And a wonderful day to you, dear friend. Thank you for joining us once again. We’ve been in the book of James these past few days, and we’re in James chapter 1, where he’s talking to us about the trials and tests of life. How do you get an A? How do you pass those tests and trials of life? Well, one thing to know about tests and trials of life, unlike the final exams that we just came through in college and that our high school is coming up on, the tests of life, they come unannounced. You don’t know when they’re—and that’s one of the difficult things. You don’t know when they’ll come, but we do know how we can prepare.

So James tells us a few things here. He says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations, knowing this, that the trial of your faith worketh patience.” And that’s what the trial is. It’s a trial of your faith, of your belief in God. And so he tells us, first of all, that tests and trials are universal and inevitable. Everyone faces trials and temptations. Secondly, he’s going to tell us that tests and trials come in a variety of forms. God knows what I need, and God knows also how much I can sustain. And so these come. Your trial may not be a trial for me. My trial may not bother you. But you see, trials come in a variety of forms.

Are you going to be ready? Are you going to be prepared for those trials whenever they come? Read through the book of James, especially that first chapter, and he’s going to help us with those trials and tests and temptations of life. God bless you, dear friend. I look forward to wrapping this up and seeing you again tomorrow at the same time.

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David Sloan

David Sloan, Spanish Pastor

David Sloan serves as pastor of the Spanish Department of North Valley Baptist Church. He and his family were missionaries in the Former Soviet Union and the Middle East, where he served as United States representative to the Christian Caucus in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. He and his wife Jolene have five children. Bro. Sloan is part of a missionary heritage of fourteen families who serve on the mission field, spanning seven countries and four continents. He is also the Missions Director at Golden State Baptist College.