2JN 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

The Bible does teach a reward system in heaven.  This is above salvation.  You will not even get to heaven unless you are born again.  The rewards are not dependant upon being saved.  Every one who is saved goes to heaven, but not everyone who goes to heaven is going to get a full reward. 

Getting to heaven is based on grace.  It is a free gift and all you have to do is receive it thru faith in Jesus. 

Rewards are based on how you live your life after you are saved.  Rewards are based on what you do for Christ.  If your works are gold, silver, and precious stones you will get reward.  On the other hand if your works are hay, wood, and stubble, then they will not count.

Some will say that I don't care about rewards.  They will say I am going to heaven and that is all that I care about.  This often results in them not living for Christ the way they should and not doing good works for Him.  This is a bad attitude for several reasons.  First you should love Christ enough to work for Him regardless of rewards.  Second I think they will change their minds when they get to heaven and see others getting rewards and they don't get any or very little.  But it will be too late to earn rewards then.  And just think about it.  These heavenly rewards are eternal rewards.  Not caring about heavenly rewards is being short sited; only looking at the hear and now.  This is not what the Bible tells us to do. 

Mat 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

1JN 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

"that ye may know that ye have eternal life"  You can know 100 percent if you are going to go to heaven.  God wants you to know.  That is why God gave us the Bible.  He wants everyone to be saved and to get saved we have to know how.  The Bible tells us that we have eternal life by believing in and receiving Jesus Christ as Saviour.

1JN 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

1JN 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Eternal life is not something that we have to wonder about.  You do not have to be unsure about it.  You can actually know.  And the only reason that you can know is because God gave us the Bible.  Without the Bible we could not get saved because we would not know how.  Everything that we know about God we only know because of the Bible.  Every promise of God  that we count on we only know of it because of the Bible. 

Shouldn't we then respect the Bible more?  Shouldn't we then read the Bible more?

1JN 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

We are given instructions here to not believe every spirit.  We are to try them.  The bible does teach that a Christian is to judge.  The reason given here is that false prophets are in the world.  If you don't judge, you will be drawn into all kinds of heresy.  Verse two and three gives us an important guideline to use in our discernment. 

1JN 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

1JN 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Many groups deny that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.  They deny the deity of Christ.  They do not accept that He was God manifested in the flesh.  Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons are just two of the groups that deny the deity of Jesus.  They Bible says that they fail the test and are not of God.  Instead the Bible says that denying Jesus' deity is the spirit of antichrist. 

As Christians we are not to blindly accept anything that is put out there.  We are to take a look at it to see if it denies the deity of Jesus. 

Many of the new Bibles do just that.  Some of them take the word virgin out and call Mary a maid.  Some plainly call Joseph Jesus' father.  This is denying His deity.  If Jesus had a human father, then He would be just like us with a sin nature.  The only way for Jesus to be God in the flesh is to be virgin born. 

Taking the virgin birth out of the new Bibles is not the spirit of God because it is denying Jesus' deity.  Remember this is not my test it is God's test. 

People will often respond with but in this other verse it shows Jesus' deity.  I will say yes it does.  However, in the changed verse it does not.  Instead the changed verse denies His deity or waters it down.  God says that He is not behind doing such a thing.  So someone else is.   

You can show people the proof of the changes made in new versions but most will not listen.  The saying don't bother me with the facts comes to mind.  They will usually respond with my version still has the good news in it.  I will tell them yes it does.  But I also tell them that in places it has serious problems because in places it denies the deity of Jesus. 

The real issue with the new Bibles is how much corruption do you want with your Word of God?  Are you willing to accept 80 percent Word of God and 20 percent corruption?  How about 95 percent Word of God and 5 percent corruption?  How about 98 percent Word of God and 2 percent corruption?  New versions have truth mixed with error.  In many places they water down or deny the deity of Jesus.  God says that this is not of Him.

Many people get mad about this.  They should get mad at the bible publishers, but instead they get mad at people who stand for the truth. 

They will call you names and accuse you of having a hateful attitude when all you are doing is trying the spirits and not accepting the denying or watering down of the deity of Jesus. 

If I did not love God's Word, and God's people, then I would keep quiet and save myself the trouble.  But I do care so I must speak out.

I am going to get more hate mail for this one.  I have a solution for that.  It is called the delete key.  Does that sound harsh?  Not really.  In most cases you are not going to change the mind of the Bible changers.  All the proof in the world will not avail because it is not a proof problem, it is a heart problem. 

