Desires and dying to self

I was watching a video today for the ACBC certification.  Jim Newheiser was counseling a man named “Jesse”.  During the third session he counseled both “Jesse” and his wife.  They had talked about a situation where they had both wanted something. Jesse had brought his friend home for dinner and hadn’t told his wife ahead of time.  She was frustrated with him and maybe even angry because of that.  They both had wanted different things out of the situation and it had resulted in conflict.  Jim was talking to them about how it wasn’t what they wanted that was sinful, it was how they reacted when they didn’t get what they want that was sinful.

I love these verses in James 4:1-6, “Where do [a]wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.  Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:“God resists the proud But gives grace to the humble.”

It then follows with these verses,  

“Therefore submit 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, yousinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:7-10

I love how it says to submit to God.  I believe that means our desires, our dreams, our everything should be submitted to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  I believe  that is talking about fleeing sin and temptation.  I think resist here is describing an action.  We aren’t just to sit here and hope sin and temptation will go away but we are to actively resist the devil.  He is the father of lies after all.  We need to resist his lies with truths from God’s Word.  

The most important thing for us to do is to draw near to God and seek His face moment by moment.   We need to pray that we would be a light in a dark world.  I was at my apartment one night and I heard a couple yelling at each other.  They were obviously very troubled about something and maybe had pain.  It made me realize even more how much pain and trouble people have.  We need to be a light in a world where there is darkness.  In a world that sometimes feels like there is no hope we need to show them that the only hope is through Jesus.  He is the way the truth and the life!  When all this fades away the only thing that will remain is Jesus.  If the sun explodes and the earth is destroyed Jesus will always be there.  Let’s love God and serve Him and spend our life pointing people to Jesus and loving them to the beauty of Christ.  It’s great being on this journey of faith with y’all! Praying for you!