Day 9 - James 4:1-10

 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 Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. 6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,

“God opposes the proud
    but gives grace to 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.


Tori's Comments:

We must choose between God and the world. What will we go to to find our identity? Where do we choose to seek love and joy from

Where one is dependent on the ever-changing culture, the other is steadfast and full of love for us, enough to send His son to die on a cross. 

It's no contest, really. But why can't we tell the difference?

By the way, this song's not the only thing that's applicable. I love the music video, too: 

Terrie's Comments:

Friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God.  That is a pretty bold statement to make but it is true.  We are the bride of Christ.  So when we are chasing after the things of this world and acting like God's Holy scriptures are not true we are committing adultery.  

"resist the devil and he will flee from you" is quoted but how often is it quoted in context?

When we are friends with God without divided loyalties and we go to God with a pure heart and pure motives we also place ourselves in a position where we can resist the devil and he has to flee from us.  It is a heart that is in the position of complete submission to God's word and willing to do whatever the Holy Spirit is leading us to do.  

Being humble simply means not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to.  It means realizing that God is God and we are not.  But also realizing that God sent His own son Jesus to die for us so we could be righteous before His throne.  Realizing that we have the same power inside of us as Jesus did.  Walking in the knowledge that all that we do and all that we say is through the power of the Holy Spirit given to us by God.  We can hold our heads up high knowing who we are in Christ and knowing that we have our awesome God working in us and through us.  


Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!