Devo James 5

James 5:13-20
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing
songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church
to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the
prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.
If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other
and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man
is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly
that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should
bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his
way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Meditation:
1. Recall a time when I came very close to wandering from the faith? Who
helped bring me back? Spend some time revisit that experience and all my
emotions then and now.
2. Is God putting someone in my heart that is in the “wandering from the faith”
situation as I was? How would I help him/her come back to the faith?
3. Pray for the people in the church and in my cell. We are all broken people—
physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc—and we need each other in the
community of faith to pray that we might be healed. Ask God to give us a
spirit of harmony, acceptance, forgiveness, compassion, and love so that we
would care for each other and witness God’s power.

Personal Reflection:
1. 2006 summer.  Rev. Chan from TRMC helped brought me back.  As I serve the Lord in TRMC and experience the amazing work in reaching out to the people, I had time to reflect on the goodness of the faith in Jesus Christ.  At that time, my emotions were down and I was challenging the meaning of the Christian faith.  If Jesus Christ is real, why do I feel like a loser?  why there is no fulfillment in work and making money?  Now, I thank God for their prayer and the opportunity to see meaning in the Christian faith.

When church is like a routine where we go to just hang out with friends, attend the service and Bible lesson like school, there is no meaning and purpose.  Growing in faith means deeper prayer (relationship/hanging out with God).  Faith leads to action in caring and loving for others.  Faith leads to more prayer and conversation with God and learning His Words and messages.

2. God placed some people in my heart.  I would pray first for my heart to have a deeper burden for them.  I would care for them and let them know that I am concern about their spiritual well being.  I would keep on doing what I usually do and hope that my witness would help them to follow after God.