Elaine Campbell

 'Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him' (James 1:12). Since the fall of Adam and Eve, men have been tempted in all form to sin; to desire to do something wrong. The Devil is the instigator for all our temptations. We see where he even tempted Christ in the wilderness, after His forty days and nights of fasting. If he could tempt the Son of God, how much more will he not tempt us? Being tempted to do something wrong is not a sin, but it is when we yield that it becomes a sin. Christ endured and overcome the temptations of Satan and we can too, because Christ is our Example. When we truly love God, we will trust Him, and as we trust Him, we will obey Him even in difficult times. In our everyday life, we encounter personal difficulties and dangers. But it is our reaction to those distress, difficulties and despair, that determine whether we trust God or not.  It'

 'For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness' (2 Samuel 22:29). Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, and we can surely rejoice in His light. Those of us who are from the Caribbean, at some point in our life have experienced physical darkness, as a result of an electrical power outage or for those living in some rural areas where there weren't any electricity. The darkness was so thick, that it seems as if it would sniff your life out. You could literally feel the darkness pressing upon your mind. But with a flicker of light, it illuminates the darkness and you can see your surroundings clearly. With the light brings joy and gladness and eliminates fear in the hearts of men. That's what Christ brings to our dark and sinful lives. We were once walking in spiritual darkness because of sin; but God the Creator of light, through Christ illuminates our hearts with His light and when we accept that light, we began to walk in the light of Christ and

 'Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord' (Lamentations 3:40). It is important for each one of us to develop an intimate relationship with God. This kind of relationship comes from spending quality time with God, by daily studying His Word; by meditating and reflecting on His Word; by praying and giving thanks. The prophet Jeremiah called Israel to pray. He wanted them to take a good look at the way they were living and turn again to God. We too are called to do the same. We need to ask God to reveal to us the areas of our life that need to change. We say we love God but our actions prove out whether this is true or not. We are call to search our hearts and examine our ways. We must then in confession and repentance turn again to God. Let us search our ways and try them by the Word of God,  the standard of our faith and practice. Let us seek to try our thoughts, words and our deeds by the law of God; which is holy, just and good. Let us search and examine ou

 'For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee' (Psalm 86:5). Some people are considered good by the standards of the world. They are seen as good because of their hospitality and seemly good moral standards. However, as sinful beings we are not inherently good, it is only God who is good. It is only through our relationship with Christ that we can be truly seen as good. He supplies us with His good and remove our evil. The nature of the heart is evil and desperately wicked. Some people are considered good, yet they cannot forgive the injuries done to them by others. But when we are made good in Christ, we will be willing to forgive others as God through Christ has forgiven us. The Lord is plenteous in mercy unto all who call upon him. Notice He didn't say some, but all who call upon him! When we lift up the name of the Lord in prayer and worship, His goodness flows through us as a stream running by. The Lord is al

 'Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble' (James 2:19). In  the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1). God spoke and it was done. He said, "Let there be light: and there was light" (verse 3).  We saw this theme in most of chapter one of  God speaking and things were done. We see clearly also the Godhead working together - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We should all seek to know God and have a knowledge of him. However, knowing Him is not enough, we have to have a saving, living faith. That is, living out the truth, that "God is one" with our every day choices. Whatever we know and believe of God, there must be a genuine trust and obedience to Him; because even the devils or demons believe that "God is one" and tremble in fear of him. If we believe that "God is one" but there is no action, then it is not consistent with that belief. It means knowing that

 'And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works' (Hebrews 10:24). To be a Christian is to follow Christ and emulate  him. We must speak as Christ spoke; walk as He walked and live as He lived. We must constantly be in obedience to God and live right. Through the righteousness of Christ we too will be able to live righteously. Central to our Christian walk, we must encourage others and accept encouragement from others. We are encouraged to walk steadfast in the Saviour's love and not give up on our faith in him. We should be there for each other. When persecution and fear come upon us, we should trust in God and encourage each other in the faith to 'hold fast' to God and His truth. It is our faith and confidence in God, and  knowing also that Jesus himself endure the cross and shame for us, that will help us to endure in such difficult times, as well as, the support and encouragement of our fellow believers. It is during these crucial times t

 'And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you' (Leviticus 20:8). Each one of us has as this awesome opportunity to accept the plan of salvation, given freely to us by God to deal with the sin problem. Sin distorted the family of God and He wants to restore us to this family;  so the plan of redemption was established in heaven to address this problem. We are all given a freewill to choose to accept God and His plans for us, as He will not force any one to be obedient to Him. However, we must realised that there will be consequences to pay if we are not obedient to God. We must also accept Jesus Christ as our Lord, our Saviour and Redeemer by faith in order to be saved. We should be desirous of turning our hearts to God and away from sin and evil surmising. We ought to keep God's law and statutes and do them. This must not be a ritual for us, but be seen as a lifestyle. We must see it as important for our daily sustenance, and  essential in o

 'Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously' (Psalm 119:29). When we know God and have an intimate relationship with Jesus, we will abhor sin in every form. Even though we know and accept the law of God, or may be teachers of it, we have to be careful not to fall in the traps of Satan.  We must be mindful that we are subject to a number of wicked thoughts and imaginations that can lead us away from the right path; except we allow God to take hold of us with His mighty hands. We must be reminded that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and against Spiritual wickedness in high places. We need constantly to pray to God for deliverance, to keep us from deceit, from pride and from anything of this world that will seek to lead us away from our heavenly Father.  We should not be complacent and think for one second that because we are saved by God's grace, that the Devil can win no more with us. We would be deluded as

 'O Lord, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears' (1 Chronicles 17:20). David wanted to build a house of worship for the Lord, but God spoke to Him through the prophet  Nathan that it wasn't going to be him, but one of his sons that would build Him a house. Even though David desired to build the temple for God, with humility he accepted that God said "no". He didn't get on his high horse to say, "look what I have done for you God and Israel and you can't allow me this one thing I want to do for you." No! He wasn't angry or murmured against God, but sat down before God and humble prayed and thank God for His kindness towards him, his servant. In his humility he said, " Who am I, O Lord God? And what is mine house that you have brought me this far?" (Verse 16). God had promised to build a house for him, instead of him building it for God,  and he received the gi

 'There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?' (James 4:12). We are all sinners who have sinned and come short of the glory of God; yet at times we act like we have never sin, yet assuming the role of judging others by our standards. It is not our job to do so, but God's! James is reminding us, that it is God who gave the law and He is the Judge. It his He alone who has the power to save and destroy, not us. We are all dependent on God's grace, therefore, we should not presume to pronounce any verdict on anyone base on our own judgement. Because the same judgement we mete out to others will be meted out to us. We are not exempted from God's judgement. It is God who is able to save us, and does that perfectly through His Son Jesus Christ who died on Calvary, to save us from our sins. Christ is mighty and able to save us to the uttermost, all who believe in Him and that He is the Son of God, and the Saviour of the worl

 'But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin' ( 1 John 1:7). Walking in the light helps us to see clearly the way God sees things and to share His values. We will seek to live under the  controlling desire for God  instead of the world. You see, once we were in darkness, walking in the ways of the world. But Jesus called us out of that darkness of sin and death, into His marvellous light. In accepting Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, we place our faith in Him and His victory over sin and death at the cross; thereby been granted access to the throne room of God's grace. We are told to 'walk in the light,' the light of God's truth - His living Word which testify of Christ, the light of the world. When we walk in the light it brings our life into alignment with the Word of God. It brings a condition of fellowship not only with God but with other

 'They also that erred in  spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine' (Isaiah 29:24). The Jews erred concerning God's truth and His ordinances; concerning Christ, his work and office, choosing the traditions of men over the Word of God. The Gentiles lacked understanding of his Word and erred in spirit of His truth. God was saying to them then and is speaking to us now, who may have chosen the traditions of men over the word of God, to come to spiritual understanding of Christ and His work of salvation for mankind. We need to be reminded that unless God gives understanding and knowledge, man will forever err and murmur against him. In the past when God's people murmured against him, it sometimes leads to rebellion, which God hates. God is saying to His people who have been murmuring against His prophets and His faithful teachers, that they shall receive knowledge of His truth and will accept instructions that will lead them to become

 'The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy;   he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing' (Zephaniah 3:17). For everyone who accept Jesus  Christ as their personal Saviour he rejoices over you with singing. Isn't that amazing? God our Creator is also in the midst of us. He is the  Almighty God, and of such he is mighty to save His people from the curse of sin and death; to save us from our fears and those who seek to harm us. All we need to do is to come to him as we are; wretched, sinful and needy. God loves you just as you are and promises to calm your fears with His love and to rejoice over you with joy as you come to him. He takes delight in His children and offers us a sense of peace. His love is unconditional and does not expect anything in return. He loves us first that we may know how to love him. When we experience His love, we will truly love him with all our heart, with all our soul and wi

 'This people draweth night unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me' (Matthew 15:8). Jesus was speaking of the Jews and their hypocrisy. They would go about praying publicly unto God for all to see, in the streets, in the synagogues, in the temple and teaching the commandments of God yet not living them fully. They seek to draw nigh unto God with their mouth but not their heart. They believe God to be their creator and preserver; they boast about him; they have great knowledge of him; they brought their sacrifices of praise and Thanksgiving before him and acknowledged him as their true and living God. It was all in vain as they were honouring Him with their lips and not their hearts. The Lord said that they have no true love for him, nor did they fear him, or  concerned for His presence amongst them. Why? Their heart was far from Him. The Jews were suppose to be the light to a world in darkness, yet they sought the applause of

 'Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost her savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and be trodden under foot of men' (Matthew 5:13). Jesus used the metaphor of describing his people as the salt of the earth. He didn't say "we shall be the salt of the earth" but the "Ye are the salt of the earth" It is right now at this moment that we should make a difference in people's life.  In the ancient world salt was extremely important and was seen as a requirement for life. It was also used mostly for preservatives, as it is also used in the modern world. It was only fitting then for Jesus to used this metaphor to help the disciples understand their duty in preserving  the purity of the world. The same message He spoke is also for us today. Christ has called us individually and collectively - as a church, to be the salt of the earth.  We must demonstrate a life in Christ by our lifestyle

 'Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law;  yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart' (Psalm 119:34). God's desire is to save all of us. He gave His commandments, His precepts and laws that we may know Him and understand His work; for us to seek and observe them in our walk with Him. He has given us many promises to meet our every need; in times of challenges and difficulties we can claim them. As we recognise our needs we may come and lay it all at Jesus' feet. God's promises are sure and we can be confident that He will do what He says. He invites us to come to Him and ask, and promises to hear and answer. In the passage we see the Psalmist asking God to give him understanding. It isn't just a general understanding to know; but spiritual understanding to discern what is right, so as not go contrary to God's Word. He is also asking God to help him to keep His law and to give him the desire to obey Him with all his heart. That's such a powerfu

 'I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye' (Psalm 32:8). There is no one on this earth that is exempt from God's gift of salvation. Christ has made it possible for everyone through His shed blood to receive the gift of God. All who accept Christ by faith, choose to walk by faith and live by faith; growing and maturing in faith the by power of the Holy Spirit. We have a natural tendency to sin, but should strive to live righteously. Like David, we may fall, but we know we have an Advocate who is Jesus Christ. When David committed adultery with Bathsheba and was instrumental in the murder of her husband, his sin separated him from God because he had not confessed it. It affected him so much and contributed to his health problems. Until He acknowledged and confess his sins, he had no peace. Knowing he was forgiven lifted his depression as he experience a sweeter relationship with God than he had before. He then receiv

 'Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved' (Acts 4:12).  Adam and Eve sinned and the consequences of their sin for all of humanity was death and separation from God. Christ, the Son of God had to leave heaven to solve the sin problem, by shedding His precious blood to save man. There was neither salvation in any other, whereby we could be save; it was only through the death and resurrection of Christ that it was made possible. As a matter of fact, salvation from sin was the purpose of Christ's life, death and resurrection. Even though Christ died for all, it is only those who accept him as their Lord and Saviour that will be saved by His grace through faith in Him; not by our own efforts or works. How blessed are those of us, through God's grace to receive the free gift of salvation? God loves and forgives us and is willing that none of us should perish, but to have everlasting life. Bu

 'He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who has hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?' (Job 9:4). Who can we liken unto God? For there is no one like him. He is the only, and the All wise and All knowing God; His understanding surpasses everything and is infinite. He sees and knows everything we do and say,  even the depth of our thoughts are known to Him. God is mighty in strength as He is wise. He is Almighty and All- powerful; as feeble sinful beings we cannot contend and strive with Him; He will conquer us. Those who try to contend with God by hardening themself against Him, will surely not prosper. Satan wanted to rejoice in the days of Job's afflictions, as he tried to get him to curse and speak ill of God.  But, instead Job honoured and spoke highly of God; of His wisdom and strength. This demonstrates how much Satan wants to destroy God's people. We have to know our God and allow the Holy Spirit to direct our steps. We must be willing to obey

 'For his merciful kindness is great towards us: and the truth of the Lord endureth forever. Praise the Lord' (Psalm 117:2). The most important thing in life is having a relationship with God. It is through this relationship that we get to know our Maker and experience His love and His truth. When we recognised what God has truly done for us; of his great love and his faithfulness towards us; it should lead us to give Him praise and extol His holy name. God is kind to all his creatures and merciful to us as sinners, therefore, we know his merciful kindness is great towards us. In Christ, God has shown his mercy mixed with kindness, in giving up his Son to save us from our sins. For even though our sins be great, God's mercy is even greater than the sin. God's truth endures forever as his promises are sure. He is not slack concerning His promises to His people. He is trustworthy and faithful. The faithfulness and truth of God given in his promises never fails; nor does t

 'Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in the present world;' (Titus 2:12). The grace of God brings salvation to all men, seeking a change in our conduct and attitude towards God and one another. It advocates a turning away from sin, and helps the believer in Christ to reject sinful desires and refrain from ungodly living. The grace of God teaches us to avoid behaviours that are sinful and will not enhance our lives; but it is to move us towards right behaviour and right thinking. Paul was instructing Titus to teach   boldly and with authority the conduct and behaviour God expects from His people. To encourage right thinking and behaviour by them living soberly, upright and godly lives. We are also encouraged as Believers in Christ to do the same. We must allow ourselves to be taught by the great Teacher, Jesus Christ, our Lord, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as we search the Scriptures daily and in o

'Keep my commandments, and live; and my laws as the apple of thine eye' (Proverbs 7:2). The Commandments of God will not save us, but it is important for our salvation. The Word of God said, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). When we love God we are desirous of keeping His commandments. We therefore, should keep them with watchfulness and care because they will give us life. We should seek to protect God's Word in our heart and mind defensively. We should seek to protect the laws of God as we would protect our eyes from sustaining injury, because we know the importance of the eye to our body. In the same way the commandments and laws of God are important and are worth protecting. The text is not  just telling us to keep God's commandments and live, but to let us know the depth of love and care with which we ought to hold His Word - as the "apple of thine eye."