Wrong Motives

...You do not have, because you do not ask.

Or you do ask and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is to spend it in sensual pleasures. - James 4:2b-3

God is all about the heart of a person. He could care less how many of our self made faces we put on in life. He looks at the "why" not the "do." He looks deep in our hearts to find our hidden agendas and motives that we even hide from ourselves. He looks beyond the fronts we put up for others.

You have not because you ask not.

This tells me if I ask, I can receive. However...The next verse is the key to the deal.

When we ask with the wrong motives. When we ask for selfish reasons. When we ask out of discontentment. When we ask for things that have no good purpose for our lives. I think that God is like any good parent. He must do what is best for us. Even when WE do not like it or think it is unfair. He would love to give all of His children prosperity. Unfortunately, with prosperity comes the temptation to forget Him, and He knows this, so I believe that is one of His motives for keeping too much abundance from us at times.

We may want something, ask for it, and never receive it. Not because God does not love us, but because He does love us. And He knows us better than we do. He knows what is good for us.

When we are walking closely with God on a regular basis, we gain more and more of His character and we begin to want what He wants . Then when we ask for things, it is not out of selfish motives. It is from a true and faithful heart. Knowing that all things are His and we are not complete in "things." We are complete in Him. And if we lose everything, it is OK, because we know this and understand it! We know that our eternity is what really matters, not the fluff we can get here on earth for a season.

Let's Pray,

Daddy God, thank You for loving me and only wanting the best for me. Thank You for protecting me from my self. I love You Lord, and YOU are enough. You are ALL that I ever need. Thank You for all that You do and the MANY blessings that You have given me. I pray that You continue to show me Your Will for my life and help me to fulfill it. I love You, Lord. I want more than anything in this world to live a life that pleases You. Thank You for Your love, kindness, and mercy. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

Strife and Conflict

What leads to strife and how do conflicts, quarrels, and fighting originate among you? Do they not arise from sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members?

You are jealous and covet what others have and your desires go unfulfilled; so you become murderers. To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned. You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain the gratification, contentment, and happiness that you seek, so you fight and war.... - James 4:1-2a

Strife and conflicts usually begin because someone either does not get their way or people do not agree about something. Conflict is a natural part of life. They do not need to be sinful or escalate. However, when we allow conflicts to escalate to arguments and strife, it is most likely rooted in pride. We don't want to be wrong, we don't want to let things go, we don't want to give something up, or we are just plain stubborn. When the Church allows quarrels and conflict to go unchecked it weakens us as a whole. This is why our adversary, the devil, works overtime and relentlessly trying to generate discord in the Body fo Christ.

The only way we can overcome this is to recognize it, and then not allow it to manifest itself and disable the Church. Until we get over ourselves and start loving each other and being peacemaking obedient children of the Most High God, we will continue to see the Church become more and more powerless. And, sin more and more rampant.

James goes so far as to say that when we hate it is like we are committing murder in our hearts. That statement sounds a lot like when Jesus said when He informed us that simply looking at another with lust we have already committed adultery. These are HUGE statements...and somewhat hard to swallow...

We do not allow ourselves to really ALLOW God's Word in our hearts enough to see it for what it is. If we did, would we hate? Would we hate so easily knowing we would be considered a murderer?

It is an issue that begins on the inside. It is a heart matter. And where does it all begin? The mind. Our minds are the first line of attack. The enemy sends all of his demons to the mind, because he knows that if he can get our minds to receive his lies, he will get our hearts.

The only way to protect our minds from becoming the devil's playground is to consistently and daily study...not just read...study God's Word. Most Christians go to church, but few have an active and consistent life in the Word. Most of us are too busy making sure we don't miss the next Survivor or American Idol episode. Most of us hardly ever feed our spirits outside of our weekly church visits. And that my friends is why we have gay marriages and no prayers in school. The Church is overcome with the mind of the world instead of the Mind of Christ.

The more of the Word we have in us, the more peace, the more forgiveness, and the more love we will have pouring out of us. There will be less room...if any for discord, strife, and sinful conflict.

If we would just set our hearts and minds on God and HIS Will, HIS Word, and HIS ways, we would have less discord and more productivity in the Church. And the devil would not have so much control over our entertainment, government, society, and the Body of Christ as a whole.

