"MAKES HIMSELF!"

James 4:4-8                                     (ESV)
"4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with GOD? Therefore whoever wishes to be A FRIEND OF THE WORLD "MAKES HIMSELF" an enemy of GOD.
5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "HE yearns jealously over the SPIRIT that HE has made to dwell in us"?
6 But HE gives more grace. Therefore it says, "GOD opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
7 Submit yourselves therefore to GOD. Resist the devil, and "he will flee" from you.
8 Draw near to GOD, and HE will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."



One of the first Bible verses I ever memorized as a youngster was James 4:7b "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you"!  My teacher told us that the devil would seemingly be on our heels trying to get us to sin, but all we had to do was 'resist' and he would flee!  The devil must not have been listening to my teacher, for many times I have tried to "resist", yet it seems he always keeps the enticement to sin ever before me!

The verses above surrounding James 4:7 enlightens us about how much resisting is required for the enemy to begin to FLEE.  To begin with, James writes about an "adulterous people".  Adultery is when someone cheats on their spouse.  We can be tempted to sin all day long, but until we make the decision to "cheat on our spouse" (Revelation 19:7-9) all we have done is be tempted.  When we make the decision to be A FRIEND OF THE WORLD, we run the risk of "MAKING HIMSELF" an enemy of GOD!

In verse 8 scripture directs us to "DRAW near to GOD, and HE will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."  Have you ever tried to attach two magnets with similar poles?  You can't!  We have to surrender control of our lives to JESUS CHRIST to allow opposite poles to attract and DRAW us to HIM.  Until then, we will be just like the like poked magnets resisting being rightly and fully connected to the other.

This morning I was laying in bed snuggled up with my wife of almost 33 years.  Being next to one you love gives you a sense of security and comfort that words cannot adequately describe.  Although I love my wife more than life itself, GOD's love for us is far greater!  HE longs to have us snuggle up with HIM, but sometimes the enemy tries to tempt us to lie with him, to cheat on our SPOUSE!  When we do that, we "MAKE HIMSELF" to be an enemy of GOD, according to James 4:4.  We are NOT our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and we can't "MAKE HIMSELF" to be what we want!!!