Sensual fleshly desires

James 4: 1-10 Read with me: ” What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. Your are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong–you want only what will give you pleasure. You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy? But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but favors the humble.’ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”

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“…know that I Am God

I had an opportunity to return to the site of The Daily Lily Retreat ’09 for a couple of days this week. As I was out moving around the grounds and doing one of the things I like to do best, some landscape work, my eye was drawn to a new landscape feature, a garden bench, that was newly purchased by MG, one of our faithful intercessors. Situated under a small open wooden structure upon which grows wisteria, I knew it was an outdoor altar and I felt the Lord say to me come and pray awhile. I couldn’t even sit on it at first, I just wanted to kneel on the rawness of the ground and lean in the ‘arms’ of its curved form. On the top of it is written an inscription, “Be Still and Know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

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Are you being tempted?

Read with me how even the devil tempted Christ, but see how Jesus put that old satan in his place. “Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. I will give it all to you, he said, if you will kneel down and worship me. Get out of here, satan, Jesus told him. For the Scriptures say, You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him. Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.” Matthew 4: 8-11

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