Bible Verse of The Day – 10-27-20

James 4:2 (NKJV) 2 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.

As we mentioned yesterday, James was directing these words at Christians, not unbelievers.

And yet he had to discourage them and try to teach them not to war (battle) with each other and stoop to physically fighting. Some were actually killing fellow believers.

Their lusts and desires were getting the best of them, causing them to lose all control in their anger, lashing out at each other in ways that were reflective of their worldly thoughts and their carnal mindset.

Their ability to reason was lost due to the evil desires at work within them. They had become so obsessed with having what others had that hate, anger and bitterness clouded their minds. Common sense completely disappeared.

Notice that word, covet, in the scripture at the top of this message?

Coveting is extremely dangerous for believers. It can be like a cancer that eats away at us if we don’t surrender that desire to God and let the Holy Spirit remove it from us.

God warned against coveting way back in Exodus, as He laid out His commandments to the Israelites.

Exodus 20:17 (NKJV) 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

And take a look at what James told them at the end of verse 2, above.

He said that they didn’t have because they didn’t ask.

Once again, their carnal nature was ruling them, instead of letting their spirit hear God’s voice and His leading.

So, instead of seeking God and asking Him for His counsel and His provision, they simply took matters into their own hands.

And what terrible results they got from that behavior. Let us all learn a valuable lesson from this.

Tomorrow we will wrap up this series with verse 3. Stay tuned!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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