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James 1:12

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

Personal Challenge

All of us have within us a desire to be blessed and receive approval for doing the right thing. We can accomplish this by enduring temptations that come our way. We must always be prepared for the fact that the more temptations that we are victors over, the greater the next round of temptations will be. We also need to be ready for when we do fail and give into a temptation, that we must return to our Lord quickly, seeking forgiveness, and get back on track. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

James 1:5-6

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Personal Challenge

Yesterday, I wrote about the difficulties of trials and tribulations and how they lead us to gain patience. Today, James reminds us that it takes Godly wisdom to make it through these trials and tribulations and how we can get that wisdom. Unfortunately, we so very often act as if we do not need God’s wisdom. We go through life with our own concepts of wisdom or what we gain by our own means and then wonder why things are not going well. We must first acknowledge that our wisdom and the wisdom of man is not enough to deal with the spiritual warfare that will come our way. We must ask God fervently, in faith, with no doubting, in order to receive His wisdom to apply to the trials and tribulations in our lives. It is not about us, who we are, what we have done or know, that matters. It is all about God and what He liberally wants to give to those who seek Him. Lord, Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

James 1:2-4

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Personal Challenge

None of us like trials and tribulations. It is apparent throughout the scriptures that if we desire to follow in the footsteps o Christ that we must be ready for those trials and tribulations that attempt to thwart us. How are we expected to react to these trials and tribulations? With joy. It is in this joy that we realize this promise of patience from God, which has its perfect work completed within us. Glory be to God!

Hebrews 13:17

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Personal challenge

There is that difficult and challenging word again, “submission”. We have all been created in the image of God. However, due to the sin in the garden of Eden where Adam and Eve were not willing to submit to the will of God we all now have the challenge of submitting to others. Here we are reminded that by submitting to those who rule over us, it will be profitable for us. It is never easy to submit to another. And sometimes the expectation of submission is wrong. In all cases we must submit to our Lord and follow His guidance to show us the right things to do. Glory be to God!

Hebrews 13:15-16

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Personal Challenge

What is our sacrifice of praise to God? It is the fruit of our lips. What we are saying to God as praise and giving thanks. What we are saying to others who were created in the image of God as we love our neighbor. It is the good works that we are to do at all times in His name and for the building up of His kingdom. It is the content of our hearts that need to be praising Him at all times. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Hebrews 12:28

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

Encouraging Words

God, in His immense Love and grace is giving us a kingdom that cannot be shaken. It is an eternal kingdom filled with His presence. Our response to this great gift should be our lives full of grace and love for those around us. This is how we show our appreciation for His great love for us. Glory be to God!

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Personal Challenge

Life is hard. There are challenges every step along the way, especially if you are trying to living a godly, Christ-like life. Jesus told us to be prepared for this. He told us that if the world hated Him it would also hate His followers. But, we are not alone in this journey of life. We have a great cloud of witnesses, the saints that have gone before us that we can look to for guidance and example. We can look to Jesus who has lead the way into eternal rest and showed us how to follow that path. We have our Father who desires all of us to be reunited with Him. And we have the Holy Spirit to live within us and lead us to the eternal resting place. Glory be to God!

Hebrews 11:17-19

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Personal Challenge

Sometimes we wait and pray for something from God. Then by His grace, we receive what we ask for. Then He asks us to give it up. This happens as a test of our faith and our love for our God. Is the answer to our prayer more important than He who provides the answer? Do we trust Him enough that we believe He will restore what He gave us? This is the challenge, to love Him more than anything that He can give us. Glory be to God!