pt. 2 ask

James 4:2 "You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask."

Following verse 1 of James 4, verse 2 gives us some insight to what happens when our passions, our fleshly desires go against our spirit. Our spirit wants what is right and good. Pretty much any thing we hold as criminal or wrong stems from this. We fight, we steal, because we do not have what we covet and we covet because we do not have. Ex. We kill because someone stole our pride, or maybe not even kill them but we fight them. We steal money because we see others with lots of money and see what they do with it. we want what we do not have.

Why do we not have? Because we do not ask. Jesus in Matthew 7:7-11 says, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" So, why are we stealing and coveting when our Father in heaven, who knows how to give good things, can give us what we need if we ask him?

When our flesh wars aginst our spirit, why do we rely on ourselves? We can ask our Father in heaven for help. When we go through hard times we can ask God for strength when we want to give in, for will when it seem to tough to go on. We, as Gods children can do that.

eternal now

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

A popular misconception among christians today is that "eternity" or "eternal life" is something we recieve after we die. In the verse above Jesus is praying and says that tihis "eternal life", "eternity" begins as soon as we come to know God and Jesus. 1Corinthians 2:11 says "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God". So the way to come to know God is through his spirt. As most christians know, the spirt ascended awsomely on the day of penticost so as to live inside of each person so that we can know God, but only if we accept him. "Getting saved", a common term used when someone accepts God. The only problem with using this term is that it seperates and makes us think differently about people, thats for another blog entry thingy. but most christians accept this idea of being saved or babtized into the family of God. My proposition is the same as the verse up top........when we come to know God, that is eternal life. This is an awsome idea, rather than something to obtain after we die, its something we already have. Amen