"Journey through James"
I figured it would be good for us to go through another book of the bible. We already went through 1 John together (in person), so I thought now we would take a look at mine and Evan's favorite book of the bible: James.
So, without further ado, here we go!
James 1:1-18
1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: greetings.
Trials and Temptations
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
One of the reasons I love James so much is because it is packed full of great stuff to help us in our walk with the Lord in just a few short chapters. I just want to focus on a couple of things in this particular passage.
First, in verses 2-4, James talks about trials and perseverance. We are to consider it pure joy when we face trials of any kind! Why? Because if we are able to stick with it, we develop perseverance, and perseverance leads to spiritual maturity. Instead of whining like little babies when we are going through a hard time, we should lean heavily on God so that He pulls us through and we grow in Him. Look at what is says in verse 12 - if we persevere through the trial, we receive the crown of life from God himself!! Amen!
One other verse that I want to highlight is verse 17, and the part where it says that God "does not change like shifting shadows." That is something we can take great comfort in. God does not change. His word is the same yesterday, today and forever. There are lots of people out there who claim that God does change, and that he is revealing "new" things to them. But that is simply not the case because God does NOT change! The verse before that says "don't be deceived." God is the only thing that has remained consistent through all of eternity.
Holy and powerful God, thank you for your Word. Thank you for putting us through trials so that we lean on you and grow in you. Help us to persevere in the midst of trials. Thank you for always being there for us when we need you. Help us to recognize that we are nothing without you. We pray for those who are suffering right now for the sake of the gospel. We pray for those who are misusing your word and your name. Help us to stay true to your word and to recognize the truth. We pray this in your name, amen.
Lots of love,
Aubrey <><
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