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READ:

James 5:16a

^16a Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.

EXHORTATION:

The situation in view here is that of Christians who suffer from some form of sickness, apparently as a chastisement for their sins. They are advised to confess the offences they have committed to those whom they have injured. The specific reason for such an advice is that the offenders who have fallen sick “may be healed”.

The “confession of sins” taught here, is not to a priest, as the Catholics teach. No mention at all is made here of a priest or even of a minister of religion as the one to whom the confession is to be made. The confession referred to is for “faults” with reference to “one another”. In other words, if one has injured another, he should confess it to the one whom he has hurt. Nothing is mentioned here about confessing faults to those whom we have not injured at all. There is no mention here of absolution (or pardon granted) either by a priest or any other person.

Upon the confession of faults to one another, they are instructed to pray one for another. The offender and the aggrieved party should pray for each other. In other words, confession should not be made perfunctorily, but in a truly devout spirit, that is, in a spirit consistent with prayer. Confessing of sin should not be done merely to get through a duty. It must come from the heart, in such a way that the brother whom he has offended would be moved to pray with him.

It also teaches us that when the offender (being sick) is unable to visit the aggrieved party to offer his sincere apologies but indicates (in some ways) his desire to make confession, the offended person must not haughtily refuse his humble request. The offended person must be humble and patient enough to examine his own heart so as not to deny the request of the repenting offender. Both must get together and pray one for another. Mutual prayer demands mutual love and confidence. Quarrelling and fault-finding will prevent us from praying together. So we should forgive each other freely and from our hearts, because not forgiving hinders prayer (Mark 11:25-26). We must also desire each other’s spiritual and physical good. It is such mutual love and prayer that will be rewarded with the restoration to health of the sick Christian. It is ungodly to keep a cold, haughty distance and perpetuate mutual estrangement ever after.

READ:

Psalm 27:13

¹³ I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

EXHORTATION:

This testimony of David shows how important it is for God’s children to keep their confidence and hope in the LORD’s goodness, even when they are in the midst of hostility. David was in a terrible condition of mind because of his enemies’ concerted efforts to destroy him. So he cried unto God, in the previous verse, saying, “Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty” (Psalm 27:12).

When numerous, formidable enemies surrounded him, David’s only assurance was that the Lord would be good to him. He believed that God would uphold him and would deliver him from the devices of the wicked men.

It was David’s faith in the LORD’s goodness that strengthened his heart to endure his intimidating circumstances. His remembrance of God’s goodness inspired courage and awakened fortitude in him. In a time of perplexity and trial, he had confidence in God, and believed that He would uphold his weakened heart and hands. He believed that God would permit him to see the evidence of His goodness and mercy while yet on earth. It granted his troubled soul nerves of steel to press on, and trust in God to conjure up victory out of seeming defeat.

Our hearts can faint if we do not put our trust and hope in the LORD’s goodness. When the heart is dejected, it would refuse to believe that there will be deliverance and blessings. The best cure for such devastating pessimism is our hope in the LORD’s goodness. If we believe, first and foremost, that the Lord is good to all who trust in Him, our souls shall find strength to hold off the assault of doubt and pessimism.

Our Christian life must be full of persistent belief in God’s goodness. In our enterprises for God, in the midst of our inward conflicts and our fears, as well as in times of our victories and prosperity, our only safeguard is to believe in His goodness. Only faith in the LORD’s goodness can excite our hearts to the most courageous of actions of faith. Such confidence in the LORD would arouse the most holy and earnest passions within us. It would help us to be diligent and prevent us from falling short of all that is expected of us as God’s servants.

READ:

1 Peter 5:7

⁷ Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

EXHORTATION:

Christians have great hope of exaltation at Christ’s coming, which is yet future. What about the humbling ordeals in their life on earth? Well, 1 Peter 5:7 avows that God will abide with them as their support in their humbling circumstances. Early Christians suffered much humiliation and debilitating circumstances. Because of their faith in Christ, they suffered loss of family standing, loss of friends, loss of status and respect, loss of their livelihood and, in extreme cases, loss of even their lives. These were real experiences of Christians of Asia Minor in those days. Certainly, many of them also experienced other disappointing and disheartening situations, such as what you and I face in our lives today.

The Greek word for “care” (mérimna) refers to the feeling of anxiety or dread in view of dangers or misfortune that have occurred. Such feelings would have a debilitating effect on our lives. Therefore, Peter urges us to cast our cares on God. We are not to allow our minds to become selfpitying or self-condemning. Whether they be cares caused by trials or by our sins, let us lay all upon our Lord who, in His mercy and love, cares for us. We must not try and handle them on our own. We must place all our cares, whether big or small, in the Lord’s hand, knowing that He cares for us and will manage all our problems according to His eternal power and wisdom. Each time a new burden arises, turn it over to Him in prayer.

