Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Do we draw nigh to God, do we? How are we to draw close to God? Sometimes it seems as if He's completely out of reach, doesn't it? Sometimes it seems as if He's so far away we could never hope to get near to God. We have to approach Him though. We have to seek God. We have to pray, in prayer we are drawing close to God aren't we? We are talking to God and if we are talking to God we are seeking to be in His presence aren't we? We wouldn't be talking to someone if we weren't seeking a closeness, right? When we call someone on the phone, even if they live 3000 miles away we are seeking to make contact with them, we are seeking to get closer to that person mentally, emotionally even if not physically. We have to seek to draw closer to God, to approach God.
We need to cleanse our hands.
We need to purify our hearts.
We are sinners, we are double minded- we want the world and we want God. We have to seek cleansing, we have to seek purifying and we can find this only through Christ and HIS righteousness, only through bowing at the feet of our Savior and begging His forgiveness.
We have to be afflicted.
We have to mourn.
We have to weep.
Why? Because only through recognizing our despondent state can we truly recognize our need of a Savior.
We must humble ourselves before God, we MUST realize our humble state, our need of God. God cannot lift up those who do not recognize they need lifting up.
So even while we are counting our trials joy, we are afflicted with the knowledge we are sinful, we are mourning with the knowledge we are unworthy, we are to weep knowing that we are filthy with the sins we've committed. We might laugh but our laughter is temporary when we understand our vile state. Any joy we have is to turn to heaviness because we know how far our sins separate us from God. Yes, we HAVE to humble ourselves before God so HE can lift us up. We cannot be lifted up by God until we realize are need before Him knowing we cannot lift ourselves up, we have no power to lift ourselves up. God will lift us up though, He will if we seek Him and seek to understand our place before Him as His creatures.
Please Lord help us to submit to You, to seek You, to humble ourselves before You and only YOU!
Please Lord we need you so desperately, so very desperately.
By the grace of God always!
In Your love!
Amen.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Grace to the humble
Jas 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy. This is the carnal flesh nature in us. It is ONLY by the grace of God we can live as our carnal natures fight to give into the lusts that surround us. We have to surrender to the grace of God, we have to fall at the feet of our Savior understanding that we are NOTHING without Him, nothing. And by nothing I mean nothing good at all whatsoever. Our carnal nature strives against God. We MUST choose to be humble before God, to recognize that He is everything while we are nothing, nothing at all good without Him.
We MUST submit ourselves to God!
Satan does not want us to submit ourselves to God. Satan would have us forever live without being humble in the sight of God. Satan would have us value ourselves- our vain desires, our envying lusts, our self-centeredness all above God. As long as we are focused on ourselves we are NOT focused on God. When we pray for God's will to be done, are we really praying for God to let our will be done? This isn't how it is to be. God's will, not ours must be done and we need to submit ourselves to God. We need to offer our lives to God. We might not see where we are living for God, but we HAVE to continuously submit to God, to give Him our lives to use for His will. Day in and day out those men and women recorded in God's word as being submitted unto Him, lived their lives not in one epic battle after another throughout their lives but they lived as we live. They had a daily existence beyond their glorious moments recorded in the Bible. David did not slay Goliath daily. Moses did not part the Red Sea every single day. Abraham was not called to sacrifice Isaac on a weekly basis. These great men of God had their trials and tribulations, they had their day to day lives that they needed to choose to submit to God even when they faced monumental temptations to give into their carnal natures. Did they never fail? No, in fact they did fail on more than one occasion. It took more than a single day for David to lust after and take a married woman to his bed. It took more than a mere day for David to send that woman's husband off to be killed. Their epic failures produced epic forgiveness. Their epic failures allow us to comprehend that they were mere human beings just like you and I, not special, protected men of God - sinless and perfect. They failed and they sought forgiveness, they repented and submitted themselves to God over and over just like we must do. As these renown men of God lived day after day it wasn't extraordinary, but ordinary in many, many ways. We have to live our day to day lives submitted to God and NOT in the hope of obtaining signs that we are God's, but with FAITH that we are God's in our everyday ordinary lives. If God chooses to use us for a grand purpose that is HIS will, but it's more likely God will choose to use us for His purposes that seem to us to be quite ordinary.
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Resist.
