Our Future

Peter 1:1-9English Standard Version (ESV)

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I+Peter+1%3A+1-9&version=ESV)

We are all exiles as we are not in our eternal home yet!  We are exiled from a place that we do not know, much like the Jews who were taken from their land.  Living in captivity for 70 years, many never knew the land in which they were taken from.  Yet we, as they did, long for it and want to go there someday.  It is so easy to forget that this is not our home.  I think the sorrows of this world are reminders that there are better things to come.  We become some immersed in the known that we forget about the yet to come. 

Today let’s remember who we live for and where are future is.  We have an inheritance that can’t be stolen, burned, or destroyed in any way.  Those treasures are kept in Heaven and guarded by God!  How awesome is that?

When we view life on this earth as temporary and a future that is beyond measure, we can see that things of this world are not worth worrying about. 

As you seek Him today, keep your eyes focused on the good that is to come through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Seeking Him with all our hearts,

Sheila

Hurting People

James 5:13-20English Standard Version (ESV)

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? 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 will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.[a] 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+5%3A13-20&version=ESV)

This is a true picture of an effective prayer life.  When we suffering we should be praying to God and when we are happy we should be praising God.  This is a beautiful picture of people gathering around a child of God and praying for them.

Notice this is a picture of the church.  In verse 16 James makes it clear that we need to be confessing our sins to one another and we should be praying for one another.  As a result those who are wandering will come back and those who help in bringing him back will stand victorious before the Lord.  Remember in previous verses James said not to judge?  Some would say that the action he describes here would be considered judging but clearly it is not.  When we know a brother or sister is going down the wrong path we need to be there to guide them back to Christ.  That begins, like this passage did, in prayer.  We can do nothing without the strength and knowledge of Christ.  We must pray and then act. 

It is not easy when our friends make bad choices and even harder when we visit with them and encourage them and they turn the other way instead.  I struggle to know what to do in that situation and know I don’t always handle it well.  This I do know, seek the Lord first, love them second, and most importantly pray for them always.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

What are We Doing to Prepare for the Harvest?

James 5:7-12English Standard Version (ESV)

7 Be patient, therefore, brothers,[a] until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+5%3A+7+-+12&version=ESV)

We were once farmers and so this passage brings a special smile to my face.  Once you put the crop in the ground there is still work to be done but it is up to the Lord as to whether that crop will produce much or little.  Now there is cultivating to keeps the weeds out and for us there was irrigating to water the crop but the best time of year was the harvest.  Although it was hard work, it was worth the long days as the crop was finally mature and ready for market. 

                                     

Let’s put that in the perspective of the Christian.  Once the seed of Christ is planted into the hearts of a new believer, there is still work to be done.  We need to cultivate by teaching, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16English Standard Version (ESV) (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+3:16&version=ESV)  I would say the teaching and admonishing one another in wisdom is like the cultivating of the crops.  We need to keep the worldliness, weeds of this life out of the lives of the new believer.  That is not always an easy task because past experiences can haunt them and they may even crave them.  The weeds of sin need to be chopped down before they get too big and take over the life of the individual, therefore we admonish. The praise, hymns, and thankfulness are the watering, the fresh rain.  These things refresh our soul unless we complain about what songs we sing and how loud the music is.    The harvest is coming so we need to have patience as we deal with people who might not always make the right choices.  We must seek the Lord and His wisdom as we do this in order that He may be glorified at the day of Harvest. 

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Riches

James 5:1-6English Standard Version (ESV)

5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+5%3A+1+-6&version=ESV&utm_expid=13466113-10.DRY5Q0U2TpaXvRe49bTgCA.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.biblegateway.com%2)

All those times that the rich got richer and the poor got poorer, will be turned around in Heaven for those that know the Lord.  I don’t believe this is just talking about rich people.  There are many Christians who are wealthy.  There are, I am, people living in poverty that do the same thing as a wealthy person but in an entirely different way.  But there are many living in poverty who know the Highest Power.  These verses describe someone who has gained their riches or their power by putting others down and taking advantage of them.  There should not be one true Christian that uses people to gain earthly wealth.

If you have ever been taken advantaged of be sure to remember these verses.  This life is a short time compared  to our eternal life with Christ.  We don’t have to live here forever but we do get to go to Heaven and vengeance on those that hurt us will be repaid.

Trust in the Lord, not money.  Fix your eyes on our future home, not the here and now and you will see beyond the hurt and into Glory.  Seek Him and know that He cares for you.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila