The Healing Congregation - The Bible Reading

Introducing The Bible Reading: James 5:1-20
(comments based on the Life Application Bible)

One of the purposes of this book - James - is to teach right Christian behaviour. James, who was the brother of Jesus, is by now a leader in the Jerusalem church, is writing to the first century Jewish Christians.

With energetic style and crisp, well chosen words, James confronts the conflict head on, that we can profess to trust God and to be his people, yet we still cling tightly to the world and its values.

At times we might possess all the right answers but contradict the gospel with our lives. James urges us to talk the Christian faith without forgetting to live it. In these verses we will certainly hear the point that, the proof of the reality of our faith, is a changed life.

This book has been described as a how-to book on Christian living and it is full of confrontation, challenge and commitment. Bible passages such as this one are very important and helpful at a time when being a Christian is very hard. We are persecuted in ways we might not realize.

For example into our personal life we might bring our rights, our wanting things quickly...to our fellowship we might bring pressure from health and safety so we end up having no outings which used to build fellowship...into our community life we might take help only to those who only help themselves... the list goes on.

Before we know it our connection with God gets blurred and we might not even realize it because it is how the rest of the world lives. In chapters 1-4 James outlines some of the characteristics of the Christian life. We will join his writings in chapter 5 as he begins to talk about our responsibilities to God, to others and to our own church fellowship.

The Healing Congregation - Theme of Service

Dried Or Revived?

Image taken from Google Images

These daffodils in my hand are very dry - see above for a picture of dry daffodils. Instead of throwing them away after Easter I kept them but no longer watered them. Look at them now. At certain times in my life I have felt as tired as these flowers look. Spiritually there have been times when I have felt as dry as these flowers are.

Those of you who have experienced such times will know how wonderful it is when you begin to feel better, revived, or as the dictionary states you recover new vigour. God is good and his Spirit knows how to help us. There is always hope, and just like this beautiful fresh daffodil taken from our garden this very morning, we too can feel revived once again, if not physically, at least spiritually.

Daffodils taken from Google Images

The only problem that I have is that I have cut this flower from its stem so it does not matter how much water or sun it gets it will not last long. Having had difficult times in my own life, and having observed other peoples' lives I now know from experience that we cannot last long without the Lord in our lives.

We try, we try very hard but at some point, sooner or later, we will end up like these dried-up daffodils. We really need to be connected to God. The thing is that we are meant to be connected to God, we are actually going against the grain, the tide when we attempt to detach ourselves from him.

That's why it is better to stay close to the Lord. I encourage you, urge you to connect with God, to let his Spirit revive you, transform you into a deeper level with him than ever before in your life.

What Kind Of Wounds Do You Have? - Nooma

What kind of wounds do you have?
How have your wounds shaped who you are today?

Bible Reading - Romans 12:19 (MSG) "Don't insist in getting even; that's not for you to do. I'll do the judging", says God. "I'll take care of it"

Have you ever really gotten revenge? If so, how did it make you feel afterwards? If we take revenge when we get hurt, do you think it's like saying to God, "I think I can handle this better than you"?

Bible Reading - Proverbs 15:3 (CEV) The LORD sees everything, whether good or bad. If God's right there when people get hurt, why do you think he doesn't step in to stop it from happening? Do you trust that God is ultimately going to take care of everything? Why is God's forgiveness of us so crucial to our forgiveness of others?

Bible Reading - Luke 6:37 (NIV) Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Can we forgive somebody without being able to be around them? Do you have people like that in your life? Do you believe forgiveness is really more about the one forgiving than the one being forgiven? Does that view on forgiveness make it easier to forgive? Are there people you need to forgive? If someone you need to forgive died before you made amends, what kind of regrets would you have?

Concluding Words by Rob Bell... So may you forgive as you've been forgiven, may you give to others what's been given to you, may you set someone free and find out that it was you, and may you do it today, because you might not have the chance tomorrow

XS Baggage - ToThinkabout

Are you one of these people who always manages to carry excess baggage? You packed too many shoes, too many clothes for all eventualities, too many toiletries and gadgets to save you money and so that you can enjoy home comforts whilst on holiday? And why not?

The problem with such a appealing idea is that you will usually have a price to pay for the luxury! Excess baggage at the airport is no laughing matter...nor is having to carry a lot of stuff about on your own! Packing, unpacking ...

I recently found out I had been carrying baggage myself for a very long time which was weighing me down. We all do in some way or another. Life is full of things we carry and don't know what to do with it or how to get rid of it.

I am dealing with my luggage, painfully and slowly...and as time goes by it seems to feel easier. What excess luggage do you have, and do you really want it weighing you down? De-clutter like me and together we shall get through. Not easy, but possible.