7. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you.
8. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands,
you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your
joy to gloom.
10. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
God, by his grace through Jesus Christ has brought you back into his
presence. If you're not sure you're in God's presence, click here
to find out how you can be.
Yet even while you're in his presence you can choose how close you
want to be to him. If your choices lately have been putting a lot of distance between you
and God then take a note from James -- God wants you to be near and here's one way:
Purify your hearts.
So how do you do that? Can you just tell yourself, "O.K. stop
thinking those lustful thoughts." ? Can you just stop wondering what it would be like
to surf to this porn site or that one? Probably not.
A purified heart isn't something you do, it's something you get.
When King David was in despair after having committed adultery with
Bathsheba (among other sins) he cried out to God in Psalm 51:10-11*
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit
within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
He knew his heart had become impure because he had let himself move
away from the God he loved. He also knew that his only chance for a purified heart was to
draw near to his God -- the one who could renew it.
If a pure heart is what you desire, then move a little closer to
God's ear and ask. I guarantee he will hear you.
Then don't be surprised what you won't be thinking about.