James 4 -- Where Our Arguments With God Come From

James asks the question:  “Do you know where your fights and arguments come from?”  He’s not meaning simply our fights and arguments with other people, I thin.  He also means those times when we fight and argue with GOD, for look what he says about where these fights and arguments originate:  “They come from the selfish desires that war within you … You want things so you can use them for your own pleasures.”

Sometimes I think we let our sense of entitlement build up within us to the point where we call a timeout from our Christian walk so we can let our selfish desires have their way.

But James digs back into Exodus 20”5 and delivers a knockout punch:  “The Spirit that God made to live IN us WANTS us for Himself alone.”  God is a jealous God, and He doesn’t want to share us with sin.

When we do give in, James has ready advice:  “God gives us even more grace … Come near to God, and God will come near to you.  You sinners, clean sin out of your lives.  You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time, make your thinking PURE.  Be sad, cry, and weep!

Father, I hate it when I do exactly what You’ve warned us about in this chapter.  I hate the way I fell – the separation from You that sin causes.  It’s still stunning to me that You want me for Yourself alone, warts and all.  I don’t deserve such love, but I cry out for it.  Forgive me.  Root out my selfish desires.  Give me a clean heart that beats only for You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford