1
00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:13,600
Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hello, and thank you for listening to your

2
00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,480
Speaker 1: Daily Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each

3
00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,480
Speaker 1: day to learn more about God and his will for us.

4
00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:25,240
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jessica Thnrocol, and after the short word

5
00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:29,479
Speaker 1: from our sponsor, we'll dive into today's Bible verse James

6
00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:45,240
Speaker 1: chapter four, verse eight. Today's Bible versus James chapter four,

7
00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,720
Speaker 1: verse eight. Come near to God, and He will come

8
00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,480
Speaker 1: near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify

9
00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,800
Speaker 1: your hearts, you double minded. Years ago, I stood at

10
00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:01,560
Speaker 1: a fork on a mountainish trail in northern Montana. One

11
00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,800
Speaker 1: path traced the ridge with wide views and steady footing,

12
00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:09,160
Speaker 1: and the other dropped sharply into a rather rocky ravine.

13
00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,039
Speaker 1: For a moment, I tried to keep both my options open,

14
00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:15,319
Speaker 1: stepping awkwardly with one foot on each path, and this

15
00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,920
Speaker 1: lasted only seconds before I pretty much lost my balance.

16
00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,960
Speaker 1: The trail itself taught me what indecision could not hide.

17
00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,960
Speaker 1: Two directions require two commitments. I couldn't move forward until

18
00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:32,280
Speaker 1: I chose one of them. Sometimes the clearest lessons come

19
00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,360
Speaker 1: when the ground beneath us refuse us to let us

20
00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,800
Speaker 1: pretend we can follow two ways at once. Our hearts

21
00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,560
Speaker 1: are often the same. We want God, yet we also

22
00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,520
Speaker 1: cling to habits, priorities, and desires that pull us elsewhere.

23
00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:51,360
Speaker 1: James speaks clearly and directly to that divided condition in

24
00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,880
Speaker 1: James four eight. He offers both an invitation and a warning,

25
00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,480
Speaker 1: come near to God, receive us cleansing, and leave double

26
00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:03,400
Speaker 1: minded living behind. This verse today begins with a gracious command,

27
00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,480
Speaker 1: come near to God. This is not a call to

28
00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,679
Speaker 1: earn God's favor, but an invitation to return to Him

29
00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:15,280
Speaker 1: with sincerity. To draw near means to turn our attention, affection,

30
00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:19,919
Speaker 1: and allegiance towards God. James is speaking to believers whose

31
00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:24,880
Speaker 1: loyalties had become divided. They wanted God's blessings without fully

32
00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:29,840
Speaker 1: surrendering their hearts. So James calls them back to closeness

33
00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,040
Speaker 1: with the Lord, and he attaches the promise, and he

34
00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:37,160
Speaker 1: will come near to you. God does not withdraw from

35
00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,760
Speaker 1: the humble person who seeks him. He welcomes the one

36
00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,880
Speaker 1: who turns back. Then, James says, wash your hands and

37
00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:49,160
Speaker 1: purify your hearts. These phrases point to repentance in both

38
00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:54,119
Speaker 1: actions and motives. Washing the hands speaks to outward conduct,

39
00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,400
Speaker 1: such as the things that we do in purifying the

40
00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,120
Speaker 1: heart speaks to our inward life, where our thought, desires,

41
00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:05,720
Speaker 1: and intentions can shape us. James isn't asking for shallow

42
00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:10,440
Speaker 1: religious effort. He's calling for honesty before God, where our

43
00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:15,280
Speaker 1: behaviors and our hearts are brought under his cleansing grace.

44
00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:20,680
Speaker 1: Repentance is not merely feeling bad about where we fall short,

45
00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,560
Speaker 1: but it's actually turning from it and turning toward God.

46
00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,640
Speaker 1: It's doing that one point eighty. James goes on to

47
00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,399
Speaker 1: address sinners or the double minded, and he uses these

48
00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,160
Speaker 1: terms to describe people whose lives are pulled in two directions.

49
00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:40,360
Speaker 1: Double mindedness can be a picture of a divided soul,

50
00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,360
Speaker 1: one that is saying yes to God while still protecting

51
00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:49,280
Speaker 1: competing loyalties. But this verse is not written to drive

52
00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,400
Speaker 1: us into despair or further away from God or discouragement.

