Trusting

1 Pet. 4:19

Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. 

It has been granted to believers to suffer [Phil. 1:29-30], a grant, a gift. What kind of thinking is that? We all embrace the idea of growing up in to Christ who is our head and of being conformed to His image, but I think we forget how that process takes place. It is through following the steps of Christ in suffering that growth begins and matures. Consequently, Peter is encouraging believers about this suffering they may be in now or soon will be experiencing. He says, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though some strange thing were happening to you. Notice Peter does not say 'if' but 'when'. It is a surety. Suffering will happen so just remember it is supposed to! Notice he describes it as a fiery trial. That describes a fair degree of intensity! Still instead of bemoaning our fate, Peter says to rejoice in it. Rejoice? How can that be? Maybe endure but rejoicing takes it a step farther. We can rejoice now because when Jesus comes, we will be glad when His glory is revealed.

As long as we are insulted for the name of Christ, it is good. But if we suffer for doing evil, that is an entirely different matter. If we are following the dictates of our flesh, then we deserve to suffer. What we have done is shameful, but what is shameful can not be attributed to suffering for Christ! In fact, the spirit of glory and of God rests on us when we suffer. Could that make the suffering sweet? Could that turn pain into rejoicing? Certainly, in suffering we cry out to God. We depend on Him. We cling to Him. So yes! It is sweet and joyous to be so close to Jesus and the Father.

In a way this is a warning. Believers, listen up! Why are you suffering? Is it for our own fleshly foolishness or is it for Jesus? For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God, Peter warns. Confess, repent, and go in a new direction. So when we suffer for Jesus according to God's will, we can  entrust our souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. Who else could be responsible for my soul? No one but the one who created me!

Father,

Make me aware of my foolish choices that lead me into sin. Open my eyes to see so that I may confess and repent. Help me Lord to trust You constantly. Help me to rejoice when I suffer for Jesus.

In His name,

Amen

Gifts

1 Pet. 4:10-11

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks the oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves the the strength that God supplies--in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen

The main point: Whatever I have, do, think, say, I do it through Jesus, in and through His wonderful grace. What God has blessed me with , I need to use to bless others. Jesus was a servant to all, and He wants me to serve others too. If I don't use what He has given me, then I am not a good steward of His grace. What exactly does that mean? How does it related to using our gifts. 

I am reminded of the parable of the servants. Each was given a gift of the same amount. One went and increased his gift from 10 talents to 20. Another went and increased his gift from 10-15. But one servant hid his talent in the ground because he was afraid of the master, or so he said. Maybe laziness? When the master came back, each was rewarded accordingly. The servant who had hidden his talent had his taken away, and consequently, lost his position as a servant altogether. Jesus has given believers gifts [talents] as well. Grace is the power that enables us to use those gifts properly. If we are not good stewards of the grace, we are not using grace in such a way that allows us to have adequate power to use our gifts. So through the grace of God, we use our gifts increasing them as much as we can so that when our Master [Jesus Christ] returns, He can say to us, Well done, you good and faithful servant. Then God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. 

Father,

Thank You for Your amazing grace. Help me to be a good steward of it. Teach me how to use my gifts for you without my own strength. I want to use it through Your grace so that you may be glorified. 

In Jesus name,

Amen

Finally...

1 Pet. 3:8-9

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Finally, this is the conclusion of the matter. Perhaps for a woman, the outworking of her hidden person of the heart, her gentle and quiet spirit which is precious to God. But for men and women, for all of the body of Christ unity is of huge importance. Eph. 4 says, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and later in that same chapter it says, until we all attain to the unity of the faith of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. How important!

Sympathy would be the caring heart, seeing the burdens of others and coming alongside them. Phil. 2 pairs sympathy with unity as well, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord. Perhaps sympathy helps us understand the position of others and thus contributes to unity. Brotherly love is that love that exists between believers, brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. It is this love that Christians should have as their identifying mark. John 15 says, These things I command you that you love one another. Loving one another was an issue that was very important to the heart of Jesus and should be to our hearts as well. 

