# 35 2020 Dev. James 4:1. Submission! Read all of Ch. 4. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.
James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Chapter 4 is a discouraging chapter, pointing out the human failings that lead followers of Jesus and non followers astray as well. James is the brother of Jesus and the leader of the church in Jerusalem. We may legitimately ask: to whom is this chapter directed? Of course, the Scriptures speak to all people, at all times of history but this chapter is directed to followers of Jesus. Vs. 1-3 he speaks of evil desire: “You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives.”
Vs.4-6 addresses when the the world is too much with us, we can’t have it both ways: “anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God,” who” jealously longs for the Spirit he has caused to dwell in us. But he gives us more grace: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’”
Vs. 7-10 gives us the alternative to what James tells us before this: “submit yourselves, then, to God.” Resist evil, “Come near to God and he will come near you. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Vs.11-12 tells us not to judge or slander one another. “There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and destroy, but you- who are you to judge your neighbor?”
Vs. 13-17 tells us that God is in control and that we are not: i.e.- followers of Jesus and those who are not. We “are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James is reminding us that we are human with many limitations, how easy it it is to be arrogant. James calls sin, not to do good when we know what good is.
That is the point in this whole chapter, followers of Jesus know what is right, what is just and good and when we do not practice what we preach Jesus is minimized, our message is minimized, our churches are marginalized and our young people leave our churches. James is speaking in clear and bold terms but today what James is talking about, evil desire, quarreling, friendship to the world, judging each other and arrogance is very subtle today. It is hidden in our society, in education, it is hidden, barely, in the media, it is hidden in social media, it is hidden in our churches. Part of the problem is that many people claiming to be followers of Jesus have their eyes and ears, and in some cases their hearts closed, demonstrated by those on the out side who see the problems that James is presenting here before we see it ourselves. The answer is also in this chapter: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Show us more grace, Lord Jesus, we pray!
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