Love Not the World

In James 4, verse 1, we read, "From whence come wars and fighting among you? Come they not hence even of your lusts, that war in your members? Ye lust and have not; ye kill and desire to have and cannot obtain. Ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. And ye ask and ye receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."

Let's pray. Lord, as we open Your Word, which is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, Your Word which is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart, I ask this morning, Lord, that You would use it to discern our thoughts, our intents, and our hearts. God, as we come before You as a family to partake in communion, to remember Your death, burial, and resurrection, Lord, would You help us to remember, truly remember, what You did on Calvary and what You won for us in that Your body was broken and Your blood shed. Lord, would You reveal Yourself to each of us afresh and anew this morning, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

You can be seated. We find ourselves in this day and in this age, in the place where we live, amidst a time where man, in general, is running about, looking for and going after all sorts of things in this world—the carnal trappings of this world. The lusts, the desires of our fleshly and wicked hearts are driving us to pursue all sorts of goods, maybe we could call them.

In James 4, verse 1, a question is posed: From where do wars and fights come from among you? The answer is quickly given: Do they not come from those desires of war within your members? Those desires, those fleshly desires that we have for things, the things of this world?

Don't problems and wars arise from those very issues within our hearts? Those desires that we have begin very, very young. In fact, it seems almost inherent in every single individual, as we see in the Book of Romans, that through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and sin filtered down to all humanity. All have sinned. We all have this flesh that we battle with. Whether you're a believer in God or not, we all battle with the same flesh and the desires of the flesh.

I was with my family this last week. We had kind of a family vacation. My little brother and I drove out to Arizona to spend the weekend with my parents. My sister and her husband drove out with their two kids. My nephews, Micah and Luke, are just the cutest little babies. Normally, I only see them for maybe a few hours on a Sunday afternoon when they come over to the house. But this time, I had an opportunity to spend five days with them in close quarters. I got to see firsthand that inherent desire.

I snapped a whole bunch of pictures, like this one. You probably won't be able to see this very well. This is Micah with big tears coming down his face because he couldn't get his way about something. On the drive back, we went to Sedona for a night and a day. I was with my brother-in-law, my sister, and Micah in their truck. During the whole two-and-a-half-hour drive, he was not quiet for more than 30 seconds. Most of the time, it was him crying about something—wanting something that he couldn't have.

It's amazing to watch when his little brother, Luke, has one toy that Micah really wants. It's really funny to me, and I know I was the very same way. In fact, my sister called me a few weeks ago, and we were talking about Luke. Luke is not even a year old yet, but he has this incredible attitude. She said, "Miles, he's just like you."

And she said that when he gets angry, he bangs his head on the floor. I’m told that I did the very same thing when I was a little baby too. She asked, "So what do you think I should do?" I replied, "Well, the Bible says, 'Beat your child; he will not die.'"

It's amazing how there will be a toy sitting on the floor, and Micah won't even care about it until Luke picks it up. As soon as it's in Luke's hands, then Micah wants it. You can see the fights and the wars coming out from among us for those desires that war within our members. It starts very, very young. By 5:30 in the morning on Monday last week, when Micah and Luke woke up, I decided that I'm not ready to have a family.

Thanks. There are always hecklers in the front rows. But from where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your lusts, your desires that war within your members? You lust, you desire, and you have not. You kill and desire to have but cannot obtain. You fight and you war, yet you have not because you ask not.

Now, we may think, as we read verse 2, where it says that you kill and desire to have but cannot obtain, "Well, I've never killed anybody to get the things that I want." I look around my neighborhood and see those things that all my neighbors have that I don't have, and I would really like to have them. But Jesus would say in the Sermon on the Mount that you have heard it said of old, "You shall not kill." But I say unto you that if any of you hate your brother without cause, you have committed murder in your heart.

There are times in my mind, and surely in yours as well, where you may hate the fact that someone has something that you don't have. We live in the epicenter of toys and worldly lusts and trappings. It has been interesting to me lately, as I drive home on Friday afternoons. I live off of Highway 78 as you go towards Ramona, and Highway 78 on Friday afternoons is fairly congested with people.

In my neighborhood, it seems that the garages are no longer places for cars but for toys. We have malls all around filled with toys and things, and now there are three or four bike centers, like the Escondido Bike Centers just over the hill, where we can get even more toys and gadgets.

But you lust, you have, and you kill; you desire to have but cannot obtain. You fight and you war, yet you have not because you ask not. We often find ourselves tempted by our flesh to desire these things, to lust after what our friends, families, or neighbors may have. We look at those things and want them, but we are reminded that we have not because we ask not.

In Chapter 1, we saw that if anyone lacks wisdom, they should ask of God, and He will give. Our God is gracious and faithful; He provides for those in need. In Matthew Chapter 6, we are told not to worry about what we will wear, where we will sleep, or what we will eat. After all, these are the things that the Gentiles seek. Your Heavenly Father knows what you need.

Matthew Chapter 6, verse 33, instructs us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto us. Psalm 37 tells us that as we delight ourselves in the Lord, He shall give us the desires of our hearts. Our God is a good God who enjoys and loves taking care of His children.

Yet, there are many times we go lacking because we do not ask. Sometimes, we come to Him with interesting requests. Verse 3 states that you ask and you receive not. There are moments when we approach the Lord asking for certain things, like when my little brother and I drove out to Arizona and saw the Nissan Z drive by. "Ooh Lord, I'd like to have that."

Especially right about now, my four-cylinder truck is not doing too well out here on this hill in the middle of the Mojave Desert. We come to the Lord and sometimes ask with our fleshly desires, "Lord, I want this, I need this, I've got to have this, I deserve this. Lord, please."

You ask and you receive not because you ask amiss. You're asking in the wrong direction; your focus is incorrect. You may be asking to consume it or spend it upon your lusts or pleasures. Sometimes we say, "Well, I've been asking for a long time for this thing, and God has not answered." Maybe the reason is that we're asking in the wrong direction. We're asking to fulfill our desires, our lusts, our flesh. The Lord, knowing what we truly need, oftentimes does not answer.

In the world and in the church today, we find that many people have their focus in the wrong direction. I have found in my own life that there are times when my focus is wrong, where my eyes are fixed on the affections of this world. Paul would tell the church at Colossae, in Colossians chapter 3, verse 2, to set your affections on things above and not on the things of the earth. The believer in Christ, the one who is a follower of Jesus, is to set their affections upon the Lord and on heaven, not on the things of this earth. Yet, we are tempted to focus our eyes upon the temporal, passing pleasures of this world.

Paul told the church at Galatia, in Galatians chapter 5, verse 24, that they who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and the lusts. Those who are the Lord's, those who are followers of the Lord, have crucified those fleshly desires after the things of this world. Why? Because they have come to the realization that those things do not profit.

As I read through this passage in James chapter 4, I really have to begin to question myself: Can I say with Paul, in Galatians chapter 2, verse 20, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives within me"? Can I honestly and truly say that I have been crucified with Christ, that this flesh and its desires have been crucified?

Or rather, am I like those that James describes in James chapter 4, verse 13, which says, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and continue there for a year and buy and sell and get great gain"? Am I one like Paul, who says this world and the things of this world are not what I'm looking after? I have crucified those desires and set my affections upon heaven; I am following after the Lord.

Or am I one who is seeking to store up for myself treasures on earth? I’m going to go and do this, and I’m going to buy this, and I’m going to sell this, and I’m going to get great gain. I’m going to build for myself bigger barns and pull in all this grain, and yet the Lord would say, "Thou fool, today your soul may be required of you." Jesus tells us in the Gospel, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where the thief can come in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where there is no moth and no rust, and the thief cannot steal it away."

