September 2
James 4:7: Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8: Draw
nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye
sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9: Be
afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your
joy to heaviness. 10: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall
lift you up.
The way to
resist the devil does not lie in us. The only cure is submitting to Christ (I
Pet 5:7-9). Christ has purged the sin of his people leaving the devil nothing
by which his redeemed may be charged (Heb 2:14-15). Christ Jesus our Mediator
intercedes for us before the Father and comforts us through the Holy Spirit. He
gives us boldness as he causes us to remember our body is washed and our
conscience purged from dead works to serve the living God (Heb 9:14; I Cor
6:9-11). If the faithful Father has turned your laughter to mourning and your
joy to heaviness then fight no more against him but turn from the defilement,
set your mind on Christ Jesus above and draw near in full assurance of faith.
He promises to give in abundance (Jam 1:5-7, 21; Heb 10:19-23). Be not a hearer
only but a doer of this word. Lay aside the old man, receive the word with
meekness, and rejoice as Christ performs this sure word of promise,
"humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you
up" (Jam 4:10; 1:21).