Posted in Faith Builders
JESUS IS COMING SOON! MARANATHA LORD!
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Hi friends, if you need to silence the music just hit the play/pause button on the player in the right sidebar, just below the black horse and the copyright notice.
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1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“ God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
How often do our own desires cause us to resent others, or even to resent God? We desire some thing, or some situation, and when we do not get it we grow frustrated and angry, and take it out on those around, especially those who have what we desire. Often, we don't come to God and ask, because deep inside we know that this desire is selfish, or because we fear that it is not God's will and we don't want to hear "no". If we do ask, do we ask with hearts that are willing accept whatever answer we get? Or do we ask with lustful hearts that become angry and disappointed if the answer is "no".
Is whatever thing we desire becoming more important to us than God Himself?
If so we have become unfaithful, scripture calls it adultery since we are the bride of Christ. When our hearts desire is something other than God, He is filled with righteous Jealousy for His bride.
Whether our desires are for material things, for friendship, prestige, popularity, health, or some other thing, if any of it comes between us and God, we have become a friend of the world and an enemy to God.
But if we humble ourselves, and approach God as God, He extends to us His grace, which is what we really need anyway.
Is whatever thing we desire becoming more important to us than God Himself?
If so we have become unfaithful, scripture calls it adultery since we are the bride of Christ. When our hearts desire is something other than God, He is filled with righteous Jealousy for His bride.
Whether our desires are for material things, for friendship, prestige, popularity, health, or some other thing, if any of it comes between us and God, we have become a friend of the world and an enemy to God.
But if we humble ourselves, and approach God as God, He extends to us His grace, which is what we really need anyway.
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (James 4:7-10, New King James Version)
If we resist when the devil when he tries to distract us and pull us away, the devil will flee from us. We must bring all of our requests to God (Philippians 4:6) and we must bring them with a humble heart that acknowledges that we do not always know what is best, and therefore are willing to accept whatever answer God says is best.
We need to be desiring Jesus more than any other thing, and we need to trust God with any other desires we have, knowing that He loves us and will meet our needs. (Luke 12:22-34) Often He will even bless us with some of our wants, when our hearts attitude is right.
We need to draw near to God humbly and truly sorrowful over our sin. If we been drawn away after other things, we need to confess our double mindedness and ask God to give us a singularity of purpose to do His will.
Only when we humble ourselves in this, only when we place all of desires in Him and in Him alone, can He lift us up and give us true joy and satisfaction. If what we desire more than anything else is Him, we be satisfied, because He gives freely of Himself.
Lord, I confess to you that I have let desires for other things to crowd out my desire for You. I know it is not wrong to have pleasure in this world, not wrong to want something, but if that desire becomes greater than my desire to serve you, I have become an adulterous bride. Lord, cleanse me and give me a single minded purpose to seek You and do Your will, and to trust You with all else that I may desire in this life. To trust Your will and Your judgment about what I should have. Create in me a clean heart God, and restore a right spirit within me. Help me to desire You more than anything else.
We need to be desiring Jesus more than any other thing, and we need to trust God with any other desires we have, knowing that He loves us and will meet our needs. (Luke 12:22-34) Often He will even bless us with some of our wants, when our hearts attitude is right.
We need to draw near to God humbly and truly sorrowful over our sin. If we been drawn away after other things, we need to confess our double mindedness and ask God to give us a singularity of purpose to do His will.
Only when we humble ourselves in this, only when we place all of desires in Him and in Him alone, can He lift us up and give us true joy and satisfaction. If what we desire more than anything else is Him, we be satisfied, because He gives freely of Himself.
Lord, I confess to you that I have let desires for other things to crowd out my desire for You. I know it is not wrong to have pleasure in this world, not wrong to want something, but if that desire becomes greater than my desire to serve you, I have become an adulterous bride. Lord, cleanse me and give me a single minded purpose to seek You and do Your will, and to trust You with all else that I may desire in this life. To trust Your will and Your judgment about what I should have. Create in me a clean heart God, and restore a right spirit within me. Help me to desire You more than anything else.
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