A new year and a blank slate to fill. How bad can we be just three days into the year? Well, James minces no words in reminding us that we are all sinners and need to draw nearer to God. As the brother of Jesus, James has seen the bad of the world and seeks to awaken us to awareness of how easy it is to fall into a trap that Satan has set for us.
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up," (James 4:7-10).
At first read of this scripture it seems rather bold and depressing, but if we remember James' goal for his book, how to do Christianity, we see that he is just trying to help us become better Christians. After we mourn our sins and humble ourselves before God, He will lift us up. That is a good start for a new year.
After two years of a pandemic we should be wholly aware of having clean hands! With hand sanitizer around every corner, we are constantly cleaning our hands to prevent germs. That is a good habit we have gotten into.
We can purify our hearts by confessing our sins and accepting God's grace and forgiveness. A fresh start, a clean heart.
May the new year be a blessing as we walk with God and encourage each other in faith.
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