Monday, February 28, 2011

Submit Yourself to God!

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (James 4:7-10)


Although God and the devil are at war, we don't have to wait until the end to see who will win. God has already defeated Satan (Revelation 12:10-12), and when Christ returns, the devil and all he stands for will be eliminated forever (Revelation 20:10-15). Satan is here now, however, and he is trying to win us over to his evil cause. With the Holy Spirit's power, we can resist the devil, and he will flee from us.


We must follow in order the two commands in James 4:7. First we must submit to God by abandoning our selfish pride (James 4:1–6). Submitting to the Lord also involves putting on the whole armor of God, an image that includes everything from placing our faith in Him to immersing ourselves in the truth of God’s Word (Ephesians 6:11–18). Second, we must resist any temptation that the devil throws our way. Then the Evil One will have no choice but to flee, for we will belong to the army of the living God.


How can you come near to God? James gives five ways: (1) Submit to God (James 4:7). Yield to His authority and will, commit your life to Him and His control, and be willing to follow Him. (2) Resist the devil (James 4:7). Don't allow Satan to entice and tempt you. (3) Wash your hands...and purify your hearts by leading a pure life (James 4:8). Be cleansed from sin, replacing your desire to sin with your desire to experience God's purity. (4) Grieve and mourn and wail in sincere sorrow for your sins (James 4:9). Don't be afraid to express deep heartfelt sorrow for what you have done. (5) Humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6).


When a believer who has fallen into sin responds to God’s call for repentance, they should place laughter and joy aside to reflect on the sin with genuine sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9, 10). In this verse (James 4:9); laughter seems to refer to the loud revelry of pleasure-loving people. They immerse themselves in a celebration of their sins in an effort to forget God’s judgment. A Christian should never laugh at sin. However, Christian sorrow leads to repentance; repentance leads to forgiveness; and forgiveness leads to true joy over one’s reconciliation with God (Psalms 32:1; 126:2; Proverbs 15:13).


Humbling ourselves means recognizing that our worth comes from God alone. To be humble involves working with His power according to His guidance, not with our own independent effort. Although we do not deserve God's favor, He reaches out to us in love and gives us worth and dignity, despite our human shortcomings.


Father God, it is my prayer this morning that I fully submit myself too You and to You alone. Search my heart and cleanse me of any evil that is there. Give me the wisdom and courage to resist the devil and to recognize sin for what it really is. Thank you my Lord and Savior for saving my soul and setting me free. I pray this all in Jesus name. Amen.


References: NKJV Holy Bible, Life Application Bible (NIV), the Nelson Study Bible.

14 comments:

WORLASI said...

Amen!!!
Another blessed post brother. Moves in line with what i need for the week. Encouraging and teaching as always. God bless you and lift your ministry. Have a blessed week Lloyd.

Asia said...

Great post. Thanks for this

Clint said...

You da man! Great post, Lloyd. This just about sums it up---a great way for me to begin my day. I appreciate your blog. Blessings.

RCUBEs said...

Amen! The word "submit" sounds scary as if we are going to be at a major loss. But the truth is when we surrender everything to our Lord Jesus, like what the cross symbolizes, like a plus sign, we gain so much more! And those are not perishable! Glory be to God!

Thank you bro. Lloyd for your treasured prayers. Pls. Keep me in your prayers as I'm in a huge battle at my work, and when i took the important step, it would be huge as I would be battling against so many, who knows, even some of the Custody might be involved. But I know the Lord will be there for me. In His perfect time, if He allows me to write about it, I will for His glory. God bless you more and have a wonderful week ahead.

Ellen Lundberg said...

Hello! That s was a wonderful to know that Jesus is with us. and that we should not be afraid. :)
it was very good post! I really like the picture. :) would be nice if you commented in my blog! God bless you :D

Gerry Adams said...

Amen to all that you have written here!

Anonymous said...

Sumitting to God is the safest place to be. Jonah wanted his own will instead of God's. He ended up thrown off a ship in a storm and in the belly of a whale. I would much rather be safe in the will of God. Great post as usual! Thanks Lloyd!

Jan Samuel said...

Great post Brother!
I needed this today!!
Thank you,
and God bless you Brother!
Hallelujah!
Greetings from
Jan Samuel.

Unknown said...

Excellent post, and much needed in this time of "easy believeism." Repentance is central to the preaching of Jesus, yet sadly neglected in evangelical churches today.

Rebecca said...

Thank you for this truth today.

Donald Fishgrab said...

Great point about not laughing about sin. I am stunned that so much of what is called humor today is solely about laughing about people's sin. It really isn't funny, just embarrassing, but it encourages others to think it's funny to do those things.

Zia Wolf-Sun said...

Hi Lloyd :) Thank you for taking the time and interest to stop by my blog and for being kind enough to leave a comment...you likely don't remember me now as it was about a month ago but I have only just got back online to catch up! You know how the "real world" can be sometimes...trouble trouble toil and trouble! lol ;) My main site is at WordPress.com where I generally am when not here however... europasicewolf.wordpress.com
Interesting site you have here too Lloyd! Take care and have a great week :)

Lovey said...

In Jesus Name...Amen!

Anonymous said...

hye..follow me back :)