Beginning

June 10, 2019

Beginning

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

James 1:12

If The Apostle Paul was in the Marine Corp, he would be the Chaplain. James, on the other hand, if he was in the Marines, would be the Drill Instructor. James goes straight to the bottom line. The moral conduct of some people in the church was no different than the rest of their culture. James was concerned that these people may be deceiving themselves that they were in a right relationship with God.

John Wesley struggled with this same issue. He saw people seemingly doing the right things: going to church; placing money in the offering plate; singing the hymns; etc. But like James, he also saw that the way these people were living was not much different than the world around them. Wesley concluded these people were holding to a form of religion, but that their religion lacked the power to change lives.

The Book of James is a lesson in practical Christianity and provides us an excellent opportunity to examine ourselves to see if we are seeking to have our lives changed through our faith in Jesus. James puts it this way: “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:22)

My Takeaway: As I read the first chapter of James, it dawned on me that I may have been missing something by focusing more on enduring difficult times instead of focusing on what God is trying to show me in those times. God, who began the good work within me, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6) Perhaps the difficult times are revealing God’s hand working to give me the desire and the power to do what pleases him. (Philippians 2:13)

I don’t suspect I am alone in this boat!

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2019 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.