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James 1:17 - "17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."  There are many gifts that our heavenly Father might give to us on a daily basis; but for those who are walking in a relationship with Christ, we need the gift of overcoming sin and living in holiness. Consider God's goodness to us: remembering God's goodness will keep us from sin.
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” James 1:12  We can fall into our own pity parties in the trials that we go through; whether they be testings from God, from Satan, or maybe even our own silly mistakes – we humans seem to love to complain about the woes that are ailing us. We are not the only ones going through trials; and our trials are not unique to the human race. We must be vigilant in not falling into these pitfalls that James 1 warns us about:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:2-4  A pastor was once in downtown Cincinnati when a man came up and asked him for a drink. He specifically asked for a “pop” or soda; the minister used this opportunity to teach his students that the man thought he wanted soda to drink, but what his body was really craving was water. He really wanted water, but he didn't know it.
"2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:2-4  Another reason why we need to go through the fires of temptations and testing is to develop a Christ like spirit! This is the meaning behind being “entire”; all Christians need to reflect the love and character of their Savior! Discipleship means picking up our cross daily and following after Him; it may seem a huge responsibility to become what the Bible calls a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1-2); but actually, it is our reasonable service.
"2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." - James 1:2-4  There are many trials and testings (temptations) that come our way as Christians; our Scripture today implores us to have joy in those testings. These temptations may be physical, or emotional, or spiritual and may or may not affect the ones we love. In addition, the world is always trying to allure us away from our Savior, Jesus Christ, so that we will be ineffective Christians. If you do not know Christ as personal Savior, overcoming these tests will be more difficult. For believers, there are three reasons why we must go through what some have called the ‘Refiner’s fire’ – so we may be mature (perfect), entire (Christ like), and pure wanting or in need of nothing.
"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." Acts 2:42  Some of the greatest works we share together as believers is to pray or share the Lord’s supper with one another. While there are a very many good things that believers may share together, the activity of interceding on the behalf of others or "breaking of bread" marked the lives of the early church.
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AuthorPastor Doug Mann Archives
October 2014
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"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." 2 Peter 3:18 Copyrights: All photographs used in individual blog posts have the proper credits given at the bottom of each posting as per the terms and conditions of Weebly. Web Administrator.
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