3Mar2014 - He Gives a Greater Grace

How you doin?  We had a great time in Va yesterday.  The Flyers won, which always helps, but more then that we love the time with our family.  Steve and I go to the game.  Stacey, Kelly, and the kids visit at home.  Everyone wins.  Then we all visit together.  It is a wonderful family tradition.  Steve and I talked about the entire family going a game eventually.  We'll need an entire row of seats.  After dinner we talked about God and read Scriptures.  Way fun!!!  We got home late last night.  I was up from 4am to 11pm, 19 hours awake.  I'm getting a little old for those kind of days.  I see a lot of rest happening today.  It's a good day for rest since it's snowing like crazy outside.  James 4 today.

Verses 2-3, "You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."  I love these verses.  It makes me take that hard look at myself or more specifically my motives.  In AA they say that good intentions can cover up bad motives.  I believe God, like any good father, wants to give us our hearts desire, but He wants us to be after His heart first.  These two verses remind me of other verses.  Matthew 7:7-8 & 21:22.  Philippians 2:12-13, my life verses. 

Verses 4-8, "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “^[e]He ^[f]jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? ⁶ But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."   WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!  I love what God is teaching me about spiritual warfare.  I heard Bill Johnson say, "Spiritual warfare is the only warfare that you don't look at your opponent... you look at the Victor".  With that in mind I hear what the Holy Ghost is say to me about submitting or yielding myself to God so to destroy the works of the Devil.  Again it's the order in which I read this.  Resisting the Devil, or sin, doesn't allow me to submit myself or approach God.  Submitting myself to God allows Him to draw me closer to Him, which cause the Devil to flee.  God is just full of great deals.  COME ON!!!!!!!  When I read verse 5, I think of the Jesus Culture song "Oh How He Loves Us".  It starts by saying "He is jealous for me".  I love that song.

As usual this chapter is loaded.  Please read it on your own today.  Yield yourself to the One who wants to draw you closer to Him today.   

PS   Verses 11-12 speaks of the Lords law.  The law of love.  Not the "Law" that leads to death.