James 1 1-7 ~ faith produces steadfastness

James 1 1-7

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

 To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: 

Greetings!

 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds

For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 

4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

God says...

Faith is "Work"

When I was a child, I had two recurring nightmares. One was vampires, they never identify their true intentions, and the other was swimming. Swimming peacefully in a huge pool, sometimes the beautiful ocean, suddenly the depth is 7 miles or greater. You just don't really don't know what is really down there in the deep, appearing crystal clear.  I feel fairly impressed with those nightmares. Clarity in the deep. 

We live by faith.  And then sometimes, there is a non-sighted boogie.  In some depths, this is called "a disturbance in the force." Mostly, we all relate to the calm evening when something has gone bump, silently, into this deep. 

And to tell the truth, the world is a gateway to the eternal.  The blue ceiling above our lives is, sometimes, us believing we will all live forever, and chicken arrives in a cellophane wrapper. Suddenly, we have Thoughts.  Jesus says this life will have Trouble.  And every chapter in the Bible is reality clashing, clanging perilously with hope and faith.  The ongoing, ever-present struggle.  

I sincerely love Billy Graham's answer to this discomfort, the quality of James in His steadfast love. Unwavering love and hope! "I've seen the last chapter, it's all going to turn out all right. I've read the last page of the Bible, it's all going to turn out all right."  

 

Fortunately for me, I have a tape recording of Billy Graham's voice, in my mind and memories, saying these Truths.  God Bless Billy Graham! And Franklin and Charlie! His Workmen. 

God's very own Comfort and Steadfast Love. Reaching into the core of our being. The Mighty and Eternal Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.  Amen and Amen.

Revelation 22:15 

Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral 

and murderers and idolaters,

 and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

So, out of sight boogies.  No one likes this. We all have this sense. Daniel was beloved by God.

Daniel 10

My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. 9 Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground. 10 And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, 

came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia."

And we come to find out, there is not a blue and green planet floating, floating in the vast dark, dark universe. Instead, a physical gateway to an eternal Kingdom. Where Jesus ate and walked, telling us we will have a new body and not just vapor. 

Ephesians 6

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

 but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, 

and 

against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

And this just isn't a surprise to us. 

When we remember what was sent to Jesus as He began His Ministry.  And Mary is announced to be holy and blessed, the next step? Her family and Joseph immediately think she is the opposite.  Daniel is thrown to the lions.  When the Light shines brightly, the dark will oppose.  This is the trouble Jesus said does occur in life.  And each chapter of the Scriptures deals with the day. 

Isaiah had 4 kings before his increasing teaching would be heeded. David was crowned 4 coronations, 4 times, before David was acknowledged as the King of Israel.  

Keanu Reeves does movies, Constantine, displaying acknowledged evil. We have lived post-plague; we have seen evil.  I've heard evil dismissed as "ideas, mere ideas of what is evil and what is good." And all of this is not frightening to God, any more than the temptation did NOT shake or quake Jesus Christ. 

We know a good family with good and amazing works, and there was an adult child from the last generation, a daughter of a godly, godly man, who turned to the Wiccans, became bored, then decided to join in witchcraft. This led to these events for her: sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Staying as a houseguest, with my mother, who was gravely ill, the ambulance was turned away without assistance for a partially unconscious elderly woman to get to the ER. My brother got involved and invoked God loudly with repetition and threats for them to at least drop her off at the ER. 4 months later, my mother returned home.  

Messing with this type of thing leads downward.  This woman took off her clothes before a funeral and asked to be joined by a much younger female. And when she had visited the nature-oriented Wiccans, this was a normal life before, then, there was a gate to the worst ways.  

Isaiah 8:19

And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” 

should not a people inquire of their God? 

Should they inquire of the dead 

on behalf of the living?

And interesting, 

after decades, being in several witch covens,  she said witchcraft rarely works. Except on the adventurer. King Saul experimented on the final day of his life, the day his son died with him.

Hebrews 11:3 

New International Version

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command,

 so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

New Living Translation

By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed 

at God’s command, 

that what we now see 

did not come from anything that can be seen.

English Standard Version

By faith we understand 

that the universe was created by the Word of God, 

so that what is seen

 was not made out of things that are visible.

Matthew 28:18 

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

2 John 1:9 

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.

 Whoever abides in the teaching

 has both the 

Father and the Son.

Philippians 2:10-11 

So that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that 

Jesus Christ is Lord, 

to the Glory of God the Father.

Mark 1:27 

And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

John 19:11 

Jesus answered him, 

“You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

Matthew 16:15-19

He said to them, 

“But who do you say that I am?” 

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

And Jesus answered him, 

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and 

whatever you loose on earth 

shall be loosed in Heaven.”

Abba, Father,

Who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you 

with love and compassion

With Your Help, 

believing Jesus walks on water.

Praying for the healing

of the entire Kirk Family,

both of Charlie's parents,

his wife Erika

and their 2 small children.

Charlie's sister,

his extended family.

And HIS Extended family

in

The God of All Salvation.

Healing, Lord Jesus.

God Bless you

and The Lord

Keep you.

The streams of

political 

freedom

lead to

The Source

of Life

Jesus Christ. 

Dwell in me,

Dwell in us,

Dwell in those we Love,

Help us to seek You first.

And we will finish well, in Jesus Christ. 

HEAL OUR NATION

For Children in their Schools, all safety.

For those who protect and defend the USA,

protect us from evil.

Let evil and practicing evil

depart far from us

and our children.

Thank You, Father,

for Your Good Will.

And hearing our prayers.

Keep our food supply safe.

Support the Police.

For Worldwide Peace.

And the Peace of Israel. 

Those who protect

and defend

All The Word of God.

Freedom in our Churches.

Wholeness

Holy.

Goodness.

And the Nations of the world,

Your Good Creation,

Calling upon You.

Lord Jesus Christ,

Worldwide Peace

Prosperity and

Peace.

We pray that as a Nation,

as a Community,

as a Church,

as a Neighborhood,

we share what You would have us share.

And in this communal sharing,

Your Good Creation would see

better weather.

Rain shared instead of flood.

Removing drought.

Warmth shared

instead of unusual cold

storms.

Prayer does work,

the 20 degrees forecasted for 

September 22, 2025

NY, Massachusetts,

Vermont, New Hampshire

did not happen

and the low was 39'.

Thank You, Father.

Prayer does work,

Thank You, Lord

 for hearing us.

Today, Texas was forecasted for a drought

Gov. Abbott requested a ready fire detail,

and 

we had a gentle rain today.

Bless this

Good Creation,

Father,

let the storms of

destruction

pass us all by.

And prayers

for my health

have helped,

Thank You.

We ask in the Name of Jesus Christ.

And in Jesus - this Hope, 

Faith and Love - we will rise up believing Jesus. 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes The Lord Fulfills His Purpose

Thank You, Jesus

†