A teaching by Rev. Barbara Williams, President of the Ministry of the Watchman International
Week of March 20-24, 2023
MONDAY
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
James 1:13-15
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
James 4:2-3
God promises to supply all our needs according to His riches, which are in glory. But what if the supply does not reach us? There are many possible answers to this question. Two of them are found in James 4:2-3. The writer says that we don’t have what we need from God either because we don’t ask, or we ask in vain, in order to consume it upon our lusts. The spirit of lust provides an altar upon which the plans, promises, hopes and dreams of humanity are consumed. According the apostle James, prayer requests that are offered upon the altar of lust are never answered.
If you are in need of healing, there is good news! Proverbs 4:20-22 SAYS:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
So there is life and health in God’s word. Since God’s word is medicine, we must take it like we would a prescription. I suggest three times a day, like you would your food. Remember, healing is the children’s bread. Consider this your “dose” for today. Remember, read, and meditate three times a day the following:
Rx: Proverbs 17:22 ~ A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
If you’ve never studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we invite you to join us as we read through the Bible in a year. Read and meditate on these chapters this week:
March 20: Exodus 31, John 10, Proverbs 7, Galatians 6
March 21: Exodus 32, John 11, Proverbs 8, Ephesians 1
March 22: Exodus 33, John 12, Proverbs 9, Ephesians 2
March 23: Exodus 34, John 13, Proverbs 10, Ephesians 3
March 24: Exodus 35, John 14, Proverbs 11, Ephesians 4
March 25: Exodus 36, John 15, Proverbs 12, Ephesians 5
March 26: Exodus 37, John 16, Proverbs 13, Ephesians 6
TUESDAY
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
James 1:13-15
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
James 4:2-3
“Gee Barb, you mean I can never get my prayers answered?” Of course you can, but they must be made upon the altar of worship to God. When we worship God, we are the sweet savor of Christ. Just as the smoke from Manoah’s (Samson’s father, Judges 13:20) altar of worship and sacrifice ascended up to heaven and an angel was seen in it, so the smoke from our hearts burning with love for God provide the acceptable savor of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the acceptable sacrifice that makes our prayers heard and received by God. Nothing less will do. When we lust after the things that we ask for, the prayer is not even heard (Psalm 66:18). God does not add temptation into our prayer life. If He were to honor prayers made in lust, he would be the tempter.
WEDNESDAY
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
James 1:13-15
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
James 4:2-3
So we have not because we are worshipping on the wrong altar. The altar of lust consumes our blessing before it even arrives. It is of the utmost importance that we worship God and God alone. This is the primary condition that must be met for our covenant to be in force. James says that we don’t receive that which we ask for two reasons: we either don’t ask, or we ask amiss, hoping to consume it on our lusts. Lust is an altar upon which our desires are consumed, not refined and supplied. When we lust for things, we usually misuse them if we attain them, because lust leads to destruction.
THURSDAY
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
James 1:13-15
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
James 4:2-3
What we conceive in lust brings about sin. Sin is never profitable. Sin causes a diminishing of the outcome or profitability of our lives. The wages of sin is death; so all things that are desired through lust will lead to death. We will experience a lack of enjoyment, lack of fulfillment, or a loss of the benefits of these things. Many things that we acquire through lust only last for a short time, or we find we have repeated problems with these things. Have you ever purchased something that you were never satisfied with? Perhaps it was conceived in lust. Many marriages are driven by lust; careers are driven by lust, and material things are acquired by lust. These things do not last, or they are destroyed easily, and forgotten easily.
FRIDAY
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
James 1:13-15
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
James 4:2-3
The altar of lust consumes everything that is offered upon it. When we worship God, we cleanse our hearts of all impurities, and lust is consumed. When we do not worship God, we allow lust to consume our hearts and the things that we desire. The altar of lust is a consuming fire that will never be satisfied, and has a vain motive. The motive on the altar of God is love. Faith always works when love is involved. Love never fails. The altar of God is full of glory, and produces fruit that remains. Worship on His holy altar.