What do you want ...

We might be reminded that the battle that rages is not one of flesh and blood but with principalities and powers (not even of this world). And James reminds us of this again in the fourth chapter of his letter. The battles we have are often from within. They are not always about external forces. In the instances he mentions it is about what we desire from a world view. As I think of this I contemplate the comforts, the pleasures, the "things", power, position, etc.

The problem is, these tend to pull us away from or separate us, from God, and what His will and plan is for us. They tend to take over and become a distraction to the simplicity of what God offers and promises us. They not only effect our relationship with God, but on many occasions the relationships we have with others, and James mentions the quarrels and fights, the jealousy and even the extreme of death (think even of King David as he pursued Bethsheba).

James highlights further the problem: "if you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God" - ouch! That is full on.

The secret or success to overcome is found in "coming close to God, and God will come close to you." Develop the relationship with God. Allow God's voice to be the One you hear and heed. Seek or search out His plan, His character and live it.

Have a look at the verses:

James 4:1-10 (New Living Translation)

Drawing Close to God

1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy? 6 But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,

“God opposes the proud

but favors the humble.”

7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

May it be that we seek to further pursue and develop our relationship with God.

Stick at it ...

What a lesson I am reminded of today. As the Lord yet again brings to the forefront of my attention the need to acknowledge the change that has taken place in my life, by turning away from stuff of the past that has entangled me, distracted me, weighed heavy upon me.

Join me in looking at these verses:

Romans 6:13 (The Message)

12-14 That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God.

One of the goals I had in establishing this BLOG was that I would stick at it long enough that it might be formed into a new habit, a new pattern would form in my life. Something that I believe is healthy and of assistance to my growth. And that  has begun. Yet it is still a journey.  However, I am reminded that unless we continue in this way, attentive to the discipline, old habits will rise to the surface with a vengeance. It would be so easy to get caught in a television program and allow it to be a distraction. Or maybe to arrange lots of times out with other people. Some things can even appear innocent on the surface, but if they replace the discipline we are trying to form, they are not helpful at all.

 

I love this expression, "throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full time ..." It isn't always easy. It can be challenging. It can take some effort. It can cost us.

 

Are you willing to stick at it?

 

"Lord, again I realise just how easy it is for distractions to take me off course and away from the plan You have for me. The disciplines You desire are not easy to form, they can come at a cost, yes, beneficial in the end, but difficult along the way at times. Please assist me to stick at it and to lean on You in the times when the distractions are greatest."

Keeping Focused ...

I wonder, when I read of amazing young men like Solomon (1 Kings), renowned for his wisdom, and in his wisdom the way he was able to lead so well. We might recollect the building of the Lord's temple, and the royal palace for himself, the fact that the construction took some 20 years in sum total. So how can we read later of him not heading the clear instruction of the Lord. I am referring to the taking of foreign wives:

1 Kings 11:2 ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.’ Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.

Do you wonder about this?

As I have thought about this today, I have been reminded how easy it is to become distracted from doing what I ought to be doing. How easy it is to be drawn into another conversation away from the purposed dialogue I set out to have with another, and before I know it, we have gone your separate ways and still haven't had the conversation I intended to have, or resolved the issue requiring attention. I recall the times I have gone looking for one thing and come back with something else that I was drawn to when I saw it.

It would be easy to condemn Solomon for his inability to stick with the implicit instruction of God and forget that I too am like him at times. I find other things aluring to the eye and before I know it this has my full attention.

Solomon and his family were to pay a heavy price for this failure.

"Lord, I desire to keep focused on that which is pure and right and in accordance with Your will for my life, please help me to remain focused!