James: Purpose of Trials
Excerpt… Recently, I saw that someone found one of my websites by searching on Google for the phrase, “Why does God give us trials?” First, let me say that I do not believe God causes the trials that come into our lives. Some are the result of our own actions, others result from the actions of those around us and some hardships occur to everyone in a particular location (like hurricanes). Since I believe that God is omnipotent (all powerful), I must conclude that He ALLOWS these things gto happen to us. But He does so because hardships become “object lessons.” The result of our trial should be that we learn and grow.

Click on the title of this post to go directly to the original article or – click here to go to the “James” website.

James: What does God want from me?

Excerpt from an article on the “James On Trial” website… If God’s plan for each of us is to give us hope, why do we have to endure such trials, hardships and pain. And why does He allow us to get into such despair? Well, the short answer is that God’s plan is that He wants us to experience a life of righteousness (James 1:20). This is the cornerstone of what the Book of James is all about.

Click on the title of this post to go directly to read the rest of this article or – click here to go to the “James” website.

Snoopy Writing

For many years, I have had a burning desire to write a book – actually two books. Until I retired, I could never seem to find that much time to dedicate to writing. It is still a difficult discipline but I have determined that I am going to write the two books that I have been harboring in my head for such a long time!

The first book is titled, “James on Trial” and it deals with the hardships that we face here on earth. I have studied this extensively and I believe that one of the best resources to find God’s plan for our life is the Book of James in the Bible. You can follow along with the development of this book online at http://james.cdntoday.com where I will be publishing the book in installments.

The second book is titled, “Eye on the Future – Hand on the Salt” and will be a study of the prophetic events that we are starting to experience – viewed through a “reality check” filter. Follow the writing of this book at http://salt.cdntoday.com where it is also being published in installments.

I welcome your comments on either or both of these books. Just visit the respective site, sign in (or register) and tell me what you think.

Ray

Oh, My!

Well, we have all had days when it seemed everything went wrong! That seems to be the case for our little friend in the picture. But I have “Good news about trouble.” – At least for the Child of God.

In 1 Peter 4:12-19 we read that trouble is not always such a bad thing. Peter says that we may be “overjoyed” as a result of our “painful trial.” I recently preached a message on this theme. I will give you the basic outline and a few comments. Then, at the end of this post, I will provide the link to download the notes file that I used.

I. Trouble encourages PRAISE to God (vv.15,16)
A. We are NOT to be ashamed
B. We are BLESSED (compare Acts 5:41, “counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name”
II. Trouble judges CHARACTER (v.17)
A. It clarifies what our true character is (hardship reveals our best or our worst)
B. When God counts you worthy –> you suffer –> everyone sees the REAL you
III. Trouble brings GLORY (v.14) – THIS is the EXCITING PART!!
A. “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the SPIRIT OF GLORY and of God rests on you.”
B. What *IS* the “Spirit of Glory”? It is what GOD does for me when I am facing trials
C. Definition of “glory”:
1. OPINION: God’s opinion of ME – that I am ABLE to overcome this trial
2. Splendor, majesty – (characteristic of God) but it NOW RESTS ON ME!
3. Exalted state or condition (my future!)
IV. Trouble develops COMMITMENT (v.19)
A. When we suffer, we must commit ourselves to our faithful Creator – and continue
B. According to the KJV (v.14b), “on your part he is glorified” – we are to glorify God
C. We are to have an opinion, “praise, extol, magnify, celebrate, hold in honor, adore” GOD
D. We are to “cloth with splendor, make renowned, render illustrious, acknowledge and manifest the dignity and worth of” GOD!
For the Child of God who is undergoing trials, here are some thoughts that are the result of an examination of 1 Corinthians 10:13 & Job 1:8-12:

1. Satan is LIMITED to the boundaries set by our God
2. Satan must ASK PERMISSION before afflicting us
3. When God allows Satan to afflict me, He (God) is showing that He has FAITH IN ME
4. Afflictions are an opportunity for me to bring GLORY TO GOD

If you would like download the entire current outline, get it here. ENJOY all your trials!!

