December 31 Thought for the day....seeing the most difficult cases healed

Do you believe God still heals today? It is always difficult when people are suffering to watch them go through it. James challenges us that there is a time when we are supposed to call for the leaders of the church to believe for God to heal.

Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. James 5:14,15

James is writing; if someone is "sick," meaning frail, extremely sickly, feeble, so much so that they are unable to make it to the fellowship, homebound, they can "call" request, ask, invite, certain people to come to them and pray.

Jesus commanded all of us if we are filled with the Spirit, to lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. However, James is talking about a different circumstance here.

There is an authority that comes with ordination. The word James uses, interpreted, "elders," means those in authority, the ones that are ordained, and chosen for leadership. This word is used over sixty times in the New Testament, and each time means those who are leadership, officially recognized in the church.

When these leaders come to those who are frail, feeble, extremely sick, they are to "petition with great passion," specifically asking God to perform the needed miracle. They are to do this by anointing with oil. The type of oil normally was a simple olive oil. However, the emphasis is not on the oil itself. The oil has no power; it is merely a symbol of the Holy Spirit's presence to heal. When the oil is applied the leadership and the ill are to believe the Presence of God is coming upon the person to heal!

As faith is applied to this prayer, there is an expectation of God's power pouring out over the person. The "name" of the Lord is an important part of faith. The name represents the authority of Christ. As the elders are anointing and praying in that authority of Christ, we are standing in the position of Jesus as his representative. This is powerful, but the prayer offered in faith is absolutely necessary, or there will be disappointing results.

Despite all of this, James is making it clear it is the Lord who does the healing! God is always the healer, no human possesses the ability to heal. We possess the faith to believe for it, but all healing is performed by God. However, we must respond the way God designed in order for the healing to take place.

James is giving us hope here. Those who have extremely difficult illnesses will be healed as the prayer is offered by the leadership, anointing representing the presence of the Holy Spirit, calling on the name of the Lord, to heal. There is no time limit here, it is simply God will act according to His will and purpose as we cry out to Him.

In the church, pray for the colds, backaches, toenail fungus; it does not take the special authority to believe for these and other types of things. However, if someone is gravely ill, this requires for the authority of the leadership to come and pray. So as a part of the church function in the power of the Holy Spirit to allow the Lord to heal through you, but difficult circumstances require the authority and anointing of leadership. As the church, we need to believe God still heals and wants to heal, and He makes the impossible possible!

Let's begin to believe for the impossible!

I will be taking a hiatus from doing the daily "Thought for the day" for 2020. Instead, I would challenge you to read through your Bible next year. Allow me to recommend getting a copy of the New Living Translation

December 30 Thought for the day....laugh, dance, sing

Our faith is a battle, a struggle, and war; however, often we forget it is also filled with love, joy, and peace! God gave us the ability to laugh and rejoice, and I think we don't spend enough time doing that. James challenges that in our lives as we continue to look at James 5:13.

"Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms."

The word James uses for "cheerful" come from the combination of the root of our English word euphoria and the concept of a swelling and growing passion or emotion. It is the idea of something happening that brings great joy; you want to explode with a joy that you just can not contain.

James is telling us because of our walk with Christ, we should have these types of feelings. As Christians, we need to celebrate each other, what God has done and is doing, and simply that fact that we are blessed with a deep relationship with Him! We don't do that enough. Take time to think about all the ways you are blessed and begin to be thankful and celebrate all of God's handy work in your life.

James tells us just how to do that, "sing psalms!" The idea James is giving us is different than you may think. The word interpreted "psalms" literally means to pluck an instrument, but the implication is to do something that expresses great joy; to dance, to sing, to shout at the top of your lungs, to laugh so hard you cry. James wants us to let the joy and gratitude we feel for the Lord at that moment out and to celebrate God's goodness toward us.

It is great to do it with people around, but remember even if you are alone; you are never alone God is with you if you are overjoyed about something. Thrilled about what God has done for you, even if you are alone, celebrate with God. Sometimes I find it actually easier to express my joy alone with Him, shouting dancing, singing, high-fiving God. It is fun to celebrate and to especially celebrate how good God has been to us!

