Today's Devotion: James 1:2-3 (New International Version) - 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Of all the books in the New Testament, the Epistle of James is one which seems to focus on a lot of the negative, rather than the positive. James talks a lot about what seem to be works, and even Martin Luther was frustrated when he read James' letter.

Today's Comments: If you look closely at James' writings, however, you will see that when he talks about doing good things, he really is talking from a faith prospective. Good works are not the result of human intent, they are the result of God's grace, and good works are given in response to that grace, enabled by it, and proceed from our faith. And while God himself does not necessarily challenge our faith by putting stumbling blocks in our way, there are plenty of other outside influences over which we can easily trip. And it is those stumbling blocks and this corrupt world that become our real test of faith.