Saturday, January 30, 2010, 8:58 a.m. – After I awoke, the Lord put this song in my mind:
My Jesus, I Love Thee / William R. Featherstone / Adoniram J. Gordon
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;
for thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
and purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
In mansions of glory and endless delight;
I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read James 4:
My Understanding: The following are some of today’s news headlines:
This scripture passage in James tells us where fights and quarrels come from. They come from our desires that battle within us, for the most part. This is not speaking about fighting for things that are good, such as fighting for the rights of those who are not able to fight for themselves, etc., and even there we should not get into “fights” but should address these issues with reason. What this is addressing is true fighting and quarreling among Christians, in particularly, though this could certainly apply to all men and women. The kind of fighting and quarreling being addressed here has as its root the sin of coveting, i.e. wanting something that someone else possesses to the point where you will fight, quarrel and even kill in order to get it.
So, with that in mind, I think we could go back through these news headlines and we can see that many of these stories truly have as their root this sin of coveting. Covet – to have a strong desire to possess something that belongs to somebody else – Encarta. That is what war is usually about, I believe. And, I believe that, specifically, these wars the USA is involved in are the result of our government and other governments coveting what is not theirs and thus taking it from whomever they want via killing and war and threats. I believe our own government helped to mastermind the attacks of 9/11 on the Twin Towers and killed thousands of people just so they could get into Iraq and Afghanistan in order to take them over and to confiscate their possessions. And, I also believe that much of this is covered up in the news with false reports and made-up stories to try to convince us otherwise.
Yet, we, as God’s people, must ask ourselves if we, too, are fighting and quarreling among one another because we want something that someone else has. Are we desiring what others have and so we quarrel, fight and even kill, perhaps, in order to get it? Or, do we cheat, lie about (slander) or steal from others in order to get what we want? Or, do we commit adultery? Or, do we go into massive debt beyond our ability to repay just so we can have what others have? We live in a “Me, me” society that promotes having what we want now whether we can afford it or not. “Just charge it,” the Ads say, as though it is just so easy to get what you want without regard for the consequences or how that might impact our budgets down the road.
Then, the scripture states that the reason we don’t have is two fold:
The next part of this passage addresses these believers who fight and quarrel and covet possessions and who can not have what they want so they do horrible things and ungodly things in order to get what they want. He says that they are adulterous because they are living in friendship with the world and that is hatred toward God. He is not speaking of the world as the globe or as people but as philosophies of life by which we choose to live. So many professed Christians choose to live their lives by what they see on TV, in movies, on the Internet, in real life via relationships with others, what they read in books, have learned through life experiences, and what is passed down from generation to generation, etc., rather than by the teachings of scripture. Some of these worldly philosophies have to do with lying, cheating, stealing, adultery, fornication, etc. and/or taking pleasure in those who do them via being entertained by these sins of man via TV, movies, etc. What we take into our minds will come out through our lives. What do we take pleasure in? Are we taking pleasure in God, in His Word, in ministering His love to others, in spreading the gospel to a world in need of a Savior, or are we primarily interested in pleasing ourselves through the world’s forms of entertainment?
James goes on to say that friendship with the world is hatred towards God. This is not legalism here, though certainly one could take it to that extreme. This is not a push toward being so “religious” that you are no longer effective in human relationships. This is just saying that we need to examine our hearts to see what motivates us, where we are focusing our time, money, attention, hearts, devotion, dedication, etc. to see if we are becoming one with the world or if we are becoming one in mind and heart with Almighty God. If our whole lives are caught up in ourselves and in pleasing ourselves or even in making sure other people like us and think we are wonderful, then we can not truly please God. He wants to be first in our lives. He wants us to inquire of him, and he wants us to have the right heart motivations in all that we do, say and think.
The solution? – Submit ourselves to God by resisting the devil, the world and its philosophies, and the selfish desires within us that wage war against pure devotion to God, etc. Come near to God via time spent with him each day in reading and studying his Word, via prayer and through obedience. The Bible tells us to not merely be hearers of the Word, but to be doers and that faith without works is dead. We show that we have faith by what we do, i.e. faith = obedience = action. We need to grieve over our sin and the sin of others instead of taking pleasure in it. We need to examine our hearts, lives, attitudes, speech, actions, etc. and daily bring them in line with God’s Word and with His desire and His will for our lives. And, we need to not feel as though we have control over our own lives, i.e. that we are the masters of our own decisions and/or our own future, but rather we need to consider God in all that we decide and all that we do, think, say, etc. Sin is not merely sins of “commission,” i.e. obvious acts of rebellion towards God, but sometimes sin is categorized as sins of “omission,” and that is knowing what we are supposed to do and then not doing it. If we know that we are to inquire of God, then we should do it. If we know the good we are supposed to do, we don’t need a lightning bolt to strike us to say “Go do this.” We already know what to do. It is just a matter of doing it.
My Jesus, I Love Thee / William R. Featherstone / Adoniram J. Gordon
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;
for thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
and purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
In mansions of glory and endless delight;
I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read James 4:
My Understanding: The following are some of today’s news headlines:
- Obama, House Republicans face off in rare encounter
- Activist convicted in abortion doctor’s death
- Blair fights for legacy as he defends Iraq war
- Backlash might mean 9/11 trial will be moved from Manhattan
- Files: ‘Iron Lady’ (Margaret Thatcher) was at odds with U.S. on Iran
- China suspends military exchanges with U.S.
- China protests U.S. arms sales, warns of ‘serious’ impact
- NATO airstrike kills 4 Afghan soldiers in mix-up
- Russia unveils top secret new fighter
- Pastor accused of pulling gun on son at church
- Iranian Cleric: More opposition should be executed
- As protests continue, Chavez vows to crack down
This scripture passage in James tells us where fights and quarrels come from. They come from our desires that battle within us, for the most part. This is not speaking about fighting for things that are good, such as fighting for the rights of those who are not able to fight for themselves, etc., and even there we should not get into “fights” but should address these issues with reason. What this is addressing is true fighting and quarreling among Christians, in particularly, though this could certainly apply to all men and women. The kind of fighting and quarreling being addressed here has as its root the sin of coveting, i.e. wanting something that someone else possesses to the point where you will fight, quarrel and even kill in order to get it.
So, with that in mind, I think we could go back through these news headlines and we can see that many of these stories truly have as their root this sin of coveting. Covet – to have a strong desire to possess something that belongs to somebody else – Encarta. That is what war is usually about, I believe. And, I believe that, specifically, these wars the USA is involved in are the result of our government and other governments coveting what is not theirs and thus taking it from whomever they want via killing and war and threats. I believe our own government helped to mastermind the attacks of 9/11 on the Twin Towers and killed thousands of people just so they could get into Iraq and Afghanistan in order to take them over and to confiscate their possessions. And, I also believe that much of this is covered up in the news with false reports and made-up stories to try to convince us otherwise.
Yet, we, as God’s people, must ask ourselves if we, too, are fighting and quarreling among one another because we want something that someone else has. Are we desiring what others have and so we quarrel, fight and even kill, perhaps, in order to get it? Or, do we cheat, lie about (slander) or steal from others in order to get what we want? Or, do we commit adultery? Or, do we go into massive debt beyond our ability to repay just so we can have what others have? We live in a “Me, me” society that promotes having what we want now whether we can afford it or not. “Just charge it,” the Ads say, as though it is just so easy to get what you want without regard for the consequences or how that might impact our budgets down the road.
Then, the scripture states that the reason we don’t have is two fold:
- We don’t ask God
- We ask with the wrong motives, that we may spend what we get on our pleasures
The next part of this passage addresses these believers who fight and quarrel and covet possessions and who can not have what they want so they do horrible things and ungodly things in order to get what they want. He says that they are adulterous because they are living in friendship with the world and that is hatred toward God. He is not speaking of the world as the globe or as people but as philosophies of life by which we choose to live. So many professed Christians choose to live their lives by what they see on TV, in movies, on the Internet, in real life via relationships with others, what they read in books, have learned through life experiences, and what is passed down from generation to generation, etc., rather than by the teachings of scripture. Some of these worldly philosophies have to do with lying, cheating, stealing, adultery, fornication, etc. and/or taking pleasure in those who do them via being entertained by these sins of man via TV, movies, etc. What we take into our minds will come out through our lives. What do we take pleasure in? Are we taking pleasure in God, in His Word, in ministering His love to others, in spreading the gospel to a world in need of a Savior, or are we primarily interested in pleasing ourselves through the world’s forms of entertainment?
James goes on to say that friendship with the world is hatred towards God. This is not legalism here, though certainly one could take it to that extreme. This is not a push toward being so “religious” that you are no longer effective in human relationships. This is just saying that we need to examine our hearts to see what motivates us, where we are focusing our time, money, attention, hearts, devotion, dedication, etc. to see if we are becoming one with the world or if we are becoming one in mind and heart with Almighty God. If our whole lives are caught up in ourselves and in pleasing ourselves or even in making sure other people like us and think we are wonderful, then we can not truly please God. He wants to be first in our lives. He wants us to inquire of him, and he wants us to have the right heart motivations in all that we do, say and think.
The solution? – Submit ourselves to God by resisting the devil, the world and its philosophies, and the selfish desires within us that wage war against pure devotion to God, etc. Come near to God via time spent with him each day in reading and studying his Word, via prayer and through obedience. The Bible tells us to not merely be hearers of the Word, but to be doers and that faith without works is dead. We show that we have faith by what we do, i.e. faith = obedience = action. We need to grieve over our sin and the sin of others instead of taking pleasure in it. We need to examine our hearts, lives, attitudes, speech, actions, etc. and daily bring them in line with God’s Word and with His desire and His will for our lives. And, we need to not feel as though we have control over our own lives, i.e. that we are the masters of our own decisions and/or our own future, but rather we need to consider God in all that we decide and all that we do, think, say, etc. Sin is not merely sins of “commission,” i.e. obvious acts of rebellion towards God, but sometimes sin is categorized as sins of “omission,” and that is knowing what we are supposed to do and then not doing it. If we know that we are to inquire of God, then we should do it. If we know the good we are supposed to do, we don’t need a lightning bolt to strike us to say “Go do this.” We already know what to do. It is just a matter of doing it.