I will be taking a hiatus from doing the daily "Thought for the day" for 2020. Instead, I would challenge you to read through your Bible next year. Allow me to recommend getting a copy of the New Living Translation

December 27 Thought for the day...dealing with suffering

At one point or another, all of us will go through a time of suffering. It is part of the human condition, and to be honest, it seems to be one of the ways that we grow as people of faith. Whether our suffering is physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, God has a way to get us through it and not just through it but to overcome.

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray." James 5:13

Have you ever noticed that the tone of James' letter is different than the other letters? The reason being James was a Pastor, the other letters were written by Apostles. As a Pastor, he dealt with people's day to day problems and helped them focus to get through them.

The word James uses for suffering here means something that is so evil it produces a devasting result in the person's life. It may have to do with sickness or disease, or it may be much more than that. It is the idea of a, day in and day out being harassed by a problem that is wearing you out and down.

The challenge James saw in his church was people floating from person to person telling their problems. They were getting some kind of dysfunctional need met but weighing others down with their problems rather than seeking for real answers. We all need to have people in our lives that we trust with whom we can share our struggles and know that they will take them to the Lord for us. James is saying while that is nice and appropriate to have spiritual mentors in your life that will do that, we must take responsibility for ourselves.

James challenges us in our suffering to "pray!" The word used for prayer here is an intimate word. It is not a request but a command. The word means to draw close and intimate to God and to do so by bringing an offering. The culture of the day understood how, when they were coming to a "god," they make any and all sacrifices to create an altar so a gift might be given that would be pleasing to their god. James chose this word specifically, but his implication is slightly different. It is the idea of breaking your intense suffering by honestly surrendering yourself and all that you are going through to  God.

Suffering in the life of a Christian is always used to draw us closer to Him. He does not cause the suffering, but the idea James is conveying is when we are in the suffering, and we draw intimately close to God, we allow Him to change us. We offer ourselves to Him, and He takes and changes us more into His image, showing us how to overcome by becoming more like Him. He causes growth and maturity, molding us, so we become a greater reflection of Him. In turn, we grow in grace, strength, power, and authority as we overcome one more obstacle the world, the flesh, or the devil have thrown our way. Our suffering ends, and victory is ours as we see our suffering in light of Him and draw close to Him giving ourselves even more to Him and His plan for our lives.

I will be taking a hiatus from doing the daily "Thought for the day" for 2020. Instead, I would challenge you to read through your Bible next year. Allow me to recommend getting a copy of the New Living Translation

December 26 Thought for the day...being different is OK

Being a team player is not always easy. Many men, especially, have the "lone wolf" mentality. We are far better together, are able to accomplish so much more, and encourage the use of everyone's gifts when we work as a team. Paul stresses that in 1 Corinthians 12;12

"For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ."

The word Paul uses for "many" in this verse describes both "huge quantities" as well as "great variety."  Paul is telling the church not only are their significant numbers in the church, each called by God with a specific purpose but there are multitudes of different types of giftings that are individually from God for the purpose and need of fulfilling the unity of the Body of Christ.

Some people believe that unity is when we all walk in lockstep together, acting and speaking exactly the same. Paul's description here is saying there are so many people and such a wide variety of gifts that the Body to be whole must make use of all of these people and gifts.

True unity does not mean that we all look and act the same. Instead, true unity is every person and every gift being fulfilled so that we are all unity in cause and passion. This is so strong that all hostilities and disagreements are set aside, and every gift, anointing, talent, personality is connected to honor and glorify God and to fulfill each of our destinies. The results are an amazing valuing and honoring of each other and God and an impact in the world that has never been seen.

I believe this is possible and that God has given the church a window of opportunity right now to make this happen. You are a gift and needful in my life and the life of the church as a whole. You are not expected to be anything or anybody other than who God called you to be, but you are expected to use all of that for the purpose of building up the Body and honoring God.

I will be taking a hiatus from doing the daily "Thought for the day" for 2020. Instead, I would challenge you to read through your Bible next year. Allow me to recommend getting a copy of the New Living Translation

December 25 Thought for the day...a different Christmas story

I love Christmas. It is a time of the year, where, if kept in perspective, is truly the most joyous time. There is the anticipation among nearly everyone, of celebration. We read the story in Matthew and Luke, and it comes to life. Today I want to share a different verse to remind us of the power of this story. 

Paul writes something a profound Christmas message to the Philippians in 2:7.

