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Showing posts from April, 2019

Journal Entry ~ 04/30/19

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? - James 4:1 We have discussed the causes of our conflict - why we find ourselves in these difficult places of suffering, and what God is hoping to accomplish in our suffering, but there is more to these 10 verses than just *why* we are in the suffering...there is a guide to the way out of our trials as well.  Consider this: In those dark moments of suffering, life has not ended. Could it be that you are making your suffering worse by the things that you're saying to yourself?  Capture those thoughts and bring them obedient to Christ. Replace those thoughts with thoughts or actions that bring glory to God and He will bless your obedience.  Here are some practical things to do in your suffering: 1) Resist the lies of the enemy - when we are struggling with anxiety, fear, guilt, or anger, we are listening to the lies of the enemy. But James is telling us here

Journal Entry ~ 04/29/19

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? - James 4:1 Further down in James 4, we are told to humble ourselves and to resist the devil as a way out of the conflict or struggles we find ourselves in. We cannot pass over these instructions lightly.  Daily, we need to remind ourselves there is a spiritual battle around us, there is someone fighting for our hearts that we need to resist. When we are deep within the trenches of a difficult spiritual battle, the conflict we experience, the heart-breaking emotions that we walk through as a result the trials we are enduring, are so often the result of our listening to the lies of the enemy. The enemy wants your heart, and he is sneaky in the way he goes about getting a foothold. He will convince you the suffering you experience is the result of someone else’s sin, and he will set up camp in your heart nursing that wound so you never find freedom from the pain. 

Journal Entry ~ 04/28/19

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. - James 4:1-3 Your passions are at war within you - stated differently, you are angry because you don’t get your way. You want to see answers to your prayers? You need to resolve where you are in conflict. We need to die to ourselves and come to the end of our flesh and all the things we insist on.  We don't pray because we don't see answers. We don't see answers because we ask wrongly - to spend it on our passions.  How do we ask wrongly? First and foremost, we leave sin unconfessed. If my behavior is wrong, if my sin is unconfessed, if my motives are not pure, my prayer is unheard. Our actions affect our access to the Lord.

Journal Entry ~ 04/27/19

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. - James 4:1-3 These verses call out Christians on their prayer life. The reality is many of us do not pray faithfully. Some will argue they pray constantly - shooting up those arrow prayers whenever we are asked or they occur to us. Lord, help my sister.  Lord, help my finances. Lord, heal that boy. Or perhaps we say that same prayer we’ve been taught over and over without really thinking about.  We often don't pray like we should because when we do, God doesn't seem to answer. I have been praying for the salvation of my sons for many years now, and I’m still waiting. Why continue?  We stop praying when we haven't seen answers. Bu

Journal Entry ~ 04/26/19

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? - James 4:1 Our passions are at war within us - the things that we desire so greatly become the source of our quarrels, our conflicts, our trials. If we drill down on why were so upset, we’ll find those desires - many of which are God honoring - have become our passions. We want a Godly spouse, we want to be respected, we want a secure future. We want those things so desperately, they begin to define who we are and our desires turn to expectations and demands, then suddenly we find ourselves in a difficult trial over them. Why would a loving God allow us to walk through trials? Why does He let us suffer if He loves us so much? I think it’s important to take a moment to clarify why God may be allowing the trials you are enduring in your life right now. Reason #1: We esteem comfortable living more than we esteem redemption. Few things depict the gospel more clearly th

Journal Entry ~ 04/25/19

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? Being self-righteous means we are more concerned with the sin of others in our lives than we are concerned our own sin. We complain about how other people treat us more than we ponder our own shortcomings. Hear me on this - this is the single greatest reason relationships fail.  Our hearts are so deceitful that it clouds over the way we see ourselves, and blurs the way we see others. We think we know others' hearts as well as God knows them, so we judge and assume what they are thinking rather than showing them grace as He shows us grace. Being in a right relationship with God means we are content with our circumstances. We are able to find rest in Him, and the peace we feel flows into our circumstances and relationships. Don’t be mistaken - it does not mean we are without conflict, but our peace is not contingent upon the situations we are facing. We trust

Journal Entry ~ 04/24/19

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? James 4:1 James 4 has one of the clearest and most honest discussions of conflict in relationships in the bible. We all experience strife in our relationships, and we always want it to be the other person’s fault. The hard truth is that our relationships struggle because we ALL of us carry something destructive into the relationship - not just the other person. We all carry sin into our relationships.  Sin causes us to be self-absorbed and self-focused because it causes us to live for ourselves. The hope for our relationships is not found in us, or in that other person changing, the hope is found in His grace.  If you follow James 4 down to verse 6, you will see His answer - but He gives more grace.  There is grace for every hurtful moment. He gives us enough grace to cover the multitude of times we will be sinned against in relationships, and all those times

