James 1:15

Scripture: James 1:15
15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
 
Observations:
Desire eventually leads to death. I jokingly concluded that desire is death's grandmother. What I got from this verse was that there are levels of falling away from the Lord, where sin grows and worsens. We should be careful to stop desire before it yields to more and more sin.
 
Application:
Small compromises lead to big failures. What kind of compromises have you made today or this week? What can you do to prevent these compromises from becoming big failures? Where I am, I have to fight laziness. There is so much to do lately! I know my desire is to put things off or just relax. There's nothing wrong per se with relaxing, but at the right place, at the right time!
 
Prayer:
Lord, open our eyes to those evil desires within us. Help us to recognize them so we don't get dragged away! Bless us with wisdom, discernment, and strength. In Christ's name I pray, amen.

James 1:13-14

Scripture: James 1:13-14
13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
 
Observations:
Reading this verse, it almost seems so obvious: God doesn't tempt anybody. Well of course not! But people tend to push the blame for their evil desires on others and even God. I also thought back to Genesis, how the conversation went after Eve ate the apple. It was such a blame-game! Adam blamed Eve for giving the apple to him, and Eve blamed the snake. Nobody said "My fault! I knew better and shouldn't have done that!" which is the whole point. It's easier to pretend we're ignorant sheep than to admit we have our own evil desires.
 
Application:
What are your current temptations? What are we tempted to do that we know is evil but are playing dumb about? During the busy times for me, I am tempted to be lazy. Laying down horizontally while I could be organizing/cleaning/running/being productive. I think "enticed" is a perfect word haha it's like my bed is saying "Heleeeenaaaaaa you're sooo tiiiired!" haha when I know I had good rest, and there's more I should be doing. God isn't tempting me. My bed isn't tempting me. My own evil desire to be lazy and squander time is what's enticing. I have to turn on upbeat music, not put on pjs, and be intentional with my time.
 
Prayer:
Lord forgive us for caving into our evil desires, whatever they are, and knowing better. Help us to have the discernment between a temptation and a trial. Give us wisdom to walk away from temptation, and courage to walk through trials in Your strength. Forgive us also for blaming others and You when we stumble on our own sin. We love You and we long to obey You wholeheartedly. In Christ's name I pray, amen.