Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
James 1:2 NIV
Isn't James annoying?
Trials
Joy
Who puts those things together willingly?
The word "trials" means "test" or "temptation" depending on the context.
On the weekend I watched the All Blacks play a Test match.
They willingly put all their training and resources and energy into that match.
To test themselves.
To willingly be put to the test.
And there's a joy in that (there's a different joy in winning)
Work, business, family, study, recreation...have you ever heard anyone practice their music, or learn to paint or...there's a joy in the testing, in seeing our skills improve...even in sitting an exam.
So maybe James here rather than setting some holy goal for us is really just reflecting the way God has made us. That in the testing of ourselves there is real joy, this is the place of growth and goodness, and it's something to embrace!
#james
#james1
#joy
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16 NLT OK so this is an English translation of a letter Paul wrote to a church 2,000 years ago, but does it feel like Paul is wrestling with words and ideas to try and capture all of who Jesus is, of who God is, of how does it work that the walking around Jesus was also there before the beginning of the beginning of everything we can see and touch and know. Not only that but Jesus was somehow the agent of everything that has been made in the physical, social, and spiritual. Jesus is at the centre of it all. Walking around Jesus. Cooking fish for breakfast Jesus. Heart aching as he ...
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