1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 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. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore 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 double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

James 4:1-12 ESV
https://my.bible.com/bible/59/JAS.4.1-12

What do you like about this passage?

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” When we have fallen short of the mark (sin) we have to ability to get back to God, just by submitting and drawing near.

What are we to submit to? It is not our pastors, leaders, or even the church, but to all of God’s instructions, the whole Bible including God’s commandments spoken to Moses. By doing this you are drawing closer to God and He will draw closer to you.

What is difficult about this passage?

The difficult part for me is verses 1-4 and knowing what passion I have that are not God-given passion that would cause me to be at war within myself and with others. Verse 4 just hits my heart so hard. “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” No one wants to be an enemy of God

In the bible, God tells us “to be in the world but not of the world”. What does this look like in the context of the passage? For me, I believe that if our desire is to obtain things for our own gain or our own comfort we might be part of the world. This does not mean that we have to live in a broken-down home or do not have any financial savings but is we want a bigger house or money to keep up with our social status.

What does this passage tell me about God?

That God desires for us to be close to Him and keep our focus on Him and His purpose for our lives.

What does the passage tell us about People?

We can lose focus on what is really important, God. So we will fight to get what we want, hurting others along the way.

What are you going to do with this passage / your personal revelation?

Began to seek God on what is His desirer for me to accomplish and do.