Have you
had your Joy Juice today? Too weak to
lift your glass this morning? Never
fear! God is near!
James 4:8
says: “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” So often that’s where we put a period, and we
forget that there is more to that verse.
It is certainly true that God will come near to us as we seek to be
closer to him; but the rest of the verse is so important, too.
Let’s read the verse in its
entirety: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to
you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
When we
draw near to God, we enter into His presence as sinners. The verse says, “Cleanse your hands and
purify your hearts.” If we rely on our
own strength to do this, we will never be clean enough. But the good news is that we don’t have to
depend on ourselves. Our own
righteousness will NEVER be enough; but GOD’s righteousness (in us) is ALWAYS
enough!
So
how do we obey the command to “Cleanse our hands and purify our hearts?” By
assertively directing our heart away from trusting our own performance; and
believing that it is only by the righteousness of God that we are worthy to
draw near to Him. We should praise and
thank God for His grace, freely given to each of us by a loving God. Only HE can make us clean and pure.
What JOY it is to know that because of
Him, we can have clean hands and a pure heart!
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