James 4:1-10

It's been a while since I posted an entry in this blog. A few reasons contribute to the hiatus, the main one being this: I can't seem to find the right words for my entries. Countless times I tried to tinker with the words and phrases to create the right post for the notes I took from sermons. Nothing seemed to come out right. I found out, a few days ago, that most of the things I have been blogging about dealt with personal struggles. While all the efforts I pour into my Christian life involves self improvement and strengthening personal ties with God, I realise my efforts emanate from self-centredness. The results were right, but my motives were wrong. God was trying to get His message across to have me realise what I finally realise. Perhaps, He stopped the flow to my writing so I could take time to re-examine myself. If that's the case, then my daily devotions and the sermons plus the ENLI sessions I have been attending are bearing fruit. Little by little, I'm seeing a clearer picture to what He is trying to draw in my head.

I made a promise to God that I would earnestly and steadfastly take notes from Sunday sermons, and to upload the notes into this blog. It is not an easy task. It is easy when the right words seem to come out of nowhere, and you find yourself typing at an unprecedented speed. You don't even know what the next words are, what the next sentence will be, but God provides, and funnily enough, everytime I read the entry, I find wonder in the fact that God moves my hands and thoughts as much as He stirs my heart. I willingly had this string tied to me, this responsibility, so I can experienced the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, that my encounters with God are enriched. Like a kite, the strings provide me freedom , yet I would not stray away (Our Daily Bread, 16th June). The word of God is the string that ties me to Him.

Things happen for reasons that are unfathomable, at least to our finite mind. When we surrender absolute control to God, His answers start to kick in with such ease that made you wonder why did you not do it earlier. God wants humility from us. He does not need our expertise. He can easily pick another person to do a job for Him. Submit yourselves, then to God, only then He will answer. Submission to God comes with humility.

I was meditating on these verses- James 4: 1-10. Great verses. Last Friday, I went to Life Group at Timothy's place. Great session. There's a definite link between these two.

Let's start with the Life Group. The topic of discussion was Jesus Christ, God In Human Flesh. The topic is self explanatory. Throughout the discussion, we talked about what Christ did for us on the cross, how he came to forgive our sins and to purify us. And how He came to remove a barrier that is preventing us from sharing a personal relationship with the One who gave us life.

Then it hit me.

Forgiveness of sins. Why is it necessary. Why do we need God to forgive us? When we feel something is right, isn't that enough to give us the green light to go ahead with our plans? Do we need God to tell us what is right? Do we need Him to forgive us?

There's nothing much I can say to convince you otherwise if you harbour that notion. With knowledge, we have conscience. Conscience gives guilt. Sometimes you can handle it, sometimes you can forget about it, sometimes you don't and it starts haunting you. Guilt prevents you from moving further. Why else would it be that robbers and murderers can't turn over a new leaf, even when they have a genuine intention to do so. The devil is cunning, and deception is his masterplan towards every scheme. A murderer, for example, might accept it within himself that raping and murdering is part of him/her. A conjecture, but to me it's close to certainty. The point is, people find it hard to forgive themselves, so they "accept" themselves for who they are. It is not acceptance that we need, it's forgiveness that we need. And to receive forgiveness from One who is so great and powerful, it can't get any better than that.

Yet, forgiveness without submission is nothing. I would go back to my old ways if I merely ask for forgiveness without submitting myself. What is submission? From James 4: 1-10, the steps to submission is derived, so the whole definition of submission can be elucidated. They are:

(1) yield to His authority, commit your life to Him and His control, and be willing to follow Him.
(2) resist the devil. Don't allow Satan to entice and tempt you.
(3) lead a pure life, replace desire to sin with desire to experience God's purity
(4) don't be afraid to express heartfelt sorrow for your sins.
(5) humble yourself to God i.e. recognizing that our worth comes from God alone

* points excerpted from Life Application study Bible, NIV

As more events begin to unfold, we need to have every bit a clear motive in the methods in dealing with them. Are we motivated by anger, earthly desires, selfish ambition? Or are we motivated by righteousness, sincerity, mercy? When we pass critics to others, is the action tainted with envy? Or is it coloured by a deep consideration in mind to benefit the person at the receiving end?