Good morning. We are now into the book of James. We have looked at a lot of verses in James before, so there's gonna be a lot of repetition. There is a dispute as to when it was written. I prefer to go with an earlier date before James came to a full revelation about the Gentile converts. The book says that it was written to the 12 tribes of Israel who were dispersed. It seems to be very much based on the Law of Moses. We tend to think that all of the early believers knew everything there was to know about Christianity on the day of Pentecost. However the book of Acts shows that they had to learn things as they went along. God used Peter fairly early on to show them that the Gentiles could receive the Holy Spirit too. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Yeah, I'm really happy I'm going through all of this. Of course our trials are not like theirs. Their very lives were in danger. The Jews did not take kindly to people converting to Christianity. Some quickly believed when Paul preached, and others rebelled and stirred up mobs against him. Of course we go through trials not related to being Christians. We have to keep believing no matter how unlikely it seems that what we are believing in will happen. If we get everything immediately – then where is the faith in that? As we continue believing even when things look like they're not going to happen, our faith is strengthened. You don't gain endurance exercising, if you quit after a short time. The same thing is true about our faith. You don't gain endurance if you quit just because things are hard. Father thank You that the reader's faith endures despite the trials. He/she continually believes that what You said will happen is going to happen.

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