Yet, in our day and age, we build for ourselves climate-controlled storage facilities so that we can get rid of the rust and the moth and ensure that the thief does not come in and steal the things that we have and want so much. We lust and desire after those things which cause division and contention. Those things draw us away and distract us from the Lord. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Sadly, in the church today in America, there are many people whose hearts are focused on the affections of this world. We cannot truly and honestly say sometimes, "Maranatha, Lord Jesus, come quickly," without following it with, "But wait until I fill in the blank." I know in my life there have been times where I’ve said that—where I’ve said, "Lord, I want you to come quickly, but first I’d like to do this or have this." That statement is indicative of a person whose affections are in the wrong place. It reveals a heart that is trapped by the treasures of this world.

And so, James begins to speak to that here in James chapter 4.

He confronts that issue. I'm sure that as you've been going through James with us in the last few weeks, you've seen that James boldly confronts issues within the church. He points out the very problem right here and asks, "Where do these fights come from among you?" They come from your own desires.

Then he says in verse 4, "You adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." That's a pretty powerful and heavy statement. He addresses adulterers and adulteresses, those who are fooling around with the things of this world. In essence, they are doing the very same thing that the children of Israel were said to have done in the book of Jeremiah. They have committed adultery against their husband, their maker, the Lord. They have played the harlot with the things of this world.

James says that exact same thing here. He asks, "Don't you know that a friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?" Paul would say in Romans chapter 8, verse 6, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." The carnal mind is at enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Those who are walking in the flesh, seeking after the things of the flesh, this world, and its desires, cannot please God. That's a pretty heavy statement. When I read such things, I have to consider where I am in my life. Am I walking after the Lord and seeking to walk in the Spirit, not fulfilling the lusts of my flesh? Or am I walking in the flesh, not pleasing to the Lord?

Can I say with Paul that I have been crucified with Christ? Have those fleshly lusting desires been crucified with the Lord, and am I following after Him? Or am I one of those who says, "I'm here to get great gain"? Don't you know that friendship with the world...

Is enmity against God? Or do you think, in verse 5, that the Scripture says in vain that the Spirit dwells in us and lusts to envy? The King James Version may leave you wondering what that means. Basically, what he is saying in verse 5 of James 4 is that you should realize that God jealously desires your affections. God desires your whole heart. He desires you in every way. He desires that I would not be hindered by the things of this world but that I would be in constant communion with Him.

Yet, I know in my life, and I'm sure in your life, that's not always the case. But in verse 6, He gives more grace. I thank God that this verse is there. In the midst of those times when I find myself not walking in the right direction, when my affections are set on the things of this world and not on the things above, He gives more grace. He is gracious. Romans tells us that His kindness leads us to repentance. God is so gracious that He pours out upon us even during those times when our heart's affections are not right, so that He can seek to draw us back to Him.

However, do not confuse the grace of God with Him saying that it's okay for you to continue in that walk. Do not confuse the fact that God is gracious and that He is long-suffering and patient with Him saying that He condones the way you live your life and that your affections are on the things of this earth. As we see in Romans 6, Paul the Apostle says in verse 1, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" Shall we continue to walk in this way with our affections in the wrong area even though God's grace continues to abound upon us? God forbid! How shall we that have died to sin live any longer therein? Know you not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death.

That, like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life. You see, if you've been baptized with Christ, as you've gone down into the water and come up out of the water, you're identifying with His death, His burial, and His resurrection. Now, by the power of God, you've risen to newness of life. You are called to walk in a new life that God desires to live in and through you and in and through me.

Paul says that if you've been baptized with Christ, you've died to those things. You're declaring to the world by baptism that you are no longer living for the things of this world; you are living your life for God. Do we sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. God forbid. We've died to those things. Reckon yourselves indeed to be dead to sin, as stated in Romans chapter 6, verse 11. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. Because of God's grace, we are no longer under the law and no longer under sin. He desires that we would be unhindered by the trappings of this world so that we can follow after Him.

