Read the Bible

Misuse of Riches

^1 (C1)Come quickly now, ^(C2)you rich who lack true faith and hoard and misuse your resources, ^(C3)weep and howl over the miseries the woes, the judgments that are coming upon you.^2 (C1)Your wealth has rotted and is ruined and your fine clothes have become moth-eaten.³ Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up your treasure ^(C1)in the last days when it will do you no good.⁴ Look! ^(C1)The wages that you have fraudulently withheld from the laborers who have mowed your fields are crying out against you for vengeance; and ^(C2)the cries of the harvesters have come to the ears of ^(F1)(C3)the Lord of Sabaoth. ^(VR1)5 On the earth you have ^(C1)lived luxuriously and abandoned yourselves to soft living and led a life of wanton pleasure self-indulgence, self-gratification; you have fattened your hearts in ^(C2)a day of slaughter.⁶ You have condemned and have ^(C1)put to death ^(C2)the righteous man; he offers you no resistance.

Exhortation

⁷ So wait patiently, ^(C1)brothers and sisters, ^(C2)until the coming of the Lord. ^(C3)The farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land, being patient about it, until it receives ^(C4)the early and late rains.^8 (C1)You too, be patient; ^(C2)strengthen your hearts keep them energized and firmly committed to God, because ^(C3)the coming of the Lord is ^(C4)near.^9 (C1)Do not complain against one another, ^(C2)believers, so that you will not be judged for it. Look! ^(C3)The Judge is standing ^(F1)(C4)right at the door.¹⁰ As an example, ^(C1)brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take ^(C2)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as His messengers and representatives.¹¹ You know we call those ^(C1)blessed happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God who were steadfast and endured difficult circumstances. You have heard of ^(C2)the patient endurance of Job and you have seen the Lord's ^(C3)outcome how He richly blessed Job. ^(C4)The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. ^(VR1)

¹² But above all, ^(C1)my fellow believers, ^(C2)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but let your yes be a truthful yes, and your no be a truthful no, so that you may not fall under judgment. ^(VR1)

¹³ Is anyone among you ^(C1)suffering? ^(C2)He must pray. Is anyone joyful? He is to ^(C3)sing praises to God.¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? He must call for ^(C1)the elders (spiritual leaders) of the church and they are to pray over him, ^(C2)anointing him with ^(F1)oil in the name of the Lord;¹⁵ and the ^(C1)prayer of faith will ^(C2)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will ^(C3)raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.¹⁶ Therefore, ^(C1)confess your sins to one another your false steps, your offenses, and pray for one another, that you may be ^(C2)healed and restored. ^(C3)The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power.¹⁷ Elijah was ^(C1)a man with a nature like ours with the same physical, mental, and spiritual limitations and shortcomings, and ^(C2)he prayed ^(F1)intensely for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the earth for ^(C3)three years and six months. ^(VR1)18 Then he ^(C1)prayed again, and ^(C2)the sky gave rain and the land produced its crops as usual. ^(VR1)

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, ^(C1)if anyone among you strays from ^(C2)the truth and falls into error and another one turns him back to God,²⁰ let the latter one know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will ^(C1)save that one's soul from death and ^(C2)cover a multitude of sins that is, obtain the pardon of the many sins committed by the one who has been restored.