1JN 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

It is an overwhelming thought that God's love is so great that He would take a sinner and make him a son of God.  Thru simple childlike faith in Jesus, God has bestowed upon us the gift of being called the sons of God.  It would have been wonderful just to be saved from hell.  But He did more than that.  We have been adopted as sons.  We have been made joint heirs with Christ. 

We cannot fully comprehend all that this entails.  God has prepared things for us that are beyond all that we can imagine.  Salvation not only saves us from hell, but it makes us sons of God.  We have a rich inheritance in Christ. 

1JN 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

This is a mountaintop verse on the love of God.  Jesus went to the cross for everyone.  He paid the penalty for all.  Jesus did not die only for those that He knew would get saved.  He made payment for all.  However, that payment, that wonderful gift does not do a lost man any good unless he accepts it. 

The payment has been made, the work has been done on the cross.  Jesus said it is finished.  And 3 days later Jesus showed that the payment had been accepted by rising again. 

All that is left for a lost man to do is to accept it.  If you have never been saved, then you need to take the lost sinner's place and trust the lost sinner's Saviour.  Realize that you are a sinner on your way to hell.  Believe that the very Son of God went to the cross to pay for your sin.  And call upon Him to save you. 

He has already done the work.  He has already paid the price.  His arms are open wide to receive you and give you the gift of eternal life.  All you have to do, all you can do, is believe in your heart and ask Him to save you.

1JN 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

God is Holy.  There is no darkness in God at all.  If something is wicked, God is not in it.  God is not in abortion, booze, pornography, rock music, lying, steeling, cheating, sodomy, sex out of wedlock, ect.  This is a truth that has ramifications for your daily life as a Christian.  How you live your life will have a big effect on how close your fellowship is with a Holy, Righteous, Just, and loving God.

1JN 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

Not only does God have  no darkness in Him, but He will not fellowship with darkness.  God will not walk with darkness.  If you want to walk with God and have fellowship with Him, then you need to walk in the light.  Just to be clear this is not talking about salvation.  You get saved by simple repentant faith.  You cannot loose your salvation, but you can loose close fellowship with God. 

If you are looking at a playboy, be assured God is not walking with you in that.  Verse 6 teaches us that if you are walking in darkness and say that you have fellowship with God that you are a liar. 

The truth that God will not fellowship with darkness posses a problem because we all still have a sin nature.  We have been saved from the penalty of sin, but we have not yet been saved from the presence of sin.  We all slip up.  We all still commit sins. 

1JN 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

So how are we to maintain a close fellowship with God?  We are told in verse 9.

1JN 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confess your sins to God  everyday.  Keep close accounts with God.  If you say that I have nothing to confess, then the Bible says that you are a liar.  If you have lived today, then you have something to confess.  Some thought you should not have had.  Something you watched, or something that you did not do that you should have.   

You need to take God up on His promise.  He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Keep your sins confessed.  Go to you knees for daily cleansing.  Again not for salvation, but so that you can have close sweet fellowship with God. 

2PET 3:1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

2PET 3:2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

Peter writes to Christians and tells them to be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets as well as the commandment of the apostles.  The words that were spoken before by the prophets is a reference to the Old Testament.  Peter is not just referring to the books that we call the minor or major prophets.  This is evident because the example that Peter uses in the next verses is of the flood in Genesis.  He then compares the judgment of the flood to the fiery judgment to come.

Peter is telling Christians here not to ignore the Old Testament.  There is much for us to learn from all of God's Word.  The Old Testament is rich in types and allegories.  And many times we see New Testament truth lived out in the lives of the people in the Old Testament.  The Old Testament does have application for us today.    

You need to be studying all of God's Word from Genesis to Revelation. 

2PET 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

2PET 2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

Lot is a great example in the Bible that salvation is not of works.  The New Testament calls Lot just and righteous.  But if you go back and read about the life of Lot in the Old Testament you see a whole lot of wickedness.  Not much in the life of Lot can be called righteous.  He set his tent toward Sodom.  And soon after he was living in Sodom and sitting in the gate.  The gate of the city was the center of activity in that society.  It was where trade was done, it was where leaders held their meetings.  Lot was involved in the affairs of this wicked city.  He had lived in such a wicked way that when he tried to warn others and tell them about God they laughed at him.  Lot liked living in Sodom so much that he was reluctant to leave. 

And yet the N.T. calls Lot just and righteous.  This is because salvation is by grace thru faith.  Lot was a believer.  God's righteousness was imputed to Lot on the basis of faith.  Lot was made just based on faith.  Lot was saved by faith before God gave the law.  David was saved by faith after the law was given.  And we are also saved by faith today.  Salvation has always been by faith and it always will.   

