The Giver Series

James 1:17-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.

Nothing is more tragic than for a person to have a wrong conception of God, for this will effect one’s thinking and who they become as a person and it can have eternal

consequences for that person.

We are not to be deceived concerning the way sin works. Don't be deluded and led astray.

The pattern is always the same…Desire, Deception, Sin, and Death.

Having pointed out that God is not the source of anything that is evil, James now proceeds to show that God is the source of everything that is good.

One of the Devil’s great tricks of deception is to convince people that God is always holding something back.

In the Garden of Eden, Satan deceived Eve by sowing the seeds of doubt.

Genesis 3:4-Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.

For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

If Satan can get us to believe that God is holding something back and is robbing you of something good and we begin to doubt God’s goodness, we are attracted to Satan’s offers and the natural desire will reach out and take the bait.

The problem we have of seeing the goodness of God, is that we want to define what "goodness" is.

If things are going well, we are enjoying good health, and the bills are paid, then God is being good to us.

But what happens in the times of testing and temptation is that we fail to see God's goodness at work in our lives.

There are two Greek words used for the word "Gift"….The first word is "Dosis" which means the act of giving.

The second is "Dorema" which places the emphasis on the gift itself.

What James is saying is, when God gives, both the gift and the act of giving are good. This is not always so with human giving.

Some give in order to get!

Sometimes we give out of obligation!

For example—The Birthday present that we feel obligated to give. The last minute Christmas present that we rush out to buy, because we have received an unexpected present from someone.

We feel compelled to give because we have received.

When God gives there is always sincerity in His giving, there are no ulterior motives, and He gives in a loving and gracious manner.

Comes Down-God does not just give every once in awhile, He gives to us constantly and, even when we may not even recognize His wonderful gifts.

No Variation Or Shadow Of Turning-Sunlight changes, moonlight changes, therefore we have, dawn, high noon, twilight, and dusk. The turning of the earth and the sun produces shifting shadows, but God does not change and with Him there is no shadow of turning.

If there are shadows in our lives, they are not there because God has moved.

They are there because we have allowed something to come between our God, and us!