“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17).

God is good.  Everything that comes from Him is good.  In Him there is no variation of goodness.  What then of evil and the constant uncertainty.  This is the reality of sin.  We want choices and our choices bring death.  Let the Lord be the One who gives you what you need.  Let Him fulfill your good desires.  Be guided in His goodness and do not be distracted with the hoopla of this age.

Lord, You are good all the time and I am tempted by things that do not really matter.  Lead me, O Lord, so that in my heart I would seek You first and then gratefully receive what You give.  Guide me in Your goodness, Lord.  Let me see that only what You know I need should I take and help me to leave all the rest behind.  Lead me to learn how to do good, doing what is right in Your sight.

Lord Jesus, You taught us that only God is good.  But that does not mean I cannot do good.  Without my trying to think anything other than wanting to do what is right, teach me how to do good.  Lead me so that I may learn to do what is pleasing to the Father.  Teach me to reject the false choices in this world which lead to sin.  Teach me to walk humbly and faithfully in the path You have established.  Amen.

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren” (James 1:16).

Such a simple and powerful sentence that tells you more than you probably thought you needed to know.  The devil is the one who deceives.  You are under constant attack.  You have been and will be deceived by people around you who are tempted to use you.  So, beware!  Beware of the deception that is out there.  Fake news has always been present and only the Word of the Lord is faithful and true.  Stay with the truth.

Lord, open my eyes to the many deceptions that are all around me.  Guide me Lord in order that I would now and always hold fast to the truth of Your Word.  Lead me in Your goodness to see things as they are, now and always, and to hold fast to the truth.  Grant me eyes to see and ears to hear, both what is true and the lies that are spewed out all day long around me.  Guide me into the way of truth.

Lord Jesus, Your Word is truth.  You have spoken the Words of truth and in You alone is all goodness and mercy.  Help me, Lord, to see through the fog of this age and know that in You is all hope and a future.  Let me not react unthinkingly to the ways of this world, or its lies.  Lead me so that I may be one who follows You all the days of my life.  Looking to You, Truth of eternity, help me to see the deceptions and keep my eyes upon You.  Amen.

“But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death” (James 1:14-15).

To be tempted is not a sin.  It’s not the first look that is sin, it is what you do with the second look.  When you encounter another who looks different, what you first see is different.  But then, do you see a child of God?  That, or as the world does, see them through the eyes of sin?  We are called to learn a new way of living, and this includes how we look at people and things.  Literally, how we look at them.

Lord, I am guilty of not paying attention to what I am thinking or doing.  I know You died for my sins but help me so that I stop sinning unaware by keeping Your commandments before the eyes of my heart.  Guide me into being intentional about my thoughts, words, and deeds.  Lead me into the life You are giving me so that I would hold forever fast to the truth You have revealed.

Lord Jesus, You know all the struggles in this world.  You know how hard it is to set aside the desire of the flesh and abide in the truth for my soul.  You have been one of us.  Lead me Lord in the upward life You give in order that I would learn self-control and be guided by Your goodness and mercy.  Help me now and always Lord to see that in You is all hope and an eternal future.  Help me to curb my bad habits and practice good ones.  Amen.

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone” (James 1:13).

Evil cannot use good for evil, but good can use evil for good.  Why?  Because evil is a perversion of good.  God creates.  Evil cannot create, but only pervert what is good.  God calls us to righteousness.  God created us good and Adam chose to listen to the serpent and pervert the good given him for his own use.  God does not tempt, but we are tempted.  God is never tempted, for He alone is good.

Why then am I tempted, Lord?  You ask, but you do not receive because you ask with wrong motive.  But you said to ask you to not lead us into temptation.  What will it take for me to gain your attention?  Must the Lord get out of the way so you too can be a prodigal child?  The Lord loves you enough to accept you as a lost child you but coming to Him must always be an act from the freedom of your will.

Jesus, You taught us to pray so that we would not be led into temptation.  Here, Your Word says God is not tempted.  Help me to meditate upon these things so that I would learn wisdom and understand the truth.  Guide me according to Your goodness to see that in You is all hope and that You, my Lord and God, are alone good all the time.  Help me to see this clearly and live in the freedom You give to love as I have been loved.  Amen.

“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12).

And we know perseverance produces endurance, and endurance character, so that we continue in the race set before us.  We run as to win.  These struggles are a part of what the Lord intends in order that you may overcome and live into the life to which you have been called in grace.  Come then and live this life which is yours in Christ.  Do not waver or backslide.  The Lord has given you many promises and you need to live into them.

Lord, as each day comes, guide my thinking more and more by Your word that I may think about what You are doing through the promises You have given us.  As each day comes, move my feet forward so that I may do what You have given me to do.  Through all things, lead me according to Your goodness that I may now and always humbly abide with You as You abide with me.

Holy Spirit, You have been guiding and I have been unaware.  Lord Jesus, You have already done what is needed and I act as if nothing has been done.  Lord, guide me further into the mystery of faith so that regardless of how I feel, I would live the life You give me in the faith and grace which are mine through You.  Through all things, may I persevere in order that the Father may be pleased and I may know that I am approved by Him through You.  Amen.

“For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away” (James 1:11).

