until I almost died, prayed with groups of people, yet was left without victory. What was wrong?
I had a method but no power flowing through that method. You can have all kinds of methods, but they can become empty, dead works that wear you out and get you burned out with Christianity. People wear out because they think, I have to say my confessions; I have to do this and I have to do that, and I have to yell at the devil … They do all these things without a personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to teach us about rules, regulations, and methods; He came to teach us how to have a personal relationship with Almighty God and then with others.
When asked which was the greatest commandment and law, Jesus replied:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).
This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.
Matthew 22:37-40
In Matthew 7:12 Jesus said,
Whatever you desire that others would do to and for you, even so do also to and for them, for this (sums up) the Law and the Prophets.
So, to experience God and His plan for our lives, we are to look for the needs of others and do what we can to serve them. Our religion is not pure if it is polluted with “self.” Our self-centeredness keeps us from noticing what other people are going through. We must get our needs, wants, and desires out of the way.
The Bible says plainly to delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. We don’t have to chase our desires away, just our selfishness. Psalm 37:4,5 tells us that when we delight in the Lord, He gives us the desires and secret petitions of our hearts. When we commit our way to Him, repose the care of our load on Him — trust, lean and rely on Him with confidence in Him — He will bring to pass the desires of our hearts.
The Bible says to delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. We don’t have to chase our desires away, just our selfishness.
HOW TO BE RID OF STRIFE
James 4:1 asks the question,
What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members? Verse 2 answers the question with, You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled. …
What leads to strife? Jealousy and unfulfilled desires lead to strife. Churches, businesses, schools, and marriages are full of strife; brothers and sisters can’t get along, and on and on. When I came across the Scripture above, I had a great deal of strife in my life. James 4 explains that conflicts and quarrels and fights start because our sensual desires are ever warring in our bodily members.
Strife gets started because of all the stuff that we want that we don’t know how to get. And so we are struggling to make all these things happen. I struggled in trying to change myself, my husband, and my kids. I struggled with trying to get healed, to become more prosperous, and to get my ministry to grow. I was working on various “faith” projects all the time that I had started. I’d make all my plans then expect God to bless them.
Jesus is the Author and the Finisher of our faith, but He’s not obligated to finish anything He did not author. God said if we delight in Him, He would take care of all the desires and secret petitions of our heart.
James 4:2 continues explaining the consequence of our actions when we are jealous of what others have: …
[So] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. …
And then, this next simple statement from God’s Word changed my life about twenty years ago. The rest
I had a method but no power flowing through that method. You can have all kinds of methods, but they can become empty, dead works that wear you out and get you burned out with Christianity. People wear out because they think, I have to say my confessions; I have to do this and I have to do that, and I have to yell at the devil … They do all these things without a personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to teach us about rules, regulations, and methods; He came to teach us how to have a personal relationship with Almighty God and then with others.
When asked which was the greatest commandment and law, Jesus replied:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).
This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.
Matthew 22:37-40
In Matthew 7:12 Jesus said,
Whatever you desire that others would do to and for you, even so do also to and for them, for this (sums up) the Law and the Prophets.
So, to experience God and His plan for our lives, we are to look for the needs of others and do what we can to serve them. Our religion is not pure if it is polluted with “self.” Our self-centeredness keeps us from noticing what other people are going through. We must get our needs, wants, and desires out of the way.
The Bible says plainly to delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. We don’t have to chase our desires away, just our selfishness. Psalm 37:4,5 tells us that when we delight in the Lord, He gives us the desires and secret petitions of our hearts. When we commit our way to Him, repose the care of our load on Him — trust, lean and rely on Him with confidence in Him — He will bring to pass the desires of our hearts.
The Bible says to delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. We don’t have to chase our desires away, just our selfishness.
HOW TO BE RID OF STRIFE
James 4:1 asks the question,
What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members? Verse 2 answers the question with, You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled. …
What leads to strife? Jealousy and unfulfilled desires lead to strife. Churches, businesses, schools, and marriages are full of strife; brothers and sisters can’t get along, and on and on. When I came across the Scripture above, I had a great deal of strife in my life. James 4 explains that conflicts and quarrels and fights start because our sensual desires are ever warring in our bodily members.
Strife gets started because of all the stuff that we want that we don’t know how to get. And so we are struggling to make all these things happen. I struggled in trying to change myself, my husband, and my kids. I struggled with trying to get healed, to become more prosperous, and to get my ministry to grow. I was working on various “faith” projects all the time that I had started. I’d make all my plans then expect God to bless them.
Jesus is the Author and the Finisher of our faith, but He’s not obligated to finish anything He did not author. God said if we delight in Him, He would take care of all the desires and secret petitions of our heart.
James 4:2 continues explaining the consequence of our actions when we are jealous of what others have: …
[So] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. …
And then, this next simple statement from God’s Word changed my life about twenty years ago. The rest
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