Earthly Heavenly
Wisdom Wisdom
Bitter Jealousy Pure
Selfish Ambition Peaceable
Arrogance Gentle
Lies Against Truth Reasonable
Unspiritual *(willing to yield)
Demonic Full of Mercy
Disorder Good Fruits
Every Evil Thing Unwavering
Without Hypocrisy
I’ve got a confession to make! I keep reading over those two lists from my post earlier today on James 3:14-18 and . . . well, there’s too much of me on that left side.
I get jealous. I get frustrated when things are not fair—although my Dad always said, “life isn’t fair”. I struggle with “Sunday Christians” who succeed, having everything work out in their favor while only tipping Jesus on Sundays with a little time and a $20.
I fight “self”. I don’t die well. I don’t always stay dead. I carry my weighty idols and fight laying them down to run into the arms of Jesus. There is comfort in "self" sins.
I am proud. I want to be humble. I have been humbled. I see the beauty of humility. I want to live there . . . but I don’t! I only visit.
I lie. I became a habitual liar during and after I was abused as a young teen. The stronghold has been broken and I rarely lie any more, but I battle the temptation. Why? It’s an attack against me from the evil one. He held me captive there for a long time so he knows it's an area of weakness. He doesn't play nice—he goes after our weak places. The temptation is there to save myself, save face, save my reputation—again, pride! Ugly, ain’t it!
I walk too much in the flesh—the natural man—“unspiritual”. I want comfort and conformity at times more than I want renewal and restoration in Christ. I daily—moment by moment—seek to seek Him because I desire death to the flesh. But, as of today, there is too much flesh living.
I live in disorder. The word means “instability” and “confusion”. Yeah . . . I got me some of that. Not as a whole, but there are spiritual matters that confuse me. My trust in Jesus is more stable than it has been, but it’s not where I want it to be. It’s not where He wants it to be.
I do evil things. The word evil here means “easy; ordinary; mean; worthless; of no account”. The word things mean “deeds”. Do I do some worthless deeds of no good account? Yep . . . guilty!
Satan would love to pound me with these failures. And he has been trying that most of today.
This is why taking our thoughts captive IS CRUCIAL!
However—I’ve. Got. Me.
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Galatians 2:20
I live by faith in Jesus!
He loved me.
He gave Himself up for me.
Daily I meet with the Potter.
Daily He molds me—
shaping me into the vessel He has desired to design me
since the day His thoughts first thought me!
So I confess . . . I went to my room, kneeled at my bed and repented of the sin of walking in earthly wisdom.
This wisdom is hard to fight because it comes natural
and is naturally all around us.
But God is my Defense.
Jesus my Savior.
The Spirit my Counselor, my Guide.
He reveals my sin,
I recognize it—admit and confess,
repent,
receive His forgiveness,
rebuke the evil one,
renew my mind and
request His freely offered gift of True Wisdom.
I walk in newness of life.
I walk in the opposite direction.
This is the beauty of repentance!!!
Thank you, Jesus!
Click here for the other posts from my study of the book of James