Journal Entry ~ 04/23/19

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV). When suffering enters your life, you don't just suffer what you're suffering, you suffer how your suffering.  In most of our trials, temptation is a trap we set for ourselves, rather than a scheme devised by Satan. We want it to be his fault, but we know from James 1:14-15 it is most often our fault: each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. Temptation in our trials happen when we allowing the wrong kind of thoughts and attitudes into our minds, then dwell on them and look for ways to justify our thinking. How do we battle this? 2 Corinthians 10:5: "We demolish arguments and e

Journal Entry ~ 04/22/19

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV). The temptations we face begin in our minds. Our thoughts control our behaviors and our trials - it’s why we’re warned to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ in scripture. Our thinking can get us into so much trouble and land us right in the pit.  I find reminding myself of His grace when my thoughts begin to run away is the only way to battle my anxious or angry thoughts. Our God is faithful and He will not let the waters rise beyond our ability, but He will let them get higher than we think we can handle. He wants us to see His grace is the way to battle those thoughts, He wants us to know the sweet assurance that He’s walking through the trials with us, He wants us to feel the strength in His power

Journal Entry ~ 04/21/19

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV). We have such a tendency to hide in our trials because our fear of judgment is stronger than God’s call for us to live in community. This is how the enemy draws us away and isolates us in our trials.  He convinces us that our specific problem is not common to man, but rather only for people who deserved to be judged as failures.  When I was walking through my trials with my sons, I remember the strong desire to keep silent about their struggles. I had one son overwhelmed by depression and suicidal thoughts, and another one being arrested for possession of drugs and then committed to rehab. I was just sure people would judge me for not being a good parent. I was very involved in my kids’ lives, we were a close knit family who

Journal Entry ~ 04/20/19

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV). I think sometimes, we can be so wrapped in in our trial, that we miss the way of escape He has placed before us. When it's so hard for so long, we just want it to end our way. But God has us walk through these trials for many different reasons, and remember - the way out is most often walking through it.  “The way of escape” might look like . .  ~An instant end to the trial. When God moves, the mountains get leveled, the floods get lowered, and the sun suddenly breaks through. In my experience, trials can end as quickly as they start if we have the faith to believe God can end them.  ~Encouragement to endure. Out of the blue, God may send another Christian to encourage you and remind you that you’re not alone.

Journal Entry ~ 04/19/19

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV). Our God will provide a way of escape when we are walking through trials. The problem is we often miss the way of escape, and so our trials continue. We can be so wrapped up in *our* plan of escape - the way we see He should rescue us, that we don't see His plan of escape. The way of escape is most often not to make the problem or problems go away - yet that's what we pray when we're struggling. He wants us to walk through the struggle, with Him by our side to show us His sovereignty. He will allow you to walk through your greatest fears to show you His faithfulness and His glory.  I can't tell you how often my desperate prayer while walking through the trials with my sons was for Him to just heal them. That

Journal Entry ~ 04/18/19

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13 One of the great promises in God’s Word is that He is watching your life, and He won’t let you go through any more than you can handle - with Him. He knows you better than you know yourself, and He knows what you can handle.  A key word in this promise is “temptation.” In Greek, that can also be translated “trial.” God, in His mercy, watches you in the trial you face today. The enemy may whisper in your ear, “Give in—you can’t win,” but that is a lie. God says there’s nothing you will face that you can’t have victory over. He wouldn’t allow it. He only allows you to be tempted to the point where you can win.  Know God is watching you, and He wants you to succeed at the Christian life. Considering His sacrifice and His great

Journal Entry ~ 04/17/19

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV). We are reminded in this passage that every trial and temptation we will face is “common to man.” You might feel as if nobody has ever gone through what you’re going through, nobody has felt this pain or nobody understands, or that your trial or your sin is shameful or embarrassing, that others may pass unkind judgement on you, "if only they knew what I was going through/thinking, they wouldn't accept me.  But all that thinking is just false. The enemy tries to paint your difficulties as unique in order to make you falter. Don’t fall for that! It's a lie that will lead you to isolation, increase your anxiety, and walk you down a path of sinful thinking.  Your trials are common to man, He is walking you through d

