Bible Verses about Desires
| Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. | So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. |
| Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). | So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. |
| You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. | You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. |
| And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever. | And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. |
| Or can one walk on hot coals without scorching the feet? | Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? |
| But because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. | But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. |
| “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. | You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. |
| For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. | Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. |
| I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin? | I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman. |
| Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. | Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. |
| For all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. | For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. |
| Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. | Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. |
| For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. | For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. |
| As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. | As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. |
| Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. | Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak! |
| No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. | The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. |
| No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. | And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. |
| In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and your renown are the soul's desire. | Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name. |
| Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. | And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. |
| For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. | For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. |
| When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle toward heaven. | In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. |
| All day long the wicked covet, but the righteous give and do not hold back. | Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give! |
| What then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” | Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” |
| My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. | Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. |
| And those who are in the flesh cannot please God. | That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. |
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