Day 2120 – James – Wisdom is Faith in Action 2 – Trials Of Life – Daily Wisdom

Welcome to Day 2120 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom James – Wisdom is Faith in Action 2 – Trials of Life – Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message – 09/12/2021 James: Wisdom is Faith In Action – Trials of Life We are continuing our series today on the Proverbs of the New Testament, better known as the book of James.  Last week we were introduced to James, the half-brother of Jesus, and learned a lot about his life and leadership within the first church of Jerusalem.  This week we start mining the rich wisdom that makes this letter a treasure trove of practical advice we can use daily.  Join me on page 1880 in the pew bibles as I read the Scripture for today. I would recommend keeping this passage open as we go throughout the message today: James 1:2-12. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position.  But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wildflower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.   You don’t have to live long or experience much life, especially as an adult, before realizing that life is complicated and unfair. Instead, there seems to be a mountain of hurts, heartaches, pain, problems, disappointments, discouragements, sicknesses, suffering, disease, and death that sometimes overshadow life's sweet songs. As a result, we could become discouraged unless we understand the purpose. This letter from James helps us to gain that understanding. Let’s focus on verses 1-4 As we discovered last week in the introduction to James, the recipients of this letter were people enduring adversity. Having been “scattered abroad,” they were disoriented, disillusioned, and probably downright depressed. In addition, they were bearing the brunt of the criticism, brutality, and unjust treatment.   James greets these beleaguered believers with a single word in verse 1: “Greetings.” Though this was a common form of official greeting at that time, it meant “to rejoice,” as in Romans 12:15—“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” This contrast between his readers’ harried situation and James’s exhortation to “consider it pure joy” in the following line sets the tone for his letter.     So, without hesitating, James leaps headfirst into his most pressing issue, trials, which appears a second time in verse 12. The word...