obedience – The Scriptural Truth

Thoughts From James 1:12

“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
James 1:12 NLT

As I was reading this morning from the book of James, part of chapter one verse twelve grabbed my attention. “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.” Testing and temptation! Is there a difference? Yes! Temptation is being enticed or allured to sin. Or you can say obeying Satan! Remember, God never tempts anyone, but God does test us. When God is testing us, He is providing us with choices as believers, wanting us to make the right decisions.Or you can say obeying God! Folks, it all boils down to obedience to God or obedience to Satan. Decisions! Decisions! Decisions!

Have a great day and may God bless you with grace, peace, and joy!

Thoughts From John 3:18-19

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [19] And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 3:18-19 NKJV

When John used the phrase “believes in Him” it means more than just saying “Jesus is real.” This kind of belief includes committing your life to Christ and putting your trust in His salvation.

Thoughts From 1st Corinthians 5:12-13

Tonight I was talking to somebody I can’t remember who it was. And they said, “Who am I to judge?” And it got me thinking of a couple of scriptures. We all know what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7 verse 1, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged”
and people use that a lot. But folks, here’s a little thing we kind of overlook. If you say you are a Christian you fall into a different category of being judged. So. if you say, “Hey, I’m a Christian”, you’re fair game on this one.

Thoughts From Genesis 15:6

“And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
Genesis 15:6 NLT

We cannot be righteous on our own. We cannot do enough good things or behave well enough to ever achieve righteousness. Isaiah wrote that all our righteous acts are like filthy rags compared to God’s righteousness.

Thoughts From James 1:15

Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
James 1:15 NKJV

The Greek word that is translated “desire” in this verse means a craving or longing for something that is forbidden. Think of Eve in the garden with the forbidden fruit. What seemed like such a small temptation turned into disaster. James tells us that sin is not an accident that happens by chance but a process that begins with temptation.