D. V. If It Is the Lord's Will

FROM: APRIL 10 @ 16, 2018

TOPIC: "D. V. If It Is the Lord's Will” James 4:13-17 "Now listen, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you will boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." James 4: 13-17 If there is something difficult in our lives it is to become MEEK. Those who are meek do not attack or act with aggression, they allow themselves to be docile in the company of others, they are calm and peaceful; they obey and comply with what others command. In the meek being as fierce as a savage doe does not exist, nor are they restless or boisterous. But, we're used to being impulsive, to take everything in front of us! We think we are good, and that gives us the right to say and say and not be quiet. We believe that what we have is the best and as "it is the best", well we speak boastfully and make decisions as high generals! This must not be so! Living and acting in that way is seen by James as a sin! To plan boastfully and have selfconfidence in God's independence is sin. When one has a complete plan for the future and does not consider whether God wants it that way or not, it is a sin. It is when you choose the timing you prefer ("...Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city..."). It is when you establish the timing you believe is best (...spend a year there...). And we say: We will do business in such a way ("...carry on business..."), we plan well and the anticipated result will be that "we will make money." But, what is wrong about this thought is that God is not included. THERE IS NO GOD IN THE ACTIVITIES OF THIS THOUGHT! It is known that in life it is necessary to make some plans for the future, but doing it in a willful way IS SINFUL! To say: "We will do..." or "I will do..." (to my whim or to my own ideas or plans without consulting God) is the essence of sin. In Isaiah 14:13, 14 Lucifer's categorical statements are mentioned: "...I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." This is what is said when speaking on an impulse, that comes from the mind to make others fierce. It is planned and spoken as if tomorrow was a certain thing (Vs. 14). We do not know what tomorrow will be like (Proverbs 27:1 "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring forth.") Our lives are as fragile and unpredictable as the smoke, like the fog. You have to consult God about everything! (Vs. 15) We must consult Him for our plans and count on His will and He will guide us! If we are meek we will let ourselves be led by the Lord. We should live and speak with the conscience that our destinies are in His hands. We should say: "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." And do not think it is so easy for your mouth to say this, because haughtiness is set on the vanity of the heart! Paul addresses the Jews of Ephesus, telling them in Acts 18:21 “…I will come back IF IT IS GOD'S WILL.” Also in I Corinthians 4:19 it says: “But I will come to you very soon, IF THE LORD IS WILLING…” Let us learn from Paul and James; we should live our lives: God willing! Someone expressed it in Latin with only two letters: D.V. These two letters are the initials of two Latin words: “Deo volente”, which means: God willing! It is sometimes that some Christians use these letters D.V., but they should do it EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES HERE ON EARTH!

James 4:16 "As it is, you boast and brag." Haughtiness comes from pride, it is feeling to be above all. It is being boastful for the future. James addresses those who because of their arrogance were very confident that nothing would interfere with their time programming. We act as if we were the owners of our own destiny. "All such boasting is evil" Because it excludes God. Let us not stumble on this anymore. James 4:17 Sin is, well, in the one who knows how to do good and does not do it. So, to "do what is good" we have to include God in every aspect of our lives, live each moment in dependence on Him. If we know that we must do something and we do not do it, it is against our neighbor and against ourselves. Let us learn! Amen.