Pass the Test!

James 1:12-16 NKJV 

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

My Grandson. This is not a test, He just can’t decide! 

God does not tempt or try us. He does test us to see if we are truly committed to Him; however, as the scriptures says, "God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone." (verse 13).

In addition, when Jesus was baptized by John in the wilderness, it says:

Mark 1:9-10 AMPC 

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when He came up out of the water, at once he [John] saw the heavens torn open and the [Holy] Spirit like a dove coming down [to enter] into Him.

The Holy Spirit, like a dove, entered into Him. A Dove did not come on Him, it appeared to look like a dove that symbolizes purity, and transformation of heart, mind and body. What really caught my attention was it says it, "entered INTO Him" (verse 10), not on Him. The KJV says this:

Mark 1:9-10 KJV 

And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

The word, "upon" in Hebrew (על) is translated; on, at, to, by, into, upon; so it is important to interpret the meaning of what the Bible is saying and then it further says:

Mark 1:11-13 AMPC

11 And there came a voice out from within heaven, You are My Beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.12 Immediately the [Holy] Spirit [from within] drove Him out into the wilderness (desert),13 And He stayed in the wilderness (desert) forty days, being tempted [all the while] by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him [continually].

As the scripture says, Jesus was tempted [all the while] by Satan. This is the proof that Jesus tempts no one. It is our own selfish desires and the deceit of Satan. When Satan tempted Jesus, He would recite scripture and begin with: "It is Written."

Matthew 4:1-11 AMPC 

Then Jesus was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil.2 And He went without food for forty days and forty nights, and later He was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God’s Son, command these stones to be made [loaves of] bread. 4 But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on a turret (pinnacle, gable) of the temple sanctuary. 6 And he said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will give His angels charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.  7 Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written also, You shall not tempt, test thoroughly, or ]try exceedingly the Lord your God. 8 Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them. 9 And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me. 10 Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. 11 Then the devil departed from Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

If we are not deeply rooted and grounded in the Word, Satan comes and steals what little bit we do know, by fear, doubt, tragic circumstances that we feel were inflicted by God. It all comes from Satan. His intentions are to "kill, steal, and destroy"! (John 10:10) What more proof do we need?

The Holy Spirit lives within us, not without! Once it comes into us, it is permanent, fixed, cannot be moved, unless we commit the impartible sin, which is "unbelief"! So when you feel convicted, it is the Holy Spirit telling you of your errors - Listen to that inner voice! Satan condemns, the Holy Spirit convicts us to keep us safe and free from the wrath of Satan. 

I know there has been a time in all of our lives that you have said, "Something told me . . . . . . "! I will give you an example: My Mother was coming home from work one morning and one of her eyes went blind. It was caused by stress and fear from an encounter on her job. She was not able to see the road correctly and it scared her; and she said, "Something told me to close that eye - I know that "Something" was the Holy Spirit -(Praise God, HE was there to deliver her, because only one eye went blind not both). So, when she closed the one eye, she was able to see clearly the road, and it gave her enough leverage to drive home safely; not having a wreck or causing one. The Holy Spirit is hidden in your heart (It's a Heart thing). So the next time, you hear "That Something", obey it - It will keep you from harm!

James 1:22-25 AMPC

But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].23 For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his [own] natural face in a mirror;24 For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like.25 But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience).