83 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
83 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
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Testing Your Faith
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###### 1
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James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are in the Dispersion: Greetings.
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###### 2
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Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,
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###### 3
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knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance.
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###### 4
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And let perseverance have _its_ perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
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###### 5
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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.
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###### 6
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But he must ask in faith, doubting nothing, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
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###### 7
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For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
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###### 8
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_being_ a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
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###### 9
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But the brother of humble circumstances is to boast in his high position;
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###### 10
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and the rich man _is to boast_ in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.
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###### 11
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For the sun rises with a scorching heat 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.
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###### 12
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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.
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###### 13
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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.
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###### 14
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But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
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###### 15
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Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully matured, it brings forth death.
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###### 16
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Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
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###### 17
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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.
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###### 18
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In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.Doers of the Word
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###### 19
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Know _this_, my beloved brothers. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak _and_ slow to anger;
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###### 20
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for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
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###### 21
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Therefore, laying aside all filthiness and _all_ that remains of wickedness, in gentleness receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
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###### 22
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But become doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
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###### 23
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For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
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###### 24
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for _once_ he looked at himself and has gone away, he immediately forgot what kind of person he was.
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###### 25
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But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the _law_ of freedom, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.
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###### 26
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If anyone thinks himself to be religious while not bridling his tongue but deceiving his _own_ heart, this man's religion is worthless.
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###### 27
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Pure and undefiled religion before _our_ God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, _and_ to keep oneself unstained by the world.
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