A tender heart speaks of softness toward the promptings of the Spirit, leaning in to hear His still, small voice whether He is prompting us to love one another or to confess a sin that is blocking our way to growth. Whatever it is we need to be tender to Him and to God's word. A humble mind is of ultra importance. 1 Pet. 5 says, Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you. Humility is to be openly observable, our clothing, that which protects our tender heart. It is to the humble that grace is given. Pride blocks the way! Pride keeps God from exalting you which is abundantly better than self-exaltation. Yet humility seems impossible. The heart of man is programmed with pride. It takes a mighty work of God and His Spirit to chisel away the hard and stony ground and make the heart tender. It is the proud heart that wants to give back in kind, to return evil for evil and reviling for reviling. It is the proud heart that rises up and thinks how could you do this to me. But the humble heart prays for the evil revilers. It is the humble heart that leaves retribution with God. 

Quite a meaty finally. So much to absorb and pray about. So much to consider as we seek the heart of God, as we seek to grow in him, as we seek to shed our protective coating of pride and opt out for the tenderness and sympathy. When I consider the condition of my heart and my ever present tendency to sin, I identify with Rom. 8, and groan for the coming of the Lord, groan for that time when my heart will be made 100% His, groan for that time when my hope will be made reality. 

Father,

Change my heart. Root out my pride and grow in its place a full crop of humility, tenderness, and love. I confess so many times I am not what I should be when my flesh takes over.

Help me.

In Jesus name,

Amen

The Hidden Person of the Heart

1 Pet. 3:4

but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 

1 Pet. 3:1-7 is a classic passage for husbands and wives. Wives be subject to your own husbands,and husbands live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. In and of themselves these are great principles as well as commands to be obeyed. But v. 4 talks about something that is much deeper, perhaps it is the how-to for women.

The whole concept of wives submitting to husbands is not really an easy sell. Who wants to be the one that has to follow the will of the other one? Who doesn't want to have things their own way? I certainly do. Yet, God says no. He has placed authority in a certain order. So how do we follow this order? God says look at your heart. Do not just be concerned about your external adorning, clothing, hair, jewelry. Not to say those things aren't important. [Just look at the huge industries centered around each of these three areas.] If our concentration is not on the external, it has time to be on the internal.  Peter says our adorning should be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. A hidden person in our hearts? Who knew?

This hidden person is our relationship with God, our inner life where we think, meditate, pray, read, study, memorize, form attitudes, and the list goes on. It is where our true character is formed and then becomes the source of our external actions. If our external includes griping, nit-picking, mean-spirited actions, laziness, lack of focus, etc., then we know that our internal is not right. We are not growing that gentle and quiet spirit that God thinks is precious. We are not honoring God in what He really desires. Notice that the hidden person of the heart is not synonymous with church attendance. It can grow at church, but it can't be replaced by church. It must be that one-on-one time that we have with God. 

This hidden person of the heart has a huge influence. It says that an unsaved husband can be won by the conduct of the wife without even her saying a word, that is if her hidden person of the heart has been fed and grown. If not, there are wedges and wall built. Stress and tensions run high, and the home becomes a battleground not a haven. Such wisdom! But can women give up their desire to run the show? Can they trust God to keep them safe and protected? The holy women of old were our examples. Sarah trusted Abraham even after he pawned her off as His sister twice. In spite of Abe's actions, God protected her. Verses 6 says, And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. It might be frightening to trust our husbands, to go with their ideas and plans even when you know the end will not be good, but is God bigger than all that? Yes. Do His plans supersede all the foolish plans of man? Yes. 

Father,

Help me trust You above all. Help me to be more concerned with my inner hidden person that running the show on the outside. Give me Your strength to trust You above all.

In His name,

Amen

Following in His Steps

1 Pet. 2:21

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps.

Our calling is one of suffering. Since Christ suffered for us, we must follow in His steps, steps that are hard and painful. Previous to verse 21 Peter explains how it is a gracious thing in the eyes of God when we endure sorrow when suffering unjustly. How counter to our thoughts and our flesh is that! When we suffer unjustly, we want to rise up and proclaim loudly the injustice. We want to cry out to our friends and convince them of our innocence. But this is not the way of Christ. Everything that Christ endured was unjust! Yet He endured graciously. 

Following verse 21, Peter explains in detail how Jesus suffered graciously, and Peter would know, he was there! Jesus suffered without committing sin, without reviling in return, without threatening or seeking to return evil for evil. How could He do this? Was the strength coming from a source within Him? No, in verse 23 it says, He continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He let God handle it! For we know who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again, The Lord will judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  [Heb. 10: 30-31] God is a far better judge than any man could ever be, yet we care so much what man thinks of us. We are so fearful of what man can do to us. Why this need for human vindication? Shouldn't we care more how God sees us? 

