Wednesday, October 12, 2011
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. James 3:16
Today we see the picture of what the results of man’s wisdom is.
This verse ties into what James said in chapter 1, specifically that lust leads to sin, and sin leads to death. It looks like this:
Lust–>Sin–> Death.
Simliarly in today’s verse we see that envy and self-seeking lead to two different things- confusion and a culture of sin.
Envy + Self-Seeking= Confusion.
Envy + Self Seeking= A sinful culture.
So when we see a culture of confusion, arguments and division we must assume that somewhere envy and self seeking exists. This does not find its source in God.
Application:
In our families, church, and relationships we must be lead by God’s wisdom and not our own. We must be humble and meek by putting others before ourselves. Otherwise we will help to create a culture of confusion, strife, arguments and division.
Study the Scriptures with Ben Jennings 
This passage is saying that where there is jealousy and when we think all about ourselfs like selffishness there are also evil work being done.
Thismis good!!! What i learned from this message is that we need to not be selfish. The reason being is because it leads to heving no friends and not a good relationshipwith your parents and god. Like Mafalda said where there is jelousy there is also evil worka being done. Like i say every day this worl needs god. I know i might sound like Pastor Ben but i have a challenge. Today at school try to talk to one person about jesus because you never know, it may make a difference in there lifes like it did for you.
Challenged accepted!!! Hehe 🙂 now I sound like Blake.
Is it bad that you sound like me? LOL
Good stuff Andrew and Mafalda!
It needs work but its CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!!!!!!!! lol:)
I like how pastor ben put things like this…
Lust–>Sin–> Death
Envy Self-Seeking= Confusion
Envy Self Seeking= A sinful culture
🙂 they r like really helpful with this passage. The passage is saying tht when we get jealous itd like a bad thing.
I’m gonna do what Andrew said he’s gonna do. 😀 I am gonna talk to people about how Jesus loves them and always has! And invite them to youth group tonite! 🙂 great message today! C u at h2o! Love u guys!!!!!! c:
You like my formulas? Awesome! If they help you think through stuff then that is awesome!
Great job guys!
Yupperoni!! 🙂 hehe it does help alot! Helps u think it though.! 🙂
Good one tristi!!!:)
It’s amazing how easy it is to be self seeking. The hard part is doing what is right as God defines right. Go didn’t call us to do the easy part but with Him working through us we can be the godly people He expects us to be.
What I got out of this is Envy and self seeking can bring a sinful nature. What that means is (Self seeking) only trying to help your self can bring you a sinful life style i’m not saying its bad to stuff for yourself but only doing stuff can bring a sinful nature.
We see this in our culture now, in our culture its all about what can you do for me and how can I be served. This culture definitely shows signs of envy and selfishness. The world we live in is moving further away from God and relying on their own wisdom. And like we talked about we need to rely on God and not ourselves.
I’ve really been learning a lot from the devos these past couple days! 🙂 James is really basic and to the point, I love it! Today, he’s talking about envy and self seeking and how sinful it can be. It’s so easy to envy someone, but that is not Godly at all! And it’s not what God would want for you. It’s the same with self seeking. I think so far this week, all three days tie together. By depending on your own wisdom, instead of asking God for wisdom, it’s easy to have a “me first” attitude which can lead to envy and strife. And if everyone has envy and strife, then that would be a confused and sinful culture. Kinda like a chain reaction. But if we ask God for wisdom in the beginning, then that leads to putting others before yourself, and so there’s no envy and self seeking. It overall makes everything better! 😉 I know that takes time, and a lot of trust in God. But I think us, individually and together as a youth group, can do it!!
can u imagine a world where everyone put someone else before themselves? Everyone’s needs would be met and there would be no bitterness and anger. Nice thought. But unfortunately we don’t. This doesn’t excuse Christians from doing the wrong thing though. We need to seek God’s wisdom and ask Him to help us on a daily basis to put others before ourselves. This is difficult since it is our nature to want to be taken care of and put first. I believe my Mother in law is here to teach us this lesson. Not easy to say the least. Serving others can be tiring but rewarding if you keep the right perspective in mind. We are serving the Lord when we serve others.
Hm idk how to word what im thinking, but i definitley think our society is based off of envy & strife. People always want more, i mean ive been wanting an iphone forever & now with all these updates out it makes me want it more! But it dawned on me that 1) i already have a phone which is good enough & 2) i have an ipod. Sooo why am i being so envious of everyone who has one? I have everything i could ever dream of, & God’s given it all to me! & yet i still want more. Envy–>Self-Seeking–>confusion & sin. Its so true.. Our jealously can change who we are if were not careful. I see this in a lot of my friends relationships to. They change for their boyfriend so they stay interested & dont talk to other girls. Its sad that because of jealously they lose themselves. (leads to sin & confusion!!!) The application of where we need to put others before ourselves will help us get the right attitude. I know i need to, cause i feel like its all about me sometimes but its not!! Also, we need to go to God. We cant expect to change our hearts without God’s help 🙂 btw, the song “My Own Little World” by Matthew West is kinda what we’ve been talking about the past few days, you guys should listen to it! See you alll tonight 😀
Sorry I haven’t been on in a while I have been meaning to but yeah so… What I got out of this message was we need to be grateful of what we have and not lust upon things that aren’t ours!!!:D and put others first serve others before we serve oursleves!
Good job Mackenzie! I’m glad you’re getting back on here! 🙂
i totally agree!! we should deffinetly put others before us!! i know it may be hard 2 do but i know we can all still try!! a great reminder 2 me is J.O.Y. J- jesus O-others Y-yourself. see u guys in a lil bit!!! 🙂 <333
I tend to take my own wisdom rather then God’s sometimes.. I feel as though I know what I’m doing, and then find out later I really don’t! I don’t want to live my life giving my own wisdom to others, and living by my own wisdom. I want to give God’s wisdom to others and lead my life! I want others to look up to me not because I’m “a-know- it- all” but because I’m living by what Christ did, and I’m taking God’s wisdom and applying it to my life. I don’t want to be a misconception to others, or a Lukewarm Christian, I want to be a real Christ follower, and serve God 100%! I really need to work on this! I need God’s wisdom!
Great posts everyone. I’m really proud of all of you! Keep up the good work and talk to you tommorow!