The New Rick Livermore Site : Devotions by Ken: James 4:7-8

Thursday, August 10, 2023

Devotions by Ken: James 4:7-8

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"Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." James 4:7-8

Submit: To yield, resign or surrender to the power, will or authority of another.

Resist: Literally, to stand against; to withstand; hence, to act in opposition, or to oppose. A dam or mound resists a current of water passively, by standing unmoved and interrupting its progress. An army resists the progress of an enemy actively, by encountering and defeating it.

Double-minded: Having different minds at different times; unsettled; wavering; unstable; undetermined.

There is so much action demanded in these two verses! Submit, resist, draw near, cleanse and purify. How interesting is it that James ends these two verses with "you double-minded". So often we waver back and forth with our walk with God. But look at the instructions that are given to us. If we commit to submitting and resisting and DO them; we cannot be double-minded. We will be cleansed and purified; but most of all God will draw near to us!

Paul said in Romans 7:15 (CJB)," I don't understand my own behavior - I don't do what I want to do; instead, I do the very thing I hate!" It is our sin nature to be inactive and seek the things that are opposed to God's Spirit. Yet, we see the negative results of this behavior in the fact that obviously if we do not resist the devil, he will not flee from us. The word "understand" sticks out also, doesn't it? The verse James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

God has efficiently and generously given us all we need to know. He has set clear instructions with listed actions. Clearly, we need to slay our flesh and follow the instructions He has given. Being double-minded is stagnant and brings results that, as stated in Romans 7:15, we hate.

How often are you doing things that you look at your life and find yourself doing the very things you hate? It is time to make a choice to live a life of purpose to actively do the things God has generously given in His word. It is to be our QUEST; determined to draw close to Him so that He in turn can draw near to us. What will you choose?

The primary purpose of this learning course is to shine a light on an obscure subject that involves far too many unsuspecting marriage relationships. I am calling this subject, "EMOTIONAL DIVORCE."