Psalm 111:1,2 – “Cotton Candy”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

Praise the LORD.

¹I will praise the LORD with all of [my] heart, in council of the upright and assembly. ²Great [are] the doings of the LORD, being sought to/by all of delights of them.

How fun! Studying Psalms is like cotton candy – absolute, pure, sweetness.

For some good reason (of which my failing memory eludes me now), I resolved to study Psalm 112. However, when I arrived there and began to study, I realized that 112 actually follows 111 logically – and perhaps intentionally, possibly written by the same author on the same occasion and intended to be enjoyed together. They are both acrostic psalms and 111 presents the greatness of God while 112 explores the life of those who believe 111. So … I then resolved to study 111 first and (hopefully) then to peruse 112’s delights.

As usual, and of course, I no sooner than wade into the first few words of this Psalm and all that absolute, pure, cotton-candy sweetness floods back into my heart.

The title of the Psalm, like 112, is simply “Praise the Lord!” or the familiar transliteration, “Hallelujah!” And that it is.

In verse 1, the writer states his determination to do just that – to praise the Lord; and he says he will do it with “all [my] heart” and “in the council of the upright and assembly.” Of course it is “with all my heart.” The Lord is certainly worthy of no less. Our proud, evil hearts exist in divided allegiance between the Lord and all our petty lusts. In this world, we’ll never be entirely free of being thus “double-minded” but the truly godly at least resolve to (and ask) for “undivided hearts.”

Right off the bat, though, the very words of this Psalm remind me of what the Lord seems to have been teaching me lately, and that is this – that I don’t “change” very well because I resolve to. What changes me is rather to see and be consumed by His beautiful face. In this case, I can try to whomp up a big “all my heart” praise. But, after nearly 40 years of knowing Him, I find I’m not a very good “whomper.” The Law is forever saying to me, “Do this and live” and I try and simply fail. Grace says to me, “Live! … and do this” Rather than getting stuck in verse 1 and “whomping,” all I really need to do is wade right on into verse 2: “Great are the works of the Lord.” When I let my heart fall headlong into pondering the greatness of His works, I find myself praising Him … with all my heart!

What do I mean?

The works of the Lord – or literally, His “doings.” Goodness me. “The heavens declare the glory of God!” I am a scientist. Everywhere I look, whether out into the universe, or under the microscope, I am utterly amazed at the absolute wonder of His creations. There are stars out there that could holds thousands of our sun! We are in the Milky Way galaxy, yet one of the “stars” we think we see in the night sky is not a star at all, but rather the Andromeda Galaxy – an entire ‘nother galaxy of millions of stars spinning around a center, with planets spinning around those stars. And there are no doubt millions of galaxies. I look under the microscope and see an entire world of tiny creatures all living and moving (and eating each other!).

I look around and see the wonder of nature, the incredible intricacy and beauty of this world the Lord created for us to live in. As I sit here typing, out my window it is an absolutely beautiful Spring day with the trees dawning their emerald crowns, birds singing angel sounds, and the delightful, wonderful sunshine gracing everything with its bejeweling glitter.

I live in complete awe of the beautiful wife He gave me. We’ll soon celebrate our 33^rd anniversary and she is still to me the most beautiful creature who ever graced the face of the earth – and she’s my wife! Add to that she has done me good and not evil all the days of her life, stuck with me through it all, mothered my children, keeps me fed and watered, and just an absolute, total, complete blessing – a gift provided to me straight from the heart of my awesome God.

Then my mind races across so much wonder and blessing to dwell on Jesus Himself and the wonder of redemption. “And can it be, that I should gain an interest in His righteousness? Died He for me, who caused His pain, for me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be???”

My whole heart just wants to praise Him – not because I “whomped” it up, but because of His absolutely amazing beautiful face!

And so it begins – another wonderful stroll through a blessed psalm! Another mouthful of cotton candy! Another beautiful sunshiny spring day!

Bring it on!

James 4:13-17 – “What to Do?”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹³Come now, ones saying, “We will go today or tomorrow into this city and spend one year there and trade and make a profit.”¹⁴Whoever, you do not know the matter of tomorrow. What [is] your life? For it is a vapor which appears toward a little and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead of this, you [ought] to say, “If the Lord desires, we will also live and do this or that.” ¹⁶But now you are boasting in your presumptuousness. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷Therefore, it is sin to one knowing to do good and not doing [it].

Somewhere, I ran across the following quote which I believe expresses some important truths arising out of a study of this passage in James:

Within Divine control, life is within human control and this is the precise attitude and relation in which the Christian stands. The Divine control he is fully assured of, and in it he greatly rejoices. But it in no way interferes with his sense of personal responsibility, with his energy and enterprise. He plans, as other men plan; he looks forward, as other men look forward; he works toward an aim, as other men work toward an aim. But there is a cherished mood of humility, submission, and dependence in him of which the godless man knows nothing. When that mood finds expression in words, it says, ‘If the Lord will, we shall both live and do this or that.” What is wrong is:

(1)   the vauntings of self-confidence, as if we had full control of our lives, which we have not; and, on the other hand,

(2) the fatalism—whatever pietistic form it may take—which leads us to think or to say we have no control of our lives, and therefore it is of no use to plan, or to anticipate and provide for the future. True religion ennobles a man's manliness—it never enfeebles or crushes it. In everything that is manly the Christian’s sense of God should make him more manly. And it is manly and Christian to grip life with a strong hand. Life is entrusted to us that we may spend it in working out God’s plan, through working out our own; and “man is immortal till his work is done.” Find out the plan of God in your generation, and then beware lest you cross that plan, or fail to find your own place in it.

Our work is but a segment in the great sphere of God's eternal work; and if we have eyes to see, we may read, in that portion of His work which belongs to us, our name and the date of the present year.

I don’t know where I ran across the quote, and a Google search surprisingly doesn’t turn up its source. Regardless, I think the author does a good job striking the balance between the wrongful planning which is in the end practical atheism, and proper planning which is simply being responsible as we live our lives under the greatness of God.

I’m not sure yet I’ve “got it.” I feel like I do realize life is short and fragile. I feel like I do see it all as part of God’s will. But what bothers me is that the whole world thinks they’ve “got it” and yet, we obviously don’t. Am I actually an exception to the rule or just another self-deluded participant? If I say, “I’ve got it,” then, as in verse 17, I’m saying “I know the good I ought to do.” That leaves me especially accountable to answer the question, “Am I living up to the knowledge I have?” If my pride is blinding me to the sin of presumptuousness, I certainly need the Lord to open my eyes.

I guess for now, I’m just going to have to beg Him in prayer to that end and then go on. I only know to sincerely try to fill my life with love every day. I am convinced the path of love is the path of God’s will for my life. May He light the way and help me to fill my short vapor life with as much love as He will enable me to accomplish.

One thing that has perplexed me for years is this fact that we don’t know how long we’ll live. At 58, realistically I’ve probably got about 20 years to live. Then I’d be 78. 20 years is not really very long at all. On the other hand, I might live to be 98 and that would be 40 years – which seems like another lifetime. Gads, 40 years ago I was 18! On the other hand, I may die today. If I was assured I’d live to 98 (and I had the money), perhaps I could go back to school, get a degree in Celtic history and embark on a completely new career teaching history. But then again I might not live till tomorrow! So what do I do today?

As alluring as a whole different career might be (which I can’t afford anyway), it makes sense to me what Paul told the Corinthians: “Each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him … Each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to” (I Cor 7:17-24). I think what this verse would say is that, in general, we all should just keep doing whatever it is we do and let the Lord decide how long we’ll do it.

… which always brings me back to the same point – just keep doing what I do, use it as my opportunity to love the people it brings me in contact with – and keep doing it the best I can, whether I die today or live to be 98.

If I’m missing something, I sure hope the Lord will open my eyes to see it. Otherwise, this is the path I’ll take – if the Lord will(!).