Peter himself had full knowledge that the Lord cared for him. Jesus called Peter to follow Him (Matthew 4:18-20), healed his mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31), gave him a big catch of fish (Luke 5:1-11), sharply rebuked and corrected him (Matthew 16:21-25), helped him pay his tribute or tax (Matthew 17:24-27), rescued him from sinking into the sea and rebuked his “little faith” (Matthew 14:22-33), prayed for the protection of his faith which was under attack by Satan, who had desired to sift him like wheat (Luke 22:31-32), healed the ear of Malchus which he had severed (Luke 22:50-51; John 18:10-11), and also delivered him from prison (Acts 12). Peter had experienced firsthand the goodness of the Lord in such great abundance that he had no qualms in exhorting us to cast all our burdens on the Lord.

The Lord is neither unaware nor unconcerned about what His people are going through. He will support them and help them so that they may serve Him with joy of heart.

READ:

Matthew 6:33

³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

EXHORTATION:

Instead of being preoccupied with material provision for our daily lives, we are exhorted here by the Lord Jesus Christ to make God’s kingdom and His righteousness our primary object of attention. We must be deliberate to give preference to spiritual matters over worldly matters. Nothing should be allowed to take precedence over our commitment to seek the spiritual and moral excellence in our lives. Moreover, we must exert great care and diligence to live a consecrated life to God. It must be our chief business on earth. Our hearts, minds and bodies must be wholly dedicated to fulfilling our spiritual duties, both in public and in private.

There are those who seek to be religious for the sake of material gain. They appear to be very prayerful and devout. But let us not forget that the first things in their lives are not what they appear to do, but the motive of their hearts. When piety is expressed for temporal advantage, it is not the kingdom of God that is first sought after, but the material gain. Therefore they seek first the temporal advantages.

Let not our hearts be deceived into making spiritual matters subservient to earthly matters. Let us not seek God and His kingdom so as to become wealthier and healthier. In fact, we must let all our pursuits in life be subservient to our desire for God, His kingdom and His righteousness. Whatever be our engagements in life, we must remember that we have a higher goal. And in whatever relationship we have with men, we should never forget that we have a greater commitment to God.

We are specifically instructed by our Lord to seek first “the kingdom of God”. What is the kingdom of God? It is to have Him reign over our hearts. His will must be our highest concern. Our prayer always ought to be: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). It is also to serve Him in His kingdom. The Lord exercises His authority and will today through His church. So, we must serve the Lord in His church to exalt His greatness. We must give ourselves to the extension of His kingdom through the preaching of the Gospel. We must also live in obedience to His Word to promote His righteousness. Let us also look forward to His coming as King of kings. If these are our chief concerns of life, the Lord promises to take care of all our needs.

READ:

Matthew 6:31

³¹ Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

EXHORTATION:

Often we are very concerned about what we shall eat, drink or clothe ourselves with. Such concerns about our mundane provisions have seldom been thought of as an evil matter. But our Lord Jesus reproves us for being anxious about the provision of even basic necessities. If the Lord prohibits anxiety about gaining such essential things for our life, how much more condemnable would be our craving for luxuries of life. Uneasiness and displeasure created by an inordinate desire for material extravagance would surely be severely condemned by our Lord.

God’s children should live in quiet dependence and confidence in Him. This quiet dependence on God translates into our happiness, usefulness, strength and security. There are great spiritual advantages in not being fretful over our daily provisions but trusting God for them. When we depend on Him for our daily supplies, we will find ourselves strengthened and growing in faith. We will also experience greater confidence and courage to attempt great things which God would have us to undertake.

There is no advantage in excessive carefulness. Worrying not only destroys our happiness, but also proves us to be without faith and confidence in the goodness of our Lord. It will also lead us to many evils, such as bitterness, murmuring, covetousness, jealousy, envy and theft. Anxiety does us harm. It can numb our minds from conducting ourselves wisely, and push us into hurtful imaginations, speech and behaviour.

Christians ought to rely on God’s Fatherly care. They must exercise confidence in God and expect that He will bestow upon them whatever is necessary for them. If they do not constantly teach their hearts to look to God for help and provisions, they will fall into despair and gloom.

Brethren, believe in God’s promises and dispel your anxiety. If you truly believe in the goodness and faithfulness of God, you will not be tormented by unnecessary anxiety. It is incongruent to say that you believe in God and His promises, and yet worry whether He would grant you what He promises. The Lord forbids all His people from being anxious. Instead, He wants you to trust Him to protect you and provide for you. Remind yourself of God’s goodness and faithfulness, and stay happy in Him. Why worry when you can trust and pray to an ever-benevolent God?

READ:

Psalms 34:4

² I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

EXHORTATION:

The title of Psalm 34 indicates that it is “A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.” That particular incident is described in 1 Samuel 21:10-15. Being pursued by a very jealous and angry King Saul, David knew his life was in danger and ran away to Achish, the Philistine king of Gath. (By the way, Achish is referred to as Abimelech in this psalm’s title as Philistine kings were commonly known by that designation.) Despite trying to conceal his identity, David was soon recognised by Abimelech and his people, who said, “did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?” (1 Samuel 21:11). David was apprehensive that he might be betrayed and be delivered up by Abimelech to Saul, so he resorted to pretending to be mad, supposing that this would win pity and protection from Abimelech. However, Abimelech was unwilling to provide asylum to a madman; David soon left him, and sought refuge in the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 21:15; 22:1). In this psalm, David expresses thanksgiving and praise to God for being his help and deliverer. So he said, “I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

This fact tells us that David depended wholly on the LORD in his trouble. His heart was obviously ill at ease in those days, constantly devising ways of escape from his trouble. But he had not forgotten to seek the LORD, whom he trusted. Though his strategies were imperfect, he looked to the LORD in his difficulty. He earnestly and diligently sought the LORD in quiet, private prayers for divine protection and strengthening. Half the trouble is gone when God’s servant seeks Him in his troubles. In prayer, he can look to God for guidance, and submit his every thought and device to find the resolve to wade through all the overwhelming problems.

David here testifies that “he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” His prayers had helped to silence his fears, enabling him to leave his case with the LORD and wait for His deliverance with great composure. David was a great man of endurance and fortitude because he was a man of prayer. Prayer helps us to calm our frightened, anxious souls. The more we dwell on our troubles, the more fearful we become. But if we turn to and commune with God in our prayers, He blesses with His presence and we shall find freedom from the grip of fear. The presence of God is the best remedy to our disquietude and fear.

READ:

James 1:20

²⁰ For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

EXHORTATION:

Here we are given the reason for James’ earlier admonition that every Christian ought to be slow to wrath. “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

A great number of Christians are in need of this reminder, for many seem to be ignorant of this truth or have conveniently forgotten about it. Christians so often foolishly fly into a rage without having full understanding of a matter, or worse, after having misunderstood or misjudged a matter. One’s impatience and ungoverned temper often numb his mind from exercising proper reasoning and righteous judgment. A volatile temperament will also certainly hinder one from exercising Christian graces such as patience, mercy and forgiveness.

Every Christian ought to take seriously the caution that “the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God”. Scripture does teach us abundantly how the wrath of man works against the righteousness of God. Proverbs 27:4 warns us that “wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous”. When anger is unchecked, it produces merciless and hurtful conduct. The anger kept within the heart will soon become uncontrollable, suddenly ventilating itself by yelling at others, shouting insults and vulgarities, hurting and injuring others, throwing things around and destroying them, etc.

Proverbs 15:18 states, “A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.” A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension and easily picks up a fight. In this proverb, he is set against the peacemaker, which demonstrates how quarrelsome an angry person could be. Anger and hatred will cause strife in the family or at the workplace or in the church (cf. Proverbs 10:12; 29:22).

Proverbs 29:22b points out that “a furious man aboundeth in transgression.” There is no stopping the offences by an angry person. Mischief will flow from an angry, passionate, furious disposition. Furthermore, “He that is soon angry”, warns Proverbs 14:17, “dealeth foolishly”. Verse 29 of Proverbs 14 affirms this fact by pointedly declaring that “he that is hasty of spirit (i.e. to anger) exalteth folly.” So let us restrain our wrath at once, and refrain from sin.

READ:

James 1:19

¹⁹ Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

EXHORTATION:

This verse begins with the connective particle “wherefore”, which refers us to James’ discussion in the preceding verse that God begat Christians according to His will by the truth of His Word. All genuine Christians are the children of His family. In this regard, James addressed fellow believers as “my beloved brethren”. Then he exhorted them as to how they should conduct themselves as children of God’s family.

The first conduct of a child of God that James teaches, is that he ought to “be swift to hear”. The primary emphasis of this advice is that every Christian ought to be eager and ready to hear God’s Word. Listening attentively to the instructions of the divine truth, by which every Christian is begotten, is crucial in the life of God’s child. His foremost calling is to be a student, rather than a teacher, of God’s Word. He must be teachable and have a great appetite to feed on God’s truth. A holy curiosity and a receptive spirit are paramount if he is to grow in the knowledge of God.

