“¹From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

² You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not.

³ You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts.” James 4:1-3

Operating from self will, intellect and abilities, Believers (NOT unbelievers) desire to have and cannot obtain.  They ask and receive not because they are asking from their own selfish desires and not the Will of God that He may be glorified.

“You adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”  James 4:4

Adulterers and adulteresses are married to Christ for Salvation but depend on their own abilities, intellect and self will to obtain the desires of their heart.  Little do they know their desires are evil and their heart is deceitful.  Friends with the world, they continue manipulating in vain the worldly system to obtain and consume upon their own lusts.

Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the Source and the means by which they are Saved but not the Source and the means by which they daily live for God.  Outside of the Will of God, they are asking amiss and are utterly spiritually defeated.  For some, their faith is completely destroyed and they walk away from God.  Others, they remain in Egypt, bound to the world and oppressed by the enemy.  Peace beyond all understanding is something they are constantly trying to obtain instead of maintain.  Joy unspeakable seems so to always pass them by.

^“5 Do you think that the Scripture says in vain, The Spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy?

⁶ But He gives more Grace. Wherefore He said, God resists the proud, but gives Grace unto the humble.” James 4:5-6

As we struggle in vain to usurp the ministry of the Holy Spirit and ‘produce’ the fruit of the Spirit through our many wonderful works, vain philosophies and disciplines, the Holy Spirits “lusts to envy”; He ‘envies’,  if you will, the fallen nature which has control over us and passionately desires to control all of our thoughts and deeds.  He wants to do that which He is commissioned to do, which is superintend the Work of God in our hearts; giving us the desires of our hearts by removing evil desires and replacing them with God’s desires for HIS perfect Will in our lives.  THIS IS the circumcision of the heart without hands (Colossians 2:11); the changing “…into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Spiritual adultery is the problem.  We have become adulterers and adulteresses through our many vain philosophies being taught from the pulpit as Biblical doctrine.   These doctrines direct the Believer’s faith away from the Cross of Christ and to self will and intellect, talent, abilities, etc. as the source and the means by which we obtain.  40 days of purpose, celebrate recovery, 21 days of fasting and various forms of white witchcraft have corrupted the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and have made the Cross of Christ of no effect in the Believer’s life.

The Holy Spirit lusts to envy.  He wants to do that which He is commissioned to do but we are fornicating with others ways in order obtain the evil desires of our heart.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

The devil will not flee as long as we are depending on our own abilities.  He will continue to tempt and we cannot resist; therefore submit yourselves unto God.  Be determined to know nothing else among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

-Donna Clark Warren

“Jesus said unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes unto the Father, but by Me.”  John 14:6

The Way to God the Father does not change after our Salvation.  Religion attempts to turn our faith away from the Finished Work of Christ Jesus after Salvation unto other religious activities and ceremonies.  Church attendance, small groups, charitable works all become the ‘proof’ if you will of your Salvation in the eyes of the religious elite.  Sunday morning church service is gives the motivational speech for the week, small groups is nothing more than a social event and the charitable works plastered all over social media glorifies the church and not the Lord.

No one is growing in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord  even though they are becoming quite puffed up in their religiosity and recognized among their peers.  Spiritually defeated, they are faking it until they make it as they refuse to confess that ‘bad confession’ and are lying to themselves and more importantly lying to the Lord about their condition.

^“17 Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone.

¹⁸ Yea, a man may say, you have faith, and I have works: show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:17-18

Dead faith will produce dead works…even many wonderful works in the Name of Jesus yet the Lord knows them not.  They are workers of iniquity; unprofitable servants.

^“21 Not every one that says unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that does the Will of My Father which is in Heaven.

²² Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your Name? and in Your Name have cast out devils? and in Your Name done many wonderful works?

²³ And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:21-23

Faith that is alive works patience in the Believer because it requires our daily denial of self; denial of our abilities and intellect to overcome the wiles of the devil and trust in the Lord.  Picking up all that Jesus Christ afforded us on Calvary’s Cross TODAY, we choose to follow Him and HE orders our footsteps…not our new found religion.  We do not assume the ministry of the Holy Spirit to circumcise our hearts and remove those things which are not pleasing to God through our own abilities but we humbly look to the Cross of Christ and say ‘I can’t but You can…You did, HELP!”

Precept upon precept and line upon line, old things DO fall away and all things become new.  We are a new creature in Christ Jesus and the Spirit of God is doing a mighty work on the inside which is producing a change on the outside.  The good works ordered by the Lord are birthed of His Spirit and produce fruit unto God which glorifies HIM and not an organization.

^“17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before, beware lest you also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

¹⁸ But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:17-18

Jesus Christ and Him Crucified is the Way, the Truth and the Life for our Salvation AND our daily living for God…be determined to know nothing else among you.

-Donna Clark Warren

^“23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: ²⁴ For he beholds himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was. ²⁵ But whoso looks into the perfect Law of Liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:23-25

The ear is the organ of response.  It is the ear and not the mind that hears God’s Word.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 8:17

Those who have ears to hear, the spiritually discerned, will hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying His People. For those whose Lord is Christ Jesus, we have been equipped with the spiritual organ needed to hear God’s Voice; that still small voice which orders our footsteps when we so seek.  The Voice which illuminates the Scriptures gives us understanding of the Word of God.

“To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the Word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.” Jeremiah 6:10

It is with our ears that the choice of obedience or disobedience is made.  The Word of God will always bring us to a point of decision. The carnal ears perceive with the mind and see only the external; the shiny cup with the filthy inside, and cannot properly evaluate one’s self.  They are hearers but not doers of the Word and they deceive their own selves.

The Word of God, properly revealed to the ear that hears, will reveal one’s own heart.  Our response to the revealed condition of our heart by the Word of God drives us to the choice of humility, which softens the heart, or pride, which hardens the heart.  We hear and we do or we hear and we do not.  The more we ‘do not’, the harder our heart becomes and eventually, we will no longer have ears to hear.  Hearing we hear not and obedience to our Lord becomes disobedience when the Word of God reveals the condition of our heart and pridefully reject.

To be sure, the modern church and it’s seeker sensitive gospel will never bring us to a point of decision when our heart’s condition is revealed but will instead attempt to make us comfortable in our condition by means of humanistic psychology cloaked in Scripture. What we should really be doing when the Lord reveals to us the condition of our heart is thanking the Lord for this revelation, asking Him for forgiveness and seeking Him for deliverance.

^“23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

²⁴ And He said unto them, Take heed what you hear: with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

²⁵ For he that has, to him shall be given: and he that has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has.” Mark 4:23-25

The only way the Word of God can be obeyed is for the Believer to place his or her faith exclusively in the Cross of Christ Jesus.  It is there, that we look into the ‘perfect Law of Liberty and continue therein‘ (James 1:25).  2000 years ago at Calvary’s Cross, the veil was rent and we were given access to the Throne of God through the Blood of Christ Jesus.  It is by and through the Blood of Jesus that we are liberally afforded the Wisdom of God to all who ask (James 1:5).

“For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death.” Romans 8:2

Once bound by the Law of Sin and Death, the Believer whose faith is set solely and exclusively in the Cross of Christ, is set at liberty by the Law of the Spirit of Life IN Christ Jesus.  Continuing therein, IN Christ Jesus, the perfect Law of Liberty (the rightly divided Word of God),  is quick and powerful…it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

For those who have ears to hear, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified will drive us to a choice.  Decide THIS day in whom you will serve.  Choose Holiness.  Be a doer and not a hearer.  Choose Jesus Christ and Him crucified; be determined to know nothing else among you.

-Donna Clark Warren.