Speaking of “if the Lord will,” since I’m at the end of chapter 4, I think I’ll take a break from James and go back and do some OT study for a while. If the Lord wills, I’ll live to come back and finish my study of this book of James. It sure has been fun!

James 4:13-17 – “Presumptuousness”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹³Come now, ones saying, “We will go today or tomorrow into this city and spend one year there and trade and make a profit.”¹⁴Whoever, you do not know the matter of tomorrow. What [is] your life? For it is a vapor which appears toward a little and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead of this, you [ought] to say, “If the Lord desires, we will also live and do this or that.” ¹⁶But now you are boasting in your presumptuousness. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷Therefore, it is sin to one knowing to do good and not doing [it].

I have often bemoaned that pride is a self-concealing sin, that, although it is a monstrous sin, the sin of the devil himself, yet we are utterly blind to it until the Lord opens our eyes so we can repent of it. I believe that in the present passage James is trying to do exactly this for us. He is trying to open our eyes to another expression of our evil pride and one which few ever recognize. I’ve certainly never seen this before. He would speak to us of the sin of presumptuousness.

Presumptuousness. “I’m going here and doing this and that, and then I’ll go there and do such and such and stay there for this long and then I’ll …”

James says, “Really?” When we’re talking (and thinking) like this we are forgetting two grand truths of our very existence: 1) We know absolutely nothing beyond this present moment, and 2) our life is more frail than tissue paper.

When we’re talking and thinking like this, we ought to hear in our hearts those terrible words, “Thou fool! Tonight shall thy soul be required of thee!” (Luke 12:20). Proverbs warns us, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (27:1).

As I have been studying this for a couple of weeks, I realize I’ve never really thought deeply about it. In this world, God has granted us knowledge of the past and the present but not the future. We may know much from not only our own past but of the very world itself. We are allowed to know where we are at this very moment, what we are doing, what others are doing around us. But there is an absolutely impassable wall between us and even the very next second of our lives. We know with certainty nothing of our future, neither immediate nor yet to come. “The future” is a realm to which we are allowed absolutely no certain access. It is of grand significance, this “future” of ours, yet we have been utterly denied access to it. God alone holds that future. He alone knows that future and He alone will decide what it holds. He alone knows “the end from the beginning” and He alone “inhabits eternity.”

This is precisely the point where I believe James would reveal to us a very, very subtle and utterly unrecognized expression of our sinful pride – the refusal to accept this station to which the Lord has assigned us, to be people of the past and present, while God alone  entirely possesses the future.  Presumptuousness. Refusing to accept that “our times are in His hands” (Ps 31:15).  Practical atheism.

Is not this sin at the root of worry? Is worry not, in reality, trespassing across this line between the present (our proper domain) and the future (for us a “Forbidden Zone”)? Is worry not clamoring against this limit God has given us? Is it not a restless refusal to accept that God has withheld from us any certain knowledge of or control over our future? Is it not an evil presumptuousness to paint in our minds what the future holds, to paint it as if we have the power to create it, to control it? The future is rightly God’s realm, not mine. He has assigned that I should live in the present.

Now, as far as the future, there certainly is a good and proper activity of planning and preparation. “A wise man sees danger and takes refuge.” “Go to the ant, you sluggard. He gathers now to supply his needs later.” “What man among you, building a tower, does not first of all sit down and make sure he has what he needs to finish it?” One could even say there is a sense in which people do control their future. The Great Mandate was “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over it” (Gen 1:28). We are to “take charge” of our future and work it out toward the ends which God desires. On the other hand, we are quite capable of “messing up” our lives and incurring consequences we’ll bear to our graves. But all of these things are activities (good or bad) we undertake in the present. When it comes down to it, no matter how much we “prepare” we have to remember “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord orders His steps” (Prov 16:9). Joseph’s brothers “meant it for evil” but the Lord worked it out for good “to the saving of many lives.”

So I guess that is my point. Although we certainly can make choices which theoretically will incur good or bad consequences in the future – and we actually should make good choices to that end – yet all those activities must be undertaken in the present, because there is always that great impregnable wall, that utterly impassable barrier, that I have no knowledge or control even one second into my future.

“We will go today or tomorrow into this city and spend one year there and trade and make a profit.”

Yeah, right.

No wonder God calls it boasting. It must be profoundly ridiculous to Him to hear us puffing and blowing about whatever it is we think we’re going to do, completely without any recognition of Him or the fact that our very breath is in His hand! No wonder He says, “All such boasting is evil.”

The cure for our presumptuousness, says James, is to live in the constant awareness of God’s presence and total control. “If the Lord will, we will do this or that.” All we need to do is add this element of humility to our planning and it immediately becomes something we rightly do. This element of humility saves us from our evil inclination toward a presumptuousness that God condemns. I would suggest it is simply a matter of clearly recognizing that wall between my present and even one second into my future. The present is mine in which to live under God. The present is mine to make choices which, under God, I believe will bear good fruit in my future; but that future is totally God’s domain. I possess no control over it and in fact have no certainty whatsoever I’ll even live to see it.

One scary thought, though. Someone I was reading pointed out that this statement, “Life is a vapor” is perhaps one of the most common clichés known to man. Even the ancient Greek writers acknowledged it. Yet, who anywhere honestly lets it have any effect on their life? It’s one of things we’re all quite sure “we know” and yet we spend no thought on it and go on living like it isn’t true. I suspect that is precisely why James ends with the familiar maxim, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, to them it is sin.” In other words don’t be saying, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that.” The question is, do you live like you know it?

I’m probably a case in point. I feel like I’ve “known” this my whole adult life and yet here I am pondering the subject like it’s never crossed my mind before. Like all the faces of the sin of pride, presumptuousness obviously hides itself in our hearts. It needs to be drug kicking and screaming out into the light where we can see it for the evil it really is and, in so doing, put it to death.

Definitely something I need to ponder, particularly as today is my 58^th birthday! I’m on the “other” end of life. Somewhere I passed that point where I no longer have to ponder that life is short. The reality of that thought now hovers over me. Yet, having said all that I’m still not sure I “get it.”

Will ponder more, as I go about my day (– if the Lord will!).

James 4:11,12 – “Usurper”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹¹Brothers, do not speak against one another. One speaking against a brother or judging that brother of his speaks against law and judges law; but if you judge law, you are not a doer of law but a judge. ¹²One is law-giver and judge, the One able to save and to destroy; but who are you, one judging the neighbor?

Judging. There is obviously a huge difference between being discerning versus judging. This “judging” is a bad thing, while discerning is a necessity. First I want to think about this distinction.

Back in Matthew 7, Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (vv1-5), then immediately says, “Do not throw your pearls to pigs” (v6) and “Watch out for false prophets … by their fruit you will recognize them” (vv.15,16). Obviously the “judging” Jesus is prohibiting is something different from discernment. We mustn’t “judge” but we need to discern who are the “pigs” and who are the false prophets.

Here is what I think is the difference: As we look around our world and see what we think is good or bad, there is a point where we move beyond simply observing and instead appoint ourselves the judge, jury, and executioner. Basically we usurp God’s office as “Law-giver and judge.”

… which is a really bad thing.

This is precisely why He says, “There is one Law-giver and Judge. Who are you to judge your neighbor?”

Who are you? Who am I?

In any kingdom, the king has the right to appoint for himself magistrates to perform the necessary functions of judging cases that arise between people. But he only appoints certain people. What if someone else just decides one day that they are a judge and hangs out a shingle? What will the king think of that? “How dare you?” he would ask and probably lop off their head. Most of us are just citizens of the kingdom. Our basic job is to simply keep the laws and leave judging to those appointed to do so. So it is, I believe, with God. There are particular situations where He actually calls people to be “judges,” that is to be discerning of other peoples’ behavior and “pronounce judgments” -- such as in the case of actual government (Rom 13:1, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities …”), parenting (Eph 6:4, “You fathers, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord …”), etc. But, just as is true of my place in this world, my place as a citizen of God’s kingdom is to be a law-keeper, not a judge. Basically I need to spend my mental energies making sure I’m doing what I’m supposed to and God simply didn’t appoint me to be going around evaluating other peoples’ lives.

