1st of Many... I hope!

We have been working on this blog for awhile now. The goal is on most days to put scripture and devotion as well as events and announcements on this blog to better keep us informed and connected. We live in a internet age and my hope is to use it for the Lord. I hope I can keep up and that you will take advantage of this site.. Please give me feed back on how it works for us. thanks!
                                                    Bro. Mark Simmons


James 3:4
You ask and recieve not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume your lusts.

If you were at Bible study Wednesday we touched on this.
  James is telling us why we don't recieve from God what we ask in prayer. Jesus said ask anything in my name and it shall be given. But James is telling us something different or is he? He is saying that why you and I don't recieve is because we ask amiss (or we ask wrongly or out of place). He goes on to say we ask not to fulfill God's Will and plan for us, but to consume our own lusts (or to fill our own desires)
  Praying to get our desires gets us in trouble, why? Because  when we pray from our lusts, we pray from our flesh or our sinful nature. James 1:15 Lust has concieved brings forth sin, and sin when it is done brings forth death. So God being soverein and because He loves us refuses to give us the things we ask out of our flesh due to the end result would bring our destruction. This is the necessity of not living in the flesh, but in the Spirit because the spirit will not only be about our asking, but also about having an understanding of God from prayer.
  Of course you could add in John 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.  For God to hear us we must be worshippers understanding.. Who God is and putting Him in proper place in our lives and if He is in proper place other things will be in there place. If we be sinners God does not hear our prayers... except of course of repentance....

Kind puts new meaning on Garth Brooks song " I thank God for unanswered prayers"