Lot was what we call a backslider.  He fell into a sinful life but he was still saved.  Lot did not loose his salvation, but Lot did pay a price for his backsliding.  Before Lot went to Sodom he had so much that the land could not support both him and his uncle, and he leaves Sodom with nothing.  His sin would not let his family believe him and some of them got destroyed.  His wife longed for Sodom so much that she turned around and was destroyed.  In the end Lot was living in a cave alone with his two daughters.  Lot had not raised them right.  Lot did not teach them the ways of God.  The daughters get Lot drunk and have children by him.  The children grow up to father nations that are enemies of God's people.  Lot did not loose his salvation, but Lot did pay a heavy price for his sin.

It is the same with us today.  If you sin after you are saved you do not loose your salvation, but you will pay a price in this life today.

Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Saved or not, you cannot escape God's universal law of sowing and reaping. 

I know I say it a lot, but in this day of cotton candy preaching it needs to be said.  A preacher that preaches against your sowing sin does so because he is concerned about your reaping from it. 

To not preach against sin is to not love your people.  To not care about what your people sow is to not care about what they will have to reap in this life for it. 

Preacher, preach against sin with the right heart.  And Christian you need to support a preacher who does.  

In verse 1 our faith is called precious and it is thru the righteousness of God and not works.  In verse 4 we have been given exceeding great and precious promises and we are partakers of the divine nature.  When you are saved you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit.  These are all wonderful things but we are not to stop there. 

2PET 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

2PET 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

2PET 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

After you are saved you are to grow.  You are to add to your faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. 

2PET 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Notice that the knowledge that you are to gain is not for the sake of having more knowledge.  Gaining all the qualities listed here is not just for the sake of having these qualities.  These traits and the knowledge that you gain is to have the result that you are not barren and unfruitful. 

You are to get the knowledge that you are to witness and then you need to witness.  You gain the knowledge that you are to live a godly life and then you are to live it.  You gain the knowledge that you are to tithe and then you should tithe.  You gain the knowledge that you are to stand for the truth, then stand for the truth.  You get the idea.

Some of the high minded type scholars get this idea that the bible is some kind of test to see if you can dig truth out with your mind.  They are searching for some kind of hidden deep truth.  They are after knowledge for knowledge sake.  They might gain a certain type of knowledge but  they don't go soul winning.  They have their bottle of wine in the refrigerator and so on. 

In their search for knowledge they have completely missed the point. 

I like the way Mr. Moody put it. 

The Bible is not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives. — D.L. Moody

Do not misunderstand me.  We are to study the Word of God but not just for the sake of knowledge.  We are to study the Word of God so that it will change us. 

The primary issue is the issue of the heart. 

1PET 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

The devil is real and he is active.  If you are saved, the devil is your adversary.  If you are not saved the devil is your father.  If you have not been saved, then the devil already has you.  The devil does not spend much time on the lost.  He already has them.

There are many people who could tell you that the devil never bothered them until they got saved and started living for Christ.  Once you are saved the devil has lost your soul.  Once saved, the devil cannot take you to hell with him.  So why would he bother you? 

One reason is he hates Christ and everything that belongs to Christ.  The devil hates you because you are a son of God.

Two the devil does not want you to take anyone else to heaven with you.  The devil does not want you spoiling his kingdom by getting someone else saved. 

Christian, the devil wants to get you to stop witnessing.  The devil wants you to stop handing out tracks.  The devil wants to ruin your testimony.  He is like a roaring lion seeking to pounce upon you. 

When a preacher stands up and preaches against booze and how a Christian has no business drinking the foul stuff.  That has nothing to do with salvation.  It has to do with pleasing God with you life, and it has to do with keeping your testimony before the lost.  When a lost person sees you boozing it up at the restaurant and then later you try to tell him about Christ or hand him a track all he is going to think is hypocrite.  He is going to think your Christianity has not done much for you.  He is going to think you are just like me.  You have lost your testimony before that lost man.

It is a head scratcher to me how the lost know more about how a Christian is to live than most Christians do.

It also is a head scratcher to me when a man of God starts preaching against sin that many start screaming law.  Living right has nothing to do with getting saved.  Preaching right living is about helping you keep your testimony so others can get saved.  It is about showing forth a changed life.  And preaching right living is about protecting you from the attacks of the devil.  It has been well said that "All of Satan's apples have worms".  Accepting any temptation that the devil brings your way will be harmful to you.

Any preacher who does not warn and exhort his people to resist the devils snares does not love his people.  Preaching right living is done by a man who loves his people and does not want to see his people get hurt.  He preaches right living because he wants to see his people grow closer to the Lord. 

Scream law all you want but preaching right living is loving, preaching right living is God honoring, preaching right living is Biblical, and preaching right living helps to keep you from being devoured by your wicked adversary the devil.   

