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It’s like going to a restaurant to eat sushi… Some of you will turn your noses up, and you have no idea of the value of it or how good it is. It’s like diamonds vs. crystals. You can buy a crystal or you can buy a diamond. They both sparkle. You can look at it this way… “I’ll just put a crystal in there.” The other guy says, “Nope! I’m putting a diamond in there.” My wife… She doesn’t want a crystal! She wants the real deal!

James instructs us to define our events carefully. Consider how we see our circumstances. He said that if you do, it’ll affect your attitude and your actions. Notice, it’s not just the good times that he’s telling us about. He also says to redefine or define our circumstances, including trials, which are to be defined with joy. So, when I judge a trial, my consequences of results should be that I embrace it with joy and the trial turns into something else.

See, the problem with a lot of God’s people is they don’t have any joy. The saddest people I witness are when I go to hotels and fly on planes. I see drunks in the seats of the planes and they’re happy! They’re laughing and asking for another scotch & water. They’re just laughing, and they’ll talk to anybody. Then you put a born again believer on the plane… They got nothing to say to anybody. It’s because they don’t have joy in their circumstances. But, the other people got their joy artificially.

You can change your circumstances! Just say, “You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to cause this thing to be changed!” Look at what James said. “Consider it (or define it) all joy, my brethren, when you encounter trials.” In other words begin to say, “Hallelujah! Amen! Good’s coming out of this!”

There is more to this message! You can watch it on YouTube at RockCCBaltimore!