You and Elijah have a lot in common

I love it when I teach a familiar passage and a whole new thought is born. I’ve taught the book of James several times over the years and I KNOW I’ve read this verse many times. 

Last week, I saw it for the first time in a new way. 

I was getting ready to head out to teach when a song started playing that said what I wanted to teach my ladies that morning. One thought led to another and then this blog post was born. 

I think all of the rhetoric in our world is beginning to work itself into the self-images of a lot of Christians. It seems like too many of God’s children are feeling pushed into a position of silence. Many Christians feel like the world is winning the culture wars and it’s best just to steer clear and stay quiet. I’m in ministry for crying out loud, and I’ve started to feel that way on occasion! 

Then I taught James 5:17 and it provided an important reminder. 

The truth of James 5:17

James wrote his letter to people who had been early Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. After the stoning of Stephen, they were forced to flee the city. James wrote his letter to those people, hoping to help them live strong Christian lives in foreign, probably Gentile, cultures. 

Imagine fleeing America to take up residence in a Muslim neighborhood of Belgium. That is a little like what it was like for these Jerusalem Christian refugees. 

James closed his letter by reminding them who they were and whose they were. His words are just as true for Christians today, but we need to hear the verse as it would have meant to those first-century refugees. James told them, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are” (James 5:17 NIV).  

James told the early Christians something you and I need to remember today. Think of five other biblical heroes in Scripture and hear James say, “They were just human beings like you.”

Elijah

James reminded those refugees that Elijah had “prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops” (James 5:17–18 NIV). 

Elijah built the altar and called down fire from heaven, proving to all the prophets of Baal that his God was the true God. Elijah is literally considered one of the most powerful, unique prophets from the Old Testament, and he was considered by the first-century Jewish people as their most esteemed prophet. 

James told these early Jewish Christians, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are.” 

James might tell you: 

  • Paul was a missionary, just like you.
  • Peter was a pastor, just like you.
  • Lydia was a businesswoman, just like you.
  • Luke was a reporter, just like you.
  • John was a friend, just like you.
  • Mary and Martha cared about Jesus, just like you.
  • Lazarus was a man, just like you.
  • Barnabas was an encourager, just like you.

If you are like me, it is easy to see biblical heroes in a different light than we see other people. James would say, “Don’t do that.” 

They were men and women, saved by Christ, and filled with the exact same Spirit that indwells you. 

All of them were human beings, just like you. 

When you look in the mirror, whom do you see?

Last week I asked my readers and the ladies in the Bible study, “Do you underestimate and undervalue your potential in Christ? 

In my experience, most Christians are hindered the most by not understanding “who they are in Christ Jesus.” 

They tend to think someone else can answer those questions better than they can. They think they could never do this or would never be chosen for that. 

The truth is that the most likely person to be effective in ministry is exactly the person who knows they are not able. Why? Because that is the person who will be most likely to lean on and trust the Holy Spirit to do the work through them. 

Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead isn’t just a good idea for ministry; it is the difference between human ability and God’s. 

Elijah was just like you, yet he called fire from heaven and revealed the Most High God to everyone watching.  

Have you underestimated your ministry potential? 

Have you limited the Most High God’s calling in your life? 

The Most High God

Ben Fuller has a great song that has become very popular. The song is called “Who I Am,” and I’d love for you to listen and think about the lyrics. 

His song is the same message James wanted his Christian refugees to understand when he told them Elijah was just a human being. But Elijah was a human being who understood what God could do through his prayers, through his words, and through his life if he would live committed to his Most High God. 

After you listen to “Who I Am,” go and find a mirror. 

I hope you see the truth of who you are in your reflection. 

Head into your day with a high, holy, and humble self-image, borne of pure gratitude and filled with God’s grace.  

We are a blessed people. 

Let’s live and do ministry with the knowledge of who we are, in Christ Jesus.

A new reason to love Chick-fil-A

I love Chick-fil-A. 

The food is great, the service is almost always better than anyone else’s, and they are absolutely clear about the fact they are a faith-based business. 

I was in college when Chick-fil-A wanted to open a place in the mall where I worked. Their opening caused a big stir.

The mall owners tried to insist they remain open on Sundays like everyone else, yet Chick-fil-A was dark every Sunday when I got to work. The store owners were all saying they would never last if they stayed closed, yet the lines at Chick-Fil-A are always much longer than at any other spot. 

It doesn’t look like they will be out of business anytime soon. 

I love Chick-fil-A because they represent something every Christian should know and trust: When God is blessing our choices, success will likely follow! Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, In-N-Out Burger, and so many other faith-based businesses stand as examples for us. When our priorities honor God, we can accomplish more than we can imagine.  

I saw a Christmas ad from Chick-fil-A that prompted this blog post. It spoke of their Christmas movie for 2022 and provided a QR code people could use to watch it. I found it online instead and I’ve included the link for all of you. (Let’s just say I’ve not yet mastered that whole QR code idea.)  

So, in case the Christmas peppermint shake wasn’t enough, there is a new reason to love this favorite fast-food restaurant. The movie takes about seven minutes to watch and is worth it. I hope all of you can find a child, grandchild, or friend to share this with. The message is compelling and could provide some great conversation at dinnertime, carpool time, or anytime! 

Here is this year’s Chick-fil-A Christmas movie, The Snow Globe.

I hope you enjoyed it! 

What did you think?

I wish we were able to share our thoughts right now. What stood out most to you? 

Here are some of my thoughts: 

  • The emphasis on the clock and the value of time itself was an important point. Time, especially during the holidays, just seems to disappear if we aren’t careful. The snow globe is a timeless tradition at Christmas and there is a reason for that. It doesn’t need batteries or even a list of instructions. It just needs to be used with an imagination to be enjoyed.
  • I love that the child was supposed to think and imagine how she could help others. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if kids grew up with that goal? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that was our goal for the holiday season as well?
  • The movie wasn’t about a complex plan or organized effort to accomplish a big event. It was simply about a young girl living with an awareness of the people God had placed in her life. Most evangelism and service will be accomplished through the moments God guides us to experience. It is the everyday, normal interactions we have with others that can most serve God’s purpose.
  • Finally, at the end, the child learns that her small acts of service at Christmastime were just the beginning. Serving others is a lifelong commitment for the sake of others and for the sake of our own joy. We just need to put on our aprons, our armor (Ephesians 6:1–20), and get to work.

All of us can be a blessing

If God handed us one of those special snow globes, who would we see inside? 

Would we close our eyes and hear God’s thoughts as we imagine possible ways to help? 

Would we get busy right away to bring God’s ideas to reality? 

I don’t know most of my readers . . . yet. I wish I could pour all of you a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy a great conversation about the impact this little seven-minute film could have in the life of a child, especially in the life of anyone who is a child of God. 

We should live and teach the benefits of knowing our God-given ability to be a blessing in the life of the people we meet each day. You + God = a blessing for someone else.  

I love Chick-fil-A for wanting to provide our Christmas season with this short film. I hope you will share this blog post or the link provided so that as many people as possible can see that film. It is a message for our culture, but it is especially a message provided for the sake of the people who will act on what they see.

As the Apostle Peter said, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10).  

Whose life will be blessed this week because Chick-fil-A serves God as well as great fast food? 

Whose life will you bless because you are a good steward of God’s grace? 

Take some time to think with God and imagine the possibilities.

Have a wonderful week looking around at the people God brings across your path. I am imagining all the blessings that he might inspire through all of you. 

Joy to our world, the Lord is come. We all have a reason to rejoice today and serve our King.