James 1:22-25

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 observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

Personal Challenge

It is not hard work to be a hearer of God’s word. Carve out a few hours per week to go to church, sit in your designated seat, and listen up. This is important for all of us to be a part of a community. Where the real challenge comes in, the hard work, is to put what we have heard into action. Are we lovingly reaching out to those who we are worshiping with and encouraging them to also be doers? Are we reaching out to those who are missing and checking in to see if they are okay? How about when we leave that couple of hours of listening behind us and we go into the world? Are we showing the love of God to our neighbor, to those in need, to those who are different than us? Are we giving of our resources, our time, our dollars, our love to those around us? If we are not living this way then we are deceiving ourselves. Lord, have mercy!

James 1:19-20

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Personal Challenge

It is so easy to jump straight to being upset about something without taking the time to fully understand the situation. James reminds us to move quickly to the position listening to the other person in order to hear what is going on in the situation. We add to that listening a delay in speaking so that we can hear the full story. And then we should still move to the stage of wrath or upset, very slowly, if at all. This advise works in all aspects of life and will eliminate so many upsets and arguments. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

FROM ABOVE

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Encouraging Words

Everything that is good and perfect in our lives are truly gifts from our Father in heaven. Whether we follow Him or not, He still pours out His blessings and gifts on His creation, His beloved. He is constant in this, always has been, and always will be. If we open the eyes of our bodies, our minds, and our hearts, we will see just how much He is willing to pour into us in hope that we will turn to Him. He is the prodigal son’s father and we are the prodigal sons and daughters. Glory be to God!

James 1:14-15

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Personal Challenge

Our sin is what keeps us from being close to God. It becomes a wedge in our relationship with Him which can only be removed by Him. Sir is a result of our own desires that well up within us and that we do not deal with immediately by giving them to Christ and letting them be squashed. As we hold onto these desires they grow and ultimately result in sin. We are fortunate that we can seek God’s forgiveness and be washed clean of our sins, but how much better it is to avoid the sin altogether by dealing with the desire properly when it first arises. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

James 1:13

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

Personal Challenge

It is so easy to blame God for the temptations that surface in our lives. God does not tempt us. He uses all situations in our lives to show His love for us and to teach us to be like His Son. Often times our enemy, Satan, will tempt us, but usually it is our own actions, desires, and passions that lead us into Temptations. It is like the man who has determined to go on a diet to lose weight. He loves donuts. Every morning He goes to the donut store to get his cup of coffee and wonders why he ends up eating that special donut of the day. He made the choice to step into a tempting situation, Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

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!