James 4:1-12

James 4:1-12
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Cleanse your hands, friends!  We all knew that advice was from God, right?  Alas, Scripture doesn't give us guidance on proper hand washing (I rely on the CDC for that), but at least we can be reminding one another that God is calling us to wash those hands!
  I don't want to dwell on what's going on in the world right now.  It's everywhere, and it's hard.  It's like wading through a thick fog that only grows denser by the day, and then today it started raining, as though the environment needed to remind me of how things are. 
  In this passage, James is warning us not to take sin too lightly.  Some in those days were laughing at sin, but sin is not something to laugh about.  Jesus Christ shows us how seriously to take sin by ascending the cross to pay the price of sin.
  But in so doing, we have good news of great joy --the great price has been paid.  We who could not afford to pay have a Savior who stepped in and paid for us, and so we are freed of the burden.  When you think of your next few days, whether you are stuck at home or perhaps distracted at work, thinking of all of the world's burdens, remember that the price has been paid, and that the ultimate penalty for sin has been lifted.  Because Christ was humbled, we will be exalted. 
  So if you have more free time than you did last month, how can you use that to draw near to God?  Are there ways you can invest time in submitting to God now?  While we can lament the suffering in the world, both in distant lands and nearby houses, we can do so with hearts uplifted in prayer, trusting the God who willingly takes on the world's burden so that we might be freed from ultimate suffering.