Pickleball

A Series on the book of James
Trials and Rewards
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
James 1:1-18 

[James is one of my favorite books of the Bible. In some ways, it’s similar to Old Testament wisdom literature like Proverbs. It includes many practical applications to help a believer grow in their faith. In this series, we will look at the wisdom of James’ letter and how it applies to our lives.]

When you play sports, your goal is to win. And if you win often enough, you might earn an award.

 

During high school and college, I loved to play sports. Even until I was in my forties, I played tennis. But I was only an average athlete, and certainly never won any awards. That is… until I started playing pickleball at the age of 74. I finally won an award! Such as it is.

 

James wrote his letter to Jewish Christians who were scattered across the Mediterranean world due to being persecuted for their faith. You can imagine how difficult their lives must have been. Essentially, they were turned upside down.

 

Not only were they persecuted for their faith, but they went to countries where there were different cultures, languages and religions. Most likely, they were poor, had no job or place to live, and only knew the people who had fled with them.

 

They were refugees who faced many challenging trials. Trials that would present them with very difficult choices. Sometimes, it could even be a matter of choosing between following their faith or rejecting it. Therefore, James wrote to them about trials.

 

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.      NIV

 

The Message puts it like this.

 

^2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work, so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.          MSG

 

In sports, the goal is to win. The more you practice and play, the better your skills are. Through repetition, you challenge yourself and push yourself to improve. In our faith-life, the goal is to become “mature and complete”. Our faith is challenged and strengthened by trials. That’s how we learn and grow.

 

Besides the benefit of becoming “mature and complete”, James held out another carrot for them. He told them that if they persevered through their trials, they could win an award – the “crown of life”.

 

¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.            NIV

 

It’s fun to win an award – even if it’s a meaningless pickleball award. But winning the “crown of life” – that’s incomparably superior!

 

It’s time to compete for what truly matters. It’s time to go into spiritual training; to strengthen our faith through trials; to become mature and complete; to receive the crown of life.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Endlessly Rolling Waves

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”
James 1:2-4
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
James 1:1-18 

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

 

 

In 2016, my family met in Wrightsville Beach, NC to celebrate my oldest sister’s 50^th wedding anniversary. One morning, some of us got up early to go deep sea fishing. As we left the docking area the sun began to rise. It was a beautiful day; so calm and peaceful. But that would soon change.

 

The captain picked up speed as we headed into the open sea. He kept going and going until we couldn’t see any land. Then he maintained a high speed in the open sea even when we kept crashing into the endlessly rolling waves. After about thirty minutes of that, I lost my breakfast and anything else that was in my stomach.

 

Life can be like those endlessly rolling waves. You feel like things are out of control. You’re tossed from one wave to another. And with no land in sight, there’s nothing firm for you to hold onto. So, you just hang on for dear life.

 

Following the stoning of Stephen, “a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem”. People were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. No doubt, they may have felt like they were being tossed around by endlessly rolling waves.

Many years later, James wrote his letter to those Jewish Christians.

 

² Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³ for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.   ESV

 

In other words, instead of avoiding trials and testing of your faith, James said to embrace them. For him, it was a matter of perspective. That is, taking a vertical perspective on life, not a horizontal one. Try to look up to see what God is doing.

 

Paul, who originally was a primary cause of the persecution against the church in Jerusalem, after his conversion, put it like this in his letter to the church in Rome.

 

³ We can rejoice, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.    NLT

 

The ESV translates the last phrase of verse 5 as “God's love has been poured into our hearts”. I like the visual of that. The picture of God opening my heart to pour his love into it, is beyond my comprehension.

 

During those times when the Jewish Christians felt like they were being tossed about by the endlessly rolling waves, James advised them to simply pray. That they ask God, not just for knowledge, but for wisdom. Wisdom that would be proven “by living an honorable life, doing good works with humility”.

 

Faith works! It works when we’re tested. It works when we pray. It works when our lives reflect His hope, love and wisdom.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

The School of Hard Knocks

A Series on the Milestones in Jesus’ Life

Matthew 3:16-4:11

 (Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%203%3A16-4%3A11&version=NIV;NLT

 

Have you ever experienced the school of hard knocks?

 

 

Maybe you went through a nasty divorce; struggle with an addiction; suffered the death of a loved one; or was fired from your job. When “trials of many kinds” come your way, they can be the school of hard knocks where you learn from the experience and grow in your faith.

 

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.   NIV

 

In a way, the baptism of Jesus was his coronation as the King of Kings. It was the commissioning of his ministry. But instead of sending him to the mission field, the Spirit lead him immediately to a place that could easily cause him to fall; to derail his ministry before it even began. He was an easy target for temptation.

 

Verse 2 has to be the biggest understatement in the Bible. After spending forty days and nights without food, Matthew wrote, “He was hungry”. Duh!!! Not only was Jesus hungry, but he had been isolated from others the whole time. He was at his weakest and most vulnerable condition. Why did the Spirit lead him there?

 

Maybe, these forty days in the wilderness were a time of increasing his faith; of coming to maturity; of preparing him for all the struggles that lay ahead. Maybe Jesus was growing in his faith through the school of hard knocks.

 

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.                       Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV

 

This milestone in Jesus’ life, makes it possible for us today to approach him with confidence; to experience his strength; to persevere and grow through our own school of hard knocks. This milestone brings us hope.

 

 

 

 

The Power of THE Unbalanced Force

Matthew 6:5-13

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A5-13&version=NIV;GNT

 

 

Newton's first Law of Motion reads like this:

 

“An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”

 

According to teachertech.rice.edu, “This means that there is a natural tendency of objects to keep on doing what they're doing. All objects resist changes in their state of motion. In the absence of an unbalanced force, an object in motion will maintain this state of motion.”         

 

Newton’s three Laws of Motion are the foundation of classical physics. I hated physics! It just didn’t make any sense to me. Apparently though, the main goal of physics is to understand how the universe behaves. Now that interests me, because we as humans are a part of the universe.

 

If you apply Newton’s first Law of Motion to people it might read like this:

 

Every person has their own beliefs, attitudes and habits which will remain the same unless acted on by an unbalanced force. The result is that our human nature resists change.

 

Like Newton’s physical laws, there are spiritual laws at work in our world, and in our hearts.

 

²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:21-25 NIV

 

Because of this battle with us, it is critical for us to pray in the way that Jesus taught his followers including, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Or from the Good News Translation: “Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.”

 

In other words, “Lord, please be that unbalanced force that redirects my life; that

engages me where I am at; that leads me through trials and temptations; that delivers me from evil; that protects me from myself and from the evil of the world; that changes me into the person you created me to be.”

 

But, if you pray this prayer, be ready for THE unbalanced force.

 

  

 

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http://lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com/

 

Other related verses you might want to read:

James 1:13-15

1 Corinthians 10:13

James 4:7-8