Category: What do you think?

Understanding God’s sovereignty and the role of temptation in the life of a believer

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A passage in 1 Corinthians 10 promises that God will not allow believers to be tempted beyond what they can bear, and some have read this as suggesting that God is the one sending temptation into people’s lives. The Book of James addresses this directly, making clear that God does not tempt anyone, because he cannot be tempted by evil himself. These two passages are not in conflict; they are describing two different things.

The Greek word behind “temptation” simply means to test or prove, and it carries no negative weight on its own. When a believer encounters a difficult situation or a pull toward sin and rejects it, that is a test that has been passed and made them stronger. If the person gives in, it becomes a temptation that leads to sin. God allows his people to live in a fallen world with all its pressures and difficulties, but he does not personally engineer situations designed to make them fall. What he does promise is that no trial will be so great that there is no way through it.

No one is to 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.

James 1:13

Living with courage and joy when life is uncertain

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NELSON NOLAND

Life rarely comes with guarantees, and yet many people find themselves waiting for certainty before they take the next step. The ancient wisdom found in Ecclesiastes 11 speaks directly to this tendency. Just as a merchant sends cargo ships out to sea not knowing if a storm will destroy them, or a farmer plants seeds not knowing if the harvest will come, ordinary people are called to act wisely and boldly even when the outcome is unclear. Spreading your risks, working hard, and refusing to be paralyzed by the fear of what might go wrong are not signs of recklessness. They are signs of a faith that trusts God enough to move forward anyway.

The second half of Ecclesiastes 11 turns from courage to joy, and it is just as practical. Joy is not something you manufacture on your own. It is a gift that you choose to unwrap by paying attention to the good things already in your life. The writer encourages people of every age, young and old, to genuinely enjoy their years while they have them. This is not an invitation to chase sin or live carelessly. In fact, the text is clear that joy must stay within the boundaries of what is right, because choices made in younger years carry consequences that follow a person for a long time.

What holds these two ideas together, courage and joy, is the practice of remembering God. Not just thanking him in a general way, but actively paying attention to how he has been faithful in the past and choosing to trust him with what is ahead. Just as a bee takes even bitter things and turns them into honey, a person rooted in their relationship with God can take hard circumstances and find something good in them.

These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

Every believer in Christ carries a richness that calls for gratitude and prayer

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

When Paul writes to the Christians in Ephesus and mentions that he has not stopped giving thanks for them, his gratitude is connected directly to what he understands to be true about every person who belongs to Christ. Ephesians 1:15-16 shows us a Paul who has heard about the faith of the Ephesian believers and their love for one another, and who responds not with a simple word of encouragement but with ongoing, thankful prayer on their behalf.

The reason behind his thankfulness is significant. Paul is not simply glad that they are doing well or behaving kindly toward each other. He is moved because he understands that every believer in Jesus has been given every spiritual blessing in him. These are not small or ordinary people in his eyes. Every person who trusts in Christ has access to a deep and vast spiritual richness that they may not fully see yet. That truth is worth praying about, and it is worth being genuinely thankful for.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Ephesians 1:3

The Gospel is more than one truth: Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection all matter

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

When we share the good news of Jesus Christ, we speak it, sing it, and live it out, but reducing the gospel to a single point leaves out something important. Many people summarise the Gospel simply as “Jesus died for our sins,” and while that is true, Paul was clear in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 that the full gospel includes three connected truths: Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again on the third day, all in keeping with what the scriptures had promised.

The empty tomb is not a detail we can set aside. Our rescue from sin does not stop at the cross. We are also saved by his resurrection. Without the risen Lord, the story is unfinished. The good news of Jesus Christ is whole only when all three parts are held together, and that is the message we are called to carry into the world.

For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,

Romans 6:5

Becoming the righteousness of God through the one who knew no sin

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

One of the most moving truths in all of scripture is that Jesus, who was completely without sin, took on the weight of our guilt so that we could be made right with God, and this act of love should be enough to bring any of us to make peace with our Creator. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, God made Christ, who had no wrongdoing in him at all, to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that those who believe in him could receive the righteousness of God.

When every other argument or reason falls short of convincing us to turn to God, this one truth stands firm. The Father willingly gave his only Son to suffer and die on the cross so that we could be brought back into a right relationship with him. The great purpose behind this act was not simply forgiveness, but transformation. Believers are not just pardoned; they are clothed in the righteousness of God himself, and that is a gift beyond anything we could ever earn.

and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.

1 Peter 2:24