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NOVEMBER 24
Let your laughter be turned to mourning and
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your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the
sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
4:6 more grace.The only ray of hope in man’s 11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren.
spiritual darkness is the sovereign grace of He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his
God, which alone can rescue man from his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the
propensity to lust for evil things. That God law. But if you judge the law, you are not a
gives “more grace” shows that His grace is doer of the law but a judge. There is one Law-
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greater than the power of sin, the flesh, the giver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who
world, and Satan (Rom. 5:20). The Old are you to judge another?
Testament quote (from Prov. 3:34; 1 Pet. 5:5) 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomor-
reveals who obtains God’s grace—the hum- row we will go to such and such a city, spend
ble, not the proud enemies of God. The word a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;
“humble” does not define a special class of 14 whereas you do not know what will happen
Christians, but encompasses all believers (Is.
57:15; 66:2; Matt. 18:3,4). tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a
vapor that appears for a little time and then
vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If
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7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or
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and he will flee from you. Draw near to God that.” But now you boast in your arrogance.
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and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your All such boasting is evil.
hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you 17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good
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double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! and does not do it, to him it is sin.
DAY 23:What do the 10 commands that fill James 4:7–10 have to do with grace?
These verses contain a series of 10 commands that prepare a person to receive saving grace.
These commands delineate a person’s response to God’s gracious offer of salvation and reveal what
it means to be humble. Each command uses a Greek imperative to define the expected action:
1. Submit to God (v. 7)—James used the word to describe a willing, conscious submission to
God’s authority as sovereign ruler of the universe.
2. Resist the devil (v. 7)—those who consciously “take [their] stand against”Satan and transfer
their allegiance to God will find that Satan “will flee from”them; he is a defeated foe.
3. