James 4:7-10 New American Standard Bible 1995
7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Today, we explore a profound, yet too often untouched truth:
“Every person is as close to God as they think they want to be.”
This statement challenges us to reflect on our personal relationship with God.
Our main text today is James 4:8 (NLT):
“Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”
James addresses believers, urging them to draw near to God.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/jas/4/7-10/t_conc_1150008
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The Greek word for “come close” is “engizo”, which means to approach or draw near. This is a call to intimate fellowship with God.
James emphasizes the reciprocal nature of our relationship with God.
When we take steps towards Him, He responds by drawing closer to us.
This verse also highlights the need for repentance and purity, symbolized by washing hands and purifying hearts.
Evaluate your daily walk with God.
Are you taking intentional steps to draw nearer to Him?
This may involve prayer, reading the Bible, or worship.
As you do, you will experience His presence more profoundly.
Psalm 145:18 (NLT): “The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.”
This verse reassures us God is near to those who earnestly seek Him in truth.
Commit to seeking God sincerely and truthfully.
Make calling upon Him a daily practice.
How to Get Close to God: Come
Dr. A.W. Tozer said, “The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One.”
It sounds so good on paper: all of God is exactly where all of who we are – are!
But what do you do when you can’t find God?
What if God doesn’t seem to be there for you?
Some Christians struggle with that question.
“What do you do when God seems far very away, and you’re praying to an empty chair, and you’re reading the Bible for your devotions, but you do it only because you know dad said you should, and it does not mean anything to you?”
What do you do if you feel like?
Here’s one idea: read and reread Psalm 139, and let it sink in.
Then come near to the God who loves you and knows everything about you.
That’s what James says: “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Throughout the Bible God invites us to come.
The Lord invites us to come and reason together (Isaiah 1:18).
Isaiah 55:1-3 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Free Offer of Mercy
55 “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no [a]money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.
2 “Why do you [b]spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And delight yourself in abundance.
3 “Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that [c]you may live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the faithful mercies [d]shown to David.
Jesus invites the weary to come to him and find rest (Matthew 11:28-29), and he promises that he will never drive us away (John 6:37).
The only caveat is first, we have to come just exactly as we are–empty-handed.
Come and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died to save us from our sins.
Before you go to sleep tonight, pray, plead, for Jesus to draw near to your heart.
If you really want him to, he will respond.
The Turn of the Heart
James 4:1-4 New American Standard Bible 1995
Things to Avoid
4 [a]What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? [b]Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask [c]with wrong motives, so that you may spend it [d]on your pleasures. 4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Prayer connects our heart with God’s heart. For many people, the word heart represents only their emotions, especially feelings like love, sadness, and hope.
It’s in the mind that logic resides, many will say.
The heart is for feeling and the brain is for thinking, and the two are often too pitted against each other.
The Bible teaches, however, that the heart is the center of every aspect of being human: our reason, our emotions, and our will. The heart directs our affections, molds, shapes our decision making, and determines our ultimate allegiances.
This is why Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).
Today’s Bible reading contains a harsh rebuke of people whose hearts have turned away from God.
It affects all their thinking, decision making, motives, emotions, and behaviors.
The spiritual fallout of a broken relationship with God is that prayer is rendered ineffective.
But nestled in this passage are words of hope.
No matter how far our hearts may wander from God, he promises to be near when we turn to him.
That’s because he is always near and caring for us (see Matthew 28:20; Philippians 4:4-6).
One renewing encounter with God can change everything.
And it’s always just one prayer away.
The One who died for you will never drive you away.
In the name of God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Praying …
Psalm 113 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord Exalts the Humble.
113 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting
The name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is high above all nations;
His glory is above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
6 Who [c]humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 To make them sit with [d]princes,
With the [e]princes of His people.
9 He makes the barren woman abide in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
[f]Praise [g]the Lord!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 