Today’s Podcast
Today’s Scriptures
Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – James 4:1-10
Set – James 4-5
Go! – James 1-5
James 4:1-10
1 Where do you think your fighting and endless conflict come from? Don’t you think that they originate in the constant pursuit of gratification that rages inside each of you like an uncontrolled militia? 2 You crave something that you do not possess, so you murder to get it. You desire the things you cannot earn, so you sue others and fight for what you want. You do not have because you have chosen not to ask. 3 And when you do ask, you still do not get what you want because your motives are all wrong—because you continually focus on self-indulgence. 4 You are adulterers. Don’t you know that making friends with this corrupt world order is open aggression toward God? So anyone who aligns with this bogus world system is declaring war against the one true God. 5 Do you think it is empty rhetoric when the Scriptures say, “The spirit that lives in us is addicted to envy and jealousy”? 6 You may think that the situation is hopeless, but God gives us more grace when we turn away from our own interests. That’s why Scripture says,
God opposes the proud,
but He pours out grace on the humble.
7 So submit yourselves to the one true God and fight against the devil and his schemes. If you do, he will run away in failure. 8 Come close to the one true God, and He will draw close to you. Wash your hands; you have dirtied them in sin. Cleanse your heart, because your mind is split down the middle, your love for God on one side and selfish pursuits on the other.
9 Now is the time to lament, to grieve, and to cry. Dissolve your laughter into sobbing, and exchange your joy for depression. 10 Lay yourself bare, facedown to the ground, in humility before the Lord; and He will lift your head so you can stand tall.
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
James hits the nail on the head. The problem with humanity is selfishness. You don’t get what you want and war erupts within you. Then often it explodes in your behavior. Sometimes it even goes global with national policies and global alliances. You are selfish by nature. That’s the problem with every individual, every group, every town, every nation. You want to gratify your wants and don’t care what it might cost others. Envy and jealousy are your hallmarks.
I can help you with it, though. When you turn away from your own interests and turn toward Me, I give you the grace you need to stay on the path of righteousness. The path of right living. Living with the good of others in mind. I give you the grace you need to live in community with your brothers and sisters. I give you the love you need so you express hope for those around you just as you express hope for yourself.
You can’t get rid of your selfishness on your own. But I can help you. I can make you over again so that you are no longer double-minded wanting My will but locked into your own. Submit to Me and fight against the devil and his schemes. I will make a way of escape for you. I will make a way for you to stand up in the face of his temptations. He will flee from you when he knows I am on your side. He knows he cannot defeat Me.
Failure to align with Me, though, means declaring war against Me. You can’t live on the fence. You are either fully for Me, or fully against Me. There is no middle ground with Me. It just doesn’t work. You see, I am a jealous God. Yes, I want My way. But My way is good. It is the best thing for you. I know it is because I am God. I created you and all there is. I will judge you at the end of time. There will be no jury of your peers, because they have also sinned. Only I am holy. So I alone will judge you.
Doesn’t it make sense if I am judge and jury to please Me? Doesn’t it make sense if I’m the one who will determine your eternal rewards and punishments to read My word and abide by its precepts? Does it make sense to declare war against Me when you understand the consequences of doing so? Then why wait to join My team? Give yourself to Me whole-heartedly today. You won’t be sorry you did!
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