Journal Entry ~ 04/16/19

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. - 1 John 4:18-19 On a final note, it’s important to recognize that it isn’t our acts of love that causes God to love us.  It is always the reverse. God loves first. We love because He first loved us - v19. We don’t do anything to earn it, and we certainly don’t deserve it, He just loves us unconditionally.  This is how we are to love others - unconditionally. Yet, so often, our love for others is contingent upon how they treat us. If they are rude or critical, if they hurt us or abandon us, we withhold our love from them. Sometimes we’ll give it back to them if they apologize, but only if we believe it is sincere. Usually, though, we still keep a portion of it reserved to see if their apology is genuine. Our hearts remain guarded, and our love is shallow.  Our love for others is to be dee

Journal Entry ~ 04/15/19

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. - 1 John 4:18-19 The reason there is no fear in love is that there is no threat of punishment for being a loving person. When you love someone with real practical deeds, you never fear any repercussions because genuine acts of love generally don’t bring punishment. Fear is what you feel when you have done something that deserves punishment, but love is never threatened with punishment. So there is no fear in love.  Perfect love is the overflow of His Spirit actively working on your heart. When you love others with "perfect love", it casts out fear.  When you choose to love others with a selfless, bold love, you can live with confidence.  When you choose to love those who are most difficult to love with a genuine desire to put them first, you can know God’s blessings will follow your

Journal Entry ~ 04/14/19

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. - 1 John 4:18-19 What is perfect love? The words just before this verse say, "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. In this is love perfected with us." God is perfect love, and we’re told when we abide in God and God abides in us, love is perfected in us.  To understand how to have His love perfected in us, we need to be sure we have a clear understanding of abiding. In the vine and branches analogy of John 15, we learn that abiding in Jesus means to keep his commandments, and to keep his commandments means to love God with all our hearts and souls and minds, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.   When we are abiding in Him, we are being obedient to His Word, and when He is abiding in us, His Word is stored in our hearts. We are in tune w

Journal Entry ~ 04/13/19

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. - 1 John 4:18-19 If we accept and allow the perfect love of our Father in heaven into our hearts, we should have no fears. We are told in this verse that perfect love casts out fear. There should be nothing controlling our thoughts or paralyzing our actions.  When we understand how we are loved with a perfect love, we should have no fears. Yet we do. And those fears cast out the perfect love because perfect love and fear cannot exist together.  When we give into our fears, we give power to our fears over God. When our fears consume us, our actions communicate God is not the most important, fear is.  When our fears dictate our thoughts and our behavior, we block the peace that surpasses all understanding from washing over us, we intercept the blessings He has for our lives, we put a hand up to

Journal Entry ~ 04/12/19

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. - 1 John 4:18-19 God created us with the capacity to fear because it is necessary for our protection as we live in this world. Sensible fear can motivate us to stay away from dangerous things; it can cause us to move quickly in dangerous situations.   Fear protects us - when it is controlled and expressed in appropriate situations.  Uncontrolled or irrational fears, on the other hand, control us. They darken our lives and stunt our spiritual growth. It is these fears that are addressed in this verse. In my experience, these irrational fears can be broken down into two categories - fear of something happening to us or our loves ones and fear of man.  Many of us live with the fear that something dreadful may happen to someone we love - for example, when our children don’t answer that text o

Journal Entry ~ 04/11/19

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. - 1 John 4:18-19 Fear paralyzes us. It causes us to stop dead in our tracks, unable to move forward. It is such an intense emotion that it can cause us to rage against the people in our lives, and it can cause us to become very controlling. Unmanaged fears can destroy our relationships. When you are afraid, there are two things you need to do to drive it away. First, remember you are in God’s family - you are chosen and beloved. If someone or something makes you afraid, you need to stop and remember that you’re a child of God. You’re not an orphan; you’re not alone. He is your Father, and God is greater and more powerful than anything.  Secondly, you need to call on Him. You can cry out to Him anytime and he will hear you. He’ll send his Spirit to come and calm you down. What do you fear

Journal Entry ~ 04/10/19

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. - 1 John 4:18-19 There are two types of fear referenced in the Bible - one will bring you life, and the other will bring you death, one is profitable and the other is detrimental, one is encouraged and the other is sin.  Fear of the Lord is the first type of fear. It is a reverence for who He is and all He has done. It is a deep respect or even an awe at the acknowledgement of all that He is. It is not the type of fear that makes us run from Him, but rather bow down in honor of who He is. This fear motivates us to respect the Lord and His commandments. We are told in scripture that there are many benefits to this type of fear - it is the beginning of all wisdom, it brings peace and contentment, and it leads to life.  The other kind of fear is a distressing emotion that keeps us from mov