“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? 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: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”. – James 5:13-16
LIGHT FOR NOW: A man’s view of God that is not situated in Christ within the conduit of the rightly divided word of truth will give a wrong view of God.
The believer is one who has received the spirit of faith of the son of God – Jesus Christ. Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified”. Philippians 3:9 “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith”. Hence, no believer lacks faith or has a believing problem. In essence, the believer does not have to work on his believing, he or she is a believer. So, what was James addressing in James 1:5-7 “ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord”.
In verse 7, he says “…for let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord”. James was addressing knowledge problem which was about the character of God in giving. This explains why he admonishes the man not to be double-minded about God, that is, not to have a bipolar view of God. Your view of God outside Christ (where his character is adequately revealed) will birth a bipolar view of God. Glory!
INSTRUCTION: Be singular about God’s character.
CONFESSION: I choose to pay attention to God’s word. I choose not to have a bipolar view of God but see God in his singleness of character. He gives freely and does not find fault, in Jesus Name, Amen.
QUOTE: In Christ, we have God’s perfect view.
DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: ROMANS CHAPTER 10; EVENING: 2CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 4
LIGHT FROM THE WORD 