Desires

Is being jealous ever a good thing? Doesn’t jealousy lead to envy? Isn’t it wrong to want what others have? When someone demonstrates jealousy in a relationship, don’t we see it as a bad thing? So why does God say that he is a jealous God?

Sometimes, doubt follows amazing victories. Has that ever happened to you? That’s what happened to Abraham. The great patriarch experienced a commanding victory…but then, doubt crept in.

Do you feel it? There is a battle raging within us. On one hillside of my heart the sinful nature is encamped. This army, hostile to God, desires to be in control.

What’s on your mind? What do you find yourself thinking about? What are the default thoughts that occupy your mental energy?

Where does temptation come from? Does it come from our own desires that wage war within us? Does it come from the world, a culture that opposes God? Or does all temptation come from Satan? Do we blame our sin on ourselves, the anti-God culture, or Satan?

What do you dream about? What fills your heart with passion? What gives you a sense of significance? What makes you say, “This is what I was put on earth to do!”? Today’s passage provides three focal points in fulfilling our God-given desires.

Some even teach that praying with real faith is telling God what you want, when you want it, and that you will not take no for an answer. So…is praying, “Your will be done,” a cop-out? Let’s learn from Jesus. 

God loves us.  That’s an amazing truth, isn’t it? The eternal God has deep affection for you. He wants you to be his child. He longs to have a personal relationship with you. He desires to show you his great love. 

A great illustration of temperance was found in President Abraham Lincoln. After the South was defeated during the Civil War, some extremists wanted to wipe all Southerners off the map. Lincoln refused such harsh action, and in doing so, he started a healing process for the nation.