“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains” (James 5:7).

The question of why is important for us to ask.  Why am I here?  Many have fallen asleep and are in the trap of living as if this life is all there is.  You have been called to be conformed to the image of Christ.  How are you doing?  It will take all of this life and perhaps more to accomplish all that needs to be done.  What is the crop you are hoping for from the seeds that have been sown?

Lord, You have called me through faith and by grace to walk the narrow path.  You have called for me to follow You.  Lead me, O Lord, so that I would walk humbly in the path You have set before me.  Let me not waver, nor fall asleep, but live into the life You intend and for which You died on the cross.  Help me pick up my own cross and follow You as You accomplish my salvation.

Lord Jesus, I too have fallen asleep and lived as though this life was all that mattered.  Guide me today in those ways which will help me live according to Your goodness and mercy and will shape me to be more like You.  In all that happens to me, Lord, may I always be found walking the narrow path that You have set before me.  Guide me in the way of everlasting life.  Amen.

“You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.  You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you” (James 5:5).

Have you sought the good life?  Are you living for yourself?  These are legitimate questions we need to ask ourselves.  Is my generosity something that hampers my ability to do things I would rather do?  Does my giving preclude spending money on myself?  It is not that you give to gain, but that keeping things for yourself may harm you spiritually.  Think on these things and ask the hard questions.

Lord, I am selfish.  I do want to live the good life.  Help me Lord to see beyond myself and care for others.  Lead me, Lord, in the way of living as You have designed it to be lived.  You know where I fall short and where I think of myself first.  Guide me out of this way of thinking so that I may be conformed to the image of Christ.  Through all these things, teach me to be faithful.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the example You have given us all.  You had nothing in this world, kept nothing, and left nothing from this world.  But for our salvation, You had everything and gave it away.  You who needed nothing became nothing for the sake of us who think we have everything but have nothing.  Lead me Lord in the way You know I need to go and help me follow You always.  Amen. 

“Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth” (James 5:4).

Do we cheat?  Do not answer that question so quickly.  We all like our cheap goods, produced by labor somewhere else.  We like to have the better deal.  Sin is sloppy and many are unaware how we participate in transactions at the expense of others.  Be that as it may, be as fair as you can be.  Know that the Lord holds you accountable for what you do and do not.

Lord, raise my awareness so that I see how things truly are.  When possible, lead me away from doing things that come at the expense of others.  Guide me in Your goodness to not only know these things, but to be gracious and generous to those who are walked on by others.  Lead me, Lord, in the way of everlasting life and teach me to be conscientious and caring of the welfare of others.

Lord Jesus, You did not come to be served, but to serve.  In Your example, help me to understand that in You I am called to also serve my neighbor.  Help me to be an encouragement to others by being fair, aware, and caring.  Guide me by Your example and teach my heart to be sensitive to every situation.  Lead me, O Lord, so that I may now and always be guided by You.  Amen.

“Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” (James 5:3)

Yes, gold and silver corrode.  Things in this world are temporary, even the things we think permanent.  There will be a new heaven and a new earth.  Thus, the Lord has spoken.  Do not fall into the trap of thinking that anything other than the Lord is forever.  He made all things and only in Him is there a forever.  Come then and live the life which is forever and do not cling to what is temporary.

Lord, teach me to enjoy the things You have given me to use on this earth, but to know that only You are permanent.  Teach me to be a good steward, for that is an approved character, but my property, that which I tend and care for is only temporary.  Lead me, Lord, in the way You want me to go and then help me go in that direction.  In and through all things, guide me in the upward way of being Your disciple.

Lord Jesus, You call all disciples the same way by saying, “Come and follow me.”  Lead me in the way of life and help me to become aware of what You are doing.  In You is all hope and an eternal future.  Guide me into that future and help me to cling to You.  You are my Rock and Salvation.  In You is all hope.  You know what I need, Lord.  Thank You for lifting me up into Your never-failing love.  Amen.

“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.  Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten” (James 5:1-2).

It is no sin to have things, but if your things have you, then watch out.  This was the warning that Jesus gave.  Too many are wrapped up in their possessions and do not think about the reality of the offer the Lord is giving them to lift up their souls to be with Him eternally.  Do not fall into the trap of thinking these things do not matter.  They are essential for eternal life and the reality of the direction you are heading.

Lord, help me to understand that on the one hand it does not matter, but on the other it is critical about how much I have and cling to.  It is critical if I let the things I have become what I worship.  Teach me to be rich in You and grow in the likeness of Christ.  Help me to invest in higher things which cannot be taken away, nor rust, and cannot be destroyed.  Help me turn my life over to You.

Lord Jesus, You have come to rescue us from all the traps of this world.  I own nothing and I own everything.  Both are true when I am in You.  Regardless of what the world says I have, help me to see that these are just things, but You are Truth itself.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way You have established so that I may walk humbly in the path You have set before me.  Guide me now and always.  Amen.

“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).