Jesus trusted His Father. He knew that God would be true to His word and to His character. Whatever God asked Him to do, He was willing to do. He is our example of trust. God asks us to trust Him as well. Even though we might not understand or enjoy our calling of suffering, can we trust Him? Can we trust that He knows what is best for us? Can we trust Him to enable us to endure sorrow? He doesn't ask us to suck it up and tough it out. No, He asks us to depend on Him, His strength and His grace. Through His power, we can endure sorrow when suffering unjustly. Through His power we can follow in Jesus' steps. Through His power we can entrust ourselves to Him who judges justly. 

Father,

Fill me with Your grace and power to endure sorrow and follow in the steps of Jesus. Help me to entrust my life into Your hands realizing that I might not understand why until I am in heaven with You. I love You Lord. Thank You, Jesus for walking these steps of suffering and sorrow. You are my Savior and my Lord. 

In His name,

Amen

Silencing Foolishness

1 Pet. 2:15

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Doing good in the face of the accusations and actions of ignorant people, hm...what an interesting idea! I wonder is it doing good in general or doing good to those specific people? I am sure that to have its greatest effect, it would have to be to those specific people. So every time I am greeted with a foolish statement or an action, I should think of something good I can do. Perhaps the time and effort I put into thinking of something good would cancel out my fleshly response to that person. A little replacement theory! And of course, it would have the blessing of God because it would be in obedience to His word. 

The very next verse says, Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. I am free in Christ, free from my bondage to sin, not free to do whatever fleshly, foolish think I want. I need to abstain from having the necessity for a cover-up for my sin, a sin which would be in context to the last verse, that is doing evil. The more good God can do through me as His servant, a servant who has willingly submitted to Jesus Christ, the more that I can silence the ignorance of foolish people. Living in the flesh is just fodder for the mouths of foolish people! The more they see Christians living sinfully, the more they can voice loud and clear their ignorant thoughts. Why ignorant? Because they don't know what it means to be a Christian. They don't know it means that Christians are just saved sinners who are prone to the flesh just like they are. Instead they take their preconceived notions and use them as a lens with which to view all things Christians. No wonder it comes out ignorance!

Father,

Help me to do Your good in Your strength and in Your will and way. Teach me to live as Your servant. That is who I desire to be.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Great Blessings

1 Pet. 1: 3-9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

We bless God because of the great blessings He has given us. We love Him because He first loved us. We reach out to Him because He first reached out to us. Get the pattern! Everything I have in Christ is because God reached down to me first. All I have is from the top down, from His great mercy, love and grace. The blessings are manifold:

• born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead-nothing I did or initiated. All from Jesus!
•  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,-He has given me a future, sonship, joint heir with Christ, and an eternal inheritance kept safe for me.
• who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.-Through His grace and nothing I have done, I am guarded through the gift of faith [no faith of my own] for my complete and eternal salvation to be revealed when Jesus comes back for me. 
•  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,  so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. -I rejoice in this salvation even though in this life I have trials, trials that test the genuineness of my faith, to ensure that I am not a fake or trying to sneak in on my own works. My end result will be praise, glory, and honor when Jesus returns. How do I endure these trials? Through His grace and strength. He gives me the trials and the means to endure and the reward at the end! It is all of Him. 
• Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.-I love Him though I don't see Him. I believe by faith, the very gift of faith from the Father. I rejoice with inexpressible joy, a joy that is unfathomable by the world. It makes no sense to them! And finally, the salvation is complete! I will see Jess as He is and be like Him, glorified and eternal. Praising Him for all eternity!

Such as this is my life! My joy! My all! Such as this has come down from the Father who has chosen me to be His own precious child. He has given me His divine nature and all things pertaining to life and godliness. He has given me His precious and very great promises that by them I might live in newness of life and in resurrection power. He has given me Jesus and His Spirit to indwell, guide, lead,and intercede for me. Such a life as this is mine!

Father,

As I read this passage this morning, my heart is blessed, and I bless You the giver of all good things. I have only a paltry 'thank you' to give in return. You have transformed my life according to Your great promises. You have been faithful and true. Help me to live for You faithfully and truly, but only through Your great grace. Make me steadfast according to Your steadfast and unfailing love. I bless You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I know I am elect because of the foreknowledge of God, according to the sanctification of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ through the sprinkling of His blood.

