James “a
servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” continued to share
with his readers about being “tempted”. The origin of our
“temptation” is “when we are drawn away” of our
“own lust, and enticed”. In chapter one and verse sixteen of
his letter, James told his readers not to “err” concerning
their “trials” where we read:
Do not
err, my beloved brethren.
The verse begins, “Do
not err”.
James began with the words, “Do not
err” which
is the Greek phrase “planaō
mē planaō”
which means “don't stray, roam from, be lead away or aside from
the right way”. James did not want his readers to be deceived, in
error and lead astray from the truth.
The
verse continues, “my beloved brethren”. James added, “my
beloved” which means “dearly loved, esteemed, favorite and
worthy of love” “brethren” or “fellow believers in
Jesus Christ who are united to each other by the bond of affection”.
James' address was to those for whom he cared deeply and “dearly
loved”.
When
we think through these words of James, we should pay particular
attention to James' exhortation. The insinuation is that “error”
was possible, and James did not want them to “be lead or stray
away” from the truth. When we face “trials” and “temptations”
we are subject to make “wrong conclusions” concerning the reasons
for them. Sometimes people actually blame God for their troubles, but
James relied upon His relationship with Jesus Christ to make the
correct and right assessments of his “trials”. Those who are wise
will heed his counsel not to “err”.
Next
time James tell his reader from where “every
good and perfect gift”
comes,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment