"Greetings in the Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for 11 February 2012"
Today's Bible Verse: James 4:5-10 "Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?" But He gives more Grace. Therefore He says, God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God. resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."
Envy in verse 5 is God's jealous longing for our love. God is truly disturbed when we abandon our friendship with Him to make friends with the world, and disturbed for our sake. But how goes God respond? It is not with punishment, but with "more grace" to lead us back in His arms. Only our own pride can keep us from responding to His grace, turning our back on the world so that we might experience blessings.
Many believe that verse 5 refers to the positive ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit, yearning jealously over the believer, the tenor of verses 4 and 5 however is a negative, speaking of man's envy. The good work of God begins in verse 6 in contrast to verses 4 and 5 as the conjunction indicated. "But he giveth more grace" is literally "greater grace." God gives grace that is greater than the world's attraction of verse 4 and the inner lust of verse 5 (Romans 5:20), and so can withstand both.
When we read further into James, we see in verses 7-10, ten sharps commands calling for immediate action. In essence they tell us how to humble ourselves before God, so that we can experience His grace. The ten commands are: Submit and resist in verse 7, come near, wash, purify in verse 8, grieve, mourn, wail and change in verse 9, and humble yourselves in verse 10. Together these verse picture a complete reversal of the attitudes that shape the spiritually immature and unfaithful.
In verse 7 is a very powerful message and advice, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Do not submit to, fear or flee from Satan, but stand against him. (1 Peter 5:8-10). Satan CANNOT LEAD into sin AGAINST one's WILL. However powerful Satan is, he, and the demons, tremble at the name of Jesus Christ, and if we set ourselves against Him in the name of Jesus, he is unable to prevail and he WILL FLEE from us. (Praise God)
In verse 8, "draw near" means that God will not be unmoved; His welcoming response is always near (Deuteronomy 4:7; Lamentations 3:57; Luke 15:20). In verse 9 "lament and mourn and weep" means that when a believer who has fallen into sin responds to God's call for repentance, he or she should place laughter and joy aside to reflect on the sin with genuine sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). In this verse in James "laughter" deems to refer to the loud revelry of pleasure seeking people. They immerse themselves in a celebration of their sins in an effort to forget God's judgment. A Christian SHOULD NEVER LAUGH at sin. However, a Christians SORROW leads to REPENTANCE; REPENTANCE leads to FORGIVENESS; and FORGIVENESS leads to TRUE JOY over one's RECONCILIATION with God (Psalms 32:1; 126:2; Proverbs 15:13.)
We as Christians must live each day with the awareness of our mortality and thus of our TOTAL DEPENDENCE on God for ALL THINGS.
Click on the link at www.cindidavis.blogspot.com for Today's Scripture Reading from Isaiah 12 which is Titled: 'A Hymn of Praise."
Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God More Today. Pray for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who are being persecuted for their Faith and Trust in Jesus Christ. Pray also for God's Peace and Blessing be on the Nation of Israel. Always remember taht when you have a spiritual dilemma in your life and you yell out, "I CAN'T," GOD Whispers to you, "BUT I CAN."
"As the water covers the sea, God will make Himself known throughout the earth."
Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi
Today's Bible Verse: James 4:5-10 "Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?" But He gives more Grace. Therefore He says, God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God. resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."
Envy in verse 5 is God's jealous longing for our love. God is truly disturbed when we abandon our friendship with Him to make friends with the world, and disturbed for our sake. But how goes God respond? It is not with punishment, but with "more grace" to lead us back in His arms. Only our own pride can keep us from responding to His grace, turning our back on the world so that we might experience blessings.
Many believe that verse 5 refers to the positive ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit, yearning jealously over the believer, the tenor of verses 4 and 5 however is a negative, speaking of man's envy. The good work of God begins in verse 6 in contrast to verses 4 and 5 as the conjunction indicated. "But he giveth more grace" is literally "greater grace." God gives grace that is greater than the world's attraction of verse 4 and the inner lust of verse 5 (Romans 5:20), and so can withstand both.
When we read further into James, we see in verses 7-10, ten sharps commands calling for immediate action. In essence they tell us how to humble ourselves before God, so that we can experience His grace. The ten commands are: Submit and resist in verse 7, come near, wash, purify in verse 8, grieve, mourn, wail and change in verse 9, and humble yourselves in verse 10. Together these verse picture a complete reversal of the attitudes that shape the spiritually immature and unfaithful.
In verse 7 is a very powerful message and advice, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Do not submit to, fear or flee from Satan, but stand against him. (1 Peter 5:8-10). Satan CANNOT LEAD into sin AGAINST one's WILL. However powerful Satan is, he, and the demons, tremble at the name of Jesus Christ, and if we set ourselves against Him in the name of Jesus, he is unable to prevail and he WILL FLEE from us. (Praise God)
In verse 8, "draw near" means that God will not be unmoved; His welcoming response is always near (Deuteronomy 4:7; Lamentations 3:57; Luke 15:20). In verse 9 "lament and mourn and weep" means that when a believer who has fallen into sin responds to God's call for repentance, he or she should place laughter and joy aside to reflect on the sin with genuine sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). In this verse in James "laughter" deems to refer to the loud revelry of pleasure seeking people. They immerse themselves in a celebration of their sins in an effort to forget God's judgment. A Christian SHOULD NEVER LAUGH at sin. However, a Christians SORROW leads to REPENTANCE; REPENTANCE leads to FORGIVENESS; and FORGIVENESS leads to TRUE JOY over one's RECONCILIATION with God (Psalms 32:1; 126:2; Proverbs 15:13.)
We as Christians must live each day with the awareness of our mortality and thus of our TOTAL DEPENDENCE on God for ALL THINGS.
Click on the link at www.cindidavis.blogspot.com for Today's Scripture Reading from Isaiah 12 which is Titled: 'A Hymn of Praise."
Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God More Today. Pray for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who are being persecuted for their Faith and Trust in Jesus Christ. Pray also for God's Peace and Blessing be on the Nation of Israel. Always remember taht when you have a spiritual dilemma in your life and you yell out, "I CAN'T," GOD Whispers to you, "BUT I CAN."
"As the water covers the sea, God will make Himself known throughout the earth."
Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi
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