James 1:16-17

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.  Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

There are several inferences and divers references that are herein imparted unto the reader that should be examined; indeed, the avoidance of deception as a servant of the Almighty, the imputation of good gifts, and the unchangeableness of the Father should all be examined in detail.  For contained in the verse mentioned above is the entirety of the Gospel, the reason given why Christ must needs have descended from the glory in which He abode, and the perfection and goodness of the Father.  The intents found herein should be observed as intending that the saints of God should not be deceived either by man or by devil; as the instances thereof should certainly be most disastrous unto the relationship that a man holds with the Father and the salvation as provided through the Son.  Do not allow yourself, beloved, to be deceived by the devil, for his deceptions are incredibly clever and the only intent and desire that he wishes to commit unto your soul would be the destruction thereof; he should like nothing more than to drive a wedge betwixt you and the Lord of Hosts, to cause you to forsake your graces and obey the vile commands he puts forward.

Therefore, in order that our minds might be sufficiently strengthened against the power of the evil one, it should be intended that we seek continually after the subjugation and working of repentance: this is the only thing that provides strength unto salvation and provides power to the graces of a man’s soul.  Repentance can only be enacted through the inner working of the Holy Spirit, and therefore, this would intend that the only way for a man to resist the deceptions of the evil one, and thereby render himself the victor, would be through the knowledge unto salvation through the Spirit.  Do not be deceived, beloved, but rather recognize these temptations when the come upon you and thereby, with every intent and strength of your soul, acquiesce unto the power of the Almighty, with the observation continuing directly after this of a desire for righteousness and utter hatred for sin.  The deceptions of the evil one, while strong and effective unto the mind of man, these also can be observed, recognized, and thereby avoided; however, the only way this should be possible is through the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.  By ourselves we are nothing and we surely would descend into utter madness and depravity if not for that most wonderful stabilizing force.

For, beloved, you are a servant of the Almighty, you are a child of the King, and to follow the dark guidances of the enemy thereof would certainly be the greatest mistake possible; no other method or action could possibly be so egregious unto the mind of God than obedience in any capacity unto the evil one.  This is far worse than the disobedience of any common traitor against his sovereign national power; for this rebellion would surely be against not only the Father, but also spits in the eye of Christ hanging upon the cross.  This would render us no better than the religious leaders who worked unto His destruction, and, through our disobedience against the holy commands of the King, we join in with the crowd calling for His crucifixion.  The stakes to which our deception must be reconciled are of the highest degree: hanging in the balance thereof is the eternal salvation of our very souls in concordance with the promises, desires, and grace of God.  Indeed, we either will side with the Lord of Hosts and the salvation provided thereby or the prince of darkness; there should be found to be no middle ground, no halfway righteousness or partial evil: one must make a decision unto salvation or eternal destruction.

Secondly, it should be observed the imputation of good gifts from the Father of lights; as the ideas contained therein have been rather distorted by greedy ministers who are seeking their own glory, their own truth, rather than the perfection as is found through the Holy Writ.  For there are many ministers who promote the so-called prosperity gospel in accordance with the desire to build their own congregation and follower base; they perhaps declare their desires thereof to be benign, but every desire of a teacher of this false theology is only for greed and personal glory.  I do not feel called to render names of certain ministers, however, one should realize that they take the verse mentioned above and distort the entirety of the intent unto the idea that the Lord of Hosts exists solely to render service unto our good pleasure.  The promotion of this false doctrine is dangerous in the fact that it causes the Lord, the Almighty Creator of the Universe, to become our servant, fulfilling our desires; it swaps the true nature of servitude upon its head and causes man to be a god above God.  The theology of the prosperity gospel intends that the Lord of Hosts will give us anything that we so desire, provided that, in the long run, we perhaps ask enough times or hold out enough faith that our selfish requests will be honored.

It causes the Almighty to be no greater than some cosmic vending machine, whether the things that we ask of Him come in a moment or within some form of years.  Indeed, I say unto you, the Lord of Hosts will give unto His children anything that we so desire, assuming that every desire thereof is in perfect accordance with His Will; as it should be found that the verse above intends that He holy bestows upon us “every good endowment and every perfect gift,” thereby rendering unto His children the things that are only good for their salvation and the mortification of sins.  Indeed, there may be something for which you are asking that you imagine to be according to the will of God: perhaps this is a spouse or wisdom unto theological thinking.  Do not be discouraged if these things are not dispensed at the very moment for which you ask of them; for they may be within the bounds of His will, but the timing in which you ask is incorrect: therefore, these perfect gifts will be donated upon your soul, but the timing thereof can perhaps remain somewhat of a mystery unto the mind of man.

I desire to exhort you unto the most wonderful thoughts and perfect production of patience: for these good and holy things will be given to you, but you know not at what moment the Lord has designed for these things to pass.  You could ask once for a particular thing and several years down the line will it be passed along to you; I have had this experience personally.  I recall asking the Lord for such and such a thing, however, if I had obtained that thing at that moment in time, no good could possibly have ejected from it; however, since I remained patient thereunto and matured in both faith and manliness, the Lord saw it fit to give me the thing for which I asked so many years ago.  I do not state this in a manner of boasting, but rather as a demonstration of how the Lord will provide good and perfect gifts unto His children, but these always remain in accordance with His will.

Thirdly, it should be observed about the unchangeableness of the Father of lights.  For there are many who claim that the God of the Old Testament is a different one from that of the New; however, it should be noted that in accordance with this verse does the Lord of Hosts never change from day to day; His holiness has remained steadfast throughout the ages and no disparity should be found between that of the Old and that of the New.  For if the Lord God Almighty changed in His holiness, then the only change thereunto would have to be the thought of Him bowing the knee unto sin and thereby obeying the commands of the devil.  For if He were to change from the perfection of His holiness, in which there is no observance of shifting from side to side, the only way possible that change might occur would be unto sinfulness.  Therefore, we can take comfort in the fact that the Lord of Hosts, and every moral commandment that has issued forth therefrom remains steadfast throughout the entirety of the existence thereof.

Through this should we indeed seek much blessing and take great comfort in the fact that our Savior and God will continue in His promises throughout the entirety of eternity; there cannot be any change therefrom as that would drive the Lord of Hosts unto sin and deception.  No no, our salvation has been secured not by the providence of a foolish man, who changes with the tides and the shifting of the wind, but rather the perfect, Almighty Creator of the Universe.  The observance thereto and providence of salvation that has been donated as the most wonderful gift from God will remain as unchanging and perfect as He is; nothing can break the bonds of salvation, assuming that those within the bounds thereof remain in their faith forevermore.  The Lord has promised that we might be given salvation if we repent and believe in the Gospel, therefore beloved, why should we hesitate for even a moment thereunto?