This post is Day 19 in a series of studies about “James”. I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

Feel free to comment below with your own thoughts about each verse and how you will be acting on each thought. Also, if you haven’t yet signed up to receive the notifications of new studies, you can do that today (the form is at the bottom of the page).

James – Day 19

The thing that we cannot imagine from our blurred perspective of that first earthly home is that Adam and Eve did not even know that bad things existed. Until Eve took the fruit, neither she nor Adam had their eyes opened to the knowledge of good and evil. How wonderful!

James 4:1-3

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

The Thought

Immediately after his short message about being people of peace, James points the finger long and hard at our selfishness; something we inherited from Adam and Eve after the fall. Can you imagine life in the garden of Eden? No fights, no quarrels, no disputes, just peace, love, and an exciting life with the Lord.

The thing that we cannot imagine from our blurred perspective of that first earthly home is that Adam and Eve didn’t even know that bad things existed. Until Eve took the fruit after satan’s recommendation, neither she nor Adam had had their eyes opened to the knowledge of good and evil.

How wonderful to live in the bliss of never experiencing evil. Heaven will be like that.

In the meantime we can be encouraged in that direction by reading and obeying the Word of God. In today’s verse we have the reason that we have so many disagreements. We don’t ask God for what we want, or we don’t ask for the right reasons. We all need to purify our motives and ask God for what He wants to give us and how He wants to change us so that we can fulfill His desires for our lives.

Action

Ask yourself today if any of your prayers are selfish ones or, if they are answered as you hope, will those answers be used to enable you to bless others.

Pray for the right motives to do God’s will. Pray for His Kingdom to advance in the earth.

Praise Him that Heaven will be even better than Eden was.