Envy and Selfish Ambition

James 3:13-18

13 Who is wise and understanding among you?  Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.  14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.  15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.  17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  18 Peace-makers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Dr. David Jeremiah says, "People's lives reflect the source of their wisdom.  Those who have a right relationship with God are understanding and concerned for others, demonstrating the wisdom of heaven.  People who are estranged from God will be sensual and selfish, reflecting the wisdom of Satan, which is the wisdom of the world."  James 3:13-18 is an incredible passage of Scripture.  It is a tough passage of Scripture.  The Bible clearly tells us that we are all sinners.  In essence, we are all SELFISH.  As sinners, we have what I like to call the "Burger King Syndrome," which is simply this: I want it MY way RIGHT away!  In our selfishness, we become people who practice envy.  What is envy?  The Holman Bible describes envy this way: "Envy is painful or resentful awareness of another's advantage joined with the desire to possess the same advantage."  The advantage we want in our envy and selfish ambition could be the advantage of title or position; it could be the advantage of power; it could be the advantage of material goods.  When we practice envy and selfish ambition, we are in sin.  According to this passage in James, envy and selfish ambition are considered wisdom of the world.  The only things our envy and selfish ambitions produce are disorder and evil practices.  James says the wisdom of this world, which includes envy and selfish ambition, is unspiritual and demonic.  Wow!  Think about those words: unspiritual and demonic.  That is what we practice when we cave into our envy and selfish ambition.  I don't know about you, but I don't want God to look down at me and see me as unspiritual or even demonic.  In contrast, James tells us what the wisdom of heaven looks like.  He tells us the wisdom of heaven is "pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere."  When I choose to practice the wisdom of heaven, I choose to die to self; I choose to live for Christ; I choose to live with humility.

Too many times, we want to be recognized by others.  We like recognition.  Let me restate that: We love recognition!  We want people to know just how good we are or just how talented we are.  We want people to know all about us!  We even go so far as to compare ourselves to others, and when we compare ourselves to others, whether intentionally or unintentionally, we literally want people to know that we deserve the same or even more credit.  As sinners, we love recognition.  We love position and the power that comes with it.  James warns us in this passage that as Christ follower we must strive for humility.  We must strive for heavenly wisdom.  We must strive to be peace-makers.  How do we do that?  I believe it starts with repentance and prayer.  In repentance, we recognize that we are sinners.  We recognize and take ownership of our envious behavior and selfish ambitions; however, in repentance we turn away from that earthly wisdom, and we run to God for forgiveness and righteousness that only comes through Jesus.  We embrace heavenly wisdom, which God gives us generously without finding fault (see James 1:5).  We pray for God's love to change us from the inside out.  We pray for God to exchange our prideful hearts with humble hearts.  We pray for God to give us an undivided hearts so that we would fear His name and live the way He created us to live (see Psalm 86:11).  We cannot give God glory when we are envious and selfishly ambitious.  And we were not created to give glory to ourselves or to anyone else other than God.  

Father, help me today.  I am a sinner.  I am selfish, and yes, Father, I am envious and selfishly ambitious many, many times.  I find myself practicing this unspiritual and demonic lifestyle rather than the holy and righteous lifestyle You have called me to live.  Father, I repent of this sin.  I turn from my sin and self, and I run to You.  Exchange my envious and selfishly ambitious heart with an undivided and humble heart.  Give me a heart like Jesus!  Give me heavenly wisdom so that I can bring You glory, so that I can be a peace-maker.  Father, help me not to live a life of comparison with this person or that person.  Rather, help me live without comparison.  Help me reap a harvest of righteousness by relying on Your presence in my life, the Holy Spirit.  Thank You for loving me, for saving me, and for calling me Your child.  Thank You for loving me.  Your love is enough.  Amen.