The second conduct of a child of God that James teaches, is that he ought to be “slow to speak”. This is certainly not an advice to promote some kind of unsociable reserve. There is no virtue in being uncommunicative. We are not forbidden from speaking altogether. We are not taught to abstain from speaking entirely, but to be slow to speak. The admonition is against talkativeness and hastiness to be a teacher. Such restraint in speech has been taught in the wisdom books of the Bible. Proverbs 10:19 reminds us, “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” Proverbs 17:27 says, “He that hath knowledge spareth his words”. In Ecclesiastes 5:2, we are warned: “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God”.

The third conduct of a child of God that James teaches, is that he ought to be “slow to wrath”. Quick-temperedness and fiery outbursts will lead to many great and heinous offences and sins. So we are to control our temper. Moreover, to be a good learner of God’s Word, one needs to be patient in spirit. Let us not be angry, especially when we are rebuked and corrected by His Word. Proverbs 14:29 reminds us, “He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding”. He who is slow to anger shall attain wisdom and honour, but the wrathful man, only foolishness and shame.

READ:

Philippians 4:7

⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

EXHORTATION:

The first word “and” takes our attention to what has been discussed in the preceding verse. In the light of the earlier verse, we learn that while anxiety destroys the peace of heart, prayer restores and maintains peace in our hearts. To everyone who in everything prays with thanksgiving (v. 6), the peace of God is promised!

The “peace of God” is the peace which God gives. The peace referred to here is the blessed assurance that God bestows upon a praying soul in the midst of his needs and troubles. No one else can grant us peace, but the Possessor of peace, our Lord Himself. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). The peace of God is not a wish or prayer, but a promise of God; it is guaranteed.

The peace that God promises is incomprehensible to man, for it “passeth all understanding”. No person could ever imagine or device it. There is nothing in this world that can offer such a noble and superior peace as that which God offers. This is not the result of self-esteem or selfconfidence. This cannot be secured by the schemes and powers of man. This is not what man achieves through the practice of some meditation techniques. No psychologist or psychotherapist can offer such peace and tranquillity as God promises. Though unfathomable to men, it is the Christian’s experience. God’s peace will be powerfully at work in the lives of those who rely on Him in prayer.

The human reasoning often leads to doubt and anxiety. When man’s desperate ingenuity fails to alleviate his problems, he falls further into anxiety and depression. However, God’s peace is effective in removing all disquietude. It “shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Our hearts and minds, our affections and thoughts need to be guarded; here we are promised that the peace of God will protect them. Unguarded passions and imaginations will destroy our testimony and effectiveness. Unwise decisions and foolish speculations can wreck our and others’ lives. But when our hearts and minds are guarded by God’s peace, we shall be safe and sound. Such protective peace from God comes through Christ, who is the source of our salvation and all divine blessings.

READ:

Philippians 4:6b

^6b But in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

EXHORTATION:

Herein we have the remedy to the terrible malady of anxiety. Prayer helps us to battle anxiety and get rid of it from our hearts. By praying to God, we can repress anxiety. Prayer frees us from anxiety.

Prayer is the expression of our faith in the Lord. We tell the Lord all our needs and troubles in prayer because we trust in His help, which He has promised. When we pray, we affirm that God cares for us, and that His care for us is the best. Every praying man declares that no one ever cares for him like his God. When the heart is taught to believe in the good providence of God and encouraged to express that faith by communing with God in prayer, anxiety will naturally be resisted and driven out.

We are instructed that “in every thing” we must pray. “Don’t be anxious about anything, but pray about everything!” is the divine counsel. There are some who pray only when great needs or troubles come upon them. If we do not pray in everything, even what appears to be a “small matter” can fill our heart with anxiety and wreck our peace. Nothing is too small to destabilise our life; hence, nothing is too small to bring to God. If we are ready to believe that nothing is too great for God to care for, then let us also believe that nothing is too small for us to confide in Him. God, who made this gigantic universe, also cares for the tiny sparrows.

Prayer is the soul’s believing and reverential approach unto God. It consists of supplication, thanksgiving, etc. The word “prayer” denotes general prayer, which is a humble and reverential approach to God for help. The word “supplication” denotes a plea for a specific matter, thus expressing one’s craving for divine supply in his life. The word “thanksgiving” denotes grateful expressions of joy and confidence in God which honour and please God.

It is with thanksgiving that we ought to make our requests known to God. A prayer without thanksgiving is a selfish prayer. Can it be right to pray for benefits and never honour our Benefactor? Thanksgiving will prevent us from being preoccupied with our wants, and it will fill our minds with the praise of our benevolent God. Do not offer a formal prayer to submit a wish list. Let your prayers be “perfumed” with praise. In our sufferings, let us sing His praise and pray. Take the hymn book and sing as you pray.