Please visit my websites

http://www.thewordpodcast.com

http://www.thewordteaches.com

 Thanks Bryan

And check out this great link site.

 

 

 

 

1PET 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

When a man preaches or teaches for God it is to be thus sayeth the Lord.  The term oracles of God is one of the terms that refers to the Bible.  If a man is going to speak for God, he needs to realize that he actually has the very words of God in his hand.  He has a rock of unalterable truth and he needs to speak like it. 

Preaching thus sayeth the Lord is not popular today.  Instead of accepting the Word of God that was preached or taught most people today get mad and attack the man of God.  What they should do is change their wrong doings or their wrong thinking to be in line with what God says.  They should be thankful for a man who has enough spirituality to stand up and tell them the truth.

1PET 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

You stand up for God's Word and boldly declare it and fiery trials will come.  You will be attacked.  The Bible tells us to not think it strange.  Standing up for God does not bring you a Lexus, it brings trial.

1PET 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

1PET 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

1PET 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

When the trials come we are to rejoice.  If suffering comes, you are not to be ashamed of your stand.  Keep saying thus sayeth the Lord.  You are to be happy when you are reproached for the name of Christ. 

And yes I do get nasty emails.  My reaction to them is Praise the Lord.  Especially the ones where you can see that they are convicted.  I will respond either with a soft answer, or in the case of a heritic or scorner I will respond the way the Bible says and that is with Rebuke and Admonition.  Either way I always praise the Lord for it and pray that God will use the conviction to get them to see their errors. 

1PET 3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

Here we have instructions about a wife that has a lost husband.  The husband does not obey the word of God.  You can show him from the word of God how he is a sinner and needs to be saved, but he will not obey it.  The Bible then says that the husband may be won by the conversation of the wife.  This is not just talking about the words that she says.  Everything you do also communicates.  For example if you wear skulls on your clothing you are communicating.  You are making a statement without even opening your mouth.  Wearing skulls communicates rebellion and darkness.  What you wear communicates, where you go communicates, who your friends are communicates.  The things you do and the things you refuse to do communicates.  In fact everything in your life is making a statement and communicating to others.

1PET 3:2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

The saved wife's life is communicating and the lost husband is seeing it.  This will have an effect upon him.  He also needs to see his wife's chaste conversation coupled with fear.  This is not fear of him.  This is talking about how she needs to have the fear of the Lord.  The Bible teaches us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 

1PET 3:3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

1PET 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

Verse 3 is not teaching that a woman is not to do her hair or make herself look nice.  You have to take the verse in context with what is being discussed here.  Some women will talk a good talk with their mouth to their lost husband about getting saved, but then they do not live like it.  She will tell her husband that we are to put our affections on things above but then she will turn around and have her affections on her hair, jewelry, and clothing.  She will tell her lost husband that Christ is everything and then live like her wardrobe is everything. 

If the woman is going to win her lost husband, she needs to be more concerned with the things listed in verse 4 than she is with the things listed in verse 3.  A better wardrobe will not win the husband.  A better heart will.  She needs to wear the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

To win the husband the wife needs to not only communicate the right words, but she needs to get her life communicating what her mouth is.  He needs to see that Christianity is real.  He needs to see by watching her that she has something that he needs.  If the wife lives right and has the right heart it will communicate to the husband that he needs to get saved. 

1PET 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

A Christian should desire the Word of God.  It is by the Word of God that we grow.  Without the Word of God we would not grow.  It is the Word of God that tells us how we are to live and what we are to do.  It is the Word of God that tells us how to walk with God.  Everything that we know about the Christian life and everything that we know about God comes from the Word of God.  In fact we would not even know how to be saved if it was not for the Word of God. 

In this verse the Word of God is likened to food.  The nourishment of food make the body grow physically.  The nourishment of the Word of God makes us grow spiritually.  Now I ask you how pure do you want the food that you eat to be?  If you saw your waitress at the restaurant dump your food on the floor and then pick it up and put it on your plate, would you care?  Would you want to eat your hamburger after you saw it on the floor?  If you have any common sense or decency you would not want to eat it.  You would demand that your food was clean.

Why is it then that Christians will accept and even prefer dirty spiritual food?  Trying to feed spiritually from corrupted bibles is like feeding on a hamburger that is contaminated with dirt.  It is still a hamburger, but it is not pure.  The new bible perversions still have the Word of God in them, but it is no longer pure.  They have corruption in them. 

How much dirt do you want with your hamburger?  How much dirt do you want with your Word of God?

As for me, I want a pure hamburger.