Be Reconciled to God

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ's behalf: BE RECONCILED TO GOD.  21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The word "reconcile" is a beautiful word in the Bible.  I know that this word probably doesn't cause you to think positively about the circumstances because of the meaning.  The word "reconcile" means "to bring into agreement or harmony" and/or "to settle a dispute."  The reason this word may not sound so positive to you is because if we are talking about reconciliation then we are also talking about disagreement and/or dispute.  When it comes to God, the Bible tells us that God is sovereign, God is righteous, and God is just.  The Bible tells us that God cannot and will not allow sin in His presence.  The Bible also tells us that we are sinners.  Romans 3:10-12 says, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."  Romans 3:23 goes on to say, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  In other words, our sin has caused us to be in disagreement with God, to be in disharmony, to be in dispute with God.  Because of our sin, we are powerless, even helpless in getting to God.  The Bible tells us in Romans 5:6, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."  Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  I know the word "reconcile" and these passages may actually come across as negative, however look closely at these passages.  The Bible tells us that God did something for us when we could do nothing.  Reconciliation takes place when one party reaches out to another party to establish peace and harmony, to establish agreement.  2 Corinthians 5:17-21 is one of the most beautiful passages of Scripture in the Bible for Christ followers.  The Bible tells us that when we repent of our sin and believe in Christ, we become children of God; we are reconciled to God by God through Christ!  We become a new creation in Christ!  Not only that, but we become ambassadors of God, ambassadors of the message of reconciliation for all sinners!  God doesn't just SAVE us and SIT us.  God SAVES us and SENDS us!

Today, if you are in Christ, I pray that you will consider the reconciliation that has happened between you and God.  I pray that you will, in an attitude of gratitude, tell others about God's goodness, about the reconciliation you have received from God.  Someone you come in contact with today needs to hear the good news of the gospel of Christ.  Someone needs to hear about our sinful condition and God's plan of salvation through Christ and Christ alone.  Someone needs to hear the words: "BE RECONCILED TO GOD!"

Rely On God's Love

On February 14, 1989, I took Marty Hill to a Valentine's Banquet at my church.  From that point on, we've been together.  Today is the 30th Valentine's Day I've been blessed to spend with her!  Over 26 years ago Marty Hill became Marty Hill Thomas, and God has blessed us with wonderful children to raise.  Has it been easy?  No.  Has it been perfect?  No.  It hasn't been easy, and it hasn't been perfect because many times I have been selfish.  The Bible tells us that we are all sinners; none of us are perfect; at times, we have all gone astray.  However, the Bible tells us that God FIRST loved us (1 John 4:19) and that God SO loved us (John 3:16).  As a husband and a father, I can only love my wife and my kids rightly by knowing and embracing God's love for me first.  Once I know and embrace God's love for me, then I can become a vessel of that same love.  Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her."  As an imperfect man incapable of loving this way on my own, I need help.  1 John 4:16 says, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."  I can love my wife and love my kids the way God wants me to love them, but I have to know His love first.  I have to rely on His love each and every day in each and every relationship I have, most importantly the relationship I have with my wife and the relationships I have with our children.

Lord, thank You for loving me FIRST and loving me SO!  I believe in Your love, and I embrace Your love as a vessel.  I rely on Your love today and every day so that I can love my wife the way You created me to love her.  I rely on Your love today and every day so that I can love our children the way You created me to love them.  Thank You for Your Word that is truth and light and love.  Forgive me of my sins, my faults, and my failures.  Forgive me of my selfish desires and passions.  Help me to live in righteousness.  Help me to love in righteousness.  Amen.

The Power of His Love

Ephesians 3:14-19

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

In Matthew 22, when Jesus was asked by an expert in the law what the greatest commandment of God was, Jesus told him, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."  God's greatest commandment for us is to love: love God and love others.