Here is where you see that to be ignorant is a sin.  Naivety is not knowing.  Ignorance is to ignore what you have been taught and should know.  When you know something is right and you ignore it, it is a sin.  That is why the saying, “Ignorance is no excuse.”  The Lord calls for us to be diligent and aware.  The Lord asks us to seek righteousness all the days of our life.  Come then into the Lord’s presence and do as He would have you do.

Lord, You know those places where I ignore what is right.  Help me understand so that in You I may have all hope and a future.  Let me not ignore what is going on around me, but be a willing participant in living in the truth You have shown me.  Guide me into the work You have given me to do and then help me to live out my call according to Your good purposes, for in You alone is there all fulfillment.

Lord Jesus, You came to accomplish our salvation.  You did not ignore what needed to be done but did all that was needed.  Help me to live into the life to which You have called me so that I would not ignore those things around me which I see and know that I can do something  about, doing what I can in the face and fact of this evil age.  Lead me, Lord and then, by Your Spirit, help me to follow You always in and through all You give me to do.  Amen.

“But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil” (James 4:16).

Self-confidence and a can-do attitude are the backbone of good living.  Really?  Sometimes our independent thinking is nothing more than arrogance.  Come then and see how the Lord can and does deal with arrogance, granting humility and a willing spirit.  The Lord knows your weaknesses and desires to make of you someone who is in Him forever.  Shed the arrogance and learn from the Lord.

Lord, You know where I am weak and want others to recognize me.  Guide me Lord so that I may be guided in Your goodness and according to Your mercy into true humility.  Lead me according to Your goodness to know that in You is all hope and an eternal future.  May I not look to myself, but to You to see through the fog of this age and know that You are the One through whom all things have their being.

Lord Jesus, You could have come into this world as a great king demanding allegiance.  For You, it would not have been arrogant.  But instead, You came humbly as the servant of all to show us the way.  If You, who are Lord and Master of us all, came humbly, then who am I to have any arrogance at all?  Lead me, O Lord, in order that I would follow Your example and be led by You and learn what You will teach me.  Amen.  

“Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”  (James 4:15)

The Lord is Lord and He knows our days.  In prayer, in plans, in all things, be guided by the goodness and mercy of the Lord and submit to His preparation of your soul for heaven.  There is much that needs to be done and He will do what needs to be done.  Your plans should always include the need to submit to the Lord’s will.  There is only One for whom you should be working.

Lord, You know I need a change of attitude.  Guide me according to Your will to see through the fog of this age and to look to You in, for, and through all things.  Indeed, we pray: may Your will be done in me here on earth as it shall be in heaven.  Lead me toward this heavenly goal so that I may now and always be led by You and look for Your will to be done in my life.  Guide me, dear Lord, into the future You know is coming.

Lord Jesus, God in the flesh, You knew where Your earthly life would end.  You were heading to the cross.  You knew because You are God.  Lead me to move into the future You intend for me because I know You, the One who knows all things.  Guide me in the grace You give to live according to the many promises You have given me.  Lead me this day as I ask for the Father’s will to be done in me.  Amen.

“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).

What are three score and ten, four score, or even a hundred years, compared to eternity.  We often adopt our temporal perspective on things that causes us to have wrong priorities.  We have been freed from sin in order to become children of God.  In that becoming, our eternal life is infinitely more important than what we think of this life.  Do not be caught up in the thinking of this world, but be transformed by Christ.

It is fine, as long as the Lord wills, to think about what you will do if there is a tomorrow, but it does no good to live as though tomorrow in this age is assured.  How many I have seen that lament and even deny the faith when a loved one dies unexpectedly.  Your faith is dependent upon circumstances?  No, your faith is based upon the One who knows all circumstances, the Lord Jesus Christ, who redeemed you.

Lord Jesus, You are returning to judge the living and the dead.  You have come into this world to free as many as would turn to You in order that we might become children of the Heavenly Father.  Guide me, dear Lord, in the way of living such that I focus upon what is right and good.  Lead me now and forever, Lord, to see past the few years I have in this age and live with You always foremost in my heart and mind.  Amen. 

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit” (James 4:13).

We do this often in our culture.  We have our calendars and appointment schedules and plan our lives around all that we are going to do.  What foolishness.  You and I do not know what tomorrow will bring.  We have no idea what the Lord has in mind.  Therefore, do not live with the certainty that you will have tomorrow, but in the certainty of the promise of the One who saves.

Lord, at the least, help me to have as much faith in You as I have in my schedule.  From there grow me in the truth such that I am not shaken when my schedule is changed.  Guide me according to Your purposes to live into the life You give through the promise of salvation.  In that promise let me place my trust and energy.  Guide me to do what is right always and to live as You know I need to live.

Lord Jesus, You knew that You were heading to Jerusalem that final time to die on the cross.  But You are God.  We do not know what is in the future other than that we all have an appointment with death.  Lead me, Lord, to live looking to You so that I may grow in true trust and hope.  Help me to not shirk my earthly duties, but neither to live apart from my hope in You.  Amen.