Submission

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. James 4 vs 7 - 8

I love these verses. It is almost as if James is saying. ' You know how to live in the world, but actually, this is what God desires and calls you to'

1. Submit yourselves to God

Submission means laying down what we have under the power of something else. When we submit to God we lay down what we have, what we know, what we think, under Gods power. the dictionary also links the world submission with surrender. James is telling us we need to allow God to be in control of our hearts and lives.

2. Resist the devil and he will flee

James is saying that we should not let the devil come close to use, but that we can resist. Isn't it great that when we choose God above the devil he flees!!

3. Come near to God and he will come near to you

When we have submitted, when we have resisted, we need to come near. We need to enter the presence of God. We need to accept the way of Christ in our lives. So often we come near to God when life sucks, we need to learn to approach God at all times, in the confidence that in the good and in the bad he will come close to us.

4. Wash your hands, purify your hearts.

You can tell it's James writing this, it seems to me that he doesn't hold back when it comes to rebuking. I imagine him as quite a gutsy character who would take no compromise. He calls the people of God, sinners and double minders. So often we need someone like that who will tell us how it is! We need to repent of all our sin and give it to Christ, who will purify our hearts, who will renew us to a right spirit and restore us!

This passage brings great hope along with worldly reality. The message to take away: One of grace, one of unparalleled love and one of forgiveness and restoration!