{"id":2147,"date":"2012-01-16T05:58:42","date_gmt":"2012-01-16T11:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/?p=2147"},"modified":"2014-09-27T15:41:14","modified_gmt":"2014-09-27T20:41:14","slug":"twrac-044-11612-study-of-james-ch-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/applications\/twrac-044-11612-study-of-james-ch-1","title":{"rendered":"TWRAC 044: Study of James 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>This Week&#8217;s Recovery Application Challenge<\/h2>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Study of James Chapter One<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4>Please click <span style=\"color: #28481e;\"><a title=\"Open TWIRL 044\" href=\"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/lessons\/twirl-044-11612-study-of-james-ch-1\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #28481e;\">TWIRL 044<\/span><\/a><\/span> to complete the recovery lesson before continuing.<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Having answered the Lesson questions to better understand and appreciate the teaching of James to those professing to be in relationship with God, in the hope of being raised into the new life with Jesus Christ, it is now central to the practical application of these truths that you consider the questions following the text from James Chapter 1. You are living in the age of resurrection grace in Christ. What would others say that they see in you that speaks truth about the person that you are each day? The Spirit of God lives in you to empower you, defend and protect you, and to reveal truth to you (the conviction and direction of the Holy Spirit). As you answer the questions, be asking the Spirit alive in you to reveal specific truth to help you to honestly respond to each question. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">James Chapter One:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30268\">1<\/sup>\u00a0James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,\u00a0To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:\u00a0Greetings.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><sup id=\"en-NIV-30269\">\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,\u00a0whenever you face trials of many kinds,\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30270\">3<\/sup>\u00a0because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30271\">4<\/sup>\u00a0Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30272\">5<\/sup>\u00a0If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30273\">6<\/sup>\u00a0But 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.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30274\">7<\/sup>\u00a0That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30275\">8<\/sup>\u00a0Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30276\">9<\/sup>\u00a0Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30277\">10<\/sup>\u00a0But the rich should take pride in their humiliation\u2014since they will pass away like a wild flower.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30278\">11<\/sup>\u00a0For 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30279\">12<\/sup>\u00a0Blessed 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30280\">13<\/sup>\u00a0When tempted, no one should say, \u201cGod is tempting me.\u201d For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30281\">14<\/sup>\u00a0but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30282\">15<\/sup>\u00a0Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30283\">16<\/sup>\u00a0Don\u2019t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30284\">17<\/sup>\u00a0Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30285\">18<\/sup>\u00a0He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30286\">19<\/sup>\u00a0My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30287\">20<\/sup>\u00a0because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30288\">21<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30289\">22<\/sup>\u00a0Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30290\">23<\/sup>\u00a0Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30291\">24<\/sup>and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30292\">25<\/sup>\u00a0But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it\u2014not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it\u2014they will be blessed in what they do.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30293\">26<\/sup>\u00a0Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.\u00a0<sup id=\"en-NIV-30294\">27<\/sup>\u00a0Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What are you wrestling with today? What are the difficulties you are trying to work through?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What is it about who you are in relationship with Christ that you can experience joy in spite of the pain and struggle in your life?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How do you feel you are being tested with what you are going through?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What does it reveal about you how you have responded to these questions so far?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What does it mean to you to endure the weight of the burden you carry?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you feel you are carrying it alone? Please explain.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How do you pray while hoping to press on through troubled times?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What does it means to you personally to ask for wisdom? What do you believe about that?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What does it mean to you to experience the wisdom of God in how you interpret and manage difficulty in your circumstances?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Apostle Paul asked God to remove a painful circumstance in his life, that he felt tortured by the devil, and God responded, &#8220;My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is evident in your weakness.&#8221; How is this truth empowering for you? Or does it sound hollow, if you&#8217;re being totally honest? Or is it sort of both, depending on your emotional state of mind? Please explain.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When you&#8217;re feeling overwhelmed, how do you manage? What do you do? What do you turn to? Who do you turn to?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Would you say that you depend and fully trust in the empowering truth of who you are in Christ? Do you seek alternative choices? Or both?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Would you admit that your loyalties are divided when the chips are down and you feel overwhelmed? Please explain.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How would you say you can overcome your doubt?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What does it mean to you who and what you are in relationship with God?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can you translate the truth of who and what you are in relationship with God in how you manage even the most difficult circumstances in your life?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can you translate the truth of who and what you are in relationship with God in how you overcome temptation?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How does your response to temptation reflect godly integrity in your life?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How does your response to temptation reveal the holes in the authenticity of your godly character, as well as lack of faith?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How does your doubt, not about what God can do but about what God will do, reflect the truth about what you truly believe?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What does it mean to you in your specific circumstances to realize your faith in the midst of your doubt?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What does it mean to you to remain humble in your circumstances? What&#8217;s the difference between humility and self-pity?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What do you believe about who you are in God even as you hope to endure difficulty and what can amount to severe pain and struggle in your life?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What (who) do you see when you look in the mirror?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How would you contrast what might feel like failures to be holy (set apart) in your life, and what you might admit is blatant hypocrisy in your day-to-day behavior?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can you ask God for help and wisdom and strength to be someone more consistent regarding godly character and integrity?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How would you define blessing?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How would you say God has blessed you? What has it meant to you to experience blessing?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">God has indeed blessed you! What might you say stalls the <strong><em>activation<\/em><\/strong> of blessing in your life?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What would you say needs to change in your life and how you think that would activate God&#8217;s blessing in your life?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Honestly, what are you willing to do to remove the hindrances that seem to limit opportunities for blessing?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can you pray for God to empower you to think and live in the truth that will indeed activate the blessing of God in your life?<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now take the time to pray. Ask God to continue to help you see His truth about His plan and purpose for your life. If you are wrestling with the shame of past failures then you do not see God the way He sees you. He sees resurrected Christ when He sees you. He sees you wearing the robe of Christ&#8217;s righteousness when He looks at you. As you come to know who and what you are in relationship with God, you will see in the mirror what He sees in you and be empowered to live in that reality; His reality&#8212;the reality of resurrection and glory even in the midst of difficult and painful circumstances. There you will find peace. There you will find joy. <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"twttr_buttons\"><div class=\"twttr_twitter\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=TWRAC+044%3A+Study+of+James+1\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-via=\"\" data-hashtags=\"\"  data-size=\"default\" data-url=\"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/applications\/twrac-044-11612-study-of-james-ch-1\"  data-related=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Tweet<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This Week&#8217;s Recovery Application Challenge Study of James Chapter One Please click TWIRL 044 to complete the recovery lesson before continuing. Having answered the Lesson questions to better understand and appreciate the teaching of James to those professing to be &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/applications\/twrac-044-11612-study-of-james-ch-1\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-applications","category-twrac"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2147"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4828,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2147\/revisions\/4828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}