The problem occurs precisely at this point, when we go from observing, to appointing ourselves to be judge, jury, and executioner – when we arrogantly usurp God’s rightful office.

What is this? Is it not just another instance of our evil pride? JFB says, “[Criticism of others] flows from the same spirit of exalting self at the expense of one’s neighbors as caused the ‘fighting’ condemned earlier in James 4:1.” Nicoll  calls this “the love of finding fault … Pride, the most subtle of sins, has very many forms, and one of them is the love of finding fault …” Ellicott pointed out, “To take the law into one’s own hands is to break it!” Constable noted, “Criticizing our equals is a common sport, but it is inappropriate for mere mortals. We are all responsible to God ultimately and must leave the judgment of His servants up to Him (Rom 14:1-3). We need to remember that we are on the same level with those we may wish to judge.”

And who are we like when we’re “judging” others? Who is called “the accuser of the brethren?”

Usurping God’s office? Being like Satan? Exalting self at the expense of others? “Brethren, these things ought not so to be.”

I noticed in church yesterday, as I was sitting waiting for the service to start, this is exactly what I was doing. I was looking around “judging” the other people, evaluating in my heart whether they pass muster or not. How evil! I’ve never realized before how much I do this. And it has never occurred to me before just how evil it is – usurping God’s place and imitating the devil!

God help me to be discerning as I live my life, but help me be very aware of when my heart moves from discerning to judging. May I keep the “judgment” focused on my own heart. That should keep me busy!

James 4:4-10 – “Exalted”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁴Adulteresses! Do you not know the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world has become an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you suppose that the Scripture says emptily the spirit dwelling in us lusts toward envy? ⁶But He gives more grace, therefore it says, “God opposes proud ones but gives grace to humble ones.” ⁷Therefore, submit yourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, double-minded. ⁹Be miserable and be sad and cry tears. Let the laughter of yours be turned into sadness and the joy into dejection. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.

In the last part of verse 8 and into verse 9, James says “Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, double-minded. Be miserable and be sad and cry tears. Let the laughter of yours be turned into sadness and the joy into dejection.” This is one of the passages in James I have always thought in the back of my mind to be surprisingly negative. Most other writers, it seems, relegate these verses to all those “evil sinners” out there who “need to repent,” so I guess for them it’s all fine; but I believe the Lord is speaking to me (to us) pretty much any time He says anything, so one way or another He is speaking to me. Compare this to I John 3:1, “Behold what manner of love the Father has lavished on us …” The two thoughts seemingly couldn’t be more opposite.

The basic reason for the difference is in us, of course. The ugly truth is we are in fact depraved sinners and our only hope is a gracious God who covers us with the blood of Jesus and loves us anyway.

But I suspect therein is James’ purpose for writing these words and seeming so negative. As I have alluded earlier, I think James is writing to us as people who have become “religiously comfortable.” We have been at this a long time and definitely live “better” than most people. We go to church regularly. We don’t do a lot of the “bad” things other people do. We do a lot of “right” things. So we’re “okay.” Or so we think.

This side of Heaven, are we ever “okay?” The old hymn said, “This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise, to gain the everlasting prize …” Paul said, “In me, that is in my flesh, there dwells no good thing” (Rom 7:18). The fact is, no matter how much I “grow” or “make progress” or “do better” I still am and always will be a depraved sinner and still capable of any sin in the book. As James has informed us, our mouths are still set on fire by hell and our natural wisdom is not just bad, it’s demonic! Us! Christians! People who’ve known the Lord for years!

I would suggest that when we get “religiously comfortable,” thinking down deep in our hearts, “I’m not doing so badly,” is exactly when we need to hear James’ admonition: “Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, double-minded. Be miserable and be sad and cry tears. Let the laughter of yours be turned into sadness and the joy into dejection.”

