“IF ANYONE THINKS!”

 James 1:26-27                                (ESV)

“[26] “IF ANYONE THINKS” he is religious and does not BRIDLE HIS TONGUE but DECEIVES HIS HEART, this person’s religion is worthless. [27] Religion that is pure and undefiled before GOD the FATHER is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

John 4:24 says “GOD IS SPIRIT, and those who worship HIM “must” worship in SPIRIT and TRUTH.”  Trying to worship GOD the way WE THINK is best is a prescription for doing precisely what “the enemy” wants us to do, and that is DECEIVE OUR HEARTS!  When we are BORN AGAIN (of the SPIRIT), our operating system is converted from a natural system to a SPIRIT controlled system (1 Corinthians 2:14-16)!  

Doing “what seems right” can lead to disaster (Proverbs 14:12), so why do TRUST anything other than the HOLY SPIRIT to guide our lives?  “IF ANYONE THINKS” that they have life in “this world” figured out, they are extremely susceptible to learning the TRUTH in a very hard manner!  ALMIGHTY GOD can orchestrate Blessings or catastrophes, and I wouldn’t challenge HIM.  It took me a LONG TIME understand that my mouth had to intentionally be placed in control of the SPIRIT OF CHRIST!  It wasn’t something that happened automatically.  

“IF ANYONE THINKS” that living for JESUS is a simple crucifying of ourselves, they are terribly mistaken.  The daily struggle of rejecting the desire of the flesh is not for the weak in SPIRIT.  To display the SPIRIT OF CHRIST to a world that is BLIND to HIM is ludicrous to those who haven’t been called by GOD.  “IF ANYONE THINKS” that they can make it to HEAVEN on there own merits, they are DECEIVED and are in for a RUDE AWAKENING!!!