1-10
James says that the reason that we fight with each other is because we want things that we can't have. We want these things for our pleasure and when we want what the world has it is viewed as hating God. God is against the proud but he is kind to the humble. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Be humble before The Lord, and he will make you great.
11-12
When you criticize a fellow Christian you are criticizing the law they follow and thereby making you a judge rather then a follower of the law. But God is the only true and rightful judge so it's not right for you to judge others.
13-17
We can never accurately predict what will happen tomorrow. You could run late, get sick, or win the lottery so what you should say is if it is Gods will, I will go and do this or that. Let God do the planning.
That's it for today folks see you next time. Take care, brush your hair. I'll see you tomorrow.
4 comments:
Verse 3 says, "When you ask, you do not recieve, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." When we ask God for either something to happen or for His help we need to make sure its for all the right reasons and that we're not being prideful, decietful, or selfish with out requests. God wants to help us but He also wants us to do it with a cheerful and humble heart.
Verses 7-8 say, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resisit the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-miinded." If we ask God to help us resist evil He will help us and Satan will leave us alone becuase he is scared of God and all His power. If we will try to grow in our relationship with God and truly attempt to come closer to Him then God will help us and He will allow us to have the time and means to grow with Him.
Finally, verses 10-11 says, "Humble yourselves before The Lord, and He will lift you up. Brothers, do not slander one another" The first verse tells us to humble ourselves before The Lord becuase He doesn't like when people our proud. At least once a day we should pray and humble ourselves before The Lord so that we understand that He is the great one. Not us. The second verse says do not slander one another. We shouldn't slander anyone but especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should use one another to further God's kingdom and work with each other. Not shoot each other down. Thats not doing God any good. -Taylor Rayborn
I loved this chapter:)
Verse 2-3: 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. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
I love theses verses especially verse 3. It says that the reason we don't receive what we are praying for is because we are asking for things we want, that are selfish in the eyes of the Lord. I actually read James in November as part of my devotional and ever since i've been praying that i ask for Godly things for Godly reasons.
Verses 7-8: Submit yourselves therefore, 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.
I like how in verse seven it says to submit yourselves to God. God is the authority, He is just like our parents. It also says if you resist the devil he will flee from you. Resisting sin is hard sometimes but when we do the devil leaves us. Verse eight says to draw near to God and He will draw near to you. God loves us and wants us to have a relationship with Him but He isn't going to do all the work. We have to come to him so he can draw us even closer. Also it says to cleanse your hands of sin. When we sin we must repent of the sin or else how can God forgive us?
Verse 11: Don not speak evil against one another brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
Not judging others is probably the hardest thing to do. Sometimes we do it without even realizing it. Even if we don't say anything but still think it we are still sinning. I don't like it when other people judge me because its hurtful. I'm asking God to help me with it because i don't want to bring anyone pain.
Verses 14-18: yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, " If the Lord wills we will life and do this or that." As it is you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, it is sin.
At the beginning the verses show us how we don't know what will happen and how much time we have. We should always ask God if what we are doing is in his will. Instead most of the time we live our lives as if we have all the time in the world. If we know wht is right and chose not to do it but do what we want, God considers that sin.
Gracie sisk has a fractured elbow so please keep her in your prayers. I'm still praying for y'all that were sick and hope y'all get better.~abby<3
I LOVED THIS CHAPTER! It was so good!
Verse 3:
And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong- you want only what gives you pleasure. (NLT)
I really liked this verse because it talked about how we don't know what we want. What we want is physical things that will never make us happy. God knows what we want even before we ask for it and sometimes even before we do. This verse also reminded me of Matthew 6:8, which says: "Don't be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!" (NLT).
Verse 10:
Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. (NLT)
I like how he says this, when we humble our self's and give all the glory to God that is when God honors us.
Verses 11-12:
Don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God's law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. (12) God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor. (NLT)
I really like these verse because they talk about judging. They made me feel like I am not even worthy to critique my friends on their scenes in Theater. It showed me that God is the only one who can judge others because he actually knows what he is doing.
Verse 14:
How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog- it's here for a little while, then its gone. (NLT)
This was my favorite verse I read today. I liked it because it made me think about how I was spending my day. Sure I can plan to do things but if God does not want the plans I made to happen, they won't. So God has to be the center of everything I do because it is really all up to him.
Verse 17:
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. (NLT)
This verse reminded me of what James 2:17 says because it talks about how if you don't do anything about what you have learned you are helping no one find God.
I wrote two pages in my journal today about James 4 becuz it was so amazing! I can't even right all of it!
James 4:1-3
These verses said we fight because we want want we don't have and we covet and have jealousy. I know that when I received Jesus as my Savior it became easier not to fight. The closer I get to Jesus the more I want Him instead of selfish things. Once you get really close to Jesus you won't want selfish things anymore because u begin to understand that Jesus is all that matters because He is eternal.
James 4:3 said we don't get what we ask for because we ask for pleasures not needs with wrong motives.
Very rarely do people ask Jesus for stuff they need because only God knows what we truly need so sometimes we think we are asking God for something we need according to His will but really this thing will mess us up.
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