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Sunday, May 25, 2014

Testing and Tempting (James 1:12-18) New Living, Good News And The Message Translations

NEW LIVING TRANSLATION
12  God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
13  And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.
14  Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.
15  These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
16  So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.
17  Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.  He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
18  He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION
12  Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him. 
13  If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, “This temptation comes from God.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 
14  But we are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. 
15  Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16  Do not be deceived, my dear friends! 
17  Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning. 
18  By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION
12  Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.
13-15  Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.
16-18  So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.


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