Rose's Interpretation of James 4:1-12

From the lesson "Am I Double-minded..." Day 6 calls for a summary of what I now thought James was saying to believers who read his letter. I wrote my summary as if James and I were chatting, as if he and I knew one another as friends. This would have been our dialogue:

What causes you to fight and argue with another believer, Rose? And when I says believer, remember that our Father God knows when each and every person chooses Him or not. So a person you are arguing with today may not be a believer in your eyes now but is to God because He looks at the completed person in Christ. So, back to my question. What is causing your argument? Think; this is not a he-said, she-said question. Isn't it because you want something the other person has? You want that perceived benefit of her position of power. You 'covet' that position and think you'll "appreciate" the position more; that you're deserving of it. So, you ask God to help you succeed... over that person. Isn't that what you're asking? You're asking Him to choose between two of His kids that He loves raising one above the other and not for His reasons but your own. So if He answers your prayer, would you use your gain to increase God's kingdom and glorify God? Think Rose. No, you would use it for your enjoyment and think you earned the position. And you wonder why God doesn't quickly answer your prayers; why He doesn't honor your requests.

You tell God you're going to be faithful to Him and honor Him, yet you are concerned with selfish things to make you feel important. That's not Godly. That's being selfish. All you're saying is, "Hey, God. Do this for me and I'll follow you." Then, you don't follow Him. Rose, that's adultery. You're not being faithful to God and the promises you made to Him. You're acting as an enemy of God doing this because you have set yourself up as thinking that you know better than He does.

Don't you know that He knows best? His Spirit searches the intentions and thoughts of each person. God knows exactly what you and any of His kids are truly thinking. And when your thoughts are not aligned with His, yet you come to God with some veiled request that sounds Godly but is really selfish... He knows. You're not getting anything passed God. His Spirit is yearning to align your intentions and thoughts with God's.

Yet, God knows everything about you and still gives you grace - His divine assistance - to carry you throughout your days.

He gives grace to the humble - the humble Spirit within you - and opposes the proud - your prideful selfish self - so your petitions go unanswered until your thoughts are aligned with His.

Now that you are facing this reality, surrender your heart and mind to God. Align yourself with God, and Satan will leave you alone. When you're aligned with God in your heart and mind, then you are close to Him. Humble yourself like a little kid does. Accept the correction. Let God settle the argument within you and the one you're having with the other person. Remember how good it felt when your parent did that for you when you were a little kid? Remember how your daughters used to go from arguing to loving and forgiving when you told them to apologize to one another? Now you go and do it.

Clean up your actions and stop acting like you did before you were God's; stop acting like a sinner. Clean up your thoughts and stop serving two gods - you and God. What testimony about God are you giving by your actions?

When something bad happens to another person, don't be happy about it and say, "It serves her right." Remember, you could easily deserve that person's predicament or worse. You're not better; you're just as rotten as she is. If not for God's generous divine assistance, you would be in the same spot as that person. Better yet, why not consider interceding for that person asking God to draw both of you closer to Him. Now that's living life aligned with God's heart!

When you act so self-righteous, thinking you're deserving of good and that person is deserving of punishment, realize you're judging that person. By the way, who made you judge anyway?

Do you know that person's thoughts; her intentions? Truly, do you know? No, you don't but God does. So why do you think you have the right to judge? Why do you think you know better than He does? If that's the case, where were you when God created the World? Do you know how He measured out the oceans and mountains to perfectly balance the earth so it turns at the proper speed to sustain life? Look at the stars... now tell me their names. Yes, all of their names. Can't do it, can you? God can. Instead, remember that God is this powerful, this all-knowing, this loving without condition. Knowing how awesome God truly is and respecting what He could do yet chooses to forgive and love instead, and changing your life because you understand this, now that's wisdom.

So how about letting God use His wisdom to guide you and your life. Don't worry about what He's going to do for the other person. What's it to you anyway. Isn't it enough that He cares for you? Getting into a right-relationship with God is more than you can handle so simply focus on that.

Besides, you don't even know what the next moment brings let alone tomorrow, next week or next year. So stop bragging as if you know and are in control. Acknowledge that it's by God's grace alone that you live the next moment. Plan, act, move towards the next moment but do it acknowledging that it's by God's unconditional love, faithfulness to His promises and generosity that you get to live that next moment.

After all, you're not as important to life as you think you are. None of us are. You do realize that's a "God complex" and that is the original sin. In the grand scheme of things, we're a pin-prick in all of life.

Even with all of this, God loves you intensely and wants to be with you and you with Him. Now that is God!

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July 8, 2023

Sometime in June, I finished a Kristi McLelland study, "Jesus and Women". In that study, Kristi mentioned that the Jewish people during Jesus's time and before, practiced remembering God in order to remember all that God said and did for the Jewish people. It struck me that this online journal and how I use it, is this very same practice of remembrance. So, in the spirit of remembrance and while traveling in June and through July, I commenced re-reading my journal "Testimony" starting at the beginning. As God's timing is always perfect, the first entry in "Testimony" is a study I created after reading James 13 years ago. In God's sense of humor, our church had embarked on a series with the book of James which I was watching on YouTube or listening to via the church's app, while traveling. Coincidences like this are never dismissed as coincidences, rather I chalk theses episodes up as divine connections of message reinforcement.

According to the date, I wrote a response to the Day 6 lesson on July 7, 2023 while the above response was written July 5, 2010 - 13 years ago nearly to the day. What struck me was, 1) I am still struggling with the very same sin, 2) I am in awe of what God taught me 13 years ago through James as the message was spot-on and powerful, 3) I cannot deny God speaking to me, 4) His Holy Spirit does search hearts (intentions) and minds (thoughts) to reveal things of God and things not of God so we can confess those things not of God to grow closer to God.

With this preamble, here is the 2023 response to Day 6 of my 2010 lesson in James 4:1-10. It is a prayer to God. Upon writing and reading this prayer, I realized it mimics Matthew 4:1-11 and the lesson there.

"I want something, God. I want perfection; specifically for my life to exhibit perfection. A superficial perfection where I look good, my house looks good, my job and what I do look good. Flawless. Not to show You in my life. Oh no. I ask You for this perfection because I position the request as if this requested perfection is for Your benefit, Your glory - that I can display Your perfection in me as some sort of glorification effort for You. 

However God, by Your Spirit, You search my heart and mind and know that this desire does not stem from a desire to be one with You. No; this desire is to glorify myself in front of others to gain a level of power over people so they look up to me, desire me and desire to be me, and love me.

My perfection desire is from the pit of hell, God. This perfection desire is also adulterous and covetous of me towards You and You alone, as I wish to steal Your glory for my own benefit.

Lord, thank You that Your Spirit has searched my heart and mind revealing this sin - this grievous sin - to me. Lord, I confess my guilt and sinful desires to You. I know You forgive me however, clean me of this desire and replace it with more of You; a desire - a longing - to be one with You, to love, follow, and serve You and other because of You and what You have done for me.

Amen, Lord. Amen.

I would never know this about me if not for Your Son Jesus and Your Holy Spirit."