Sunday's message from James 4 was easy to preach. The message from the text couldn't be any clearer. While it is easy to preach, it's hard to live. It's hard to submit to God in all things. It's hard to take ourselves out of the equation. It's hard to put the Lord first. It's hard to deal with our desires. Even though it's difficult to live, this truth still stands: there is a God and I'm not Him.
Now for some things that I wish I said:
- When I am quick to quarrel, I need to check my heart.
- When I have an obsession with possessions, I need to see if I am loving the world or loving the Lord.
- When I take joy in judgement, I need to remember that I am as guilty as anyone that I am prone to judge.
- When I plan without praying, I need to know that I want to live God's plan, not mine.
- We need to stop living as though we are defeated and can't get things together. Resist the enemy and He will flee.
- We need to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. Our schedules are a huge part of this. Will you submit your time to the Lord so that you draw near to Him consistently?
Until we learn how to submit to God, nothing else in life will line up as it should.
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:7-10
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