Life According to James DAY FOUR

Submission to God

“Come near to God and He will come near to you.” James 4:8a NIV

Submit Yourselves to God

Brother James continues on his discipleship tract, not letting his foot off the accelerator. It is as if he knows that we are wrestling with this idealistic view of the life of faith versus our fleshly, real-life situations. I have a friend, who is known for his response to most statements in a conversation: “Yes . . . but.” Similarly, we say to James: “Yes . . . but . . . this life you are describing seems too difficult. What about this? What about that?” It reminds me of encounters we read with Jesus, as He is telling people to follow Him. Then, they start making excuses for why they cannot (family, money, comfort).

James says: When are you going to quit trying to live for the world? “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4 NIV We are so immersed in this world and all this cultural influence which paints a picture of health, wealth, and prosperity, that we believe this is real life. We serve this system, and then, we wonder why we feel like God is not answering our prayers. James says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:3 NIV

He tells us to come near to God with a humble heart, turning away from the devil and all his worldly temptations. Then, God will purify us and lift us up. He will alter our thoughts and viewpoints and help us see our lives from His perspective. We reach a place where we can say: Not my will, but Your will be done.

Then, no sooner do we feel His righteousness come into our lives, James warns us not to become self-righteous and start maligning and judging everyone else. Ugh! This sinful nature is relentless, isn’t it?

Boasting About Tomorrow

James tests us yet again to see if we are really sold out to Christ. Are we making all sorts of plans for our lives, or are we submitting to His plans? I heard a speaker once describe how most of us make our long to-do list and then ask God to sign off on it at the bottom. He said we should compare that with giving God a blank to-do list, asking Him to make out the list. Convicting.

James simply says that a disciple should say: “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:15 NIV

I guess he took Jesus’ words seriously when He said:

“If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25 NIV