This is a follow-up post to the article, “Jesus – right on time.”

(See the “James On Trial” site for more on this title… http://james.cdntoday.com/2009/09/looking-wisdom/)

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2Pet 3:18)

Several years ago, I did an in-depth study of the Book of James. I ended up teaching and preaching for a full year on the series! (If you would like the outlines, I can make them available later.) One of the primary concepts that I developed through that study was concerning the acquisition of wisdom.

I do NOT believe that God “sprinkles wisdom dust” on our heads. I believe that there is a PROCESS through which we develop wisdom. Here is my take on that line of intellectual development:

1. Knowledge is the accumulation of “facts” (or presumed facts)
2. Understanding is the comprehension of those facts
3. Wisdom is the application (in life) of our understanding of the facts that we have accumulated

Most of the education today (up to and often throughout undergraduate studies) is simply sharing “facts” from a book (or from a teacher’s brain) to a student. Then a test is given where the student is expected to repeat the “facts” that he/she has been “taught.” Usually, an objective test (multiple choice, etc) is used to evaluate this. Some very talented & caring teachers make it their business to move from the sharing of facts to encouraging/forcing their students to think through an issue and develop an understanding of the facts that they possess. To evaluate such comprehension generally requires a subjective test (such as essay writing.) Since this is much more difficult to develop and to grade, many teachers revert to “teaching facts.” I do not believe that our schools/colleges/universities are equipped to teach wisdom.

Actually, it is my educated opinion ^(note1) that wisdom CANNOT be taught! In every case, wisdom must be learned through experience. But someone already has their “hand in the air” wanting to correct me using James 1:5 as the proof that Godly wisdom is given by God. But, like so many Scriptures, this one can be misconstrued if taken out of context.

James wrote this portion of the Bible to answer the ancient question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” In verse 2, he told Christians everywhere to “Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Well, DUH! This guy’s got it wrong from the gitgo! Who, in his right mind, can possibly be happy when everything is going wrong? And, in that day, “going wrong” often meant “facing death.”

But James gives a reason for being joyful in such severe trials, “BECAUSE.” (Not like my mom used to answer, “Because I SAID so!”) Rather, this “because” explains things… “because… the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (or “patience” if you read the KJV.) Well, if I wanted patients, I would have become a doctor! <grin> But bear with me (actually with James) here for a minute: Verse 4 says that “perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Let me reverse-analyze James’ thinking here:

1. We NEED/WANT to be mature & complete (v.4)
2. To get there, perseverance must be finished
3. But, to acquire perseverance, we must face trials of many kinds & our faith must be tested (vv 2,3)

Did I get all of that right? If so, then it appears that when we get patience/perseverance, it is NOT because God sprinkled it down from heaven upon our heads – it is the result of our having undergone severe trials that test our faith. And, as we put that patient attitude to work, we move further along in the PROCESS of becoming mature & complete.

Now, I have not forgotten about verse 5 here. After moving through the “patience process,” at some point, we should reach maturity & become “complete, not lacking anything.” Now, does it seem strange to you that the very next verse says, “If any of you lacks…”? If I read that correctly, when you finished with your trial, you should have become “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (at least in reference to that situation). How can you then say, “I am mature and complete, not lacking anything, EXCEPT I lack wisdom”? The only answer to that dilemma is that you are NOT mature and complete and you did NOT pass the “testing of your faith.” So, when you ask God for wisdom, He sends you back around the mountain for another “dose” of trials. He does not find fault, just “generously” allows you to retake the test!

That answers another question: “Why can’t I ever catch a break? Why do I just keep going around in circles and never get ahead?” The answer is, “You didn’t pass the test (of your faith) last time so you have to re-take it. You went through verses 2, 3 & 4 but you still LACK something so you must go back to verse 2 again!

Note1: Ray Waldo holds a Master of Education degree in Educational Psychology earned at Mississippi State University.

Note2: Robin Sampsom has written a nice article on this. Read it at http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/when-trials-comes-rejoice/