HEAVENLY INCLINED...: PASSIONS & DESIRES...

Thanksgiving for the LORD's Favor

Psalms 138 (A Psalm of David)
1/ I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
2/ I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
3/ In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
4/ All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
5/ Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.
6/ Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
7/ Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
8/ The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me:
thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands... AMEN!!!

One CANNOT earn GRACE, it is HIS own ESSENCE; a gift, still, IF one claims to be IN HIS GRACE, we ARE to, or, OUGHT to, be reflections of that GRACE! 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1, tells us not to take HIS GRACE in vain! This means, living in LOVE, morality, ethics, virtue, righteousness, and, spiritual improvement, TOWARDS, spiritual maturity, WHILE, visibly BEING as LIGHTS, beaming OF *GOD*, beckoning the world, TO THE LIGHT! Righteousness MEANS, conduct in conformity with *GOD'S* WILL, and, "Be HOLY because I AM HOLY!", therefore, indicating that knowledge, wisdom, and, effort, DO, apply TO the righteous!!! NEVER forget, we were grafted in, and, if we do not bear fruit, as a dead branch, we will be pruned out, just as were, the natural branches!!!

We are not saved by works, instead, works PROVE HIM in us: they identify HIS own...

IF I claim ONENESS with *GOD*, through CHRIST JESUS, I am DEAD TO THE WORLD, THUS, LIVING as HIM, which is, hopefully, witnessed IN, and, THROUGH, my every thought, action, and, reaction; MEANING, I am, THROUGH CONSCIOUS application OF THE WORD, HIS COMMANDS, HIS WILL, REFLECTING righteousness, not, merely, FAITH! I become, the TRULY FRUITFUL branch, of THE VINE, the TRUE member of THE BODY/THE CHURCH, CHRIST JESUS, and, TESTIFY, then, GLORIFY, BOLDLY, BY my thoughts, actions, and, reactions, HIS name, because, HE IS WORTHY, and, IN HIS LOVE, has SHOWN me, how I OUGHT to exist, to which, I eagerly, adapt, and, comply!!!

MATTHEW 5:48...
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect

1 PETER 1:14-16...
14/ Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance
15/ but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,
16/ for it is written, "Be holy because I (am) holy."

ROMANS 12:2...
Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

Conduct, in conformity to *GOD'S* WILL, marks the righteous; it is NOT because of guilt, or, ancient Laws, but, because of LOVE; LOVE for *GOD*, self, then, others! CHRIST JESUS gave us Commandments to live by, of which, the first is to LOVE *GOD*, with all of your mind, heart, and, soul; the second is, to LOVE one another!

LOVE COMPELS us to LIVE IN HIM, through conduct which conforms to *GOD*; in other words, morality, ethics, doing good, and, being good, and, ever striving to improve the spirit! It is about REFLECTING THE TRUTH, for ALL to bear witness to, FOR, and, TO HIS GLORY, RADIANTLY SHINING OF HIS POWER, GRACE, and, MERCIES!!!

It IS ALL ABOUT LOVE, baby, all about LOVE!!!

MATTHEW 4: 17...From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

JOHN 14:15..."If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

NOTE: I do not intend to preach, rather to reach; to stir up, awaken, to inspire, and, bring forth, in discussion, that which is, perhaps, dormantly existing in the heart of hearts, thus, little, or, no, sugar coatings, just THE WORD of *GOD*, the TRUTH, along with some of my thoughts. And truth is, I am reminding myself always, as I practice these reminders, in the best of my abilities, and capacities, while RELYING on THE LORD to lead me on that narrow PATH---> MATTHEW 7: 14: "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it... TO *GOD* BE ALL GLORY...

PASSIONS & DESIRES...

I was born with heavy, hearty passions; passions which, I often, allowed to rule me! Then, thanks be to THE LORD, I learned HOW to take these passions and apply them where they belong, IN THE LORD *GOD*, albeit, not yet perfectly! Since taking CONTROL of those passions, channeling and placing them IN HIM, life is all the more manageable, as well as lighter, and sweeter. Balk if you must, but, it is true!!!

WHEN our passions, and desires rule us, we are living separated from THE LORD! It is these passions and desires that KEEP us in the world, thus, in sin!!!

Uncontrolled passions, and desires are what create the wrongs of this life, it is SO obvious, yet, we are brought up spending them as we will, and as if they are inexhaustible wealth! Passion, and desire is fed, and fueled by PRIDE, which, THE LORD detests, as it is as quicksand for the soul!!!

JAMES 4: 1-10...
1/ Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
2/ You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask.
3/ You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
4/ Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5/ Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks without meaning when it says, "The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy"?
6/ But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
7/ So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8/ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds.
9/ Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection.
10/ Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

The concern here is with the origin of conflicts in the Christian community. These are occasioned by love of the world, which means enmity with God. Further, the conflicts are bound up with failure to pray properly (cf Matthew 7:7-11; John 14:13; 15:7; 16:23), that is, not asking God at all or using God's kindness only for one's pleasure (James 4:2-3). In contrast, the proper dispositions are submission to God, repentance, humility, and resistance to evil (James 4:7-10).

Passions: the Greek word here (literally, "pleasures") does not indicate that pleasure is evil. Rather, as the text points out (James 4:2-3), it is the manner in which one deals with needs and desires that determines good or bad. The motivation for any action can be wrong, especially if one does not pray properly but seeks only selfish enjoyment (James 4:3).

Adulterers: a common biblical image for the covenant between God and his people is the marriage bond. In this image, breaking the covenant with God is likened to the unfaithfulness of adultery.

The meaning of this saying is difficult because the author of James cites, probably from memory, a passage that is not in any extant manuscript of the Bible. Other translations of the text with a completely different meaning are possible: "The Spirit that he (God) made to dwell in us yearns (for us) jealously," or, "He (God) yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us." If this last translation is correct, the author perhaps had in mind an apocryphal religious text that echoes the idea that God is zealous for his creatures; cf Exodus 20:5; Deut 4:24; Zechariah 8:2.

The point of this whole argument is that God wants the happiness of all, but that selfishness and pride can make that impossible. We must work with him in humility (James 4:10).

I LIKE being IN CONTROL of my passions, and desires; it is a healthy, empowering state of existence! Before, when I was ruled by such, I often felt empty, inferior, and incomplete! Of course, I didn't UNDERSTAND why, but now, I see that this is part of the enemy's plan, that it is all the easier for us to slip, stumble, fall, and be bound to what is NOT of *GOD*, nor HIS WILL!!!

I LOVE THE LORD, and so, I STUDY HIS WAYS, to LEARN where I have gone wrong, then, work to correct, and improve my overall being, that I can inch closer to HIM, because after having lived in the world, where HE was near, but NOT the center, and it was NOT fulfilling, in ANY way!!!

Tomorrow may not ever be, so TODAY IS THE DAY OF THE LORD, and the day of setting right, what is not! I CAN'T take time for granted, and I KNOW the instructions HE HAS set forth, therefore, TODAY IS THE DAY of IMPROVEMENT, FOR the sake of my soul, and most importantly, FOR HIS GLORY, FOR ALL GLORY IS HIS!!!

Extremes are not the vision, diligence is! We can't go beyond understanding, therefore we stick to what HE has prescribed! Moderation and modification, WITH understanding, and a heart of LOVE for HIM, WILL create mini-miracles in our lives!!!

BLESS HIM, PRAISE HIM, WORSHIP HIM, and REJOICE IN HIS LOVE for us, in HIS PRESENCE IN our lives, and FOR ALL HE HAS DONE, DOES, and WILL DO! HE IS THE LORD *GOD* ALMIGHTY, GENIUS, and FATHER OF ALL in CREATION! HALLELUJAH PRAISE HIS HOLY name!!!

REV. LWINSOR © 2013
BIBLICAL, and/or other references marked BOLDLY IN COLOURS