With a fistful of enemies in one hand and a fistful of haters in the other, You radiate with such brilliance that they cringe as before a furnace. Now the furnace swallows them whole, the fire eats them alive! You purge the earth of their progeny, you wipe the slate clean. All their evil schemes, the plots they cook up, have fizzled—every one. You sent them packing; they couldn’t face you.
James 4:4The MessageYou’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.” See the chapter |
24 Cross References
“But you, children of a witch, come here! Sons of a slut, daughters of a whore. What business do you have taunting, sneering, and sticking out your tongue? Do you have any idea what wretches you’ve turned out to be? A race of rebels, a generation of liars. You satisfy your lust any place you find some shade and fornicate at whim. You kill your children at any convenient spot— any cave or crevasse will do. You take stones from the creek and set up your sex-and-religion shrines. You’ve chosen your fate. Your worship will be your doom. You’ve climbed a high mountain to practice your foul sex-and-death religion. Behind closed doors you assemble your precious gods and goddesses. Deserting me, you’ve gone all out, stripped down and made your bed your place of worship. You’ve climbed into bed with the ‘sacred’ whores and loved every minute of it, adoring every curve of their naked bodies. You anoint your king-god with ointments and lavish perfumes on yourselves. You send scouts to search out the latest in religion, send them all the way to hell and back. You wear yourselves out trying the new and the different, and never see what a waste it all is. You’ve always found strength for the latest fad, never got tired of trying new religions.
“‘Wives who are unfaithful to their husbands accept gifts from their lovers. And men commonly pay their whores. But you pay your lovers! You bribe men from all over to come to bed with you! You’re just the opposite of the regular whores who get paid for sex. Instead, you pay men for their favors! You even pervert whoredom!
Jesus said, “You’re looking for proof, but you’re looking for the wrong kind. All you want is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. The only proof you’re going to get is what looks like the absence of proof: Jonah-evidence. Like Jonah, three days and nights in the fish’s belly, the Son of Man will be gone three days and nights in a deep grave.
Do you think I speak this strongly in order to manipulate crowds? Or court favor with God? Or get popular applause? If my goal was popularity, I wouldn’t bother being Christ’s slave. Know this—I am most emphatic here, friends—this great Message I delivered to you is not mere human optimism. I didn’t receive it through the traditions, and I wasn’t taught it in some school. I got it straight from God, received the Message directly from Jesus Christ.
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