I praise the Lord that He gives more grace during those times when we find ourselves with our affections in the wrong area, the wrong place. So what should we do if we find ourselves in that place? Verse 6 of James chapter 4 states that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. That person who hardens their heart proudly and says, "I'm going to continue in my own way," will not receive grace. The Lord resists that proud person but gives grace to the humble.

Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. He says, church, if you're double-minded today, if your heart and mind are split between the affections of this world and the things of God and heaven, repent. Cleanse your hands. Purify your hearts.

Verse 9 and verse 10 stand out to me as I read through this passage. It says there, "Be afflicted and mourn. Weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness." For the person who has their mind and heart fixed on the affections of this world, who is seeking the pleasures of this world, he says to that person, "Be afflicted." Realize your own misery. Understand that those things in this world are not truly going to satisfy. They do not satisfy the insatiable appetites of the flesh.

Every one of us knows this to be the case. Every single one of us has experienced this in our lives. You save up or you go get a loan to get something that you really want, thinking, "When I get this thing, it's going to make me happy." Then you get it, and what happens? Either you go to Costco and find it cheaper, or that expensive piece of plastic is outdated in 36 hours. In the world that we live in today, that's the way it is.

I bought this digital camera several months ago, 6.3 megapixels. This was like the Mondo digital camera. I was on this train out in Arizona, and this guy was showing another guy his new camera. It was 8 megapixels. I thought, "8, huh? Wow." You see, those things in this world pass by really quickly. Several years ago, I bought a new set of golf clubs that I was sure would make my game better. I sold them two nights ago after I played with them once.

The things in this world will not satisfy. I'm not saying that the things in this world, the toys that many of us do have and enjoy, are sin in and of themselves. The Lord has given us all things to enjoy.

But when they are put in the place of God and our affections are on those things instead of upon the Lord, then it becomes sin. If it distracts us from Him, then it's sin. There are a lot of things trying to pull us in this world into a place where our affections are seated here on this earth. That is what the enemy wants to do with every single one of us.

Look at marketing today. Look how powerful it is. Do you really think that Pepsi and all these companies spend multiple millions of dollars for a 30-second ad on Super Bowl Sunday just to make you laugh? The whole of this earth is under the sway of the wicked one, trying to entrap us, tie us down, and entangle us with the cares of this world that choke out the life of Christ in our lives.

Be afflicted. Realize the misery that is found in those things. Mourn over it and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. If your focus is completely upon those pleasures, then may the pleasure that you receive from those pleasures be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Oftentimes, I have found in this world that the joy of those passing pleasures is turned to heaviness as soon as you get the credit card bill, and you realize the burden that you now carry.

Then he says in verse 10, "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up." Humble yourself. Die to those things. Die to that desire. Lay yourself down at the feet of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. He will show you a life.

That is far more satisfying than anything that the world could ever give. He will show you a prosperity that the world cannot know as you humble yourself in the sight of the Lord. Drawing near to Him, He will draw near to us.

The thing that grieves me this morning, though, is not just that we see the world and the marketing of this world trying to pull people into this trap of being entangled with the cares of this world. There is a teaching that is now going around the church in America that I believe is encouraging this love for the world and the things thereof. This teaching is, in fact, present in our own community. People that I know, who I went to school with and who were part of the youth group here when I was in the youth group, are now attending churches that teach that you have liberty in Christ. The Bible does say that, but they have perverted the Scriptures to the point where they claim that, yes, you’re saved, you’re going to heaven, and it’s okay that you’re living with your girlfriend and smoking dope.

There is a teaching circulating in some churches in this area that asserts you have liberty in Christ to do those things. A couple of years ago, I had dinner with several friends, and one of the people at this dinner, who used to be part of our church, now attends a church in the area that teaches this sort of thing. While we were standing outside the restaurant waiting for our table, he was out there smoking a cigarette. Then, when we sat down at our table, he ordered a beer and sat there drinking it. I’m not saying that smoking a cigarette is a sin; the Bible doesn’t say that. I’m also not saying that drinking a beer at dinner is a sin. However, his attitude when he told me that he has liberty to do this and can do whatever he wants—that is sin. Yet, it is being taught in the church.

