What do I treasure?
Ouch! Now we come to strong words to wake us up! James has been in our face, somewhat gentle so far, but now it is as if he is dropping the hammer and wants to smash! Actually, a blistering charge about God’s wrath that is to come! To Who? The Rich! Where? In the church.
James is coming back around again to the rich, who we saw back in Chapter 2. Do you remember? Is it wrong to be rich? No! Do you remember looking at Abraham? He was wealthy, but he walked with God, and was used mightily to bless the whole world. But,there must have been a huge problem! And the same problem hovers over us today. What a timely message! We live in a society that is driven by greed and materialism. People are judged more by their possessions than their character! And the perception is wealth equates to success and happiness! We have learned wealth can be extremely dangerous, or extremely helpful! James wants us to understand, what we do with our money shows what we value. It is a dead giveaway as to where our heart really is!
“Money is like fire. Used properly and under control, fire is a helpful tool. But if it is used carelessly or with evil intent, it can become a powerful force that destroys both property and life.” Stephen Cole
Let’s humbly come before the Lord and let Him teach us!
Last WEEK
We summed up James Chapter 4, that revealed the outwardsigns of pride, the opposite of humility.
The first sign was conflicts,
The second was worldliness,
The third slander, and
The fourth was leaving God out of our plans.
This WEEK
We will begin to LOOK at Chapter 5:1-6, another simple test regarding your riches.
Today
We will zoom in on these verses to see what God says.
Open GODcha to the Book of James.
NOTE:
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Or, you can use your hardbound Bibles and follow along.
You can print off this post and put in a Notebook!
Review the Big Picture of the Book of James
See GODcha’s Overview
Why Discover the Book of James >
Why Did James Write This Letter?
As you work through your discovery this week, keep James’ purpose in the back of your mind.
Before We Begin, Let’s Pray
Oh Lord, we come with humility and meekness to receive Your Holy Word. We know You are a good God and desire our best, our good. These are hard Words for us – help us to trust You knowing You know what we need. Allow Your Spirit help us to know You better, allow us to submit to You today – ready to learn and live.
Open the Deeper Discovery
Scroll to the #16 LEARN Question
#16. Ch 5, James says again, come now, you rich. As you see this test of faith, describe these rich and their riches. (v1-6)
Now, what will you want to concentrate onto help you stay focused?
Let’s LOOK at What God Says About
The Rich
Okay dear ones,
I am going to let you take it from here.
Don’t panic, you can do this!
We have spent weeks becoming familiar with certain skills to help us LOOK at what God says, letting GODcha lead us.
So today go for it!
Find your quiet place and enjoy your time with Jesus!
My prayer is that you will experience Him in a new way today!
We will meet back up tomorrow to see what He taught all of us.
Ponder What God Shows You
Don’t Forget to Record Your Discovery in Your Notes
You know I continue to reflect on
how I used to have notes everywhere…
notes from a church sermon on a bulletin;
notes for a study in a notebook;
notes of quiet times in a journal; etc.
But now I keep them all in one place,
And I go back over them again and again to bury God’s Word down deep and refresh my memory, so I won’t forget.
I love it!
Close Your Time With the Lord in Prayer
Find your quiet place and enjoy your time with Jesus!
My prayer is that you will experience Him in another wonderful way today!
Next: we will join together to see what we all discovered.
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