James 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation, because having been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
James 1:13 Let no one being tempted say, I am tempted from God. For God is not tempted by evils, and He tempts no one.
James 1:14 But each one is tempted by his lusts, being drawn away and seduced by them.
James 1:15 Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin. And sin, when it is fully formed, brings forth death.
James 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brothers.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning. (MKJV)

Jesus said we must not judge by appearances and, as we all know, it doesn't look like some of the statements in the Lord's Prayer are true (like give us this day our daily bread) when it is obvious that many people are starving in this world. However, I believe God wants us to dwell in the heavenly realm while we reside in this earthly one. Be in the world, but do not partake of its fruit which, by appearances, is laden with death. By our dwelling in the heavenly realm (which is done as we know the truth), we will bring God's Kingdom and will down to earth (as it already is in heaven).

Therefore, I believe James has stated an absolute truth that God does not tempt us toward evil--and that Jesus was not praying a prayer of supplication, expecting God to answer it, but was telling us (as He did so often), to pray our prayers in such a way that we KNOW the truth (despite appearances). Of course, the more we KNOW the truth, the more our faith will increase.

The reason I feel we need to look at temptation in this book is because sometimes, when we are casting lots, God may very well use the opportunity to test us, and it may cause us considerable pain and drive us to our knees, as He did with me and the time-share situation. One other incident I wrote up in this book also seemed to be God testing us. I'm speaking of the time Eva and I were upset with God because He said we needed to get insurance, despite how costly it was. Eva and I thought that God could easily cover us since He is a great and mighty God. That afternoon I was praying in the park and trying to find out which of us needed to look for work. God said it was me who needed to work. Shortly thereafter, He revealed that extensive prayer was to be my job—then I'd be covered with His insurance. Had God not tested us by telling us we had to get insurance, I never would have taken His desire that we pray, seriously. This is very important. My nature is such that, sometimes, as in this case, I have to be told the honest and blunt truth that unless I get a new habit pattern of prayer established, I'm going to be needing all the medical and accident insurance that is available. This method of communication does work as motivation (at least for me, it did). Though it has been a few years since that special time in which prayer was made so important in my heart, I am still faithfully praying every day. It is now an hour a day but, as you recall from my journal entry in this book, initially He had me pray for 3 hours a day. I passed God's test by taking His prayer request seriously. And He has been true to His personal revelation. There have been no serious medical conditions or accidents with me or my family since I have committed to prayer. Sometimes, we must remember, it is painful to us to have our carnal attachments stripped from us. Nevertheless, this would be the true and maturing Christian's desire. Because we are desiring to do God's will and are willing to be informed of it, by the casting of the lot, we will, more than likely, be entering into more fire, more burning of the dross, more dying to self, in short, more pain. Objectively, you must step back from your life and welcome these things because you do want a pure heart, not only to inspire the people God puts around you in your life, but because, in Hebrews God tells us all that no one will see God unless they are holy.

In the Old Testament, God sent prophets to warn the children of God that they were neglecting His precepts and laws and worshipping idols and they had better change their ways or face terrible consequences. Did they always change their ways? Often, they didn't. So the consequences came. The following verse out of Exodus mentions a test similar to mine. Look at Exodus 15:26 which I italicized:

Exo 15:23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, because it was bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.
Exo 15:24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
Exo 15:25 And he cried to Jehovah. And Jehovah showed him a tree. And when he had cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a decree and a law for them, and there He tested them.
Exo 15:26 And he said, If you will carefully listen to the voice of Jehovah your God, and will do that which is right in His sight, and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His Laws, I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am Jehovah who heals you. (MKJV)

Gen 22:1 And it happened after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Behold me.
Gen 22:2 And He said, Take now your son, your only one, Isaac, whom you love. And go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will name to you. (MKJV)

Exo 16:4 Then Jehovah said to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from the heavens for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain amount every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My Law or not. (MKJV)

Exo 20:20 And Moses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come to test you, and so that His fear may be before your faces, so that you may not sin. (MKJV)

Deu 13:1 If a prophet rises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder,
Deu 13:2 and the sign or the wonder which he foretold to you occurs, saying, Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us serve them,
Deu 13:3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For Jehovah your God is testing you to know whether you love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (MKJV)

Jdg 2:20 And the anger of Jehovah glowed against Israel. And He said, Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not listened to My voice,
Jdg 2:21 I also from now on will not expel any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died;
Jdg 2:22 so that by them I may test Israel, whether they are keeping the way of Jehovah, to go in it, as their fathers kept it, or not.
Jdg 2:23 And Jehovah left those nations, without driving them out quickly. And He did not deliver them into the hand of Joshua. (MKJV)

Psa 66:10 For You have proved us, O God; You have tested us, as silver is refined.
Psa 66:11 You have brought us into the net; You have laid affliction on our loins.
Psa 66:12 You have allowed men to ride at our head; we have gone through fire and through water, but You have brought us out to plenty. (MKJV)

Joh 6:5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes and saw a great crowd come to Him. He said to Philip, Where shall we buy loaves so that these may eat?
Joh 6:6 And He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. (MKJV)

Rev 3:10 Because you have kept the Word of My patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation which will come upon all the habitable world, to try those who dwell upon the earth. (MKJV)

In any case, in this world, testing happens. I believe that coin toss in the restroom in Orlando, FL was instrumental, in an apparently negative way, in releasing me from my faith in credit cards. Testing will happen in your life and you may scratch your head in confusion as you walk through the fire, wondering why this is happening. I believe the only way Romans 8:28 is true is if we have a radical trust in God—otherwise the fires of this life will most certainly drive us away from our faith in Him. A form of radical trust is prayerfully casting lots, knowing His hand is in the process. If, by casting lots, you are more frequently thrown into fiery trials, I believe this would be cause to rejoice because on the other side of our trials, there is God's deep and everlasting peace.

This world is run by Satan and he has goals he would like to accomplish. He would like us to:

1. Trust in our own self-sufficiency.
2. Blame all our troubles on external causes and be totally unwilling to examine our own hearts.
3. Ignore any opportunities to witness God's supernatural work in our lives which comes by trusting God.
4. Spend all our time immersed in his world, analyzing it, manipulating it, focusing on it, because time spent with him keeps us from spending time with God.

1. Trust Him in everything.
2. Pray often, knowing the truth which is found in His word, the Bible.
3. Be aware of and be expecting God's supernatural activity in our lives.
4. Be aware of the condition of our hearts. They have been tainted with the carnality of this world and are in need of a thorough cleansing. This is done only through our faith in the undying love of Christ Jesus, who died for us on the cross and was resurrected three days later.