53
00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,640
Speaker 1: It is written to lead us to repentance, to that

54
00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,880
Speaker 1: turning away and turning toward God. God through Jesus Christ,

55
00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:06,680
Speaker 1: God offers forgiveness, cleansing, and a restored relationship with Himself.

56
00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:11,040
Speaker 1: The nearness James speaks of it is possible because Christ

57
00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,200
Speaker 1: opened the way for us to come boldly to God.

58
00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:18,920
Speaker 1: The context makes us even clearer. In the previous verse,

59
00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,400
Speaker 1: James says, submit yourselves then to God, resists the devil,

60
00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,599
Speaker 1: and he will flee from you. You see, drawing near

61
00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,080
Speaker 1: to God is how that submission is lived out. As

62
00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:33,000
Speaker 1: we come close to him, we begin to see our faults,

63
00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:38,560
Speaker 1: our sin more clearly. We're able to resist temptation on

64
00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:43,679
Speaker 1: a more regular basis, and we can experience the rapid

65
00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:47,880
Speaker 1: transforming work of his presence. James gives us both invitation

66
00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:51,919
Speaker 1: and promise. When we move toward God in humility, with

67
00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,360
Speaker 1: a humble heart, we find that He is already standing

68
00:04:55,360 --> 00:05:00,320
Speaker 1: there with his arms open, waiting to receive us. Shows

69
00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,320
Speaker 1: us that nearness to God is not vague, and it's

70
00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:07,760
Speaker 1: not a sentimental phrase. It's the place where surrender begins,

71
00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:12,880
Speaker 1: where our competing loyalties are confronted, and where grace can

72
00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:17,039
Speaker 1: reshape us. Because of Christ's death and resurrections, We're not

73
00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:21,480
Speaker 1: left to purify ourselves by sheer will power or pulling

74
00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:25,279
Speaker 1: ourselves up by the bootstraps. No, we are invited to

75
00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,480
Speaker 1: come honestly, to confess freely, and to receive the mercy

76
00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:35,560
Speaker 1: that makes real change possible. It is God's presence where

77
00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:38,760
Speaker 1: we find the strength to resist what pulls us away,

78
00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:42,320
Speaker 1: and where we receive the courage to live with an

79
00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:49,280
Speaker 1: undivided heart. Today, I have an invitation for you. Draw

80
00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:53,240
Speaker 1: near to God with honesty. Ask him to show you

81
00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:57,920
Speaker 1: where your heart has been divided, maybe where you've been

82
00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,760
Speaker 1: holding on to unhealthy patterns, priorities, or even attitudes that

83
00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:08,480
Speaker 1: can keep you distant from Him. Then take one practical step,

84
00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:14,760
Speaker 1: set aside five minutes today at lunch before bed, on

85
00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,800
Speaker 1: your break and open your Bible to James chapter four,

86
00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:22,800
Speaker 1: verses seven through ten, and read it carefully, and then

87
00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:27,000
Speaker 1: pray a simple prayer. Lord, I'm coming near you, cleanse

88
00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:31,920
Speaker 1: my hands and purify my heart. Let's pray, Heavenly Father,

89
00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,120
Speaker 1: thank you so much that that you don't require us

90
00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:40,640
Speaker 1: to clean ourselves up. You don't require us to purify

91
00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:42,960
Speaker 1: our own hearts. But Lord, you just want us to

92
00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:44,919
Speaker 1: have a willing heart that says, Lord, you can have

93
00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,159
Speaker 1: all my heart. Show me where I'm living that double

94
00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:51,000
Speaker 1: minded life. Show me where I'm trying to hang on

95
00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:54,240
Speaker 1: to an old way of living or thought pattern or

96
00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:57,240
Speaker 1: habit that's keeping me from a deeper encounter with you.

97
00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,359
Speaker 1: So Lord, we open ourselves up to tea, and we say, Lord, Jesus,

98
00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:06,320
Speaker 1: come in, show us where we're keeping ourselves back, and

99
00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:10,240
Speaker 1: help us to draw near to you. In Jesus' name, Amen,