Jan 2
James 1:1-4
1James,a servant of Godand of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribesscatteredamong the nations: Greetings.2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds,3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be matureand complete, not lacking anything.
SO WHAT? (What will I do with what I have read today?)
Have you ever seen the bumper sticker about lemons? You know, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” Now I know that bumper sticker is cheesy but in fact it is easier to read it and smile than to actually try to apply that principle to our lives! Now here is the funny part, that statement is biblical. James talks about this in the first four verses of his letter.
Time and time again we find people in Scripture who faced insurmountable odds and trials yet they were able to be triumphant! Instead of lying down, giving up and becoming a victim, they stand firm and are victorious. God gives us the same opportunity now to become victorious at the onset of trials!
If we are going to turn trials into triumphs, we must obey the essentials for victory.
1.) A Joyful Heart (v. 1:2)
There are two words we need to look at here: “count” and “joy.” The Lord tells us to count. Count what? We need to count on the fact there will be trials in our lives. Trials will come and it doesn’t matter where they come from. It could be financial, physical or spiritual problems but the truth is that they are coming, no matter what you do! Are you ready for a trial? It’s around the corner.
When trials hit - and they will - will you be joyful? Can you consider it “pure joy” as Scripture says? God is not a dope; He’s got amazing things planned for you on the other side of the trial. God is our Shepherd and He will walk us through the valley of the shadow of death. The problem we face is our perspective. Trials are never fun but God sees the finished product of the trial. He sees a more mature believer with a greater faith than when the trial began. Do you face trial with a joyful heart?
2.) An Understanding Mind (v. 1:3)
The key word in this verse is “know”. Do you know about the testing of our faith? Our faith is always tested. When God called Abraham to live by faith, He tested him in order to increase his faith. God always tests us to bring out the best; Satan tempts us to bring out the worst. The testing of our faith proves that we are truly fully devoted followers of Christ. The truth is that the testing our faith works for us not against.
Peter said it this way,
“ These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold...” (1 Peter 1:7, NCV).
When we triumph our faith is worth more than gold! What an image to strive for. God wants to produce in us endurance, steadfastness and the ability to keep on keepin’ on! When trials hit do we have perseverance and faith to sustain us?
3.) A Surrendered Will (v. 1:4)
God cannot build our character without our cooperation. If resist what God is trying to do in our lives we will never grow and never mature. God is never okay with a half-way done job. Verse 4 says that He wants us to be perfect and complete, not lacking anything. God will use whatever trial we face to produce endurance and to equip us for later trials. God is not okay with the status quo! He wants us to grow in our faith!
What trials are you facing in your life right now? Will you tackle them with a joyful heart, an understanding mind and a surrendered will? If you do, you will be a more mature follower of Christ once you are on the other side of the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23).
Posted by Pastor Mike Pedlowe
Jan 3
James 1:5-8
5If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God,who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt,because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.7That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.8Such a person is double-mindedand unstablein all they do.
You are not at the mercy of every doubt that comes to your mind. Like the waves of the sea, doubts will come. However, you do not have to let them undermine your faith. Doubts can actually drive you back to God’s promises, rather than cause you to back away from Him. The key is taking your questions directly to the Lord.
Here are two definitions to help you identify doubt and respond to it with faith:
· Doubt is a lack of confidence or assurance that God will keep His promises. The more you pay attention to doubt, the less you can see of God. Doubt can’t diminish God, but it can limit your view of the One who has promised to befor you. Doubt undermines wisdom.
· Faith is an active confidence that God’s promises are always true. It is a glimpse of the majesty and awesomeness of God that obliterates the nagging unbelief of doubt. Your faith may not be huge, but it affirms your tiny, mustard-seed confidence that God is more than enough to meet the challenges in your life. Wise living is living by faith.
James, familiar with sailing on ships at the mercy of stormy waters, described doubt in those terms:“The one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” Winds make the sea unstable. Waves move back and forth in a constant state of disruption. What wind does to water is what doubt can do to faith. Doubt will keep your life in stormy turmoil.
James 1:6 says we should pray with faith—with no doubting. He has just told us that trials and testing are God’s preferred method of training us into maturity. Then he lets us know we’re going to need wisdom in order to exercise joy as the training unfolds. We’re going to have to ask for it, expect it, and rely on it. If we don’t get God’s wisdom, we will end up “double-minded [and] unstable in all [our] ways.”
So ask God for the wisdom to identify doubt and turn away from it. Ask with the humble faith of the man who said to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24), and step forward with confidence and the promised presence of God.