In His name,

Amen

Patience and Purpose

James 5:7

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for he coming of the Lord is at hand. 

It is only human to want the Lord to return and take us out of this world with all of its evil and corruption, but perhaps that is just escapism. We just don't want to deal with what is coming down, the suffering, the loss of freedom, the immorality, the perversions of God's word, but all these are signs, signs for us to get ready, to get our hearts in order. But how often are we longing for His return because we love Him so very much, because we want to feast our eyes on Him, and because our hearts are so full of praise that we can't contain it? We want it to spill over into eternity and join in praising with all the saints on high.

Thankfully, James knows the true nature of man so he exhorts us to get ready by being patient and establishing our hearts. Patient because the Lord's coming is delayed as He waits for that last soul to be saved. Establishing our hearts by growing in Him and not grumbling against each other. Love should be the mark of the believer, our default setting, but often we fall back into the flesh where the default is backbiting and devouring one another by our actions and words. James reminds us that the Judge is at the door. He can't take sin lightly. Believers need to watch their speech, their words are significant. Don't swear by heaven or earth, but let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no' be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. Strong words! Condemnation! Who wants that? No one I know of. So it's simple, yes or no. No swearing!

Finally, we establish ourselves by being steadfast. Remember the prophets and Job who endured evil, corruption, and affliction and still remained faithful. We can read those accounts and see that the Lord was faithful to them, and likewise, He will be faithful to us. If we are suffering or ill, call the elders and ask for prayer. Always remember that the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. In conclusion, James says to bring the wanderers back to the truth and their souls will be saved. Look out for one another. Reach out for the wounded brothers. Nurture and love. And in such a way it will go full circle. You will in turn be nurtured and loved.

Father,

I long for Your return, and yet at the same time, I need to get prepared, to establish my heart. Help me not to have a grumbling spirit, to love and reach out to others, to keep my speech clean and pure, and to be faithful and steadfast. Help me to nurture and care for those You place in my path. Give me the words to share with the lost.

In Jesus name,

Amen

  

Doing Right

James 4: 17

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. 

Who doesn't love a good gossip, a juicy tidbit that you can share? Well, for sure God! In 4:11 James exhorts us to stop judging one another. Don't speak evil about each other, he says. Can't get much plainer than that! He explains that there is only one lawgiver and judge, and it is certainly not us! It is God Himself. How puffed up are we when we judge each other thinking that we are so much better than someone else! How puffed up are we to allow our preferences to judge others!

Not only that but we think we can control our lives, make our own plans, and figure out what is best for us. But that is pride too! So much pride! James reminds us that we are but a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead of saying I will do this or that, we should say, if the Lord wills, I will do this or that. Ultimately, He decides all, even the outcome of an ordinary day. So why don't we seek Him first thing and throughout the day. Think how much easier it would be on each of us. How much less frustration and even heartache there would be. 

So James ends this chapter with, So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. If we know what is right, then we just need to do it. No room for wiggling! Maybe that's the problem. We always think there is room for wiggling. We think we can keep a little bit of ourselves and still be right with God, but not so. It is sin!!! Stop kidding myself!! Live for God unreservedly. Quit sinning!

Father,

I confess hanging on to myself, to my plans, and to my flesh. Forgive. Help me to look with love on others and to think of ways to build them up not tear them down.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Passions

James 4:1

What causes quarrels and fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

As usual Satan has taken the word passion [passions] and has turned it into a good thing. What better than to have passion or to be passionate about something? Definitely a trait highly touted today. But in Scriptures passion [passions] always refers to something sinful. It speaks of out of control fleshly desires that war within our souls. We want and don't have. We ask but ask wrongly spending it on our passions. It is as if we can't see the root cause of our sin or the root cause of our desires. We are blinded by our passions.

How do these passions get so out-of-control? James offers this idea. Friendship with the world. When we are friends with the world, we are enemies with God. Not good! God has given us a strong hint when He said that he was and is jealous over His Spirit that lives within us. He doesn't want His Spirit inundated with our filthy passions and sin. Instead of being constantly in a state of failure and sin, He offers us His grace. Grace that will fortify and strengthen. Grace that will conquer and control, yes, even our willful passions. 

