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.” Every good gift that we have received in life has come from God. God can only give good gifts, so if what we receive is not good, then it did not come from God. This does not mean that we can always see God’s goodness in his gifts, but one day it will be very clear to us. We should remember that God’s gifts are better than Satan’s bargains. Satan …

James 1:16  [16] “Do not err, my beloved brethren.” We are encouraged in this verse not to go down the path of deception and compromise. So many around us have changed their doctrine, their convictions, and their principles. They play the role of a victim or a martyr, attacking those who are still holding the line. The reality is that they are convicted by their conscience because they have erred from the truth, and refuse to budge.  I have two important questions on my mind when I consider this thought, “Why did they go astray?” and “How can I keep …

James 1:15  [15] “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” The last word in our verse is the word, “death”. If you look back through the verse from the word “death”, you will notice something rather interesting. Death is the child of sin and the grandchild of lust. Lust gives birth to sin, and sin gives birth to death. Together they form the deadly triangle of sin!  The fourteenth verse revealed that temptation and lust come together. Now, temptation and lust can produce nothing within themselves, but the seed …

James 1:14  [14] “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” Our verse begins by telling us that every man is tempted. This is a fact that we all know, and have experienced. No matter who you are, or how long you have been serving God, temptation is something that we all must face. If we fail to deal with temptation, then temptation will deal with us.  The question on my mind is, “When do we face temptation?” Can we define the very moment that it begins? The answer is yes we …

James 1:13  [13] “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:” James goes from dealing with trials to dealing with temptations. The reason is because often times when trials come into our lives, the Devil sees that as an opportunity to tempt us. The Lord sends trials into our lives to bring the best out of us. Satan brings temptations into our lives to bring the worst out in us. The Lord’s goal is to use trials to help us spiritually, while Satan’s …

James 1:12  [12] “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.” The word “blessed” in our verse is the same word used in Matthew five. This word can mean, “to make large”, or “to be happy”. However, it also carries a deeper meaning. It is used to describe an inner joy and satisfaction. The word “endure” carries the idea of waiting, or exercising great patience. It means, “to bear up courageously”.  Here we see a beatitude for the child …

James 1:11  [11] “For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.” I recently read an article about the top 20 richest men who died in 2020. Among them were names such as:  Joseph Safra (Brazilian citizen), who died in December at the age of 82, with a net worth of $23.2 billion; Whitney MacMillan (U.S. citizen), who died in March at the age of 90, with a net worth of …

James 1:10 [10] “But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.” Poverty is not a sign of spirituality, any more than riches are a sign of sinfulness. This is not how the Lord measures men, and we should not either. Evil men are going to practice their evil ways regardless of whether they are rich or poor. A child of God that is right with his Heavenly Father will serve him, whether he is rich or poor.  However, we must not be fooled by riches. The only real …

James 1:9  [9] “Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:” James is encouraging these Jewish believers to look beyond their earthly standing and focus on their eternal standing. Persecution had driven many of them from their wealth and security. They had lost their jobs, their possessions, and their homes. They had become “brothers of low degree”. They were people of humble circumstances. The word “low” means “low estate”. Poverty was the common denominator among most of them, but they had riches that money could not buy. They had treasures unseen!  Though their earthly treasures were …

James 1:8  [8] “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” The word for “double minded” literally means “doubled soul”. It describes a man who is divided in his loyalty. In fact, the Hebrew idiom is literally, “a heart and a heart”. This is an individual who cannot make up his mind about where he stands, or what he believes. He struggles in his prayer life, therefore he has issues in every other aspect of life. He is a man who is unstable in all of his ways.  The word “unstable” means “to be restless”. If an individual …