Daily Devotional
February 7
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. - James 4:7-8 (KJV)
What a tremendous promise, that if we submit ourselves to God by obeying Him, and following the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can resist the devil, and he will have to flee from us – praise God. The word “resist” means to “actively fight against”, so you can not just be passive and expect the devil to leave you alone. God gave us the ability to get angry, and has commanded us to stay angry at the devil and at sin (Ephesians 4:26-27). Jesus completely defeated the devil (Revelation 12:7-9), and has given us this power over all the wiles and ways of the devil. You do have to be submitted to God for this power to work, as an unbeliever has no control over the devil, but rather is serving him.
Of course, if you are born again, God lives within us, and will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). So our drawing nigh to God means to walk closer to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and the more we follow His commands, the closer we become to God in all our ways. Notice that God will draw nigh to us when we walk with Him, as God wants to have a close relationship with all His children. It is us that turn away from God, and never God turning away from us. James is admonishing us to live holy for God, so that we can please our Father, who wants only the best for us. If you truly love God, you will strive to live a holy life, as He is holy. As Jesus said, “if you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15), so if you love Jesus - love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39), as it is all about God’s kind of (AGAPE) love. God is love (1 John 4:8)!
Devotional by Pastor Joe W. Green, www.infinite-faith.com
**Daily Devotional**
**February 7**
*7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. - James 4:7-8 (KJV)*
What a tremendous promise, that if we submit ourselves to God by obeying Him, and following the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can resist the devil, and he will have to flee from us – praise God. The word “resist” means to “actively fight against”, so you can not just be passive and expect the devil to leave you alone. God gave us the ability to get angry, and has commanded us to stay angry at the devil and at sin (Ephesians 4:26-27). Jesus completely defeated the devil (Revelation 12:7-9), and has given us this power over all the wiles and ways of the devil. You do have to be submitted to God for this power to work, as an unbeliever has no control over the devil, but rather is serving him.
Of course, if you are born again, God lives within us, and will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). So our drawing nigh to God means to walk closer to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and the more we follow His commands, the closer we become to God in all our ways. Notice that God will draw nigh to us when we walk with Him, as God wants to have a close relationship with all His children. It is us that turn away from God, and never God turning away from us. James is admonishing us to live holy for God, so that we can please our Father, who wants only the best for us. If you truly love God, you will strive to live a holy life, as He is holy. As Jesus said, “if you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15), so if you love Jesus - love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39), as it is all about God’s kind of (AGAPE) love. God is love (1 John 4:8)!
Devotional by Pastor Joe W. Green, www.infinite-faith.com
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