Read James 4:13-17.

James is saying, in v. 17, that if you are certain of the Lord’s will and that he has called you to something that is good, and you refuse and push his will aside, you are in sin. This is very difficult to swallow. I still struggle with this to this day because on a number of occasion I have heard a clear call from God but I ignored it because it was either too difficult or not in my own planes. Well, when I pushed God away in that circumstance, I am in sin.

I think one of the lessons the author James is pointing out is that we are always in sin. We reek of pride when we think we are not in sin, because even as we are called to follow an instinct we believe to be from God, and we ignore it, we are pushing God away and in sin.

The first good we ought to do is recognize that we are in sin; that we push Jesus away and make ourselves our own god. It’s easy to pursue our own wants, our own things. That’s what makes us human. But Jesus calls us to a higher standard.

Jesus was tempted just as we are; yet in his humanity, he never sinned. In our humanity, we sin all the time. We are broken. We are living with broken hearts. Beat up hearts. That’s is why Jesus came. He came because he knew we needed help. We needed to be rescued from our endless sin. That’s why, as a Christian, someone who has fully accepted Jesus to take over his or her life, they are given this wonderful gift called forgiveness. To recognize our folly and ask for forgiveness is one of the most powerful acts anyone can do. And when we do, Jesus is always there to forgive because he loves unconditionally.

Jesus is sinless, we aren’t. Recognize that your not perfect, you need help, and that this life is not about you. It’s all about Jesus.
For Jesus’ Fame,

JK