Bible Verse of the Day Tuesday August 10th 2021

James 1:14-17 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

In this verse of scripture, James is speaking about where temptation and sin begin in us. In comparison, he prompts us that "every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17). James enlightens us that we are all tempted by lust or intense desire when drifting away from God (James 1:14). Frequently, lust associates itself with a sexual craving. Still, in this passage, the Greek epithumia (Strong's 1939), rendered "lust," refers to a penetrating desire—it may be sexual or a strong passion for anything. That is to say, sexual lust is not the only kind of lust that challenges us. We experience temptation when we allow our lust (intense desire) to carry us away, when we consist, unchecked, in that desire. If we allow our lust to direct our actions, James tells us that "desire leads to sin, and sin leads to death (James 1:15).

 James's warning is that we should acknowledge that we do not sin because of some external situation. We fall into sin because we allow ourselves to fall away by desires, then capitulate to temptations. James cautions those who read this book that we should not deceive ourselves because we are accountable for our sin (James 1:16). Some confused people were contemplating the possibility God might be responsible for tempting them to sin, but James amends that concept emphatically in James 1:13. He avows that no one should say God has tempted them because God doesn't tempt anyone to sin. Instead, we should acknowledge that sin comes from within ourselves. Furthermore, we should comprehend that every perfect gift is from above (James 1:17).

James prompts the readers of this scripture that every perfect gift is from God. He does not relent and never varies from His goodness. Consequently, we can depend on Him to be good and to supply us with every good thing. Everything from God to us is good. He never tempts us to do evil.

Moreover, Jesus did instruct His disciples to pray that Father God would not lead them into temptation (Matthew 6:13), and God even allows temptation to befall his modern-day believers. However, God will never tempt anyone to follow an evil path. At some times in our walk, God will lead us into a test, but He will always create an escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). The evidence is clear and consistent proof that every perfect gift is from above (James 1:17).

Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness Matthew 4:4). He experienced temptation in much the same way we meet temptation. However, He is void of any sin (Hebrews 4:15). Every good and perfect gift we receive is from above, and one of those perfect gifts is the gift of Christ Jesus—because of Him, we can boldly draw near to God's throne to receive love and grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16)—even in times of difficult temptation.