James 4:1- 4:6

All the passages that I post come from www.biblegateway.com/passage.. I start out by reading my Bible, then when I know what I want to post for the days study, I copy and paste the verses from this site.

 

Submit Yourselves to God

 ¹What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? ²You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. ³When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.  ⁴You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?^{[a] 6}But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
   "God opposes the proud
      but gives grace to the humble."[b

Praying angels

The bird of peace, the angel of peace. How beautiful.

First I would like to repeat one of the major points of this passage. 

 "God opposes the proud
      but gives grace to the humble."

What a terrific thing to remind yourself of when you feel as though you are working up some aggression.. Those times when you can feel your blood boiling as your mind races to find justification in acting on your impulse. Justification, even though what you are about to do is a clear sign of no self restraint nor a will to be a true Christian and not let hate as well as pride and many other human nature characteristic traits take over, cloud our better judgment. It would be beneficial for all of us if we reminded ourselves that we put our trust in the Lord. 

You see the first picture of the praying angels? Don't you think it would benefit us greatly if we surrender ourselves to prayer in place of anger? What a simple thought.. 


What an idea... It almost makes me laugh to think of how simple some answers are, yet they are over looked.. If we all searched deep in our hearts, we would find that we know a majority of the answers we ask.. Of all the things you ponder in a day, even a week.. Your entire life, how many of those questions do you honestly think you already know the answers to?


Now I am not claiming to be some saint who expresses self restraint 100% of the time. Please do not be misled.. I know that things are easier said than done. I also believe, in my heart, that anything is possible. I believe that each and every one of us has the ability to execute these mannerisms 100% of the time.. It takes practice.. Something I am going to do from here on out.


Each day I will remind myself of what the scripture says. When I wake up, after lunch as well as after bedtime prayer. I can not predict the future but I would not doubt it if this, as well as prayers to the Lord to help me see people the way he does, doesn't make me do things with clearer intentions. Perhaps I will frame this quote and hang it somewhere I know I always look..


The man who gave me the book In the Beginning by Alister E. McGrath ( From a previous post) also told me weeks ago, if not months, that if I prayed to the Lord to help me see people as he(the Lord) sees them, I would do things more intentionally.. It makes sense and not just in the context he put in it for me, in tons of situations.. Every situation anybody encounters. What terrific tools for success the Lord will grant us if we just open our minds as well as our hearts and ask for the right things with the right intentions and give it our wholes hearts effort.. Now that is something worth pausing over to consider the truth in the message, how we can apply it to our daily routine.

Another beautiful praying Angel

More birds/Angels of peace

I pray that you step away from reading this with a new found sense of what to put energy and focus towards.
                                                       
                                                      Stephie


P.S.  By trying, you may fail others. By not, you may fail yourself.
-Unknown