James 1:2-4.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4

James.  For some reason I've been wanting to read through this book for the last few weeks, so here we go.

To start a chapter and a book like this is kinda crazy.  Really?  Consider it joy when you face trials?  This is so anti-world these days.  Any trial is supposed to be met with annoyance, fear, anger.  We're not supposed to have trials.  First world problems for sure.  

I love what he says though.  Consider it joy so that you can produce perseverance in your life.  The trials bring perseverance.  They bring strength.  Strength to continue.  Strength to go on.  The trials bring the maturity and make us complete.  In other words. We need the trials.

We need the trials, we need the hurt and the pain and the struggle so that we can be made stronger.  So that we can be made complete.

I know.  It hurts.  It's hard and the trials and tribulations are difficult.  But take a moment and look back on them. What have they done for you?  They have made you stronger.  Our God uses all of it.  All of it to make us stronger, better and more capable of handing the next one.  He is walking with us, through all of them.

So.  Today.  The trials and the struggles.  Let there be some joy in the midst of them.  Let all of us acknowledge and accept them.  Let us understand that every single one of them is being used to make us stronger and to add to our story.   Then, let us use that story to help and encourage others as we become more mature and complete through all of it.  

Want to dive deeper.  Check out the Daily Devotion Video below.  

Prayers for you today as you seek Jesus.  Thanks for being here.

James 1:5-8.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But 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. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do." - James 1:5-8

Doubt.  It hits every single one of us.  We all doubt. We all have fear and we all get wrapped up in the tangles of uncertainty.

Our egos get the best of us sometimes and we often fall into the lie of these "i can do this, i've got this, i don't need help" situations and opinions.

James, clearly when he was writing to these folks, knew that they were struggling with the same thing and he really lays into them.  He calls the one who doubts a wave on the sea, someone blown and tossed by the wind.

This is what happens when we aren't rooted properly.  We are cast all over the place.  Take a minute and remember what it was like to be a teenager.  When you're that age it's hard to know your identity.  There are so many questions that you're asking.  So many things that make you doubt yourself, doubt who you are.  I have two teenagers right now and see this a lot.  James warns us here.  We need to be rooted. We need to resist the instability of doubt and root ourselves in God.  He can't state it more clearly.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Today, take a minute and rest.  Reset.  Let God come back into your life and into your heart.  Find the identity that you need in Him.  He is all of it.  Everything, the one we need to lean on.  Yes, we can doubt ourselves, our human selves, and get lost in the questions, opinions and outlooks of other people.  But James is telling us to put away our doubt.  In Jesus, find our identity and be rooted in His ideals, His ways.  That leads to a firm foundation that won't be blown by the wind and tossed about like the waves.

Ah...the doubt.  God, gives us clear minds to see past it all and focus on you.

James 1:9-11.

"Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the 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."  James 1:9-11

How often are we warned about money in the bible.  The bible speaks about money so often.  It's as if God knew that it would plague us our entire life.  How did he know?  :)

The world continues to drive deep into our souls that it's all about what we have, what upgrades we can get and what's next on our list.  We can get so incredibly caught up in all if it if we're not careful.  James knew this and warns us against it.  He says the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

We don't even see it happening as it's happening.  I love his analogy of the sun.  It rises, shines incredibly bright and then fades away each day.  There is no stopping it.  It arrives and leaves every day.  As it hits it's peak in the afternoon, the rays wither the plant.  Taking away it's beauty.  The plant has zero control over this.  We have zero control over our wealth.  We can make plans and save, work hard, yes.  All of that is true but at the end of the day it's all Gods.  

It's hard to talk about this.  It's hard to write about it.  Even now i'm sitting here trying to make compromises for the way that i handle money. I can't.  At the end of the day I don't give enough, don't share enough and don't handle it well enough.  

I'm wrapped too much in this world.  I'm praying today that God would open my eyes to see how I handle money.  That i would be honest with myself and use it wisely, properly and teach my kids to do the same.  

Today. Take a minute and get real with the way that you handle money.  Are you seeking God in it.  Are you seeking God's direction with it.  Be honest with yourself and surrender it to Him.   I think a lot of us could use a re-look at how we handle our money.

God.  Help us to be more mindful of ways that we can use the gifts that you've given us to feed back into your kingdom and not ours.

James 1:12.

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." - James 1:12

Perseverance.  Pass it on.  

I love this ad campaign from the folks at the Foundation for a Better Life.  They talk about persistence, perseverance, motivation and so many more great values to have as we go through life.

Today's verse in James talks about perseverance under trial.  Who hasn't been through a day, week, month or year that hasn't been taxing.  God calls us to walk with Him as we go through these trials.  To trust and believe in him as we walk through the fire. 

Ugh. It's frustrating and annoying.  We don't want to go through trials, we want life to be smooth sailing.  We want to turn on the yacht rock station on the radio, sit back with a glass of something tasty and relax.  Just let it all happen.  Ah, to live life that way...a dream....maybe.  I don't think so though.   If that's the way life was, we'd miss out on so many different things.  

You see, the trials are good for us.  They push us further in our relationship with each other and with the God who loves us.  He puts us through these trials so that we can become stronger.  More in tune with Him and what He has in store for us.  

I know, I hate them too. But James, here in this verse, has good things to say about the trials. About the outcome of the trials and why we should push through them. 

Today, embrace the struggle.  Look up and talk to God.  Tell him your frustrations, your concerns and your hopes.  Tell him that you don't like it, but you're walking with him through it.  Tell him that you're willing to stand with him through them all.

Want to dive deeper into this verse, check out the devotional video below.

Prayers for you today.

James 1:13-15.

"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. - James 1:13 - 15

Temptation.  What tempts you? What pulls you deeper into a place that you don't want to be? Food?  Drink? Sex? Television?  

We are all tempted.  There's no getting around it.  There's no stopping it.  It's part of the fall of man and our sinful nature that we give into all the time.  I could rattle off a dozen things that tempt me every day, sometimes every hour.  I hate it.  It's frustrating and annoying and I just don't want to be a part of it.....but I am.  We are. 

So today, think about your temptations and think about the tactics that you use to maneuver around them.  Do you get up and walk away?  Shut the phone off?  Scream?  I once heard a therapist say that most temptations will subside after 2 or 3 minutes.  If....you can get through the 2 or 3 minutes by distracting yourself.

James is clear in what he says here. It's not God tempting us, so that argument is moot.  It's us.  Our desires.  Those desires are born in us and we manifest them by giving into them.  That then gives birth to sin and that sin eventually leads to death.

But....praise be to God.  He is with us.  Helping us.  Giving us someone to talk to in the midst of our desires and temptations.  He is there with us as we struggle and fight through them. Cheering us on and giving us strength.  We just need to acknowledge that and lean into it.

Today.  Lean into God as you are tempted.  Immediately call out the name of Jesus when you are tempted.  Rest in his presence as he is with you today, tomorrow and every moment of every single day.

James 1:16-18

James 1:19-21