James 5:18-19‏

18. "And [then] he prayed again and the heavens supplied rain and the land produced its crops [as usual]. [I Kings 18:42-45.]"

Elijah continued along "with" God, most likely marking every day off from the day he first asked God to stop the rain, all they way until the end of the famine period. A righteous man lives daily with God... not just later, in heaven, but here, now! Each day, in communication and in step with God. He sees what God watches and hears the things God listens to, and he does the will of God. Elijah, though imperfect, "knew" his Creator and his Creator "knew" Elijah. Does God "know" you and I? Now, we know Jesus was and is, all knowing... right. But remember when He says, "depart from Me, you workers of iniquity, for I never "knew" you"? He was referring to an intimate relationship just like Elijah's.

19. "[My] brethren, if anyone among you strays from the Truth and falls into error and another [person] brings him back [to God]"

Everyone of us needs to heed to this, because even years of experience will not keep us from being tempted into apostasy. Popularity or status among brethren not only provides no safety, but may in some cases increase temptation. Based on everything the Bible says about the devil, we should know, as soon as we deceive ourselves into thinking we have arrived, he sees an opportunity to destroy us. Every Christian should regularly confess what Paul admitted:

“…I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” Phil. 3:13-14

We must count ourselves at risk, vulnerable to the subtle assaults of the devil. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

James moves to summarize and encourage those people facing persecution to live lives of distinction, regardless of what they feel and face. A famine was at it's climax and the Jewish aristocrat's were preventing Christians from receiving their deserved rations and charity. The temptations of the world were starting to appeal to them in light of the frustrations of trials. Thus, the new Christians were starting to turn on one another. Many people felt, as today, that the church rejected them so they turned away in grief, while the other Christians did nothing to bring them back or to show them they were loved or cared about.

We have this same problem today! Many people leave a church because they do not get connected and they feel no one cares. We are called to care and literally go out and bring them back, not by force, but by showing the real, authentic love of God.

Let's pick up with James verse 5:20 next time.

I love you.