Want to be happy? (James)

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. James 1:12

Blessed: happy (In congratulations, the reason why one is to be pronounced blessed is expressed by a noun or by a participle taking the place of the subject)

Endureth: to endure, bear bravely and calmly

Temptation: specifically, the trial of man's fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy

When he is: become, come about, happen

Tried: properly, accepted, approved

Shall receive: to gain, get, obtain absolutely

Crown: the eternal blessedness which will be given as a prize to the genuine servants of God and Christ

Life: real and genuine

Promised: to announce that one is about to do or to furnish something

Love: love to a master, God or Christ, the word involves the idea of affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, grateful recognition of benefits received

Want to be happy? Start loving God — with reverence, prompt obedience and grateful recognition of all God gives. Following Christ doesn't come with a promise of "easy street". There will be hardships along the way. But through it all, God remains faithful! 

Blessed—happy because no matter what happens, I choose to love God and obey Him with a thankful heart. 

God’s Favorites

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 30. Here is what I learned.

When things were going great I crowed, “I’ve got it made. I’m God’s favorite. He made me king of the mountain.” Psalm 30:6 (MSG)

God’s favorite. Being a favorite can be a lot of fun! You get extra treats, you get to enjoy special celebrations, everything is taken care of, and you just sit back and enjoy. 

But being a “favorite” also brings responsibilities and a higher standard of accountability. 

As I thought about “being God’s favorite” a couple people came to mind; Job and Mary.

Job was a “favorite” of God’s because, “He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.” Job 1:1 (NLT)

God knew that Job was a “favorite” and even brought Job to the attention of Satan. Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” Job 1:8 (NLT)

Mary, was also a “favorite”. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! Luke 1:28-30 (NLT)

First and foremost, both Job and Mary were a “favorite” because they obeyed God. It’s that simple. They were people of integrity and feared God.

Secondly, because they were a “favorite” both were asked to do “more than the average person”. Being a favorite brings responsibility. 

Thirdly,  simply because they went through, what we would consider hardships, they did not turn from God, rather they “got to know God better”. 

And lastly, they remained a “favorite of God’s”  because they continued to obey and honor Him, not based upon the blessings or “good times”, rather because of Who God is. 

Being a “favorite” does have it’s blessings! But it also has it’s responsibilities. To create a positive day, I need to remember that if it want to really be one of “God’s Favorites”, then I must first and foremost fear God!

A Star Player

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 11. Here is what I learned.

The Lord ·tests [examines] ·those who do right and those who do wrong [the righteous and the wicked], but he hates those who love ·to hurt others [violence]. Psalm 11:5 (EXB)

The Lord tests and proves those who are right and good and those who are sinful. And His soul hates the one who loves to hurt others. Psalm 11:4 (NLV)

The Lord trieth the righteous,.... As gold is tried in the fire, by afflictive providences; hereby he tries their graces, their faith, and patience, their hope, and love, and fear; and, by so doing, expresses his love to them, since this is all for their good... Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Lord trieth the righteous - He does not abandon them; he tries them to show their faithfulness, and he afflicts them for their good. Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Q: Why is training necessary? A: Training is necessary because if you don't train, you won't be able to figure out the flaws of what you doing. For example, say a professional basketball player wasn't very good at dribbling. If he doesn't train, he might not perform well in his game, but if he does, chances are he wouldn't do as bad as he would have if he didn't. Keep in mind that just because you train one day doesn't mean that you are going to get better by a significant amount. You have to train excessively. 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_training_is_necessary

We train in all aspects of our lives. And with training comes testing. When we were children, the training and testing was a constant at school, and in sports. Then as we grew older our jobs have “performance evaluations”.  Our employers want to know if we were being effective in our jobs.

However, when God trains and tests us, we get bothered, upset, and at times angry. “Why me?”, is often the first sound we make when being trained and tested. 

   

But as God tests us, He is highlighting the areas that are successful and identifying those which need revision in our lives. The only way to really understand something is to put it into practice. If a football  player only studies the play book, and never suits up for practice or plays a game, how does he know if he can really play football. Head knowledge is only PART of life. Experience provides an opportunity to see if we really have learned! We have the opportunity to practice what we know. 

Training and testing is part of all aspects of our lives. And when God trains and tests us, it’s not punishment, rather He is allowing us the opportunity to be a “star player” and learn our strengthens and weaknesses. The only way to learn and master anything is to study, train, and be tested. 

Having the opportunity to train, and be tested on God’s team is challenging, but so very rewarding and is the only way to create not only a positive day.... but a positive God-designed life, and maybe become a “star-player”. 

The master answered, ‘You did well. You are a good and ·loyal [faithful] servant. Matthew 25:23 a (EXB)