But the catch is this. God opposes the proud but gives His grace to the humble. If we think, we can control our passions by ourselves, that is pride. If we think, it is useless because we are too far gone, that is pride as well. Pride cancels out grace! We need to submit ourselves to God acknowledging our pride and sin and then resist the devil. If we resist, he will flee. He knows the battles has already been won. He knows he is defeated. Apparently, the only ones who don't live in that reality is us! So the conclusion is cleansing and confessing, mourning and weeping over sin, rejoicing and singing over victory. I need to humble myself before the Lord, and He will exalt me because He will be exalting Himself and all He has done in my life!

Father,

What a glorious gift is Your grace! How truly amazing! I confess my great wealth of passion. It seems to be constantly overflowing. I ask for your forgiveness humbly. I ask Your forgiveness for exposing Your Spirit to so much sin. Forgive. Strengthen me in Your grace. Help me live in You. 

In Jesus name,

Amen

Wisdom

James 3: 17-18

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

How does wisdom and understanding manifest itself? James says by good conduct and meekness of wisdom. Good conduct would be living according to the dictates of Scripture and meekness of wisdom would be seeking the good of others first. James goes on to say that if people have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition [both of which seek only the good of self], but yet claim to be wise, they are liars. In truth they have nothing to boast about at all! All their boasting is a sham! A pretend, a claiming to be something that they are not. Wisdom that is characterized by jealousy and selfish ambition is not God's wisdom but is earthly, unspiritual and demonic. Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. Wow! How did it get so bad so fast? When the door is open to evil, even just a little jealousy, then more evil follows until Satan has a heyday! And soon the spirit is consumed with seeking only what pleases self, a self that is never satisfied and must constantly have more.

But on the positive side, God's wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, merciful, fruit-bearing, impartial and sincere. Wow! That is a stiff order. Who among us is all of these things? Probably no one, but the point is we are growing into this wisdom. At the first hint of jealousy, we confess. We get back on track. We don't let sin take prominence in our lives, but are consumed with growing more and more each day. Before long we will be harvesting righteousness when we ourselves are at peace and are peaceful with those around us. Each of the characteristics of God's wisdom need to be topics for meditation and prayer. 

• Pure would be the absence of sin, of anything that would taint. It would mean constant confessing and not letting things ride no matter how justified we feel.
• Peaceable would be thinking of others totally. It is when we want our own way that discord happens even within our own families. 
• Open to reason means not wanting our own plan and way. We become life-long listeners and learners. Quick to listen and accept other's ideas.
• Merciful means that we show others the same grace that God has shown us. We forgive them because God has forgiven us. 
• Fruit-bearing means we are growing in obedience every day. We are abiding in the vine because apart from Him we can do nothing. 
• Impartial means we do not show preference for some, but accept all the same regardless of economics, job, etc. 
• And sincere means we are without cracks that have been glossed over. We don't hide our shortcoming but acknowledge them. We don't act a certain way to others that is not in sync with our hearts. What we are is how we act. 

It's a narrow line that contains the wisdom of God, but the grace of God is as wide as it can be. He is always loving and forgiving. He will always pick us up and put us back on our feet. Thank God!

Father,

Thank You so much for Your grace. Grow me in Your wisdom. Help me to spot sin immediately and confess regardless of how I feel. Help me to change. Transform my heart. Make me more like Your Son.

In His name,

Amen

The Tongue

James 3:5

So the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

Our tongues are fires, worlds of unrighteousness. And such a thing as this lives in my mouth! Oh dear! The tongue has the power to stain the whole body and set a fire that consumes the entire course of life [according to James]. Where does it get such power? It is set on fire by hell! It is a prime tool of Satan used to defeat believers worldwide. Every time we open our mouths there is an opportunity for our tongues to take over and destroy the quality of our Christian walk. 

James goes on to say that the tongue is unable to be tamed, humanly speaking. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father and with it we curse people, who are made in the likeness of God. It is almost as if James is pleading when he says, My brothers, these things ought not to be so. I think James was thinking of the Holy Spirit who lives within us and is the only way we can defeat the sinful power of the tongue. In ourselves we stand no chance against our tongues, but in the power of the Spirit we can be victors because Christ has already won the victory for us. All we must do is live in the light of that victory. These sinful things don't have to be!!! We don't have to live in a constant state of sin, smeared so heavily with muck that the light of Jesus can barely shine through. This is not our calling and election! This is a guise of Satan, the Accuser of the brethren, the one who delights in telling the Father how we caved. We need to contend for the faith, stand strong, make every effort, be a soldier of the cross, and run the race casting aside the weights and sins that so easily ensnare us.