There’s another teaching going around in a great majority of churches in our nation today that is focused solely on social justice. Some of you may not know what social justice is.

Social justice is not a bad thing in the least. Radstock Ministries, which Kelsey is involved in, is very much engaged in social justice, seeking to take care of the needs of people, such as those afflicted with AIDS in Africa or the street kids in Kiev. A lot of missions organizations today are focused on social justice, but social justice is a byproduct of the gospel and not the prime product of the gospel.

There are churches today that teach only social justice. You go into that church, and that's all they talk about. They don't discuss the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. Instead, they talk about causes, what we need to do, and how we need to get involved. What does this do? It focuses people on earth and not on heaven. It directs man's heart and affections toward the things of this earth and not on the Lord, and it is wrong.

A person who is focused completely upon the Lord will seek to help other people. That's what James talks about earlier in his letter when he states that faith without works is dead. However, when you become focused solely on the things of this world and loving the things of this world, it's dangerous. John tells us in 1 John 2, verse 15, "If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. The world passes away, and the lust thereof. But he who does the will of God abides forever.

We are to be those whose affections are set upon the Lord, who are lovers of God. As we fall in love with the Lord, His love is built up in our hearts to the point where we, like the Lord, love the world in the right way. John 3, verse 16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe upon Him would not perish but have everlasting life." God so loved the world—the humanity of this world—not the things of this world that are passing away, but humanity. For humanity, He gave His Son. As we fall in love with the Lord, His love is built in our hearts.

To the point where we desire to bring that message to humanity, the rest of the world, it is very easy in America today, especially in Southern California, to find many trapped in the church and in the things of this world. They are unable to do the will of the Lord. God desires that we would be set free. He came and died upon Calvary nearly 2,000 years ago so that you and I could be set free from the things of this world and have a relationship with Him. Not that we would be friends of the world, but that we would be friends of God. He didn't die on Calvary to give me a new car; He died on Calvary to give me a new heart so that I could be in true fellowship with Him.

In James chapter 2, we see that Abraham was called the friend of God. Abraham was a friend of God because he gave up his friendship with the world when God called him in Genesis chapter 12 and said, "I want you to come and follow me. Leave all this stuff behind and come follow me." Abraham did just that. He wasn't seeking a city here on earth, a continuing city, but he sought a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker was God. His affections were set upon heaven, and because of that, he was called the friend of God. God desires that we too would be in that same sort of friendship and relationship with Him and that we would not be focused on the things of this world.

As we come to the table this morning to partake of communion, the bread which speaks of His broken body and the juice which speaks of His poured-out blood for us, we remember that He was broken and bruised for us so that we could be in relationship and fellowship with Him. Paul would tell the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 that we should examine ourselves when we come before the table. We have an opportunity and a time this morning to ask, "Lord, is there anything in my life that is tying me down and keeping me from having that relationship with You? Is there anything that's holding me up, hindering me today?"

The writer to the Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 12, as we studied a few weeks ago, says, "Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with patience, with endurance, after the Lord, looking unto Jesus." Our eyes and our affections should be set upon Him. Today, there may be some, perhaps many, in this room who need to refocus our eyes upon the Lord.

You have heard it said in our day, "He who dies with the most toys wins." I was in a store last week, and the clerk who was trying to sell me something actually told me that. I responded, "He who dies with the most toys still dies." I would add that their family inherits the credit card debt.

This morning, maybe we need to die to our flesh and the desires thereof. In remembering the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord, we too need to identify with that death, that burial, and the resurrection in which He has raised us to walk together with Him in newness of life. We could say with Paul, as he states in Philippians chapter 3, "I count all this stuff as dung, as trash; I lay it aside that I may lay hold of Him."

This one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind, I press toward the goal of the high calling of Christ Jesus. I aim to lay hold of that for which He has laid hold of me. Jesus saved us; He laid hold of us so that we could walk in newness of life, in that abundant life that He desires for each of us to have.

Are we reaching out to lay hold of that life today, or are we hindered by so many other things that are grasping at us, the cares of this world? I know that there are some this morning who are thinking, "Man, I don't know if I wanted to come today."

Maybe I should have stayed at home for this hard message. These are the questions that I've got to ask myself as well. Where is my heart today? Is it trapped by the cares and concerns of this world, or is it set upon the Lord so that I can follow Him unhindered? This world passes away, along with its lusts and desires, but he who does the will of God abides forever. Lord, I want to do Your will; I want to follow You.

I was talking with my aunt yesterday about different people I know who are younger than me. I'm 24, but some of these individuals already have thousands of dollars in credit card debt from all the things they've purchased. I was praising the Lord as we talked, thankful that I don't have any credit card debt. When the door opened for me to go to Germany, I didn't have to worry about those other things. I could just say, "All right, let's go." What a blessing it is to be in that position!

I realize that there are some here today who aren't in that spot because of mistakes you may have made. But what a blessing it is to be unhindered. I encourage you this morning: if you are unhindered, stay that way. If you're not, continue to serve the Lord with your whole heart where He has you. Make good on the things that you owe. Today, humble yourself before the Lord. Bow before Him and allow Him to be the one to lift you up.

Oh Lord, that You would deliver us from the desires of the things of this world, which are passing away. It's all going to burn anyway. With a fervent heat, we'll be looking at that in just a few weeks as we get into 1st and 2nd Peter. Everything we have, that we invest so much in—trying to get, hold, or keep—it's all going to burn anyway.

And yet, the Lord desires that we build upon that solid foundation, which is the Lord. As we see in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 11, it says, "For no other foundation can be laid except that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Now, if any man builds upon this foundation—gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble—every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire. The fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's work abides which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet as though by fire.

You see, there is coming a day when we will stand before the Lord, and the fire of His gaze will come upon us. The things of the flesh, the things that we may have strived so hard to obtain, will go up in smoke. All that will remain is the gold, precious stones, and silver, which was the work that the Lord did in and through us. So, where are we storing our treasures today? Are we investing in the wood, hay, and stubble of Southern California, which will go up in smoke rather quickly? Or are we investing in the kingdom of God, in doing and following His will?

As we come to the table this morning, the question that each of us should ask is, "Lord, search my heart. See if there be any wicked way in me." If there is anything binding my affections to this world and keeping me from focusing upon You, Lord, would You remove it? Would You take it away? I confess it as sin, and I repent. Because of the work that Jesus did on the cross—His death, His burial, and resurrection—if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

He is a good God who desires jealously our whole heart. As you delight yourself in Him, He delights in giving you the desires of your heart. I've seen Him do it in my life countless times.

It blows my mind every single time He does. Yet, I find that I lose faith so quickly in that. But He reminds me every single day, "Miles, delight yourself in Me." Several months ago, I asked the Lord, "What exactly does that mean?" I remember it was Wednesday morning. I was driving here to the church down on Nortey. I asked, "Lord, what does it mean to delight in You?"

It was as if that still small voice in the back of my mind said, "What is the one thing you really want right now?" I started to think for a second, trying to weed through all those lists and stacks of things that I wanted. What is the one thing that I really would desire right now? Okay, there it is. Then it was as if the Lord said, "What would you do if I gave that to you right now?"

I thought, "Boy, I'd probably have a big smile on my face and be filled with joy." The Lord then said, "Delight in Me in that way today and see what I'll do in your life." He's a good God. He saved us not that we would be trapped by the things of this world, but that we'd be set free to love Him and follow Him.

As we remember Him today in the breaking of bread and the partaking of the cup, let us remember and realize that He desires jealously for our affections.