What doest thou here?

photo: http://www.tonycooke.org

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.  And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? (1Kings 19:11-13 KJV)

Introduction

The question the Lord put to Elijah speaks to me. Elijah had, in the previous couple of weeks leading up to this moment, been used of God to defeat over 400 prophets of Baal but now had fled to Mt. Horeb in fear due to the threats of the wicked queen Jezebel. James said that Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are. Too many times we let the devil and this world get us cornered in a cave.  It is so easy to get in the cave and the roaring wind, shaking of the earth, and fires in our lives seem to drown out all else.

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The Book of James – The Power of Prayer James 5:16-20

Introduction

Our final post continues the thought introduced in our last post on prayer.  This is also our last lesson on the series we started back in November of last year.  I hope you have enjoyed the series; I for one have enjoyed bringing it to you.

Pray for Each Other

In verse 16 James challenges us to be concerned with, and pray for, each other.  The latter part of this verse is often quoted “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  There is power in prayer and to those who pray, faith believing, God will hear and answer.  James describes the manner of prayer as “effectual fervent” prayer.  It would stand to reason that we examine this manner of prayer so our prayers would be heard.

 

The Book of James – Prayer FAQ James 5:13-15

Introduction

James finishes his letter by reminding us of the power of prayer in verses 13-20.  We will be covering verses 13-15 in this post.  These verses cover three types of prayer requests: affliction, prayers of praise and sickness.

There is something I have noticed during prayer requests over the years: requests for sickness far outnumber prayer requests for the lost.  Our bible is full of challenges for us to tell the lost about Jesus.  When we get out of balance on our requests it says something about us; it says we are living in the here and now and are not thinking so much about spiritual matters.  However, to say that asking for, or praying for, the sick shouldn’t be done is not right either.  James clearly states that we can ask for, and pray for, the sick.

 

The Book of James – Have Mercy James 5:7-11

Introduction

We are heading into the homestretch of our study in James.  Last time we talked about those who take advantage and cheat in order to accumulate wealth.  The charge we receive next will be challenging even to the point of saying “that’s not fair”.

 

The Book of James – Riches to Rags James 5:1-6

Introduction

The title of this post looks a bit odd: the reason? we usually hear it the other way around.  One attribute of James I have not discussed thus far is his passion.  We are going to see his passion front and center in this post.

In the first part of this chapter James has some very harsh words for the rich of this world who take advantage of the poor.  Look out, the fur is about to fly.

 

The Book of James – Here Comes the Judge James 4:11-17

Introduction

The verses that make up tonight’s lesson deal with people who think they are super Christians and believe their purpose in life, dare I say calling in life is to correct everyone, and when they don’t listen, talk down to them.

Here Comes the Judge

 

The Book of James – War Between the Ears James 4:5-10

Introduction

We have been talking about the evil desires that are inside us.  Even after salvation we still have to fight against thinking and doing the wrong thing.  In this post James gives us a how-to list to help us fight the “War Between the Ears”.

 

The Book of James – God’s Deaf Ear James 4:3-4

God’s Deaf Ear

Verse 3 details an attempt to ask God for pleasures.  The bible clearly states this prayer will not be answered.  While James teaches us not to be a pleasure seeker we also get a lesson in prayer: we learn that God does not respond to “Lord, give me a shiny new car so I’ll be happy”. The phone might be ringing but God will not answer.  No, God is not deaf, He chooses not to hear for our sakes.

 

The Book of James – Pleasure Seekers James 4:1-2

Introduction

In chapter 3 James described the weapon we all carry, the tongue.  As we enter chapter 4 James turns his attention to the device that fires that weapon, our mind.

Pleasure Seekers

James starts with a question… where does all the fighting and bickering come from?  Envy and strife come from the evil passions we allow inside the mind.  James uses the plural form of the word lust to describe those passions.  When we hear the word “lust” we usually reserve that for only one type of thought.  Lust, as James uses it, is the pursuit of self-serving pleasure.  You can lust after a shiny new sports car thinking it will give you pleasure.  You can lust after a house, a new wardrobe or even a new look.  Lusting after things has one common trait, to give pleasure to self at any expense.  It’s “all about me”.  When we have an “all about me” mindset then envy, strife and hard feelings are not far behind.

 

The Book of James – The Tongue Part II James 3:8-18

Introduction

Chapter 3 has only one theme, guard what you say.  We will be picking up in verse 8 and finish out the chapter.

I Just Can’t Help It

James goes right to the heart of the matter calling the tongue an unruly evil and deadly poison.

As we get to verse 8 we need to ponder what James is saying; he says that we cannot tame the tongue.  Let’s stop and let that soak in.  Does that mean we can say whatever we want and have an excuse?  Let’s step into our next segment and see.