Week Ten: 12/18-12/22

Week Ten: 12/18-12/22

James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.”
            
I think this verse is pretty self explanatory, but it is definitely something I have to continuously remind myself when I feel far from the Lord. To draw near to God is to pursue an intimate relationship with Him. In the previous verse it says to resist the devil and he will flee from you, but our salvation is more than that. It’s allowing God to be the center of your heart and allowing your desires and will to align with His. In the Old Testament, priests had to wash their hands before going to God as part of their rituals. We need to recognize our sin and confess it to the Lord in order to go before Him in righteousness. As the priests washed their hands to symbolize an outward behavior, purifying your heart is an internal behavior. We are to purify our thoughts, motives, and desires of our heart. When I’m far from the Lord, I know its because my sin is getting in the way. Sometimes I’m even unaware of the sin I’m caught in, but my distance from the Lord is always a key indicator of that. I always have to examine my heart and thoughts throughout the day and refocus them on the Lord. It’s easy to become distracted and complacent, especially when you’re physically and mentally drained. I’ve been given the responsibility of leading worship for our team for this season. Its been a time of growth in the gifting the Lord has given me, but mostly a time of purifying my heart through it. Worship used to just be a time where I would receive and solely focus on the Lord. I mean, I didn’t have to lead anyone, prepare songs to have on hand when asked, and create an atmosphere of worship. I’ve continuously had to go before the Lord and ask Him to purify my heart and my motives. I could easily allow this to become something that puffs me up or something that causes me to focus on myself. This has overflowed into almost every aspect of my life whether is children’s programs, cleaning the house, relationships with my teammates, or serving at the church.

            
Application: This week I will write my paper on real worship and include this verse on how the Lord has called me to draw near to Him with a clean and purified heart.

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