We resist a lot of things in our lives don't we? We resist the efforts of others to get us to do things they want to do that we have no interest in. We resist the temptation of doing things we know are harmful to us yet desirable- maybe not every time- but we do know what it is like to resist temptation. We resist a lot as we are growing up and being told to do things that are contrary to what we'd rather do. We put up resistance and we know what it's like. Sometimes the resistance is easy because we don't want to do something, other times resistance is extremely difficult because we want to do something and are fighting not to do it. When we are called to resist the devil it's not as if we are being called to resist some ugly, fire breathing monster intent on harming us, we'd find it very easy to resist such a creature. We are being called to resist a cunning deceiver that will exploit every single one of our weaknesses. We are being told to resist the evil one who disguises himself in countless ways and each disguise is fitted to deceive us into believing we are depriving ourselves of something good when we resist. Temptations are ONLY temptations when we are desirous of the thing we are tempted by. You cannot tempt a sweet eater with a coconut cream pie if he detests coconut. You can tempt a sweet eater with chocolate cake if he absolutely loves chocolate. You can't tempt a man with another woman if he is completely satisfied with his wife. You cannot tempt a thief to steal a diamond when all he desires to steal is cars. You understand what I'm saying don't you? We are not being told to resist the devil - the evil angel being invisible to us we are being told to resist the temptations that evil invisible being loves to tease us with. As we submit ourselves to God we are allowing God to have His will in us and we will as a matter of course live as the word of God has told us to live. And when we submit ourselves to God, the devil will become very upset and attack us- not by beating us up with his invisible evil angel fists but by throwing all those temptations at us- tempting us to leave God in favor of living for our own selfish desires of which there are many. Submit to God and resist the devil. When we resist we are in truth reaffirming our submission to God, we are growing closer to God and the closer we are to God the less able the devil is to tempt us to himself. It's a constant submission to God and a constant resistance. Even Christ in the wilderness wasn't tempted once and then left alone, Satan tried again and again.
We can't submit ourselves once and resist once, it has to be on a daily basis- a living basis- on an AS needed basis- which is much more often than we want to believe. This is what it means to be an active Christian- we are in a war and our enemy never sleeps.
By the grace of God we will submit ourselves fully to Him over and over again, resisting the devil always!
In our Savior's amazing love!
Amen.
Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy. This is the carnal flesh nature in us. It is ONLY by the grace of God we can live as our carnal natures fight to give into the lusts that surround us. We have to surrender to the grace of God, we have to fall at the feet of our Savior understanding that we are NOTHING without Him, nothing. And by nothing I mean nothing good at all whatsoever. Our carnal nature strives against God. We MUST choose to be humble before God, to recognize that He is everything while we are nothing, nothing at all good without Him.
We MUST submit ourselves to God!
Satan does not want us to submit ourselves to God. Satan would have us forever live without being humble in the sight of God. Satan would have us value ourselves- our vain desires, our envying lusts, our self-centeredness all above God. As long as we are focused on ourselves we are NOT focused on God. When we pray for God's will to be done, are we really praying for God to let our will be done? This isn't how it is to be. God's will, not ours must be done and we need to submit ourselves to God. We need to offer our lives to God. We might not see where we are living for God, but we HAVE to continuously submit to God, to give Him our lives to use for His will. Day in and day out those men and women recorded in God's word as being submitted unto Him, lived their lives not in one epic battle after another throughout their lives but they lived as we live. They had a daily existence beyond their glorious moments recorded in the Bible. David did not slay Goliath daily. Moses did not part the Red Sea every single day. Abraham was not called to sacrifice Isaac on a weekly basis. These great men of God had their trials and tribulations, they had their day to day lives that they needed to choose to submit to God even when they faced monumental temptations to give into their carnal natures. Did they never fail? No, in fact they did fail on more than one occasion. It took more than a single day for David to lust after and take a married woman to his bed. It took more than a mere day for David to send that woman's husband off to be killed. Their epic failures produced epic forgiveness. Their epic failures allow us to comprehend that they were mere human beings just like you and I, not special, protected men of God - sinless and perfect. They failed and they sought forgiveness, they repented and submitted themselves to God over and over just like we must do. As these renown men of God lived day after day it wasn't extraordinary, but ordinary in many, many ways. We have to live our day to day lives submitted to God and NOT in the hope of obtaining signs that we are God's, but with FAITH that we are God's in our everyday ordinary lives. If God chooses to use us for a grand purpose that is HIS will, but it's more likely God will choose to use us for His purposes that seem to us to be quite ordinary.
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Resist.
We resist a lot of things in our lives don't we? We resist the efforts of others to get us to do things they want to do that we have no interest in. We resist the temptation of doing things we know are harmful to us yet desirable- maybe not every time- but we do know what it is like to resist temptation. We resist a lot as we are growing up and being told to do things that are contrary to what we'd rather do. We put up resistance and we know what it's like. Sometimes the resistance is easy because we don't want to do something, other times resistance is extremely difficult because we want to do something and are fighting not to do it. When we are called to resist the devil it's not as if we are being called to resist some ugly, fire breathing monster intent on harming us, we'd find it very easy to resist such a creature. We are being called to resist a cunning deceiver that will exploit every single one of our weaknesses. We are being told to resist the evil one who disguises himself in countless ways and each disguise is fitted to deceive us into believing we are depriving ourselves of something good when we resist. Temptations are ONLY temptations when we are desirous of the thing we are tempted by. You cannot tempt a sweet eater with a coconut cream pie if he detests coconut. You can tempt a sweet eater with chocolate cake if he absolutely loves chocolate. You can't tempt a man with another woman if he is completely satisfied with his wife. You cannot tempt a thief to steal a diamond when all he desires to steal is cars. You understand what I'm saying don't you? We are not being told to resist the devil - the evil angel being invisible to us we are being told to resist the temptations that evil invisible being loves to tease us with. As we submit ourselves to God we are allowing God to have His will in us and we will as a matter of course live as the word of God has told us to live. And when we submit ourselves to God, the devil will become very upset and attack us- not by beating us up with his invisible evil angel fists but by throwing all those temptations at us- tempting us to leave God in favor of living for our own selfish desires of which there are many. Submit to God and resist the devil. When we resist we are in truth reaffirming our submission to God, we are growing closer to God and the closer we are to God the less able the devil is to tempt us to himself. It's a constant submission to God and a constant resistance. Even Christ in the wilderness wasn't tempted once and then left alone, Satan tried again and again.
We can't submit ourselves once and resist once, it has to be on a daily basis- a living basis- on an AS needed basis- which is much more often than we want to believe. This is what it means to be an active Christian- we are in a war and our enemy never sleeps.
By the grace of God we will submit ourselves fully to Him over and over again, resisting the devil always!
In our Savior's amazing love!
Amen.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Friends with the world are enemies of God.
Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Read that verse several times if you need to and let it sink in.
Friendship of the world.
Friend of the world.
Jesus said--
Joh 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me OUT OF THE WORLD: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
Joh 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I PRAY NOT FOR THE WORLD, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Joh 17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, BUT THESE ARE IN THE WORLD, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Joh 17:13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Joh 17:14 I HAVE GIVEN THEM THY WORD; AND THE WORLD HATH HATETH THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:16 THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.
Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Joh 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I ALSO SENT THEM INTO THE WORLD.
The world.
We generally know that our world is filled with corruption, don't we? That society as a whole seems to be filled with liars and thieves, filled with those who do not love their neighbors as they would be loved. We want to shake our heads and say it isn't so that surely the majority of people are good, but the truth of the matter is the majority of people are self-serving. There can be an amazing number of sweet, kind people but that doesn't make them God's people, people not of the world. What's it mean to not be of this world? How was Jesus not of this world?
Jesus did not conform to the worldly ways surrounding Him. Jesus did follow the laws ceremonial and otherwise as He was raised, but He followed them as God intended and not as man had corrupted them. Jesus loved His Father first and foremost and then Jesus loved others as He desired to be loved. Jesus lived that love.
Jesus saw corruption all around Him- men of the world living for the world and for things of the world and not living for God and the things of God.
Jesus did not live for the approval of the world.
Jesus did not live for the material aspects of the world.
Jesus taught laying up our treasures in heaven, not in this world.
Jesus was humble.
Jesus was self-less.
Jesus was filled with love towards God.
Jesus understood that the heavenly was His goal.
He lived here on earth for 33 years and 3 of those years He spent in His ministry teaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. The gospel of the kingdom- salvation from this sinfilled existence- salvation to live with Him in heaven when He returns for us. The gospel of the kingdom was our Savior's message the message He preached far and wide, the message He sent His disciples to preach. The gospel of the kingdom- salvation from this world- so that we are not OF this world as HE is NOT OF THIS WORLD. The message of the kingdom- salvation THROUGH HIM- salvation from a sin-filled existence- salvation from the world drenched in sin and sinful ways.
Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Some will take objection to being called adulterers and adulteresses, but the truth is all of us have gone astray from Christ, all of us have let sin separate us from God while we've let the sin turn our heads, our hearts from God while we go after sinful lusts that are contrary to God's will, God's ways. Only through forgiveness, undeserved forgiveness are we able to be reconciled to God. Only by the grace of God are we able to be forgiven of our adulterous lives.
We all have to realize that we are NOT to seek to be friends with the world. We are NOT to seek to conform to the world. Jesus did NOT seek to conform to the world, Jesus did not seek a friendship with the world. Why do we think we need the acceptance of the world? Why do we believe we need people around us to accept us? Why do we want to fit in? Why do we want to conform? Why do we WANT friendship with the world? WHY?! We have to be NOT OF THIS WORLD. We must live in this world, but we must not be OF this world. Our world is with Jesus! Our world has to be Jesus' world! Jesus was NOT of this world - His words! He said He was not of this world. Jesus knew that to be friends with this world would mean being an enemy of God's and there was no way He was going to be an enemy of God's, no way! Jesus did not seek to be friends with this world. Jesus sought to save us from this world- not to teach us to be friends with the sinfilled world.
We have to read this verse in James and know that we must be estranged from this world because it is contrary to God and His will.
Please Lord, help us to understand this and what it means, help us Lord, help us not to seek friendship with this world but to seek You and Your kingdom, all through Your LOVE!
Amen.
Read that verse several times if you need to and let it sink in.
Friendship of the world.
Friend of the world.
Jesus said--
Joh 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me OUT OF THE WORLD: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
Joh 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I PRAY NOT FOR THE WORLD, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Joh 17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, BUT THESE ARE IN THE WORLD, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Joh 17:13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Joh 17:14 I HAVE GIVEN THEM THY WORD; AND THE WORLD HATH HATETH THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:16 THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.
Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Joh 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I ALSO SENT THEM INTO THE WORLD.
The world.
We generally know that our world is filled with corruption, don't we? That society as a whole seems to be filled with liars and thieves, filled with those who do not love their neighbors as they would be loved. We want to shake our heads and say it isn't so that surely the majority of people are good, but the truth of the matter is the majority of people are self-serving. There can be an amazing number of sweet, kind people but that doesn't make them God's people, people not of the world. What's it mean to not be of this world? How was Jesus not of this world?
Jesus did not conform to the worldly ways surrounding Him. Jesus did follow the laws ceremonial and otherwise as He was raised, but He followed them as God intended and not as man had corrupted them. Jesus loved His Father first and foremost and then Jesus loved others as He desired to be loved. Jesus lived that love.
Jesus saw corruption all around Him- men of the world living for the world and for things of the world and not living for God and the things of God.
Jesus did not live for the approval of the world.
Jesus did not live for the material aspects of the world.
Jesus taught laying up our treasures in heaven, not in this world.
Jesus was humble.
Jesus was self-less.
Jesus was filled with love towards God.
Jesus understood that the heavenly was His goal.
He lived here on earth for 33 years and 3 of those years He spent in His ministry teaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. The gospel of the kingdom- salvation from this sinfilled existence- salvation to live with Him in heaven when He returns for us. The gospel of the kingdom was our Savior's message the message He preached far and wide, the message He sent His disciples to preach. The gospel of the kingdom- salvation from this world- so that we are not OF this world as HE is NOT OF THIS WORLD. The message of the kingdom- salvation THROUGH HIM- salvation from a sin-filled existence- salvation from the world drenched in sin and sinful ways.
Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Some will take objection to being called adulterers and adulteresses, but the truth is all of us have gone astray from Christ, all of us have let sin separate us from God while we've let the sin turn our heads, our hearts from God while we go after sinful lusts that are contrary to God's will, God's ways. Only through forgiveness, undeserved forgiveness are we able to be reconciled to God. Only by the grace of God are we able to be forgiven of our adulterous lives.
We all have to realize that we are NOT to seek to be friends with the world. We are NOT to seek to conform to the world. Jesus did NOT seek to conform to the world, Jesus did not seek a friendship with the world. Why do we think we need the acceptance of the world? Why do we believe we need people around us to accept us? Why do we want to fit in? Why do we want to conform? Why do we WANT friendship with the world? WHY?! We have to be NOT OF THIS WORLD. We must live in this world, but we must not be OF this world. Our world is with Jesus! Our world has to be Jesus' world! Jesus was NOT of this world - His words! He said He was not of this world. Jesus knew that to be friends with this world would mean being an enemy of God's and there was no way He was going to be an enemy of God's, no way! Jesus did not seek to be friends with this world. Jesus sought to save us from this world- not to teach us to be friends with the sinfilled world.
We have to read this verse in James and know that we must be estranged from this world because it is contrary to God and His will.
Please Lord, help us to understand this and what it means, help us Lord, help us not to seek friendship with this world but to seek You and Your kingdom, all through Your LOVE!
Amen.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Ye ask amiss
Jas 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
Jas 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Some might say outright that these verses don't really apply to them because they're living in a time when wars and fighting, killing to get what they desire is …well… unheard of. They're above all that fighting, war, killing stuff- that's for governments and they have no say so in what the government does. To actually fight, war, kill those around them that's not heard of except maybe in your street gangs and drug cartels, the mafia and the other organized crime syndicates. The average person just doesn't do that so these verses don't apply. WRONG.
Do you remember what Jesus said--
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment
And…
Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Killing, fighting, warring -- while all these things can be done on a grand scale and while all these things can be done on an organized level- every single one of these things can be done on a personal-internal level as well without us ever raising a finger to shed actual blood. Seriously, we are in danger if our hearts are filled with wicked desires, even if they are never acted upon.
Let's for a moment just take a look at fighting among ourselves- do those fights come from the lusts that war in us? The lust of anger, the lust of selfishness, the lust of …well anything that becomes an overpowering wrong desire? When we fight there is a reason behind it, what are those reasons? I've noticed in myself more and more just how incredibly self-motivated I am and not in a particularly good way. If I don't agree with something I'm quick to voice that. If I feel put out I'm quick to grumble about that. How do we stop ourselves from being self-orientated? Seriously, how? I know people who go out of their way to help others- thinking nothing of their own imposition. You ask them to help and they are quick to do so, no hesitation at all. I long to be a person like that, not to be that person but to have those same attributes that seem so amazingly selfless.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
We can ask all we want for what we believe are things we need or simply desire- but God who searches our hearts knows why we want the things we ask for. God knows if our motives are selfish or selfless.
Psa 44:21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
God knows the secrets of our heart. God knows us- He knows the reasons for all we ask.
Consuming anything upon our lusts is not a good thing- it's pure selfishness. We are to be selfless- not selfish, not self-centered, not self-motivated.
It sounds so easy and yet is it so hard to give up self.
Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Psa 139:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
This is my prayer, my desperate, desperate prayer.
I don't want to be filled with lusts, with selfish desires, with selfishness, I long to be LED in the way everlasting.
Please Lord, help us to not 'ask amiss' when we petition You, help us to stop fighting, to stop the upsets, the envying, the strife among ourselves. Please help us to give ourselves fully over to You and Your love seeking only You and Your righteousness.
Amen.
Jas 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Some might say outright that these verses don't really apply to them because they're living in a time when wars and fighting, killing to get what they desire is …well… unheard of. They're above all that fighting, war, killing stuff- that's for governments and they have no say so in what the government does. To actually fight, war, kill those around them that's not heard of except maybe in your street gangs and drug cartels, the mafia and the other organized crime syndicates. The average person just doesn't do that so these verses don't apply. WRONG.
Do you remember what Jesus said--
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment
And…
Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Killing, fighting, warring -- while all these things can be done on a grand scale and while all these things can be done on an organized level- every single one of these things can be done on a personal-internal level as well without us ever raising a finger to shed actual blood. Seriously, we are in danger if our hearts are filled with wicked desires, even if they are never acted upon.
Let's for a moment just take a look at fighting among ourselves- do those fights come from the lusts that war in us? The lust of anger, the lust of selfishness, the lust of …well anything that becomes an overpowering wrong desire? When we fight there is a reason behind it, what are those reasons? I've noticed in myself more and more just how incredibly self-motivated I am and not in a particularly good way. If I don't agree with something I'm quick to voice that. If I feel put out I'm quick to grumble about that. How do we stop ourselves from being self-orientated? Seriously, how? I know people who go out of their way to help others- thinking nothing of their own imposition. You ask them to help and they are quick to do so, no hesitation at all. I long to be a person like that, not to be that person but to have those same attributes that seem so amazingly selfless.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
We can ask all we want for what we believe are things we need or simply desire- but God who searches our hearts knows why we want the things we ask for. God knows if our motives are selfish or selfless.
Psa 44:21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
God knows the secrets of our heart. God knows us- He knows the reasons for all we ask.
Consuming anything upon our lusts is not a good thing- it's pure selfishness. We are to be selfless- not selfish, not self-centered, not self-motivated.
It sounds so easy and yet is it so hard to give up self.
Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Psa 139:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
This is my prayer, my desperate, desperate prayer.
I don't want to be filled with lusts, with selfish desires, with selfishness, I long to be LED in the way everlasting.
Please Lord, help us to not 'ask amiss' when we petition You, help us to stop fighting, to stop the upsets, the envying, the strife among ourselves. Please help us to give ourselves fully over to You and Your love seeking only You and Your righteousness.
Amen.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Peace not wrath
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Them that make peace.
Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Our wrath cannot work God's righteousness. Reading that truth it makes you wonder how so many use their wrath as a form of teaching, as a form of preaching God's word, as a form of spreading the good news of the gospel. They raise their children and run their households with what they call the 'fear of God' as their tool. Don't they realize that OUR wrath is NOT God's wrath and if we claim we have God's wrath at our disposal to disperse as we will, then we are deluding ourselves. The righteousness of God is of God, not US or anything we do. Any wrath that we exhibit is not part of God's righteousness. Yes, there is a justified anger we can possess but we have to realize that anger is subject to God, God will judge our anger and if we use that anger selfishly, in any ungodly way it's NOT of God!
Peacemakers are blessed! Not fear-makers, not wrath-makers. Peacemakers are truly blessed.
Only the chastening that comes from God will create peace in us. We cannot PLAY God! We cannot presume to know what God would do. We have to fall on our knees and pray for understanding, for His guidance in all things.
Is there wrath in your life? What qualifies as wrath?
Greek definition-
1. anger, the natural disposition, temper, character
2. movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but esp. anger
3. anger, wrath, indignation
4. anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for punishment itself
a. of punishments inflicted by magistrates
Wrath.
Again I ask, is there wrath in your life? Take a moment to think about it, really think about it as you read that definition.
Any VIOLENT emotion.
Even INDIGNATION is wrath.
TEMPER.
Do we possess any emotions that could be considered violent?
Do we possess any indignation- something we love to call righteous indignation- saying we have the RIGHT to exhibit anger, to feel wrath because of the situation.
How does our temper fare? Do we have what is known as a short fuse? Does our temper flare up? Do we have a temper that is slow to burn but once it gets going it's a bonfire?
There is so much anger in us, so much wrath in us and we've come to call it righteous, we've come to believe it's okay to have this in us, that it's fine because it's righteous- we are in the right, we are being slighted, hurt, abused, tortured, cheated, and so on and so forth. We make excuses for our wrath and say we are just human and that is all the excuse we need. In truth we HAVE to beg for forgiveness for any wrath we possess, it's NOT okay, it's NOT fine, it's NOT something that is overlooked. Like any sin, we have to confess and repent of it and seek our Lord and Savior, seek the Holy Spirit's guidance and help where we feel completely helpless against our own besetting sins.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
IF we MAKE peace then the fruit of righteousness will be sown in that peace.
PEACE in our lives, NOT WRATH.
PEACE making peace, seeking peace, having peace in our lives.
All too often peace will disappear and discord will fill our lives.
We long for peace don't we? The peace of God.
We can't mistake getting our own selfish way, our own selfish desires as having peace and yet so many do. As long as things are going the way we like we claim that we have peace. We need the peace of our Savior to see us through all the strife in our lives. While the world around us seems to thrive on strife we need to hold fast to the peace of God in ALL aspects of our lives and we can have this ONLY through HIS GRACE!
Please Lord help us to have the peace You would have us possess and not wrath. We want the fruit of righteousness to be sown in peace, in us as we make peace all through YOU!
Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Amen.
Them that make peace.
Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Our wrath cannot work God's righteousness. Reading that truth it makes you wonder how so many use their wrath as a form of teaching, as a form of preaching God's word, as a form of spreading the good news of the gospel. They raise their children and run their households with what they call the 'fear of God' as their tool. Don't they realize that OUR wrath is NOT God's wrath and if we claim we have God's wrath at our disposal to disperse as we will, then we are deluding ourselves. The righteousness of God is of God, not US or anything we do. Any wrath that we exhibit is not part of God's righteousness. Yes, there is a justified anger we can possess but we have to realize that anger is subject to God, God will judge our anger and if we use that anger selfishly, in any ungodly way it's NOT of God!
Peacemakers are blessed! Not fear-makers, not wrath-makers. Peacemakers are truly blessed.
Only the chastening that comes from God will create peace in us. We cannot PLAY God! We cannot presume to know what God would do. We have to fall on our knees and pray for understanding, for His guidance in all things.
Is there wrath in your life? What qualifies as wrath?
Greek definition-
1. anger, the natural disposition, temper, character
2. movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but esp. anger
3. anger, wrath, indignation
4. anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for punishment itself
a. of punishments inflicted by magistrates
Wrath.
Again I ask, is there wrath in your life? Take a moment to think about it, really think about it as you read that definition.
Any VIOLENT emotion.
Even INDIGNATION is wrath.
TEMPER.
Do we possess any emotions that could be considered violent?
Do we possess any indignation- something we love to call righteous indignation- saying we have the RIGHT to exhibit anger, to feel wrath because of the situation.
How does our temper fare? Do we have what is known as a short fuse? Does our temper flare up? Do we have a temper that is slow to burn but once it gets going it's a bonfire?
There is so much anger in us, so much wrath in us and we've come to call it righteous, we've come to believe it's okay to have this in us, that it's fine because it's righteous- we are in the right, we are being slighted, hurt, abused, tortured, cheated, and so on and so forth. We make excuses for our wrath and say we are just human and that is all the excuse we need. In truth we HAVE to beg for forgiveness for any wrath we possess, it's NOT okay, it's NOT fine, it's NOT something that is overlooked. Like any sin, we have to confess and repent of it and seek our Lord and Savior, seek the Holy Spirit's guidance and help where we feel completely helpless against our own besetting sins.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
IF we MAKE peace then the fruit of righteousness will be sown in that peace.
PEACE in our lives, NOT WRATH.
PEACE making peace, seeking peace, having peace in our lives.
All too often peace will disappear and discord will fill our lives.
We long for peace don't we? The peace of God.
We can't mistake getting our own selfish way, our own selfish desires as having peace and yet so many do. As long as things are going the way we like we claim that we have peace. We need the peace of our Savior to see us through all the strife in our lives. While the world around us seems to thrive on strife we need to hold fast to the peace of God in ALL aspects of our lives and we can have this ONLY through HIS GRACE!
Please Lord help us to have the peace You would have us possess and not wrath. We want the fruit of righteousness to be sown in peace, in us as we make peace all through YOU!
Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Amen.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Out of the same mouth proceeds cursing and blessing
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Jas 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Jas 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
Jas 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
Jas 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
Jas 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
Jas 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Jas 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Cursing and blessing- out of the same mouth. How true this is for so many, unfortunately myself included. 'These things ought NOT so to be.' Like fountains- we don't expect to get sweet and bitter water from the same one- our mouths should not be cursing and blessing. Just as a fig tree cannot produce olive berries, and vines cannot produce figs, no fountain has salt and fresh water- these are FACTS, undisputed and undeniable. Yet, we are so unreliable, we are so confusing, we are incredibly unpredictable. We spew forth evil and then turn around and gush out love. We throw vile insults as other drivers as they pass us on the road and then go home and speak sweetly to our children. We verbally abuse others and then a moment later we are offering up loving words- how can it be? How?
I'll tell you how- Satan. At every opportunity Satan is there to provoke us and we fall to his provoking ways. We let Satan use us over and over and he will NEVER stop as long as we let him. He will never stop tempting us regardless of our state of being. Jesus was pure in all ways and He was tempted and tried. Satan will go after us, each one of us is another victory for him and he wants all the victories he can get. We must throw ourselves on the mercy of our Savior and beg Him to forgive us, to make us new in Him.
A 'wise man' - will 'show out of good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom'. GOOD conversation- not poisonous, not bitter, not abusive, not evil, not envying, not backbiting, not selfish, not vain, oh, I could go on and on and on but the truth is we know how bad our conversations can become. To have a 'good conversation' to speak only good, only lovingly, with meekness of wisdom- this is our desire! We don't want to have bitter envying, we don't want to have strife in our hearts, we don't want to glory in ourselves, we do not want to be liars. If our lives - our speech- is filled with all this negative evil then we know it is from Satan and not from God. We CANNOT allow envying and strife to fill our lives because from them come confusion and EVERY evil work. It is so incredibly important to really pay attention to how we speak because that is a very good gauge of what dwells within us.
If we find we are living lives filled with envying and strife we better get down on our knees and pray to God for forgiveness, for renewal in HIM, for cleansing from Him, for His blessing to give us His love, to replace our evil with His goodness. God will replace our evil with His wisdom, His purity, His peace, His gentleness, His compassion, His mercy- we need to be impartial and not hypocrites speaking one thing and living another. Please Lord we need the fruit of YOUR righteousness, Your PEACE to give us PEACE.
We cannot give up! We cannot lose hope no matter how hard Satan batters at us, no matter how many tiny victories he seems to score against us, we cannot give up! We have to plead for forgiveness, beg for mercy, we cannot lose hope!!!!
Please Lord, please, save us vile undeserving creatures who deserve to be lost, to be abandoned, to be destroyed! Only Your mercy saves us, only Your unfathomable mercy gives us hope. Please…save us, save us from ourselves and Satan who would have us be His. Forbid him from taking us Lord, please! Forbid Satan from overwhelming us with His evil, we would be YOURS, we choose YOU and YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS for we have none!
In Your love!!!!!!!!
Jas 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Jas 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
Jas 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
Jas 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
Jas 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
Jas 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Jas 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Cursing and blessing- out of the same mouth. How true this is for so many, unfortunately myself included. 'These things ought NOT so to be.' Like fountains- we don't expect to get sweet and bitter water from the same one- our mouths should not be cursing and blessing. Just as a fig tree cannot produce olive berries, and vines cannot produce figs, no fountain has salt and fresh water- these are FACTS, undisputed and undeniable. Yet, we are so unreliable, we are so confusing, we are incredibly unpredictable. We spew forth evil and then turn around and gush out love. We throw vile insults as other drivers as they pass us on the road and then go home and speak sweetly to our children. We verbally abuse others and then a moment later we are offering up loving words- how can it be? How?
I'll tell you how- Satan. At every opportunity Satan is there to provoke us and we fall to his provoking ways. We let Satan use us over and over and he will NEVER stop as long as we let him. He will never stop tempting us regardless of our state of being. Jesus was pure in all ways and He was tempted and tried. Satan will go after us, each one of us is another victory for him and he wants all the victories he can get. We must throw ourselves on the mercy of our Savior and beg Him to forgive us, to make us new in Him.
A 'wise man' - will 'show out of good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom'. GOOD conversation- not poisonous, not bitter, not abusive, not evil, not envying, not backbiting, not selfish, not vain, oh, I could go on and on and on but the truth is we know how bad our conversations can become. To have a 'good conversation' to speak only good, only lovingly, with meekness of wisdom- this is our desire! We don't want to have bitter envying, we don't want to have strife in our hearts, we don't want to glory in ourselves, we do not want to be liars. If our lives - our speech- is filled with all this negative evil then we know it is from Satan and not from God. We CANNOT allow envying and strife to fill our lives because from them come confusion and EVERY evil work. It is so incredibly important to really pay attention to how we speak because that is a very good gauge of what dwells within us.
If we find we are living lives filled with envying and strife we better get down on our knees and pray to God for forgiveness, for renewal in HIM, for cleansing from Him, for His blessing to give us His love, to replace our evil with His goodness. God will replace our evil with His wisdom, His purity, His peace, His gentleness, His compassion, His mercy- we need to be impartial and not hypocrites speaking one thing and living another. Please Lord we need the fruit of YOUR righteousness, Your PEACE to give us PEACE.
We cannot give up! We cannot lose hope no matter how hard Satan batters at us, no matter how many tiny victories he seems to score against us, we cannot give up! We have to plead for forgiveness, beg for mercy, we cannot lose hope!!!!
Please Lord, please, save us vile undeserving creatures who deserve to be lost, to be abandoned, to be destroyed! Only Your mercy saves us, only Your unfathomable mercy gives us hope. Please…save us, save us from ourselves and Satan who would have us be His. Forbid him from taking us Lord, please! Forbid Satan from overwhelming us with His evil, we would be YOURS, we choose YOU and YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS for we have none!
In Your love!!!!!!!!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Tongue of poison, tongue of praise
Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Jas 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
How much more plainly can the Bible speak to us? How can God tell us more clearly this message of the tongue? He can't! How can we dispute the truth of this message, it is so incredibly understandable.
With our tongues we can destroy people. Some might say that's impossible that words are only words and nothing really tangible. Someone can put a person down all they want but that person doesn't have to listen, doesn't have to believe what the other is saying. Yet all too often great moments in our history are based upon mere words. Wars are fought and won, on words. Wars are fought and lost, on words. Insults and praise can come from the same tongue. This powerful, powerful member most of us possess is truly amazing and something to be feared.
I'm not going to go on and on about the tongue's evil, the tongue's deadly poison, YOU know all about it, just as I know all about it. We live with our evil tongues and the hurt they cause, the pain they inflict. We live with tongues that wound and cause invisible blood to flow. That same tongue that can so easily inject its poison can always soothe hurts away and show great compassion. We can't forget that, we can't. With Jesus as our example we must use our tongue to sing His praises, to show love to our fellow man.
No, we cannot tame the tongue, no man can- but Jesus our Lord and Savior can help us and He is a God-man, our Advocate, our Redeemer.
More tomorrow by the grace of our LORD!
In His amazing love!
Amen.
Jas 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
How much more plainly can the Bible speak to us? How can God tell us more clearly this message of the tongue? He can't! How can we dispute the truth of this message, it is so incredibly understandable.
With our tongues we can destroy people. Some might say that's impossible that words are only words and nothing really tangible. Someone can put a person down all they want but that person doesn't have to listen, doesn't have to believe what the other is saying. Yet all too often great moments in our history are based upon mere words. Wars are fought and won, on words. Wars are fought and lost, on words. Insults and praise can come from the same tongue. This powerful, powerful member most of us possess is truly amazing and something to be feared.
I'm not going to go on and on about the tongue's evil, the tongue's deadly poison, YOU know all about it, just as I know all about it. We live with our evil tongues and the hurt they cause, the pain they inflict. We live with tongues that wound and cause invisible blood to flow. That same tongue that can so easily inject its poison can always soothe hurts away and show great compassion. We can't forget that, we can't. With Jesus as our example we must use our tongue to sing His praises, to show love to our fellow man.
No, we cannot tame the tongue, no man can- but Jesus our Lord and Savior can help us and He is a God-man, our Advocate, our Redeemer.
More tomorrow by the grace of our LORD!
In His amazing love!
Amen.
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