James 1:2-4 ESV
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Trials of Various Kinds
Are you going through a trial
right now? Trials are not easy, which is why they are called trials, because
they test our character and our faith. God uses them in our lives to prune us,
to make us more like Jesus, and to teach us to rely on God and not on
ourselves.
When we respond to our trials
by calling on God for help, and by yielding to his sovereign will for our
lives, the result should be that we are strengthened in our faith and in our
steadfastness (perseverance), so that we grow to maturity in Christ Jesus.
But, we are not to be just
accepting of our trials or just to grow through them in our walks of faith with
our Lord, but we are to count them all joy.
Yet, it is not that we are to
jump up and down and shout “yippee” at the moment we are first hit with a
trial, for we may have to cry our burden out to the Lord in prayer first, and
we may have to grieve a loss first. And, then as we work it all through in
prayer with our Lord, and he brings peace to our hearts, then we can also
experience the joy of the Lord in accepting that our trial is for our good, and
that God will bring good out of it in our lives.
James 1:5-8 ESV
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Praying for Wisdom
When we go through difficult
times, such as these, we need wisdom. I pray for wisdom often so that I might respond
to my trials as God would have me to respond, for every situation is different.
But, when we pray for wisdom,
we need to listen to the Lord, and do what he says, and not second guess God.
There is no point in asking God for help if we are not willing to do what he
says to do.
But, we may need
clarification or more specifics, and we may need to make certain it is God’s
voice we are hearing and not other voices in our heads.
But, when it is clear that it
is God speaking, and he is giving us the guidance that we need, then we need to
act on it and not vacillate and do nothing. If we vacillate and then do nothing,
we are double-minded, for we are not willing to follow the wisdom (guidance) we
sought after.
James 1:12-15 ESV
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
To Those Who Love Him
Trials are difficult, for
sure, but they do have their rewards in both this life and in the life that is
yet to come when we go home to be with our Lord forever. But, often we have to
work through the emotions of the trials in prayer and in calling out to God in
our distress before we can reach that realization that God is working good in
our lives through our trials.
But, for us to gain those
rewards and those blessings from God, we need to remain steadfast in our faith
through our difficulties, calling on God for help, and not yield to our sinful
flesh as a way to medicate ourselves.
For, it is easy to turn to
other things other than to the Lord to bring us comfort in our times of
difficulty, for that is what our flesh wants to do. But, we must resist our
flesh, and we must follow the Spirit, and the blessings will come. For, the
Lord rewards those who love him, and to love him means we obey him.
This is not saying we will be
perfect, or that we will never sin, but that loving God means we walk in
obedience to him. It is our daily practice. And, if we do sin, we repent of it,
and we keep moving forward by faith in him. We don’t continue in willful sinful
practices while claiming we love God, for that is like someone telling his or
her spouse that he or she loves her or him all the while he or she is cheating
on the spouse with someone else.
James 1:19-20 ESV
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Human or Righteous Anger
The emotion of anger, in and
of itself, is not a sin, for we read in Ephesians, chapter four, that we should
be angry and sin not. And, God gets angry, too. Yet, the reasons we get angry
may be rooted in sins of pride, selfishness, bitterness, hatred, guilt (from
unrepented sin) and unforgiveness. And, we may sin in our anger, too, by how we
respond to the anger.
Sometimes getting angry is
just a habit that we learned. For example, a very long time ago in my life I
used to get angry if I had to stand in a line for very long at a grocery store,
or if the person ahead of me had some problem with their stuff that made it
take much longer. But, that was a learned behavior, for there was absolutely no
cause for me to get angry.
Then, one day, as I stood in such
a line, God spoke to my heart, and he helped me to see how foolish I was. He
helped me to laugh at my situation rather than to get upset about it. I learned
to accept the fact that I was going to get in lines where there was a problem
with the purchases of the person ahead of me or with the cash register or
whatever, and I came to just accept it and to find joy in it, in fact, and all
the anger went away.
But, notice with me here that
this says we are not to be quick to anger and that it says that the anger of
MAN (human anger) does not produce the righteousness of God. But, there are some
things we should get angry about, like the things God gets angry about, for
that anger will serve to motivate us to do something about it, even if it is
just to pray.
James 1:21-25 ESV
Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
Not Just Read It, but Do It!
The reason that Jesus Christ
died on that cross many years ago is that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24; Rom. 6:1-23). This is the essence of the gospel of
our salvation. This is what our Christian life is all about.
It is about us leaving our
lives of living for sin and self behind us in order for us to follow our Lord
Jesus in surrender to his will for our lives. We are to be turned from darkness
to light, and from the power of Satan to God that we might receive forgiveness
of sins and a place among those who by faith in Jesus Christ are being made
holy (Acts 26:16-18; Eph. 4:17-24).
Faith in Jesus Christ,
though, is not a religion or religious practices. It is not merely forgiveness
of sins or the promise of heaven when we die, either. Obedience to Christ and to
his Word is not optional. His grace is not a free license to continue in sinful
practices without guilt or with the assurance of heaven as our destiny no
matter how we live our lives on this earth.
We must be doers of the Word
of God, and not hearers only. But, first of all we must be hearers, which means
we need to be in the Word daily, so we know what it says, so that we will do
what it says. But, when we read the Word, we need to not walk away and forget
it. We need to be those look intently into the law of liberty, and persevere in
our walks of faith, and do what God’s word teaches us, and then we will be
blessed in what we do.
Your Servant Witness
An Original Work / March 13, 2012
Humbly I bow, Lord, before You,
Bringing my requests to You.
May I listen; hear You speaking.
May I follow You in truth.
Gently lead me in Your service.
Guide my steps and strengthen me.
Fill me with Your love and mercy.
May I live for Thee!
Let me be Your servant witness,
Telling others of Your grace.
May I always share the gospel
With those I meet face to face.
May I show the love of Jesus,
Caring for the needs of men;
Be Your servant witness always
For my Lord, Amen!
My desire to be like Jesus,
Living for Him ev’ry day.
May I obey all His teachings
Given me, so I’ll not stray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master.
You are the King of my heart;
Follow You where’er You lead me;
Not from You depart!
Sunday, July 15, 2018 – Thank
You, Jesus, for these instructions from Your Word. Bring your truths home to
our hearts, I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment