Draw Nearer to God (James 4:8) ~ A Daily Devotion for February 20, 2014 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” ~ James 4:8
What does draw nigh unto God mean?
The Bible tells us, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8a) This promise is both heartening and encouraging. It also reminds us of the responsibility we have in our relationship to God. The phrase, “draw near,” means, very simply, to approach or get close to a thing.
What does God mean when he says he will heal their land?
Our land is hurting and in deep need of God's divine healing. Appropriately, this admonition from God addresses the critical fact that the sin and wickedness in our life as a nation has direct — and disastrous — effects on our health as a nation and as a global community.
What happens when you draw near to God?
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” This Bible verse tells us that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. The catch here is that we can't be walking in sin and be close to God. He wants us to have pure hearts, pure minds, and to be humble.
What is the meaning of James Chapter 4?
In this section, James says his readers are guilty of behaving from fundamentally wrong motives. They are acting toward each other in bad faith. He says they seek both to fulfill their evil desires and to have friendship with the world, thereby rejecting their spiritual yearning for God.
How do you pray for healing of the land?
Lord, Heal Our Land! The prayer of my heart in the time in which we are living is, Lord Heal Our Land. We all need to increase our prayer, praise, worship and service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in times like these.
Can you humble yourself and pray?
I believe it's what God told Israel in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
How do you know if your close to God?
7 SIGNS YOU MIGHT BE FAR FROM GODWE ARE EASILY IRRITABLE. Have you ever had a good-bad day? ... WE ARE WEAK AGAINST TEMPTATIONS. ... CRITICISM AND REJECTION HIT US HARD. ... NEGATIVE THOUGHTS ARE CONSTANTLY AROUND US. ... WE CANNOT MOVE ON FROM THE PAST. ... WE DON'T MAKE TIME TO REST AND BE STILL. ... WE ARE HARD ON OURSELVES.
Can you feel the Holy Spirit?
We can feel the influence of the Holy Ghost in a variety of ways. You've likely heard people say, “I feel the Spirit strongly right now.”
How do I sin against the Holy Spirit?
11:14–23) and defines "the unforgivable sin"—or sin against the Holy Ghost—as follows: ″... to sin against the Holy Ghost is to confound Him with the spirit of evil, it is to deny, from pure malice, the Divine character of works manifestly Divine.″ The article further states that "sin against the Son of Man" may be ...
Who was James addressing in James 4?
James the Apostle, abbreviation James, New Testament writing addressed to the early Christian churches (“to the twelve tribes in the dispersion”) and attributed to James, a Christian Jew, whose identity is disputed.
Who is the audience in James 4?
The epistle is traditionally attributed to James the brother of Jesus (James the Just), and the audience is generally considered to be Jewish Christians, who were dispersed outside Israel.
Who wrote James Chapter 4?
James 4 is the fourth chapter of the Epistle of James in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" and the epistle is traditionally attributed to James the brother of Jesus, written in Jerusalem between 48 and 61 CE.
Verse Thoughts
Christians are eternally united to Christ by faith. We become a child of God and are positioned in Christ at rebirth. At salvation, we receive the indwelling Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our eternal life and heavenly inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession - until we are raptured into His presence.
My Prayer
Loving Father, I want to develop a singleness of mind towards You, with my heart purified and my hands clean before You so that I can draw closer and closer to Christ, my Saviour, and Lord. Keep my ears open to Your voice, my eyes open to Your truth, and my heart open to You alone. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.
What does James 4:8 mean?
In James 4:8, James calls us to draw near to God, to move closer to Him. God promises to move closer to us. That is amazing grace! God does not have to show us His mercy but He does because He loves us. Then James calls us sinners to clean our hands. Let's read this verse from the Amplified Bible: Come close to God and He will come close to you.
What does James say about clean hands?
Then James calls us sinners to clean our hands. Let's read this verse from the Amplified Bible: Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery]. ...
What does James call us to do?
James calls us to clean our hands and not to waver or be double-minded, trying to serve what our flesh desires and what we know God desires for us. Sin gets in the way often but God's amazing grace covers that sin if we desire for God to do it. He will give you the grace to overcome whatever prevents you from coming into His presence.
How to be humble before God?
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 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. Let there be tears for what you have done.
What does the Bible say about worship?
1. To get closer to Jesus ( James 4:8) 2. Because the Bible tells us to ( John 15:4) 3. To learn from the Bible ( Psalm 1:2) 4. To worship God ( Psalm 46:10) But in honest reality, maybe our answers are more like ….