James 3:14
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Do Not Envy or BE Covetous
All or Nothing?
From: Utmost.org
Have you ever had a crisis in your life in which you deliberately, earnestly, and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of the will. You may come to that point many times externally, but it will amount to nothing. The true deep crisis of abandonment, or total surrender, is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of only external things may actually be an indication of your being in total bondage.
Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is a transaction of the will, not of emotion; any positive emotion that results is simply a superficial blessing arising out of the transaction. If you focus your attention on the emotion, you will never make the transaction. Do not ask God what the transaction is to be, but make the determination to surrender your will regarding whatever you see, whether it is in the shallow or the deep, profound places internally.
If you have heard Jesus Christ’s voice on the waves of the sea, you can let your convictions and your consistency take care of themselves by concentrating on maintaining your intimate relationship to Him.
| APRIL 17, 2015From: CrosswalkThe Cure for Envy LIZ CURTIS HIGGS |
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Proverbs 14:30 (NIV)
I was a member of a professional association for just two weeks when I attended their national convention. Since my name badge didn’t sport a single special ribbon, people barely glanced at me.
Alone in my hotel room, I ended each day in tears, feeling inadequate and overwhelmed. I told myself I wasn’t envious. Simply, uh … discouraged.
Years passed, and doors began to swing open. Ribbons dangled from my name badge, and people smiled in my direction.
Soon I found myself dealing with a new set of feelings. How come she’s moving ahead faster than I am, Lord? Why did they honor her instead of me? I wasn’t jealous, of course. Merely, uh … competitive.
The awful truth revealed itself one rainy morning when I received an announcement from a colleague who’d been blessed with an opportunity I was convinced should have been mine. I tossed her letter across the room in an angry huff. “It’s not fair, Lord!”
His response was swift. “Have I called you to succeed or to surrender, Liz?”
Groan. Clearly, jealousy and envy were alive and well in my jade-green heart. When I reached out to my writing and speaking sisters — women who love and serve the Lord — I discovered they, too, wrestled with this issue. One said, “I understand competition in the secular marketplace. But I grieve over it in the body of Christ. What are we doing, setting one person’s work above another, if not absorbing the world’s way of doing things?”
Her words echo the Apostle Paul’s: ” … For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?” (1 Corinthians 3:3b, NIV). Sadly, we are.
Today’s verse reminds us that envy takes a toll: “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones” (Proverbs 14:30). For all of us who struggle, here’s the way out:
Confess. Healing begins when we acknowledge that envy is a sin: “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth” (James 3:14, NIV). Humble admission is the single best antidote for prideful ambition.
Avoid comparison. Consider the words of Jesus, when Peter fretted over John’s place in Jesus’ ministry, and asked, “‘Lord, what about him?’ Jesus answered, ‘ … what is that to you? You must follow me’” (John 21:21b, 22b, NIV).
Rejoice. Feeling overlooked? Look up and celebrate with others. Send an email or text on the spot, and chase away those negative feelings. “Rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15a, NIV).
Be patient. Many a career or ministry has collapsed under too much, too soon. Embrace the tasks you’ve been given, rather than longing for something bigger, better or faster. Success isn’t money or fame — it’s love for one another. By definition, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud” (1 Corinthians 13:4, NIV).
Befriend your rival. As one of our sisters explained, “A woman was brought in on a fast track executive management program at my corporation. At our first meeting, I thought, ‘Well, here’s my rival.’ Then I heard God say, ‘She is smart, energetic and sharp — just like you. You could become best buddies.’” And, they did.
Count the cost. Behind every successful woman is a host of sacrifices we never see. The truth? We’re seldom jealous of all the work a person does — just the outcome. Whether building a tower or building a career, the Bible cautions us, ” … Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money” — or time or energy — “to complete it” (Luke 14:28b, NIV).
Lean on the Lord. He stands ready, willing and able to overcome our weaknesses through the power of His Spirit. “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always” (1 Chronicles 16:11, NIV).
The Hand of the Lord
From: Streams in the Desert
The hand of the Lord hath wrought this (Job 12:9).
–J.H. McC.
Today’s Devotions
From: Through the Bible
April 17
Joshua 1:9 (NIV) 9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Two times in this chapter and once from the mouth of Moses, Joshua has heard, “Be strong and courageous”. See yesterday’s morning devotional and Deut 31:23 Sometimes we need to hear it from God personally to really have faith. What a word this is for us when there is a change in leadership or we begin to be called to lead. Why should we never be terrified or discouraged? The LORD our God is with us wherever we are.
Here we see two tools of the enemy, fear or terror, and discouragement. Today we often label discouragement as depression. If Satan can get you to forget about God’s omnipotence and omnipresence, then he has a position from which he can resist God in you. When we realize that is a lie, our faith in who God has been and is today, enables God in us to be Satan’s worse nightmare, an unbeatable foe. It takes faith in God to receive the enabling.
Discouragement is a tough battle to fight. Moses succumbed to it at times. Joshua would surely face situations that on the surface would look discouraging. Certainly every one of us does. We need to respond with eyes that see the spiritual realm. There, all things work together for good, and even the defeats are steps forward. Only eyes of faith that see God with us, working through the difficulty, can claim this positive attitude that keeps us strong and courageous. Are you faced with discouragement? Open your spiritual eyes and see past the difficulty to God in you working good things into your life.
Consider: Am I seeing with eyes of faith?
April 17
Mark 12:35-37 (NIV) 35While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? 36David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”‘ 37David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
After answering all the trick questions presented to Him with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, Jesus had a question for those who inquired of Him. Jesus referred to one of His most quoted passages, Psalms 110:1. They all knew that the Scripture plainly taught that the Messiah would descend from David. The prophecies declared this One would reign forever. Then He reminded them that the Scriptures are written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. To these points they could all agree. Now He springs the trap on them. Unlike the traps they were setting for Him, His trap is intended to bring them life. Their questions were designed to bring accusation. His questions were designed to bring revelation. This is a good tool of discerning our own heart and the intent of others. Ask yourself if your desire in asking a question is to bring life or to find fault.
The word translated ‘Lord’ is from two different words. An expanded translation in contemporary language would be, The Eternal One said to my Master… If David called Him Master, how can He be his son? The Jews saw a father as superior to his son. The question is then, how can a son of a man be the man’s master? Now it is the Pharisees that are on the spot. They cannot answer. They have no idea how that could be. There is only one way it could be, incarnation. The Word became flesh through the womb of a woman descended from David. Jesus was all God and all man, but without sin. Jesus is David’s Master and his descendent. Through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, David heard the Father ask His only begotten Son, Jesus, to sit at His right hand until all His enemies were put under His feet.
The people listened with delight. The religious leaders had pushed them around with their interpretations of God’s Word. Now they are silent, unable to answer questions about the Word. They did not respond with a desire to understand but with a plot to murder the One that understood the Word better than they.
Consider the divine wisdom with which Jesus answered His critics.