Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your Nightly Scripture,
Speaker 1: a calming, scripture centered devotional podcast designed to help you
Speaker 1: end each day with God's word in your mind and
Speaker 1: on your heart. Right after this short word from our sponsors,
Speaker 1: we'll reflect on Tonight's scripture James Chapter five. Tonight's Scripture
Speaker 1: reflection is written by Greg Grandchamp and read by Lea Gerard. James.
Speaker 1: Chapter five. Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail
Speaker 1: because of the misery that is coming on you. Your
Speaker 1: wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your
Speaker 1: gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against
Speaker 1: you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded
Speaker 1: wealth in the last days. Look the wages you failed
Speaker 1: to pay. The workers who mowed your fields are crying
Speaker 1: out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached
Speaker 1: the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on
Speaker 1: earth in luxury and self indulgence. You have fattened yourselves
Speaker 1: in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered
Speaker 1: the innocent one who was not opposing you. Be patient, then,
Speaker 1: brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the
Speaker 1: farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop,
Speaker 1: patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too,
Speaker 1: be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.
Speaker 1: Don't grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you
Speaker 1: will be judged. The judge is standing at the door.
Speaker 1: Brothers and sisters. As an example of patience in the
Speaker 1: face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the
Speaker 1: name of the Lord. As you know, we count as
Speaker 1: blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's
Speaker 1: perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.
Speaker 1: The Lord is full of compassion and mercy above all,
Speaker 1: my brothers and sisters. Do not swear, not by heaven
Speaker 1: or by earth, or by anything else. All you need
Speaker 1: to say is a simple yes, or no otherwise will
Speaker 1: be condemned. Is anyone among you in trouble, Let them pray?
Speaker 1: Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise? Is
Speaker 1: anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of
Speaker 1: the church to pray over them and anoint them with
Speaker 1: oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer
Speaker 1: offered in faith will make the sick person, well, the
Speaker 1: Lord will raise them up. If they've sinned, they will
Speaker 1: be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other. Then
Speaker 1: pray for each other so that you may be healed.
Speaker 1: The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Speaker 1: Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He
Speaker 1: prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did
Speaker 1: not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Speaker 1: Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rein, and the
Speaker 1: earth produced its crops. My brothers and sisters, if one
Speaker 1: of you should wander from the truth, and someone should
Speaker 1: bring that person back, remember this. Whoever turns a sinner
Speaker 1: from the error of their way will save them from
Speaker 1: death and cover over a multitude of sins. There's an
Speaker 1: old story about a man hiking on a mountainside. Suddenly
Speaker 1: he slips and falls, but manages to grab a tree
Speaker 1: root sticking out. He cries out to the Lord, save me. Lord.
Speaker 1: He hears a voice that says, it is I the Lord.
Speaker 1: I am here for you. Do you trust me? Truly?
Speaker 1: Trust me? The man yells, of course, Lord, I trust you.
Speaker 1: The answer came back. Then let go without any doubt.
Speaker 1: Trusting truly, trusting in times of healing can be one
Speaker 1: of our biggest challenges, right alongside the illness of a
Speaker 1: loved one. The Lord's command to us is the very
Speaker 1: same as to the hiker let go. In twenty twenty two,
Speaker 1: I was diagnosed with bladder cancer, a type of heart failure,
Speaker 1: and macular degeneration, all within six weeks of each other.
Speaker 1: My wife and I had no choice but to move forward,
Speaker 1: one step at a time, trusting the Lord and praying.
Speaker 1: We had to learn to live out what we said
Speaker 1: we believed, Otherwise what would our testimony be worth. Yes,
Speaker 1: there are certainly more events in our lives that can
Speaker 1: require healing than simply severe illness of a loved one, betrayal,
Speaker 1: crushed dreams, unexpected job loss, and so many more. But
Speaker 1: whatever the circumstance from which you are healing, leaning into
Speaker 1: the Lord and trusting in him is always the answer.
Speaker 1: James tells us to be patient and persevere in the
Speaker 1: face of suffering and to pray. Staying close to God
Speaker 1: is the key to perseverance, meaning we are never away
Speaker 1: from God and God is always near to us. We
Speaker 1: can trust that God will get us through and get
Speaker 1: us home. Our faith, our trust in the Lord is
Speaker 1: invaluable and irreplaceable. We may not always understand his ways,
Speaker 1: but when things go wrong, as they sometimes will, that
Speaker 1: trust will see us through even the most difficult of circumstances.
Speaker 1: He is always there for us and always will be.
Speaker 1: What more could we ask? Father? Thank you for always
Speaker 1: being there for me. Thank you for your strength and
Speaker 1: the difficult times of my life. When I'm feeling weak,
Speaker 1: please help me renew my trust in you. I won't
Speaker 1: always understand or know what lies ahead, but I know
Speaker 1: you will be there with me, and I know you
Speaker 1: will walk with me through this. Amen. How did Tonight's
Speaker 1: scriptures speak to you? Share your thoughts in the Your
Speaker 1: Nightly Scripture forum discuss thank you for listening to Your
Speaker 1: Nightly Scripture. Tonight's scripture was read from the New International
Speaker 1: version by Biblica. All rights reserved. If Tonight's episode blessed you,
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Speaker 1: your next Nightly Scripture is ready when you are. Your
Speaker 1: Nightly Scripture is a production of Life Audio and Salem Media.
Speaker 1: Thank you and We'll see you tomorrow night.
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