Remedies for enemies of the heart

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. James 1:22-25

The past few days we discussed about the enemies of the heart. Now what? That is the question.

As today's Scripture says we should not merely listen to the Word of God which will be decieving ourselves. Let us follow what we have learned. Then we will be blessed in what we do.

So, here's a reiteration of what we learned over the days.

* Let us cure our guilt by confession
* Let us get rid of our anger by forgiveness
* Let us overcome our greed by generosity
* Let us be free of our jealousy by celebration

Hope you enjoyed the series as much as I did. Love you all in Christ Jesus our Lord! God bless.

Enemies of the heart - Jealousy

Jealousy is an emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection. Jealousy often consists of a combination of presenting emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness and disgust. It is not to be confused with envy. [Wikipedia]

The attitude behind jealousy: God owes me!

We read in the Scriptures that God is jealous (Exodus 34:14); but it is the right kind. In Deuteronomy 32:21 we read, they made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols.

There is a difference between ambition, determination, motivation and being jealous.

Cure for jealousy: Celebration. Acknowledging what we have is much more than what we deserve.

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 kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. 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. James 4:1-3

Let us celebrate what we have! Let us praise His Holy name with a grateful heart!

Have a blessed weekend!

Enemies of the heart - Guilt

Guilt is defined as feelings of culpability especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy : morbid self-reproach often manifest in marked preoccupation with the moral correctness of one's behavior.

Attitude behind guilt: I owe you.

Guilt can be a killer when we are really at fault. It is a result of our unconfessed sin.

Cure for guilt: Confession

We need to confess it to God obvisousely but we also need to confess it to one another - whoever we offended.

King David writes:  I decided to confess them to you, O LORD. ... I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Psalm 32:5

James writes: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16

Confession will set you free!

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:34-36

Enemies of the heart - Greed

Greed is an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.

Attitude of the greedy is - I owe me!

A greedy person can become dishonest, deceitful because he/she is lways looking out for more.

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 5:10

“What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’” Mark 7:20-23

Luke 12 talks about a rich fool. He was called a fool because he failed to realize where his increase came from. He had forgotten who blessed him with the harvest in the first place. He claimed it all as 'his'.

Greed is not a financial issue; it is a heart issue. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:34

Cure for greed - Generosity. Acknowledging that God has blessed us and what we have belongs to Him.

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly andwhoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6

Let us make this our prayer, like King David: Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Psalm 119:36

Excerpt frommy Sunday school notes...

Enemies of the heart - Anger

Anger is an emotion related to one's psychological interpretation of having been offended, wronged or denied and a tendency to undo that by retaliation.

Attitude behind anger - You owe me!

God's anger is different from man's anger.

Psalm 86:15 - But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Ephesians 4:26-27 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. James 1:20

God's anger is moral, holy and is about the righteousness of God. Man's anger is selfish, immoral and sinful - someone will have to pay.

Issues of anger - ill health, depression, paranoid, suspicious of others, judgemental, messes up our relationship with people and ultimately God Almighty.

Cure for anger: Forgiveness

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Colossians 3:5-8

Excerpt from my sunday school notes...