Draw near through humility. God wants us to be in a relationship with him. He wants us to draw near to him because he will then draw near to us. Read James 4:8-10. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:8‭-‬10 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.4.8-10.NASB James starts out telling us to draw near to God because God will then draw near to us. He then…

Two steps. The Bible gives us just two steps to be able to experience power and freedom in our walk with Christ. Read James 4:7. Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.4.7.NASB Step number one, submit to God. If we are willing to tell God “yes” in every situation, we will experience His power. We must be willing to tell Him, no matter what, “yes, I will do exactly what you say.” That can be difficult when we don’t fully understand exactly what God wants us to do. Or, when we don’t see the final end result of what He’s…

Grace and humility. They go together and where you find one you see the other. See what James says about them in James 4:5-6. But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ” God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble .” James 4:6 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.4.6.NASB God gives grace to the humble. The one who puts others first and doesn’t seek their own advantage, God gives them grace. The opposite of humility is pride, where you think more highly of yourself and your ability than you ought. True humility understands that everything about them that is good is a result of God working in their…

Are you guilty of adultry? No one ever wants to admit that, but James explains clearly that many of us are and why. Read James 4:4. 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. James 4:4 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.4.4.NASB What is adultry? When a person pledges himself to another person only, their spouse, and then goes and gives his attentions and devotion to someone else. So, if we have promised ourselves to God and then are giving ourselves to the world by seeking pleasure and fulfillment from it…

Motives matter. When we pray and ask God for things, our motives for asking matter. We just read yesterday that our selfishness is the cause of the quarrels and fights among believers. Is it any surprise that James next addresses our selfish prayers to God? Read James 4:2-3. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:3 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.4.3.NASB Why doesn’t God answer prayer? When the prayer is selfish and self-centered, God doesn’t give us those requests because they would harm us more than help us. We are to be about seeking God’s Glory in our…

Selfishness. When it really comes down to it, sin is a desire to please self over a desire to please God. Read James 4:1. What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? James 4:1 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.4.1.NASB As James is moving from understanding Godly wisdom, he now is going to review things we should be avoiding. Why? If we truly are living each day with Godly wisdom then we would be wise to avoid these things because they cause arguments and anger. James knows that every argument can come down to selfishness instead of being focused on…

Acting out Godly wisdom produces peace. The last few days have shown us just how important having and acting on Godly wisdom is. Now we see the results of those actions. Read James 3:17-18. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:18 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.3.18.NASB As James goes through and lists all the characteristics that come as a result of acting frim Godly wisdom, we see that it produces fruit. Not just any fruit, but righteous fruit that creates and sustains peace. Do we have peace in our life? Does peace characterize our life? If not, then we need to go…

What is the opposite of wisdom? According to James, the opposite of wisdom is jealousy and selfish ambition. Read James 3:13-16. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. James 3:16 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.3.16.NASB Just yesterday we saw that Godly wisdom is displayed by acting in gentleness. So what actions characterize a lack of wisdom? Jealousy and selfish ambition. When we are focused on the selfishness and frustration of thinking that we are not held in as high if a regard as we think we should be, we miss the wisdom that God has for us. We miss the chance to see Him use us…

How do you show wisdom? James goes from telling us the difficulty of controlling the tongue to explaining wisdom. What does wisdom look like and how does it act? Read James 3:13. Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. James 3:13 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.3.13.NASB So, wisdom/understanding = good behavior + gentleness. We often don’t think about the importance of gentleness in all that we do. If we are going to display wisdom that is Godly, then we must realize that our actions must reflect that gentleness. We’ve already discussed that faith without works is dead. So is…