I am not “okay.” I never have been and never will be in this life. The day the Lord saved me I stood in complete and desperate need of His grace that He should even look on me and not throw me into hell. But no matter how much I “progress” or “grow,” does that ever change? I need to be constantly brought back to the throne of grace – the place where I remember God loves me because of Jesus, not because I’m “performing” well. His love never was based on my “performance” and it never will be. The relationship always has and always will be that I am in desperate need and He is a saving God.

When I forget that, I’ve lost the very essence of our relationship.

The world and our demonic wisdom says, “Be afflicted and mourn and weep? No way! I’m not going to be one of those morose old puritans. If I start thinking like that, I’ll soon be on Prozac!!!” But what does James say? “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.” Peter says it, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time.” What we’re talking about is humbling ourselves in the sight of God, and under the mighty hand of God. This isn’t “sit in the corner and sulk” business. This is about bowing in the presence of the eternal God and reminding ourselves of what His amazing grace willingly overlooks – the reality of who we are and where we stand. And what is the promise as we humbly allow ourselves to fall into the realities of who we are? “And He will lift you up.” “… that He may exalt you in due time.”

Here is one of the wonders of grace, the wonder of what Jesus’ blood has done for us – we cannot fall too far that His grace doesn’t catch us in arms of love and lift us to His warm embrace. We cannot peer too deeply into the abyss of our sinfulness, of our (many) failures and regrets and ever find a corner too black for grace. If we really believe in grace, if we really believe in the Cross, then we should have no fear to do as James bids us. In fact, one of the real reasons why we hesitate to do this is the very fact it requires us to step down. Once again, we are shot through with the devil’s sin and are loathe to be anything but “high and exalted.”

As Jesus said many times, “He who exalts himself (the devil and us when we act like him) shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself (Jesus – Phil 2:6-11—and us when we act like Him) shall be exalted.”

God give us all a fresh vision of grace. May we often remember we are not “okay” – but it’s okay – because of Jesus and His wonderful grace.

James’ words cut us to the quick, but if they shake us out of our spiritual lethargy and leave us marveling in the arms of grace, then I believe he accomplishes His goal.

 

James 4:4-10 – “Drawing Near”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁴Adulteresses! Do you not know the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world has become an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you suppose that the Scripture says emptily the spirit dwelling in us lusts toward envy? ⁶But He gives more grace, therefore it says, “God opposes proud ones but gives grace to humble ones.” ⁷Therefore, submit yourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, double-minded. ⁹Be miserable and be sad and cry tears. Let the laughter of yours be turned into sadness and the joy into dejection. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.

Verse 8 is an interesting verse in the middle of all of this: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” What is first of all interesting to me is that, in a sense, we can’t be any closer to God. “For He is not far from any of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being ” (Acts 17:27,28). As David observed, “You hem me in – behind and before … Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? … if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your right hand will hold me fast” (Ps 139:5-10). God is Omnipresent. He fills all of the universe with all of His being everywhere at the same time. He is everywhere present. As Jay Adams once observed, “God is our environment!”

So, in a sense, does anyone else see the absurdity of the situation? How can I need to draw near the God in whom I live and move and have my being? I actually can’t possibly be any closer to Him. What can I conclude? First of all, obviously the “nearness” problem lies entirely within me and secondly, it is clearly not a physical problem (not a “distance” to be measured), but rather a spiritual problem – which is obvious, but I think it needs to be put on the table as I think through the verse. More on this later.

I have to say first of all that I like the fact that God is so “near” to us. I love Paul’s words that the very Gospel itself is already near us: “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, this word of faith we’re proclaiming …” I love that salvation and faith are actually that close to every human being. The words “God, save me” are literally on the tip of every human tongue. They are already in our mouths and in our hearts. I suspect this is true because the “nearness” problem is not physical but rather purely spiritual – in other words, because God Himself is already near us, there is but that sheet thin wall of blindness and pride that keeps us from falling into His arms.