"but made Himself (Jesus) of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men."

Paul is verifying to us first, that before the baby was born in a manger, Jesus already existed. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have eternally existed before anything else was, God was!

"Made of no reputation," before the baby, Jesus in all his power and glory would not have been able to be in the presence of human beings. Paul is saying here that Jesus divested, relinquished, vacated certain things in order to come and live in human form, or else mankind would not have been able to be around Him.

Christ literally "taking on the form," took from His own creation a form of humanity so He might be able to live among us. Not in just any form but that of a slave. The Almighty, all-powerful God who created everything surrendered glory to reveal His character, His heart, His love to all mankind.

He did this in the "likeness of men." Hebrews 4:15 explains why He did it this way. He not only took on the appearance of mankind but was like mankind in every way, being able to feel the same suffering and temptations we battle as well. He did it all so He could stand and take on all sin for us as our high priest.

That is the greatest gift of the season and a wonderful reason to celebrate regardless of what you may be going through. He really loves you!

I hope this is a Christmas message for you. I want you to know because He came we have someone who knows exactly what we are going through and can bring us to a place of joy and peace through it! Have a blessed and Merry Christmas this year!

December 24 Thought for the day...be kind

We don't think much about kindness these days, but for Christians, especially during Christmas, this should be an easy thing to do. Sometimes what happens while celebrating the birth of our savior the one who loved us enough to die for us; we lose the meaning. We can get short-tempered, anxious, or even mean. Today I want us to keep kindness in mind.

In Ephesians 4:32 Paul writes this

"Be Kind to each other..."

This simple phrase will help our Christmas celebration to be so much more amazing. What Paul states with "be," our English doesn't quite express the full meaning. The word Paul uses signifies, constantly becoming, always being, in other words, to always be in the process of becoming.

In this case, what we are constantly becoming is "kind."  Paul chose a special Greek word here for kind. It goes beyond what we think of as kind, to also mean, useful, good, worthy, and benevolent. It is the same word that he used in describing the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22.

A way to interpret this scripture that is entirely in line with the meaning is, "If something is important to my loved one, I'll do my best to make it important to me."

Kindness is not something we generally grasp overnight, but it is here, a command from God for us. It can be hard to keep this in mind with all the expectations we have, but a little kindness can trump much preparation and be remembered far longer as well.

Have a Merry Christmas and a kind one as well!

December 23 Thought for the day...a key to enjoying Christmas

For many, Christmas is a time of friends, family, food, and faith. A time where we celebrate the Lord, life, and each other. Yet, for some, it is a time of the battle, warring depression, loneliness, failed expectation, loss, and many other things. At Christmas and throughout the year we need to maintain our armor, so nothing overcomes us, allow me to help you have a most joyous Christmas and a great New year with this thought.

Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Ephesians 6:16

Paul has listed the armor and then states, "above all!" He is not saying that faith is more important than salvation, truth, the Word, or anything else. What he is saying is that each of these things works because you choose to apply faith to them. It is impossible to please God without faith, but the Word becomes active in our lives because we believe it by faith. Faith is not greater than any other weapon but is necessary for each weapon to be most effective.

We can go through the holidays and sometimes hit lows, family cause struggles, life hits hard! We know God's Word, but we need to apply it, stand on it, and believe it despite how we feel. It takes faith to make that happen. It also takes to believe God's truth about us that He loves us always and will never let us down!

Another important point Paul makes is "taking the shield of faith." He is saying we can pick up or lay down faith. We have the power to choose to walk by and in faith or not. It is foolish to face this world, the devil, and our own fleshly desires without faith being alive in us.

I want to remind you today that faith is not about feelings. It is choosing to believe God's Word despite how you feel, what you see, or what others may say to you. It is choosing to believe you are loved, even if you don't feel it. It is choosing to believe that all things do work together for good when we believe in God. It is choosing to believe God always has an awesome plan for our lives despite what people, our bank statement, or our feelings may say! Get ready for a great holiday by raising up the shield of faith always!

I pray this is your best Christmas ever! If you can, come to join us for our Christmas Eve celebration on Sunday, December 23 at 6PM or Monday, December 24 at 6PM. Christmas Carols, shepherd, wise man, candle-lighting and a time of celebration...See you there!