Today, you may be struggling with love.  You may be struggling to love others the way God commands because you are struggling to grasp God's love for you.  Today, I want you to know the power of His love.  John 3:16 says, "For God SO LOVED the world that he gave his one Son, that whoever believes sin him shall not perish but have eternal life."  1 John 4:16 says, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."  And 1 John 4:19 goes on to say, "We love because he FIRST LOVED us."  Two things I want you to know first about God's love for you: 1) He SO LOVES you, and 2) He FIRST LOVES you.  God's love is not something you deserve or something you earn.  God's love is also not something you can lose or lessen.  Another thing I want you to know about God's love for you: God's love for you is POWERFUL; it is so wide and so long and so high and so deep that it surpasses all knowledge!  That is why Paul prayed this prayer in Ephesians 3.  He wanted believers to think about God's incredible love for them.  He wanted them to be strengthened by God's love and filled by God's love.  He wanted them to grasp it.  Why?  Paul wanted them enjoy the relationship they had with God through Jesus Christ, who dwells in their hearts.  He wanted them to enjoy the fullness of God each and every day of their lives.

Lord, I pray today that we would truly know Your powerful love for us.  I pray that today we would grasp Your powerful love for us and that we would enjoy a full relationship with You through Christ, who dwells in our hearts.  I pray, like John tells us in his letter, that we would know and rely on Your powerful love each and every day!  I pray that we all would understand clearly that You SO LOVE us and You FIRST LOVE us.  Thank You, Lord, for loving us this way and making a way for us to love You and others this way, as well.  Now, may we do it...for Your glory!  Amen.

Help Me Overcome My Unbelief!

Mark 9:17-24

17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground.  He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid.  I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not." 19 "You UNBELIEVING generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you?  How long shall I put up with you?  Bring the boy to me."  20 So they brought him.  When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion.  He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.  21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"  "From childhood," he answered.  22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him.  But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."  23 "'If you can'?" said Jesus.  "Everything is possible for one who BELIEVES."  24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do BELIEVE; help me overcome my UNBELIEF!"

There are so many reasons I love this passage of Scripture.  This passage is truth for me.  I am so much like the father.  I am so much like the son.  I am so much like the disciples.  So many times in my life I have found that my UNBELIEF is greater than my BELIEF.  That is so sad.  Jesus must have been so disappointed when He said, "You UNBELIEVING generation."  He even went on to say, "How long shall I stay with you?  How long shall I put up with you?"  Throughout the Scriptures I have found a certain truth about Jesus that I am so thankful for, and it is this: Jesus is extremely patient with me.  As you continue reading this passage, we find that Jesus commanded the spirit to come out of the boy.  Verse 26 says, "The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out.  The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, 'He's dead.'"  So many people still didn't BELIEVE.  But verse 27 goes on to say, "But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up."  I think the most important verse to hold on to in this passage is verse 23, when Jesus says, "Everything is possible for one who BELIEVES."  And now, I most identify with the father.  Today, I am crying out just like the father cried out, "I do BELIEVE; help me overcome my UNBELIEF!"

In Isaiah 43, I find another passage of Scripture that runs parallel to the passage in Mark 9.  Isaiah 43:1-2 says, "But now, this is what the Lord says - he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you Israel: 'Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."  If you look at Mark 9:22, the father told Jesus that the spirit "has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him."  But God told Isaiah that even when you pass through the water or walk through the fire, the waters will not sweep over you; the flames will not be set you ablaze.  Wow!!!  I desperately needed to hear this Word from God today!!!

I don't know what waters you are traveling through today.  I don't know what fires you are walking through today.  Your waters, your fire may be spiritual, may be emotional, may be physical, may be relational, and/or may be financial.  But if you are like me, you feel like you are drowning; you feel like you are burning.  Right now, you can cry out to God these words: "I DO BELIEVE; HELP ME OVERCOME MY UNBELIEF!"  Right now, you can turn from what you feel and turn to Who you know and what you know!  Right now, you can turn to God and His Word!  He loves you!  He has said to you, "YOU ARE MINE!"  

Lord, today I desperately need You and Your Word.  I am fighting with my feelings and my circumstances.  I feel like I am drowning; I feel like I am burning.  But I know You love me, and I know that I belong to You in Jesus.  I know Your Word is truth for me.  I BELIEVE!  HELP ME OVERCOME MY UNBELIEF!  Amen.