And I love what Asaph said, “But as for me, it is good to be near God” (Ps 73:28). Yes, it is good to be near God. Once again, it’s not that He’s ever far from us. It’s just that we have to let down the wall and allow His nearness to envelope us. Asaph’s point is that, if only we will, we’ll find it a very good thing. When we come boldly to the throne of grace, what do we find? “Mercy and grace to help in our time of need” (Heb 4:16). Jesus promised, “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (Jn 6:37). The leper said to Jesus, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” And what does the Bible say was Jesus’ response? “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said, ‘Be clean!’”

 I guess I just want to echo Asaph’s words: “But as for me, it is good to be near God” There is no safer, warmer place to be than in His lap, wrapped up in His big arms, so close you can hear His heart beating. In our absurd blindness and pride, we either simply don’t acknowledge Him or very deliberately push Him away. That is the singularly most stupid thing we ever, ever do as we go about our lives down here. Utterly cosmic folly.

Another thing I think worth noting: As I’ve observed before, James is writing to “religious” people. He’s writing specifically to Jews (1:1). He’s writing to the “religiously comfortable” and I believe he’s trying to shock them out of their lethargy. Isn’t it interesting that he needs to tell them to “draw near to God?” They could easily respond, “Near to God? We are God’s people!  And even better than that, we’re Jewish Christians! Our whole lives are built around our religion! Of course we’re near to God!” But, the problem is, does “religion” or religious practice make us near to God? I would suggest a very loud “No!” I would even suggest the very Jewish people are living proof that religious associations and activities don’t mean we’re near to God. As Jesus said of them, “They draw near me with their mouths, but their hearts are far from Me.”

Ah. Their hearts. Here is where the nature of nearness gets personal. We all are ready to acknowledge it’s not a matter of physical nearness, that it is a spiritual business – then somehow content ourselves that being “religious” is good enough. How many people honestly believe that because they go to church regularly, they have a relationship with God? Others not only go to church regularly but also go on to immerse themselves in church “ministry” and imagine that because they’re “serving God” so much, they have a relationship with him. We’re no different than the Jewish people of old. We said we know the nearness is a spiritual issue – but have we really dealt with it?

James’ charge to “draw near to God” is a charge to do exactly that. Not to “go to church.” Not to get head over heels “busy at church.” But to actually, deliberately, and personally draw near to God. To see that awful wall of pride and folly that so easily stands between us and our God. To claim the blood of Jesus that broke down that wall, that “rent the veil from top to bottom.” And to actually look into the face of God and say, “I love you.”

Lord help us all. When He calls us to “draw near to God,” may we not be found thinking, “He’s speaking to all those people who need to draw near Him. I’m one of those people who’s got this covered. Too bad so many others don’t.” God help us. He’s talking to me!

May I never be content except when it’s really true that I’ve “drawn near to God.”

And I’ll live with this promise, that if I draw near to God, “He will draw near to me!” “He is not far from us, … for in Him we live and move and have our being.”

 

James 4:4-10 – “Weeding”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁴Adulteresses! Do you not know the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world has become an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you suppose that the Scripture says emptily the spirit dwelling in us lusts toward envy? ⁶But He gives more grace, therefore it says, “God opposes proud ones but gives grace to humble ones.” ⁷Therefore, submit yourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, double-minded. ⁹Be miserable and be sad and cry tears. Let the laughter of yours be turned into sadness and the joy into dejection. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.

Verse 7 is interesting in that it contains both the injunction to submit ourselves to God and alongside it to resist the devil.

We have a hero and a villain, our King and His most bitter enemy, the narrow way of the Cross and the highway to hell. In our absurd blindness, we imagine all of this a battle that we must one day consider and decide our allegiance. “I will hear you again at a more opportune time,” said Felix. But there is no third option. There are only two masters. If we would submit ourselves to God, we must resist the devil. If we submit ourselves to the devil, God will resist us. … And what we fail to realize is that not to very deliberately and wholeheartedly submit ourselves to God is to submit ourselves to the devil.

“I don’t see that,” one may say. Of course you don’t. “Hard to see the dark side is.”

