As you may know, my car died recently (small moment of grief!). Let's think about it though. My car's passing is just another trial that I've had to face in my life. We all have trials that we have to face in our lives. I was upset at the situation, sure, but also aware that God would be with me. He was, too! it was just the next day that we were able to purchase another car, at a price that wouldn't have been advertised. God was watching out for us!. If we have Faith at all times we will persevere.
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Verses regarding having faith at all times
Deut 31:6- "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or terrified of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."
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Hebrews 13:5- "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said "Never will I leave you, Never will I forsake you."
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James 1 is all about faithfulness in the Lord. We all should learn to trust the Lord w/ all our hearts, and not rely on our own understanding of things. (Prov. 3:5-6)
1) What trials have you faced in your life where you needed to trust in the Lord? did you?
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2) Have you ever felt like you were facing too much? What were you feeling?
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James 1 also talks about how we should react to the trials and tests we face.
(v.2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds")
What is James saying here? should we be happy when we're tested, or should we be upset? who will carry the load of our problems if we let Him?
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(v. 3) Define Perseverance. What is James saying about Perseverance here?
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Do we need to persevere?
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(v.5) "If any of you lacks..."
- Why can't we simply trust our own instincts regarding wisdom? Should we trust God to give that wisdom to us?
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(v.6) "But when he asks, he must..."
- how are we supposed to be asking God questions? What does this say about prayer?
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(v.13) Who is tempting us if not God?
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(v.16-17) what should we not be, concerning sin?
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(v.19) How should we handle ourselves concerning anger, our tempers, etc? Does Jesus' ministry back up this belief?
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(v.23-25) Have you ever listened to someone telling you to do something, then blew them off and did yur own thing? What happened?
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How are we to respond to the Word of God?
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(v. 26-27) What do these verses mean?
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James is a great book of the bible to study when you need guidance on how to handle pressure- My car situation was defnitely one that was stressful.
How should we react to our stressful situations? There are really three ways:
a) Fly off the handle
b) Ignore the problem
c) Give the problem to God, and pray about it
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I'll take 'C'
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Memory Verse for week:James 1:12 " Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life God has promised to those who love Him."
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