Prayer
I don’t have many words today, God. Please just open my eyes to see you here in James’ letter. What do you want to say to me today? I’m listening.
Scripture
James 1:13-15 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.
Reactions
Now what is James talking about?
What is your first reaction to this paragraph?
Digging below the surface
Sketch a timeline of the sin’s progression here from temptation to death.
Where does temptation come from?
What do you learn about God and about sin from this passage?
Making it stick
Now armed with this knowledge about temptation and sin, do any of your thinking patterns need to change?
Notes
What a comfort that God absolutely cannot be touched by sin. It has no effect on him. He is all-powerful and will never be corrupted by that power. He knows everything yet will never use that knowledge to hurt others. Sin leads to death – spiritual death that hurts your soul. God will never hurt my soul.
Yet at the same time, reading this heightens my awareness of sin’s deceitfulness. The potential to sin and to be led into harm lies within me, in my desires.
For instance, I desire control and order in my life. When it feels like that’s slipping away from me, I lose my temper, and I quit trusting God – sinning. That sin leads to death – division between me and my toddler I just yelled at, as well as inner turmoil when I don’t trust God. I desire comfort, so I feed that idol with food or shopping and my relationship with God suffers because I’ve replaced him with something else to satisfy me.
Lord, they say that if you understand your enemy, the battle is half won. I see better how temptation and sin works in my life. These desires slip in and out of my heart and they aren’t bad. But so often I don’t ask you to meet my needs. Instead I let my wishes lead me to sin, and that sin causes some kind of death in my life. God, I want to say no to sin, and yes to you. You lead me on the good path – to peace and joy. Teach me to follow you!