Friday, June 13, 2014

Posted by Niki |
Verse 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 is a deep joy that comes from receiving God’s favor. Jesus used this word in the Beatitudes. If we take the lessons learned from verses 2-4 in James chapter 1 and apply them to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12, we can see that we should:
  •     Consider it joy to be poor in spirit
  •     Consider it joy to mourn
  •     Consider it joy to be meek
  •     Consider it joy to hunger and thirst for righteousness
  •     …apply this equation to the rest of the Beatitudes and it will give you a different way of looking at things.
We mentioned this in the previous lesson, but in order to make it through a trial, we must endure it. You can’t just stop in the middle and expect it to go away. James says if we stick through the rough times, we will be blessed. He goes on to say that we shall receive the crown of life that has been promised to us. This just isn’t any promise. It’s a promise from God himself. This crown of life is hope. It’s eternity in heaven with our savior. Revelation 2:10 says “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

Today’s trials will seem like training when we face tomorrow’s challenges.

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