Grace to the Humble
James 4:4-10 (ESV)
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves 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. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Reflection
There may need to be a cleansing in our hearts. We may need to lower the view we have of ourselves. We may need to submit more. We may need to stop seeking after worldly things. This is humility. Thinking that what we have to say or think or how we act is always right can result in bad relationships. I am not talking about our connections with other human beings, although that is vital. More importantly, a lack of humility can affect how we view our relationship to the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Our God is a jealous God and His jealousy is divine. Our God is very serious and He wants nothing to stand in the way of our intimacy with Him. We must stay aligned with God’s ways. When we humble ourselves before the Lord, He extends His grace to us. Remember that God’s grace is something that we do not deserve at all! Yet Jesus lavishes that grace upon us freely. Is there a need for a cleansing in your heart?
Action Steps
Prayer
Lord, if there is anything in my life that is unpleasing to You, help me to get serious about my actions. Help me to humble myself so that I can recognize what I am doing that causes You to be saddened. I want my heart to be pure before You. You purify my heart with your abundant grace. Thank You for giving me forgiveness when I turn away from the sins in my life. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves 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. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Reflection
There may need to be a cleansing in our hearts. We may need to lower the view we have of ourselves. We may need to submit more. We may need to stop seeking after worldly things. This is humility. Thinking that what we have to say or think or how we act is always right can result in bad relationships. I am not talking about our connections with other human beings, although that is vital. More importantly, a lack of humility can affect how we view our relationship to the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Our God is a jealous God and His jealousy is divine. Our God is very serious and He wants nothing to stand in the way of our intimacy with Him. We must stay aligned with God’s ways. When we humble ourselves before the Lord, He extends His grace to us. Remember that God’s grace is something that we do not deserve at all! Yet Jesus lavishes that grace upon us freely. Is there a need for a cleansing in your heart?
Action Steps
- Take an honest look at your life and ask yourself if you are humbly submitting all areas to God. Then pray and ask for His help in any areas that don’t align with His will for you.
- God is very serious here! Are you really looking at how you are living your life? God wants to see us humble ourselves before Him so that He can extend His grace and forgiveness to us.
Prayer
Lord, if there is anything in my life that is unpleasing to You, help me to get serious about my actions. Help me to humble myself so that I can recognize what I am doing that causes You to be saddened. I want my heart to be pure before You. You purify my heart with your abundant grace. Thank You for giving me forgiveness when I turn away from the sins in my life. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
Posted in Tree Church Daily Devo
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