Let's Pray,

Daddy God, thank You for loving me and making a way through your Word for me to live the life You created me to live. Please forgive me for any strife or sinful conflict that I have caused, encouraged, or have been involved in. Your Word says that blessed are the peacemakers. Well, I want to be blessed. I want my life to please You. Help me to recognize when the enemy is trying to bring any strife into my life. Help me to show Your love and mercy to others and not need to always be right. I ask that You remove any hate or animosity from my heart and replace it with Your love and compassion. Thank You, Daddy God. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

Copyright © Lara Velez

True and Pure Wisdom Brings with it the Gift of Peace

And the harvest of righteousness (conformity to God's will inn thought and deed) is the fruit of the seed sown in peace by those who work for and make peace which means concord, agreement, and harmony between individuals, with undisturbedness, in a peaceful mind free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts. - James 3:18

Last time, we learned that true and pure wisdom comes from a life dedicated to God. We get this wisdom little by little as we grow. Part of this wisdom is learning to submit to God and His will for our lives.

When we lay down our desires and live our lives to please our God, we begin to want the things that He wants for our lives. We begin to turn from the sin that used to so easily entangle us. As we develop the wisdom that comes through a consistently submitted life we also gain a "harvest of righteousness," which is a peaceful mind set. We become people who seek peace rather than our own way.

This is a wonderful gift. It is a quality that can save countless marriages, friendships, and relationships. If more of us would seek peace and strive for peace, there would be a major decrease in divisions, offense, quarrels, and our divorce rate.

Unfortunately, the only way to get this precious gift of peace is to strive for the wisdom we talked about last time. And the only way we can obtain that wisdom is by letting go of "self" and grabbing onto God and His ways. That is the biggest obstacle in this pursuit. We MUST die to ourselves and our desires. We must put others first and make the pursuit of peace a priority. If we do not, we will never have the wondrous fullness of a life that God wants us to have.

Not many of us want to let go of "getting our way." Most of us do not want to give up the things that our flesh loves so much. Not many of us desire to be God pleasers. Most of us are very comfortable living somewhere in the middle. Somewhere not too radical and not too liberal, but just enough middle ground to keep us from real victory and blessings in our lives. Just enough middle ground to be world and self pleasers. Just enough middle ground to keep us "luke warm."
Are you willing to make a change in your life? Are you willing to pursue peace? Are you willing to step out of the middle ground and onto the Holy ground? Do you really want all that Jesus died for you to have? Do you?

Let's pray,

Daddy God, thank You for Your Wisdom. Thank You for Your true and pure Wisdom. Thank You for the gift of peace. Thank You for Your life changing Word of Truth. Please help me to not settle for the middle ground. Help me to never be luke warm...or even cold. Help me to live out loud and be ON FIRE...for YOU! Help me to pursue excellence and be a shining example of a life dedicated to the One Who bore my sins.In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

Copyright © Lara Velez

True and Pure Wisdom

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure; then it is peace-loving, courteous, considerate, and gentle. It is willing to yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned, free from doubts and insincerity. - James 3:17

I believe that there are two types of wisdom. There is the wisdom that we gain through education, trial and error, learning, and life experiences. Then is the True and Pure wisdom that we can only gain from the Word and a consistent walk with God. The later is the type of wisdom we will discuss today.

When we seek after the things of God and make Him and His ways a priority in our lives, we gain a type of wisdom that you will never find in a book, class, or from any type of "worldly" learning venue. It is a gift that the Lord gives His children little by little. He gives it to those who want it and seek it and desire it. The closer we get in our relationship with God the wiser we become. We will make wiser choices. We will speak with wisdom. We will gain better understanding.

It is not the same kind of wisdom that the world classifies as wisdom or that they have to offer. It is a change in your heart and mind. It is an insight and understanding into the very character of God. Just look at the words that James uses to describe it. He says that the wisdom from above is pure, courteous, considerate, and gentle. Who does that sound like? Sounds like our Daddy in Heaven, doesn't it?

The more we seek God and the more we yield to His Will, the more wisdom we will receive. It's almost like fruit. I guess you can call it the fruit of wisdom. A gift from God. True and unblemished by the world kind of wisdom.

How can we get it?

Well, as I mentioned earlier. We can only get this God-given wisdom through His Word AND a consistant walk with Him. A daily seeking of Him and His Will. A hunger for Him and His ways. We must MOVE towards it and reach for it. We must CHOOSE it by choosing to make HIM first in our hearts, minds, and life.

Let's Pray,

Daddy God, I love You. I want to know You more. I want a deeper more intimate relationship with You. Thank You for all the many wonderful gifts that You have in store for me as I grow in my walk with You. Thank You for the wisdom that You have to offer. Help me to be wiser in all that I do. Help me to learn more about You and YOUR ways. Thank You for being such a Wonderful Daddy. I am honored to be Your daughter. I could never walk through life without You. Thank You for loving me...all of me...imperfect me. I love You, Lord. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

Copyright © Lara Velez