I'm preaching through the Book of James in my church, and this week, I'm preaching on James 1:2-4. Studying for it, I did some word studies, and wrote my own "translation" of the passage. I am particularly impressed by the definition of "perseverance" being "characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith by even the greatest trials and sufferings," as well as the idea of perseverance becoming mature within us. Anyway, here it is--let me know what you think.
"See it as a matter of pure joy, my fellow believers, when you are utterly drowning in those experiences sent by God and designed to test your faith, holiness, or character, because--knowing the person, character, mind, and plans of God--you know that the testing of your strong convictions about Jesus as the Messiah will result in you having the characteristic of one who does not waver from his deliberate loyalty and faith--even when crushed! Allow that characteristic of unwavering loyalty and faith to Jesus to become full-grown and mature in you with the end in mind of you yourself becoming a spiritual adult--ethically free from sin and lacking no spiritual grace."
I am constantly amazed that God redeems EVERYTHING in our lives. Everything we experience (kids, marriage, bosses, friends, family, jobs, etc.) is PURPOSEFUL in the hands of God. What a cool concept that is!
1 comment:
Kraig,
I just started teaching a small group study on James. It's inductive in nature, but we're moving through at a pretty good clip, as I only have about 5 more weeks that we're meeting (multiple port visits on the way home--no complaints from me). The last couple weeks, the airwing has been pretty busy, so attendance has been very small. Hopefully the group will grow now that things have slowed down. I've enjoyed my time preparing for the study, even if I haven't had much of an opportunity to teach yet. :)
-S.
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