Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read Exodus 10, Job 28, and James 1 today. This devotional is about James, chapter 1. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. To the twelve tribes of the dispersion, greetings. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault. and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position, but the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant, its flower falls, and its beauty is lost. So too the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desires, he is lured away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow. He chose to give us birth, through the Word of Truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation. My beloved brothers, understand this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. For man's anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires. Therefore get rid of all moral filth, and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise you are deceiving yourselves. For anyone who hears the word, but does not carry it out, is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after observing himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what he looks like. but the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so, not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer, he will be blessed in what he does. if anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue. He deceives his heart and his religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this, to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep one's self from being polluted by the world. This is God's word. The core issue when we are tempted to sin is what is good. Sin offers us good things. Not things that are morally good, but things that feel good. Cheating on an exam, for instance, feels good. You get a good grade without working for it, and you get the feeling of outwitting your clueless teacher. Lying when you are late to work or when you get caught doing something wrong feels good because it allows you to avoid accountability for the thing that was wrong that you did. Stealing something feels good because you get the value without having to work or sacrifice for it. Slandering someone you don't like feels good because it gives you a chance to spill all the negative thoughts and feelings you have toward that person. This is what temptation offers to us. It offers us immediate pleasure or immediate relief from pain. It tells us that sinning will be good. It promises that we'll be better off taking a moral shortcut. than doing the right thing, which is often hard to do. After James explains the process of temptation in James 1, 13 through 15, he urges us not to take the bait offered by temptation. Temptation offers good feelings, but that is a trick. That's why James says in verse 16, don't be deceived. When you're tempted to sin, remember that temptation is a trick. It's a scam. Don't fall for it. Instead, according to verse 17, we must remember in temptation that God is the source of all good things, real good things. Verse 17 says, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. The best things in life are gifts from God, and they never ever come through sinning. So when we're tempted, James wants us to remind ourselves to trust God and follow His ways, because God is always good. Our salvation is one early evidence of the goodness of God, according to James in verse 18. Each of us will encounter some kind of temptation today. When it happens, remember this, sin is a trick. It's a shortcut that will promise pleasure but never delivers the good thing it offers without a severe hidden price. Since we know how good God is because of our salvation, we must trust that obedience to his word in temptation will lead us to better outcomes than the scammy shortcuts of sin. And if you found this devotional helpful, please go to my website, dailypbj.com slash subscribe, and enter your email address, and then every day for free, these devotionals will show up in your inbox, and that will cue you to be in God's word every single day. Please consider becoming part of my financial support network so we can keep making video content like this and more. Go to dailypbj.com support if you're interested in being part of that mission. Please share this with someone who might be helped by it in their faith, and I'll see you next time. May God bless you. Hope you have a great day today.