Pastor James Macdonald
QUESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
What doubts in your life need to be obliterated by the majestic God you trust?
Where do you recognize the need for greater wisdom? Have you asked for it?
Pray
Lord, I thank You for the promise of wisdom if I will ask in faith. Thank You for encouraging me not to second-guess You. As I choose to face the trials of life with joy, remind me that I’m not relying on my wisdom, but Yours. Guide me as I walk by faith, not by sight, trusting You in all things. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Jan 4
James 1:9-11
9Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position.10But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower.11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withersthe plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
A recent car commercial depicts a man practicing all the ways he can tellhis friends about his great new set of wheels. Standing in front of a mirror he practices dropping nonchalant comments into his imagined conversations. “Oh,” he says tossing his head in the direction of his car, “that’s just my new car.” Of course, the point of this commercial is that the man is so proud of his new vehicle that he desperately wants to show it off to everyone.
In our culture, almost from infancy we receive the notion that we should be proud of our material possessions. Cars, houses, boats, and other possessions are viewed as badges of happiness and success in this world. Those without these things are likely to be pitied rather than praised. Yet the Bible calls for a radical inversion of this way of thinking. James tells us plainly that Christians who are poor ought to take pride in their humble circumstances while the wealthy, instead of boasting in their possessions, ought to take pride in their lowliness (vv. 9–10).
The point James seeks to impress on us is that God cares nothing for the wealth we tend to value. In God’s eyes the things we so often wrongly treasure are little more than wild- flowers whose beauty quickly withers away (v. 11). Instead, God values spiritual humility. Being poor does not guarantee acceptance with God any morethan it provides immunity from greed and envy. On the other hand, if wealth is attended by privilege in this world, Jesus warned that it also brings certain dangers (cf. Mark 10:17–31). The situation is similar to thatof encountering trials. Those who never face them will havea weaker faith than those who do because trials are a means of growing in faith. The wealthy of the world may learn to value the wrong things and are simply not forced, in the way the poor often are, to depend daily on God’s provision for their very life.
What is more, Christians can rightfully take pride in this spiritual humility. This may sound contradictory at first, but the idea is that believers are called to “show off” their humility to the world by living humbly to glorify Christ.
Apply the Word
Living humbly in a materialistic culture can be a challenge for all of us. But wecan take steps to reclaim our identity, away from our stuff.
First, we shouldn’t attempt to live beyond our means. Next, we should always acknowledge God as the ultimate source of our possessions. Third, we should remember that many people in our world have far less than we do. We would do well to remember the attitude of Job: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21).
Jan 5
James 1:12
12Blessed is the one who perseveres under trialbecause, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of lifethat the Lord has promised to those who love him.
“Gentleman Jim” Corbett was an American professional boxer and a former World Heavyweight Champion. He is best known as the man who defeated the great John L. Sullivan. He was the Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1892 to 1897. On the subject of perseverance, he said the following:
Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round—remembering that the man who fights one more round is never whipped.
As Christians, we are called to persevere in Christ. Are you feeling pressured or persecuted for your faith? Today in prayer, give the trials you are facing to the Lord and seek to persevere in Him in all that you do.
"Our motto must continue to be perseverance. And ultimately I trust the Almighty will crown our efforts with success." - William Wilberforce
God’s Word: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” – Romans 5:3-4
Jan 6
James 1:13-15
13When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;14but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their ownevil desire and enticed.15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
(1) Study and know yourself.
Know where you’re vulnerable and devise strategies to protect yourself. Others may be able to handle situations where you will fall. Don’t go with them if it is a source of temptation for you. Develop a deep distrust in yourself that drives you to a desperate clinging to the Lord.
(2) Avoid tempting situations.
If you are vulnerable to lust, don’t rent videos that are rated R or even PG-13 because of sex. Don’t go into bookstores where there is pornography. Don’t have unaccountable access to the internet. If you do, you’re just pouring gasoline on the fire.
(3) Have a predetermined commitment to follow Christ and to flee temptation.
You have to decide this before you get into a tempting situation, because when temptation hits, your emotions and the deception factor kick in. As we saw in our last study, those who receive the crown of life love the Lord. Keep your love for Christ fresh and the lure of the flesh and the world will not seem so attractive.
(4) Keep before you the gruesome end of temptation—death.
The world glamorizes sin. Movies and magazines portray beautiful people enjoying illicit sex or living in selfish luxury as the ultimate in pleasure. Skeletons or rotting corpses would be a more accurate picture! I’ve counseled with many who have fallen into adultery, but I’ve yet to find one that is really happy. But even if they professed to be happy now, they won’t be when they stand before God!