a special time of child dedication and celebrate with families as they pledge before God and our community to raise their children to know the faith and live for Christ.
I pray that the week finds you all doing well. I hope you know the love of God, the light of the Spirit, and the peace that Jesus brings in very special ways this week.
God bless you all.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Hank (James 5:8, 15)