No Thanks, I'm with Jesus: A Sermon Based on James Chapter 1 Verses 1-18

A Love Works Daily Commentary

There have been times in my life, I have felt very discouraged. I seemed to be carrying a heavy weight on my back. Maybe I was a bit tired, maybe I felt burdened, often felt like I could not do God's work. I felt like I had to quit. I was tempted to give up, feeling like it was just too much for me.

And I was right. I was right, because like all of us from time to time, I was forgot some very important things.

1. Hard times come, and there are burdens to bear, we have our own crosses to carry. But we are not alone in it. Ultimately, Christ has already done the heavy lifting, He carried the heavy weight, on his back, all the way to Calvary, and we don't need to do it all over again.
2. It is not US doing God's work, to believe that is EGO in capital letter. It is God doing HIS work through US.
3. No how much we feel we are or should be in control of our feelings and emotions and our behaviors, we are still a human being and subject to temptation.
4. That temptation does not come from God, it's not God's fault. God is our strength.

Comedian Flip Wilson used to say "The Devil Made Me Do IT! The Devil Made Me Do IT!" Remember that? Do you believe it? Does the devil MAKE us do it?

Certainly it seems the devil hurls his "fiery darts" at us to entice us to sin. But can the devil entice us to do anything that we refuse to do?

Here are the words from James Chapter 1:

1 This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am writing to the "twelve tribes"—Jewish believers scattered abroad.

Greetings! 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.