Father,

I confess that my tongue has caused me to sin. I have listened to the voice of my flesh and have fallen. Forgive me. Give me Your grace and strength. Attune my ears to Your Holy Spirit so He can lead and direct me where I should go.

In Jesus name,

Amen 

Faith and Works

James 2: 26

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

James is stressing the importance of living out our faith, not that we are saved by it, but that it must manifest itself physically in our lives. 2 Peter 1:3-10 expresses a similar idea. Here Peter says to make every effort to supplement your faith. Faith is active alongside works! Yet, there are errors on either side of this spectrum. Works totally or faith totally--neither one does the job! So it is important to examine our lives to see if these qualities, the qualities that Peter mentioned, are increasing in our lives. Lacking them means spiritual blindness and a forgetting of our salvation. So sad! So sad that such an important issue can get so twisted around. I guess it fits the personalities of men. Those who are lazy want to do nothing more than a casual church attendance, but those who are achievers outdo themselves in a multitude of works. But for a few who love God will want to work but in and through the grace of God. Those few will confirm their calling and election. They will never fail! As James gave the example of Abraham who offered up his son Isaac and was justified by his works. His faith was supplemented by his work of faith and obedience. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. We must believe God when He tells us to make every effort to supplement our faith, and to be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

Father,

Help me to make every effort and to be all the more diligent. Give me Your grace and strength.

In Jesus name, I confess the times that I have not been diligent at all and have allowed sin to take over. Help me. 

Amen

Temptation

James 1:12

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life. 

There is a blessing for the man who endures trials and temptations. Enduring to the end means eternal life replete with all of its blessings. What a glorious crown of life! But how to withstand? Understand the nature of temptation is a must. At times I have thought that temptation is sent by God to test my mettle. But James tells me clearly God does not tempt with evil nor is He tempted by it. In the case of Job, He allowed Satan to sift him, a sifting that would separate his wheat from his chaff. In Revelation Satan is known as the accuser of the brethren. He likes to come before the Father seeking out those he might devour. But for the one who is truly God's, devouring is not in the cards. There is also the example of Peter who allowed his flesh to entice and control. He denied Christ three times, the Christ whom he loved dearly. Afterward he was left with the bitter taste of failure and bitter tears to burn his eyes. There was no pleasure here. The enticement that Satan uses never brings what it promises. In fact, what it brings is heartache, disappointment, and disillusionment. 

James goes on to explain that trials and temptations emanate from our own lusts, by our own desires that bloom into a soul-devouring flower. When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.Yikes! Evil desires are not something to take lightly. How strong is my flesh! Even with the indwelling Spirit of God controlling me, my flesh can rear its ugly head and call out to me. Who do I hear? Who do I obey? Since it is within me that the battle happens, I must answer. In that moment the old patterns and behaviors seem so familiar and comfortable. That is why I must decide ahead of time. I must purpose to listen to the Spirit no matter how difficult.

Father,

Help me to identify my own propensities so that I might confess and repent. Help me to listen and obey the Spirit's voice so that I might be so very close to You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Joy in Trials

James 1:2

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds...

Joy is often so elusive. People are ever searching for it, but sadly, the search for joy has been replaced by the search for the next new high or rush. Contentment has been replaced with adrenaline. But for the Christian, joy is a glorious gift. So why would we want to be joyous? First because trials, the very thing that often steals our joy, produce character in us, steadfastness. Steadfastness gives us the ability to stay the course. So in the long term, we can count out trials as a reason for joy! Rejoicing in the difficulty means lasting til the end. But this is not an easy thing to do. It seems as if the knowledge of this is insufficient when the trials come pouring in. So in v. 5 James says, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. God will bolster our understanding. He will give us insight into enduring trials and keeping our joy. He wants to bless our lives with this joy, and at the same time, grow us in grace. Such growth needs trials! 

Father,

Help me to be joyous, to accept and embrace the trials You send my way, to realize they are drawing me closer to You, and to have them be a reason for joy. I know all this can only be done through Your grace. Pour it on me in full measure. 

In Jesus name,

Amen