James 4:1-12

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Day 21

Read:

  • What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions[a] are at war within you?[b]
  • 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
  • 4 You adulterous people![c] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
  • 7 Submit yourselves therefore 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.
  • 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
  • 11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.[d] The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Reflect:
  • The flesh will constantly fight against my desires and passions (as they are innately worldly)
  • When we ask for things from God, we often do not receive because we are asking for the wrong things (usually something that we want for ourselves and not for God)
  • Friendship/loving this world = enemies with God
    • enmity: hostility/opposition
  • As we draw nearer to God, he will draw nearer to us
  • We are to humble ourselves before the Lord - we do not know what is right and best for us, only God knows what is best
  • We are not to judge others because who are we to judge?
  • When we judge we are judges of the law -  a law that we ourselves cannot keep and therefore we are not doers of the law but judges.
  • However, there is only one judge who is able to save and destroy - God
Application
  • I will constantly be at war with my earthly passions - however I need to ask God to fight these and the wisdom to conquer it and these are the right things to ask for
  • Yearning for things of this world is equal to being hostile with Christ - whom my actual purpose of living is for
  • Do not judge others, because I am just a sinner like they are - who am i to judge?

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