How much will Bill Gates leave behind?  The world’s answer, “Billions.”  God’s answer, “All of it.”  We are stewards who have things for a while and then it passes to another.  Why then do we act like owners of these things?  We have been placed where we are for God’s purpose.  The meaning of your life has more to do with others than just you.  Give thanks to God for all His blessings and pass them on to others.

Lord, clear my eyes to not see men as trees, but to see clearly as You have made things to be.  Guide me in the goodness of Your grace and mercy in order that I would understand that this world is temporary and the world to come is forever.  In Your goodness, keep me wholly in Your grace and the provision You have given me.  Lead me to know that in You is all hope and an eternal future.

Jesus, You are the author and finisher of my faith.  That includes me being placed right where I am.  Guide me, Lord, to see that in You is all hope and my future.  Lead me according to Your goodness so that I would always look to You, my Lord and Savior, and see that have already put all things necessary into place.  May I follow Your lead today and every day into the eternal life for which I was created.  Amen.

“But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away” (James 1:9-10).

Too many in this world act as though they have earned what they have. But St. Paul asks: “what do you have that you did not receive?”  The one born in a third world country is not getting what they deserve any more than someone born in a rich country is being rewarded.  That thinking belongs to the Hindus who say that we are reincarnated according to deeds in a past life.  It is not of the Lord.  The Lord has created us and placed us where He has placed us according to His will.

Lord, help me understand that I am influenced by this world and how it thinks.  Let me listen to the pure word You give me so that I may know that only in You is there hope and a future.  Lead me, Lord, into Your truth as I look forward in hope, no matter my circumstances, to Your goodness in eternity.  Lead me, Lord, according to Your will into the right way of thinking about all circumstances.

Thank You Lord Jesus for giving me all the grace I need.  Lead me according to Your will so that I do not look to where you have placed me, except, perhaps, in the waters of my own baptism.  Lead me in the right way Lord so that I would now and always be guided by You and not my ideas of how to think about things.  Give me humility in the knowledge that You are making of me a child of the Father.  Amen.

“For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:7).

There are many in this world who are double-minded.  Who are they?  The ones who have the world and the faith on equal footing in their minds.  Such a thing is not possible, but they act as if it were.  To have your mind on the things of the world is to have doubts in your mind.  To have your mind on the things of God is to be right minded.  You cannot expect the Lord to bless You while doubting Him.

Do not let me continue being unstable, Lord, but ask You in my right mind for wisdom.  Let me know that I cannot require anything of You, but only ask.  Guide me, Lord, so that I would see where I have been wrong-minded and simply accept Your grace to become righteous.  Lead me, O Lord, in the right direction in order that I may receive the good gifts You would have me accept for Your sake.

Lord Jesus, You walked among us in great humility.  Lead me Lord to see that in You alone is all hope.  Help me to turn to You in honesty and with forthright anticipation of Your goodness, mercy, and wisdom being given me by grace.  Where I have the wrong frame of mind, change it.  Where I have not sought wisdom, set me on the right course.  In all things, lead me in Your way to everlasting life.  Amen.

“But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6).

This is no claim-it power statement.  God gives wisdom to those who ask.  Now ask.  Ask and believe that you will receive.  There is a caveat though.  You need to do your part.  It is not a matter of some conical cap coming down over your head and then wisdom is dispensed.  It is about being intentional in your walk and applying the things of the Lord to your life.  Do not be tossed about by this world; but live in the will of the Father.

Lord, I am buffeted by the winds of this age.  Blowhards are everywhere and I’m not sure what to believe.  Guide me, Lord, in the way You would have me go.  Help me to look to You, the Creator of all good, and accept things as they really are.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way of wisdom so that I may grow to be more like Christ and live as You created me to live.  Give me wisdom, Lord, I pray, in order that I may understand.

Holy Spirit, Who are sometimes called wisdom.  Working through Your word, You come into my mind and heart and help me see through the fog of this age.  Guide me in the grace and mercy which is mine through Christ so that I may pursue wisdom.  Open my eyes and ears to scripture so that I may connect the dots and piece things together.  Grant me a spirit that rejoices in truth as You lead me into all truth and understanding.  Amen.

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

We know that the goal  of sanctification is to be finished and whole; complete.  We know that there is a journey between here and there.  What is it you lack?  Ask the Lord.  Look, that is the whole point of salvation.  The Lord has come near you so that you may be saved.  So come to Him and let Him save You.  Don’t stand at a distance and be unapproachable.  Come near Him and be saved by Him.  Ask and you will receive.

Jesus told us that we do not receive because we do not ask.  We are encouraged here once again that, if we do not understand, simply come to the Lord and He will give understanding.  How else do you explain uneducated men writing some of the most profound literature of all time?  Not just the writers of Scripture, but even those like Bunyan (Pilgrim’s Progress)?  The Lord freely gives wisdom to those who ask.

Lord Jesus, I know that I have not received when I have asked because I have asked with wrong motive.  Help me to have a pure heart and to ask with purity and humility that I may receive wisdom and understand the truth of the faith You have given me.  Guide me, Lord Jesus, in the way of truth and grant that in wisdom I may endure unto the completion You give through grace.  Lead the way this day, Lord Jesus.  Amen.