October 30
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COME CLOSE TO GOD
A poem by ILMA
What is the source of quarrels or fights among you people?
Doesn’t it come from those evil desires at war within you?
You want what others have, so you plan to get it at all cost
You become envious, so you scheme and obsess to have it.
Yet you don’t have what you want since you don’t ask the Lord
Or when you ask, you don’t get since it is only for your own pleasure
Don’t you know that following the world makes you an enemy of God?
So why do you compromise your relationship with your Lord and Savior?
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble
So, be submissive to God and resist the devil
The enemy will flee from you, and you become the victor
Come close to God and he will definitely come close to you.
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MEMORY VERSE
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. – James 4:7-8
Read: James 4:1-10
It is interesting to know that many Christians use the excuse that God is everywhere and think that they need not make any effort to come close to him. They follow the world’s system and think that God will not be offended with that. In fact, James calls us adulterers and enemies of God when we abide by the ways of the world because that is not what his will is for us. In this chapter, James also explains the source of our conflicts which is from our human desires and cravings.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think God hates the proud?
• Why is obedience to his will the pre-requisite for victory over sin?
• Why does God expect us to come close to him so he can come close to us? Why not just chase us?