Marsha

I really like Joyce's car analogy and have used it often over the years!! I believe that we equate going to church on Sunday morning and dropping a few dollars in the plate as fulfilling our "Christian duties" for the week. We often fail to take what we have listened to and have been taught on Sunday outside the doors of the church. I think we are easily decieved because it is the simplest, easiest, most uncomplicated thing we can do. It doesn't require thought and it doesn't require any action on our part to go through the motions a couple of times a week and then live our lives the way we wan the rest of the week. Satan has his ways of lulling us into that, too, by bringing along every distraction he possibly can to draw us away from service to God.

Q1. (1:18) In what sense are we given spiritual birth by the "word of truth"? What does spiritual life have to do with the Word? God not only gave us His truth through the writing of the Bible, which is wholy inspired of God, but that thruth also became a man and lived here on heart in the form of Jesus Christ. It is through our acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour that we receieve the new birth, the spiritual birth. We put away the old man and put on the new man. We are born again spiritually in His spirit and that is how he has brought us forth out of the darkness of sin. When we are born again spiritually and have received the Holy Spirit as our guide, we then begin to experience the Living Word of Life. The words that are found from Genesis to Revelation take on new meaning as our understanding is developed through our relationship with Christ.

Q4. (1:5-8) What is the promise to claim in verse 5? What is the condition attached to this promise in verse 6? How do trials help us receive this wisdom? The promise that we can claim in verse 5 is that God will grant us wisdom and grant it abundantly if we ask Him in faith. BUT, and here is the condition, if you are going to ask God for wisdom, be prepared to accept it. We might ask for wisdom and then not like what that wisdom leads us to, but we are to accept this wisdom knowing that God has an ultimate purpose and desire for our lives and it is through His wisdom that He guides us along. How do trials help us receive this wisdom? Well, in my experience, it is only after I have wrestled with "it" (that being whatever problem or trial I am struggling with) and have it suffciently messed up beyond a human's capacity to unmess it that I will turn to God. Sad, isn't it? But when there is no other way but that way which has been revealed by God, we have to accept it. I do believe though that with each trial that comes along, I am quicker to seek God's wisdom rather than relying on my own feeble understanding and feel that this draws me closer to Him and gives me greater comfort knowing that I can rely on Him to bring me through.

Q3. (1:5-8) How do trials help cure us of "doublemindedness"? How do trials help us grow in faith? For me, "doublemindedness" means wanting to live for God and still live in the world. I beleive God allows trials into our lives to draw us closer to Him and to get us to rely on Him. It is when we truly "let go and let God" that we begin to experience His awesomeness and holiness and develop that close personal relationship that He so desires for us. Each trial, if taken to God, results in spiritual growth and increases our faith in Him and that we're not in this alone.

Q2. (1:13-15) Why do people blame God for evil? Does God tempt us with evil? Does he tempt sinful people with evil? Why does he allow people to sin? Why does he allow evil to exist at all? There are so many good responses here that I agree with and am not sure if I really have much to add. BUT that never stopped me before! I believe that people blame God for evil for a variety of reasons, but I think one of the biggest reasons is convenience. It is convenient to have someone else to blame. Just like when you and your brother are playing rough in the house and break mom's beautiful vase. It's so much easier to blame each other than to accept responsibility yourself. When we allow sin into our lives, we don't want to accept the fact that we could have said no and walked away from it. We made a conscious choice to sin and suddenly we don't want to take the responsibility of it, so we pass the buck saying that it's all God's fault. While it's true that God allows evil to exist in this old world, He does not tempt us with it, regardless of whether we are Christian or not. We are told that He will never allow us to be tempted beyond that which we are able to bear or say no to and the He will always provide a way for us to escape the temptation of evil. It's our choice whether we choose to take that escape so lovingly provided or plow headlong into sin and try to either handle it on our own or suffer the consequences. Evil exists because of man.....Eve and ultimately Adam's choice in Eden ushered in the age of sin and evil. While God did not create it per se, He does allow it to exist and allows us to be exposed to it in the hope that we will turn to Him in time of trial and temptation rather than trying to go it on our own. His ultimate desire is that ALL people become reconciled to Him. Well, I guess I did have a little more to say than I thought I did.

Q1. (1:2-4) What value have trials had in your life? Have you let Satan destroy you with those trials? Or allowed God to refine you? How have you changed? [/color] Certainly I have faced trials as any other Christian in my life and these trials have helped draw me closer to God. I know that, as a new Christian, Satan had a field day with me and I allowed him to cause some damage in my life because of my failure to cling close to Jesus and allow Him to shelter me from Satan's fiery darts and slings. A wiser, older Christian once told me that complacent Christians are no real threat to Satan but just let a Christian get "on fire for the Lord" and really start walking for God and working for Him and the old devil will really work doubletime to cause that Christian to stumble and fall and be destroyed in his faith. I believe the God continues to refine the Christian through trials in his life. I don't believe God CAUSES these trials, but I do beleive He allows them to come into our lives because He knows that we often learn better through experience than instruction. I think of an earthly parent and how they try to instruct their children in the right way, teaching them right from wrong and that there are consequences for wrong actions. But....kids being what kids are, they don't always listen and learn from someone who has a little more life experience and will push the upper limits. Sometimes as parents, we have to stand by and allow our children to suffer the consequences of some of their wrong choices, just as God does us, but we never stop loving our children because of their wrong choices, just as God never stops loving us. Just as we hurt for our children when they make those bad or wrong choices, God hurts for us but He is always there, ready to accept us and love us and help us to see how that wrong choice caused us a whole lot of pain. Praise Him that He is there for us! How have I changed as a result of some of the trials that have come into my life? I believe they have caused me to grow as a Christian and understand that I don't have to do it all on my own. God is there and I can go to Him in prayer and ask for His help in overcoming that which is trying me. "Come to Me all you who labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28). When the burden is too heavy for me to bear alone, I know that Jesus will give me rest and will "watch my backside" and help me through it. On the other side, I find that I am stonger because of the trial and my faith becomes more unshakable. ~Blessings~

Hi there everyone. My name is Marsha and I'm from Texas. I'm a single mom of two boys that really keep me hopping! I have never participated in an online Bible study before and am looking forward to this. I tend to agree with Luther.....James is one strawy epistle. He doesn't mince words, but there is really a lot of good instruction in the Christian way in there. Bless you, Pastor Ralph, for having this online study and may God abundantly bless this study and all the participants that we may grow stronger in faith and in our walk with Christ. ~Blessings~ Marsha