As for me, I want a pure Word of God.  In fact I need a pure Word of God.

It is a sad thing that most Christians are more concerned about the purity of their hamburgers than they are about the purity of their Word of God.

1PET 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Too many people treat the Bible like any other book.  They will usually start out with the same line.  Copyists make errors therefore the Bible has errors.  While that might be true for copying Shakespeare it is NOT  true for the Bible. 

God did not promise to preserve Shakespeare.  But He did promise to preserve His Word.  The Bible is not a natural book; it is a supernatural book.  Someone who says that God could not preserve His Word does not really understand who God is.  They do not understand that God is Holy and cannot lie, so we must have His perfect preserved Word.  They also do not understand that God is all powerful.  They do not even think that God can overcome copyists.  If God can overcome time, human penmen, and the sin of man to give us His Word in the first place, then God can overcome time and human copyists to preserve His Word so that we can have it today. 

And God did keep His Word and it has been preserved.  The pride of man does not like this.  They like to be all scholarly and tell us where God messed up.  This appeals to the pride of man.  It takes a prideful man to correct the Word of God.  They have many tools they use to do this.  One tool they use is a Greek dictionary.  The first thing that I say to that method is that God never promised to preserve a Greek dictionary.  Greek dictionaries have errors in them and the Word of God does not.  It the man written dictionary says something different than the Word of God, then THE DICTIONARY IS WRONG.  Someone with some spirituality and faith in God say Amen!

We live in a day where many worship scholarship.  They honor scholarship more than God.  They put their trust more on men than God.  We live in a day where man wants to be the final authority and decide what God really said.  O I have heard it all before.  I get people sending me stuff trying to teach me the errors of the KJV.  But you know not one of all of their faulty reasoning and excuses is God honoring.  Not one of them.  In fact they love to take God out of the equation.   Messing with the Word of God is NOT GOD HONORING period.  It does not matter if you mess with The Word with an old Satan corrupted manuscript or with a dictionary.  It is wrong.  It is without faith.  It does not honor God.

Here is an idea.  Just quit messing with God's word.  Quit putting scholarship above God's Word. 

If you get angry at this, that might be some God sent conviction that you need to get your heart right.  Why not put your pride aside and decide to just believe in God's promise and God's power to preserve His Word.

JAS 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Prayer changes things.  You can go back thru history and look at how the big revivals started with prayer.  You can look at the great men of God, men that God used in a mighty way, and you will see that they were great men of prayer.  Men like Moody spent hours in prayer each and every day.  HOURS!  One survey of pastors in America showed that the average amount of time spent in prayer daily was 8 minutes.  Is it any wonder that our nation is in a mess. 

And it is a certain type of prayer that changes things.  Verse 16 says it is fervent prayer.  It is not a dry eyed heartless type of prayer that changes things.  That type of prayer has no power.  We need fervent prayer.  Put your heart into it.  Spend some time in prayer.  Go ahead and let God give you a burden.  Shed some tears in prayer. 

Notice also that it is the prayer of a righteous man that changes things.  You need to live a clean life to have power in prayer.  Shut off the dirty TV shows.  Poor the booze down the drain and so on.  You need to live a life that is pleasing to God if you want your prayers to avaieth much.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

This is the kind of prayer that we need today.

JAS 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Enmity is a very strong word.  "The quality of being an enemy; the opposite of friendship; ill will; hatred; unfriendly dispositions; malevolence.  It express more than aversion and less than malice, and differs from displeasure in denoting a fixed or rooted hatred.  A state of opposition."

No other word in the English language means the same thing as enmity.  You change the word and you change the meaning.  People would do well to quit messing with The Book.

The Bible says that friendship of the world is enmity with God.  The term the world is obviously not talking about the world that we live on with its plants and animals.  The term world is talking about this evil world system.  It is talking about the things of the world and not the things of God.

Just to be specific here are just a few examples: Booze is of the world.  Sodomy is of the world.  Abortion is of the world.  Sex out of wed lock is of the world.  Most movies and most TV is of the world.  Rock-N-Roll is of the world.  Changing and corrupting the Word of God is of the world. 

Your friendship with the world is enmity with God. 

When you have friendship with these things you have enmity with God and are His enemy. 

The sad fact of the matter is that most Christians today are in some degree of enmity with God. 

When you get right down to where the rubber meets the road.  Living the Christian life is not about a bunch of rules.  It is about a close relationship and walk with the Lord.  If you are walking close to God, then you will not be doing worldly things.  Doing worldly things is a sign that your relationship with Jesus is in bad shape. 

And if you think that you can walk close to Jesus and this world to, then you really don't know Him very well.