Monday April 18, James 4:7-10
In our reading today, James teaches us the importance of repentance, and submitting ourselves to God. First he gives us a very encouraging promise, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). Satan loves it when we fall. He is constantly tempting us to give in to our earthly desires and take our focus off from God. How do we resist his lies?
By having a humble heart, submitting ourselves to Christ, and following His example. The book of Matthew tells us that when faced with temptations from Satan, three times our Lord cited Scripture which caused the devil to depart from Him. And just as Jesus did, we too must stand firmly on the eternal, unchanging Word of God which serves as a mighty sword when wielded in the power of the Holy Spirit. Nothing deters the work of the enemy faster then when we know and stand in God’s truth.
Next James tells us to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (v. 8) How do we draw near to Him? I found this excerpt from an article from “A 21st century Puritanism” and thought it explained beautifully. “When we consider the breathtaking beauty of a glorious sunset, a spectacular seashore, snow capped mountains, or countless other wonders of nature, we see in them all the hand of a God of beauty and majesty. When we consider the graceful form of a bird in flight, or a fish in the sea, we see in them the work of infinite wisdom combined with striking imagination and a sense of beauty that cannot be equaled. When we consider the playfulness of a baby animal or the tender, protective care that animal mothers display toward their young, we see the tenderness and loving character of our great Heavenly Father. When we consider the Lord Jesus Christ, and the great price He paid to purchase our forgiveness, we see both the utter holiness of God that required such a sacrifice, as well as the incomprehensible love that was willing to make such a sacrifice for such unworthy, rebellious sinners as ourselves. As we ponder the greatness and glory of God; His eternal power, holiness, wisdom, understanding, loving mercy, beauty, and justice, we come to love Him and to delight in Him more and more. As we do, we draw closer to God, and He draws closer to us”.
James then goes on telling us to, “cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded“. We cleanse our hearts and lives through confession, repentance, humility, and by receiving God’s never ending grace. Maybe like the Pharisee’s we outwardly appear righteous. We read the Bible, go to Church, say all of the right things, but our faith isn’t producing good works thereby cleansing our hands but not our heart. Or we may have good intentions but fail to carry them out, cleansing our hearts rather than our hands. We are not only to have the knowledge and understanding of God’s Word, we are to let that Word produce good fruit in our lives.
It is also important as followers of Jesus to heed James’ warning against becoming “double-minded”. The “double minded” person is one who tries to serve both the spirit and the flesh. We cannot serve both God and man. We cannot have one foot on the Bible and the other upon the Earth. The Bible warns against trying to do such a thing. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.…” (Matthew 6:24).
James finishes by admonishing us to, “Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you”. (vs. 9-10) James isn’t telling us to walk around with sad mopey faces or depressed hearts. Knowing Jesus should have just the opposite effect on us. His love should fill us with a joy, peace, and happiness that overflows in our lives and which only comes from experiencing His perfect love. Instead James is warning us against being superficial Christians who take pleasure in the trivial things of life. Who instead of grieving over the sins we commit against our Lord, find it easier to simply gloss over them forgetting to mourn our frailty and sinful natures. James also calls us to stand strong against the sins of pride and arrogance, being humbled by the power of our awesome God and of His perfect holiness. We should be falling to our knees at the throne of our Creator with hearts filled with humility. And James tells us that when we humble ourselves before the Lord, we will be exalted by Him. Speaking through the prophet Samuel, in 1 Samuel 2:30 God says, “Those who will honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.” Our lives should be examples of those who serve the one true and living God. Lives that reflect His glory. Lives and hearts that are open to allowing Him to fulfill His good work in us. Lives where others look at us and see our humility before Him, and lives where through Him we are able to achieve things we never thought possible.
Have a great day, and I look forward to your thoughts.
Tomorrow’s reading- James 4:11-12
