In which ways is the bible supposed to work in us?

[xdisciplex]

I just read James 2 and 4. Somebody told me that he heard a message about James 4 and he had to think of me so I read it. Actually I didn't find anything which I think fits to me. James 4 is pretty easy to read, actually you could sum it up in a few sentences. But whenever something is so easy to read I feel like I am missing something. Where is the depth? I read it 3 times and nothing spoke to me, I had no revelations. Am I simply expecting too much? Do I have wrong expectations from reading the bible? I don't even know what exactly the people did which the book of James is directed to. It talks about them wanting something but not getting it but I don't even know what they wanted. Where is the up-to-dateness here? Is it even possible that every book in the bible is up-to-date and still appliable in our times?
And what I also ask myself is how is the bible supposed to work in us? For example when I read in James 4 that we shall not judge others then am I simply supposed to keep this in mind and then next time when I want to judge somebody I remember that James 4 said that judging a person is not good and then I refrain from it?
Is this the mechanism which the bible uses? But if this is the way in which the bible changes us then it's basically simply based on learning and memorizing just like it is with a secular book. Here you also learn something, memorize it and then apply it but where exactly is the spiritual part? I'm missing the spiritual component.
If I simply read the bible and keep in mind what the bible says is good and what the bible says is not good and then simply follow these rules then the whole stuff is simply based on study and application. Is this how it is supposed to be? Shouldn't something spiritual be happening as well? Because of it's only based on me memorizing things and then applying them then it looks like I am the one who changes me.
But this would also work with an non-christian. If you tell a non-christian what to do and what not to do then he can follow this as well provided that he is willing to. But isn't God the one who changes us?

 

[genesis12]

Well-written. I'll get back to you with some precise answers to your thoughtful questions. :wavey:

 

[xdisciplex]

Well-written. I'll get back to you with some precise answers to your thoughtful questions. :wavey:

Thanks. :thumbsup:

 

[Eric B]

You are certainly right that we have often fallen into a trap of describing spiritual growth in a purely mechanistic formula that is easily duplicated by the unsaved world. Then we proudly claim "I don't know how the world does this without Christ" and often judge Christians struggling with certain problems. But simply slapping God's name on it has made for a best-selling Christian "victory"/"abundant life" teaching formula, particlurly playing upon how "hard" this growth is, and how God makes it harder ("sending" trials, tests, etc, which could be anything from a driver cutting in front of you on the road to major heath crises) because it is "good" for you. I describe that here: http://members.aol.com/etb700/abundant.html
This I think we have discussed before on one of your questions.

But God does work in us, largely through spiritual conviction, and then we grow in spite of ourselves, whether we copy the mechanistic formulas or not.