We Are Our Own Worst Enemy # 1

James 1:14-15

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.(KJV)

and in another translation

James 1:14-15

14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.(NIV)

I’m sure you have already found this to be true in your life. If you are a follower of Jesus, you will have found in yourself the same struggle that the Apostle Paul had-the flesh working against the Spirit.

Gal 5:17

17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.(KJV)

and the NIV says it as follows

Gal 5:17

17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.

I experience the pull from both directions all the time-specially in certain areas of my life and so do you, even if you don’t recognize it. And if you don’t recognize it, you just have not yet discovered what scripture means by the sinful nature’s desires. Because this conflict occurs in all believers.

Is there a time where the conflict stops? In many areas of your life it can be that way-and how? In those areas where you are not tempted by your own desires, your desires have changed to be in unity with Jesus’ desires, for Jesus’ desires are the desires of the Holy Spirit. For you see, something is only a temptation when your desire for something conflicts with God’s desire for you in that area. Everyone gets tempted by different things. And when those temptations come, you must crucify the flesh’s desires. If you have been a regular reader of the Word of God, you have been becoming more and more aware of what is the difference between the flesh’s desires and what are the Spirit’s desires. There are often areas in our lives where the desires we have are not exactly evil in themselves, but our choices in fulfilling those desires have not totally come under the control of the Holy Spirit and where they are not under the Holy Spirit’s control-control we have to give to the Spirit-we will go off and do what we want and forget to consider whether God wants us to fulfill those desires. Some desires are glutenous, and I am not talking just about gluttony for food, there are other types of gluttony also. Some desires are self-centered and if not under the Holy Spirit’s control in our lives, that puts us out of focus. Some desires have to do with things we just enjoy doing. Some desires are actually evil, and those we must totally crucify and throw out of our lives. There are all kinds of desires that can lead us into sin, that can lead us into being enticed to thinking or doing the wrong thing.

I have only touched the tip of the iceberg in this discussion with you. You can add a lot to it in your own time with the Lord. But what James says is true-that we are enticed by our own desires, our own lusts and these draw us away from keeping God’s will from being first in our lives in that particular area. See when we are drawn away, as James puts it, he is talking about being drawn out of God’s will into walking in our own will. That is where the first mistake is-to let ourselves be drawn away in to walking in our own will.

Ever heard of the expression, "The battle is in the mind"? It is in your thought life that the battle first takes place. This is why the apostle Paul wrote thru the Holy Spirit’s direction,

2 Cor 10:5

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.(NIV)

So the battle starts in the mind and heart of an individual. If however, you have gotten to the point of habit before starting a conscious battle, you have not battled at the beginning of the challenge, and so the desire took charge, and it is because of the habit that you have become aware of what may be wrong. Take a close look at these two verses this week. I have only begun to cover these two verses. There will be more on the subject next week.

In the meanwhile-ask yourself each day, are the thoughts I am following glorifying Jesus Christ, are the thoughts I am following leading me to do those things which give glory to God, are the thoughts I am following leading me to doing the will of God?

Ask yourself these questions this week. And write down the answers. You will be surprised to learn many things about yourself that you did not realize and you may find there is a lot more work ahead in your life when it comes to surrendering all to Jesus’ will. No matter what you learn, you will be blessed by the truth. Go into the Word each day as you deal with yourself and God in this area or that area, and let Him reveal to you what has to be cleaned out of the closet of your heart and mind. Let Him reveal to you where you need His healing touch. Let Him reveal to you where you need His help. You will be so blessed.

Folks, Have a great and blessed weekend. The Good News Lady