Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you

Draw close to God and He will draw close to you!

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  James 4:8

Curious  as to how this is done?  Want to know how to draw nearer to God, to be closer to Him, and to have that better relationship?  We are given several steps to do this right here in James.

1. Submit to God

How can we ever be close to God if we don’t submit to Him?  How can we say we love Him when we don’t submit to do        His will?  To submit means to give complete control over to God, give Him everything and surrender it all to Him.
There has to be a realization that we are sinners and we need God.

Submit yourselves therefore to God…James 4:7

2.  Resist the Devil

Turn from temptation and run.  Don’t let the devil run your life.  When we give the devil an inch he will take a mile,
when we give in to just a small amount of temptation we have opened the door for a much wider attack.  Proverbs
tells us to “Guard our Heart”; that is watch and be ready, put on the armor of God, and don’t let temptation get you.

 Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  James 4:7

3. Pure Life

Keep your hands clean and hearts pure.  Don’t let a little dirt keep you from God’s love.  Instead when you feel like you
are starting to slip, open God’s word, pray, and ask for His help in keeping a clean heart and clean hands for Him.

 …Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts,…  James 4:8

4. Be sincere in your grief

Know that you are a sinner, know that God can’t tolerate sin, and be truthfully regrettable about your sin.  Don’t put on
a fake pose after you sin – it should tear you up.  We should cry out like Paul – “I don’t understand why I do what I
hate”.  It should hurt us and make us sorrowful.  The joy comes from knowing God forgives us and gives us a second
chance.

 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  James 4:10

5. Be Humble Before God

We have nothing without God.  We can’t accomplish a single thing without God.  Most importantly without God we are
destined for hell.  There is no work or task that can get us to Heaven.  God sent His only son that we might live again.
Don’t be arrogant in your faith or arrogant in your position, instead realize that God’s grace saves and you have been
given a second chance at life.