Submit Yourselves to God
OPENING PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you today to give you thanks and to seek you. We thank you for all that you’ve done for us and provided for us. This morning as we read and study your word, please help our understanding. We love you and praise you.
READ:
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.” James 4:7-9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9 (NIV)
REFLECT:
James 4:7-9 can almost be read like marching orders. First, submit to God. Declare him your Lord and Savior. Then, resist the devil and he will flee (he has to out of fear of God). Always remember that satan’s work is to get you away from God. Satan wants desperately for you to feel that you can do this on your own, that the world has the answers. So you must actively resist him.
After you resist the devil, don’t just stand there, your next step is to intentionally invite God into your day, to draw near to God. Then, when you are safely in his presence, confess your sins – repent. In doing this, your hands will be clean, and your hearts will be pure. No more guilt; no more double-mindedness. This isn’t a time (yet) for celebration – it’s a time of mourning.
APPLY:
Peter tells the people of Israel, as recorded in Acts 3:19, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord…” When you feel that your life is turned upside down, when you feel weary and burned out, you need the kind of spiritual and physical refreshment that can only come from God. Let him draw near and then you can repent.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Thank you, Jesus, for giving us your son so that we can come to you and find refreshment. The world pulls at our attention and begs for our loyalty. Thank you for giving us a way to approach you. We desire to do your will. Amen.
WORSHIP: