Tag Archives: Jame1:2

Perseverance – Sat – 22-03-12

Daily Spark

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When I was a teenager, I worked out by lifting weights. I really wanted to beef up my upper body. I was on the high school football team and the coach also wanted me to gain strength. Alas, God gave me a skinny body. I never did develop the chest and arm muscles I wanted. But I did get stronger. The coach also ran us through drills and sprints to improve our cardiovascular fitness. It wasn’t fun to leave practice panting for breath. Nor to experience all the sore muscles training produced. But it did get me ready for the game.

Listen to James 1:2-4, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (NIV)

Don’t you want to be spiritually mature? Don’t you want to be spiritually fit and ready for the game of life? Well, the process to get there is not always easy. It requires perseverance. Yesterday, we saw we sometimes have to persevere through suffering. This verse tells us we sometimes are tested in our faith. That’s right, we endure trials that force us to trust God more. As we persevere, we mature spiritually. Are you facing problems that are testing your trust in God? Hang in there! Keep on trusting him!

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James – Sun – 21-11-28

Daily Spark

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Many years ago, I was an athlete on my high school team. After football or basketball practice, the coach would line us up for a drill called wind sprints. It sounds like such a pleasant term! But they were not pleasant. The coach would blow his whistle, making us run in short bursts. Then we’d do it again, and again and again. He didn’t stop until we had no wind left! They should have been called “windless sprints” because he left us gasping for air.

Why would the coach put us through such agony? Because he wanted to build our endurance. We needed to be in condition for the real game. So, he put us through the drills.

The same thing is true about our spiritual endurance. It requires testing to develop. Listen to what James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (NIV)

Do you see the big picture? It can be unpleasant, even agony, to go through the trials of life. But they are useful for creating in us perseverance and eventually maturity. And, as verse 12 says, if we persevere under trial, we will receive the crown of life!

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Fruit of Joy – Sat – 21-05-22

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Have you ever scratched your head at something and wondered how can it be? You know, sort of like an optical illusion or a magic trick. James 1:2-4 is a passage like that. It says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (NIV)

Earlier this week we talked about the squeals of delight family members have when they hug a soldier who returns from war. That is the feeling of joy. But who, when faced with all kinds of trials will feel pure joy? Are you kidding, we usually consider facing trials pure pain!

But James is trying to change our perspective. He wants us to look past the trials to what God will produce through them, namely perseverance and maturity. It is the attitude of the athlete who says “no pain, no gain.”

Now James doesn’t expect us to squeal with delight when facing trials. That’s why he says “consider it pure joy.” We have to change our perspective. Yes, joy is a fruit of the Spirit. But this passage says we may need to do some mental work to release it in some circumstances. How’s your perspective?

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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.