All the more reason to very deliberately submit ourselves to God!

The devil -- not only the Lord’s most bitter enemy but ours as well; the master deceiver, the father of lies, and a murderer from the beginning; he who would offer you all the kingdoms of this world and their splendor, when in reality he only intends to brutally murder you; Grima Wormtongue whispering lies in your Theoden’s ear, pretending to be your friend while he absolutely destroys everything that ever mattered to you.

Resist him, says the Lord.

As to what it means to resist him, as always, thousands of writers have commented on this passage and offered their insights. I would like to add a thought that I haven’t found much addressed – that one of the monumental ways in which we must resist him is to vigilantly guard our hearts against the sin of pride.

Of course, we must guard our hearts against all sin, be mindful of our eyes and of our anger, of our love of pleasures and possessions. But as Manton pointed out, “Christians are not so much in danger of intemperance and sensual lust as pride; it groweth by the decrease of other sins.”

As I have pointed out earlier, pride is the devil’s sin. It is the hideous sin that hides itself, the sin which, as Manton  points out, can actually be growing even as we resist more obvious temptations and feel we’re becoming “better.” But God resists the proud. He “marshals His forces” against them. Even as we’re truly becoming “better,” striving to put off our anger, to be more patient and kind, to “do right,” we may actually be falling in the sin of pride.

The Pharisee scrupulously practiced his religion then prayed, “I thank Thee, Lord, I am not as other men … like this sinner.” He may have had many things “right” but he was blind to the sin of pride and it completely ruined him. Little did he know as he went away that “he was not forgiven.” The humble sinner went away with the only thing that mattered and the Pharisee with everything but.

I guess that’s my point. If we would resist the devil, we must resist what I suspect is his most subtle temptation. It worked on Adam and Eve: “Ye shall be as gods …” and down they went.

I would suggest that anytime we’re angry, or even just irritated, we should look for the sin of pride in our hearts. We’ll likely not see it at all, for one thing because we’re so focused on how “wrong” they are, or how “wrong” it is. But those very thoughts are focused on what someone else should change, not me. Instead I need to be asking myself, “Why does that anger me?” “Why does that irritate me?” If we would resist the devil, we must be asking the Lord to help us see really why we’re angry and I would guess it will always be true that there is some sin of pride hidden beneath it all.

Anger is something I still need a lot of work on, but fortunately, the Lord called it to my attention a long time ago. Another one I’m working on right now (and not doing very well) is fear. As I’ve often bemoaned, I’ve been an incorrigible worrier all my life. I’ve tried to tackle as worry but never made much progress. I’ve also tried to tackle it as fear, remembering the Lord says, “Fear not, I am with you,” and I think made some progress; but right now and as I study this section of James, I’m wondering if I’ll not conquer it until I root out the sin of pride that is secretly fueling it.

I don’t think I really see it yet, but how can worry and fear not be ultimately just a symptom of pride? The Lord says He’s in control. He says I don’t need to worry, I don’t need to fear. What am I really saying but that I don’t believe Him? I fear somehow in my heart I think I’m so important that I can’t even trust God to give me what I need and want, that somehow, in the end it will be up to me to fight the battle and win.

That is all very bad. But even saying it, I still don’t think I “see” it. Is this something in which I need to “resist the devil,” to draw near to God, to submit to Him and tell him what I’m thinking and ask Him to help me see the real battle?

Hmmmmm. Eph 6:11,12 tells us, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

I still don’t “see” it but I’m sure the real problem under my worrying is pride. As always, it’s hiding. I can’t see it. My name is Bartimaeus. “What do you want Me to do for you,” Jesus asks. “Lord, I want to see.”

The only thing I see clearly is that my hope is to “be strong in the Lord.” I hope it’s true that, by drawing near to Him, I am resisting the devil. That is all I know to do now – to pray the Lord would help me see the real problem, the sin of pride, and root it out of my heart, that I could finally and decisively overcome the sin of worrying, not so much by pulling its weeds, but by killing its root.