Written ~ 09-24-2023
James 1:12-18
“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us His True Word. And we, out of all creation, became His prized possession.”
The Book of James is a great book if you need some conviction thrown at you to get you back on track. James lays it out very directly to look at the things you are doing to see if they are lining up with the Word of God. In this book we have warnings for our actions and suggestions for correcting the behavior that is not pleasing to the Lord.
Every single one of us has probably made a decision that was not a good one. Maybe we ignored all the red flags and maybe we thought negotiating God’s Word wouldn’t be a problem in that decision. Not until everything comes crashing down around us do we look at ourselves, think about that decision and it’s often at that time we see the fault of our compromise. Our faith in the Lord needs to overrule every accommodation we make to seek our own sinful desires. When our relationship with the Lord is solid, when that foundation is impenetrable and our decisions are made from the power of the Holy Spirit within us, that’s when our decisions will be successful. I know it’s difficult! Sometimes, we want things now and don’t understand why it’s taking so long! Verse 1:12 says,
“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.”
We are all different, we all have different desires, different ideas of how we think our lives should look. But you know what? God just wants us to love Him, trust Him and to obey Him.
In our verses today James is talking about temptation. Oh boy, do we ever have situations come up that can tempt us greatly! Take a moment to think… what is one thing, right now, that you desire more than anything. What does it take to tempt you into making an unwise decision regarding that desire, without first seeking the Word of God? What little tidbit is so enticing that it turns your eyes off of Jesus and causes you to step into that poor decision? When we are truly pursuing guidance from the Lord from God’s Word, it’s then that our decisions will be made through the filter of the Holy Spirit. Think about how glorious you’ll feel when you choose Jesus instead of a choosing a compromised decision. Let’s zero in on verses 1:13-14,
“And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.”
So, we see here that God will never tempt us to do wrong, He will never have us make an unwise decision and He certainly will not tempt us to follow our sinful, fleshly desires. We do that all on our own. God will, however, test us to see what decision we will choose, He will allow temptation to cross our paths. It is in that moment where we give into our desires, or we look to Jesus. If we endure patiently, if we ward off the temptations that can drag us away from the Lord, what do we get out of staying true to God’s Word? Verse 1:12b,
“Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”
What an awesome promise! God promises life! Look at the contrast, look at what giving into temptation gives us! Verse 1:15,
“These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”
Giving into our sinful desires gives birth to death. God gives us LIFE; sin gives us DEATH. Seems like an easy choice. But when the flurry of excitement overpowers all of your senses, you need to have a quick solution to bring you back to reality, before your heart leads you astray. What is your go to? For example, what if you were presented with an awesome job opportunity, it has all the bells and whistles, it seems absolutely perfect. But in the back of your mind, something just doesn’t feel right, and the “tug of war” begins. Do you throw caution to the wind and go for it? Never mind the nagging feeling that this may not be a good decision. Or do you have a guideline already prepared that immediately prompts you to seek the Lord first above all else? Ah, and what about a new relationship? This is a tricky one because our emotions and those blurry rose-colored glasses can get in the way very quickly. But let’s reiterate, whatever kind of decision is presented to you, are you giving birth to a sinful action which leads to death? Or are you standing firm on the foundation you already know is true and follow the guidelines from the Holy Spirit which will only lead to life?
Verses 1:16-18 gives us the most wonderful example of how much God, our Father in Heaven loves us…
“So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us His True Word. And we, out of all creation, became His prized possession.”
See what it says there? “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father…” Wouldn’t you want to wait for “perfect?” But see the warning at the beginning of verse 16? “…don’t be misled…”
We have learned that God’s desire is to give us the crown of life, isn’t that wonderful? Why would we ever want anything other than that? Verse 1:17b makes it clear; we really should listen…
“…God NEVER changes or casts a shifting shadow…”
In The Message (MSG) that part of verse 17 says,
“There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle.”
God’s Word is Truth. For the believer it should be our instruction manual for every situation. When we decide to put our Bible on the shelf and allow it to collect dust, it’s no wonder our decisions get all twisted up. If we aren’t going to the Bible for instruction, what are we looking to? Is it social media? Do we find little excerpts here and there that tell us what we should be thinking? Verse 1:18 says,
“God chose to give birth to us by giving us HIS TRUE WORD.” (Emphasis is mine)
Give honor and glory to the One who created you. He is truth. He will help get you through any tough decision. By looking to Him first, it will, without doubt in my mind, save you from the fallout of a poor decision. Let me include James 1:22 as I close,
“Don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”
God Blesses. Sin Corrupts. God gives LIFE. Sin gives DEATH. Harness your temptations by seeking God’s promises. Don’t be fooled by the temptations and enticements the world is offering.
YOU are God’s prized possession. Believe it! Honor it! Give Glory to God your Father the One who created you!
~AMEN~
So needed this today!! Thanks Denise!!!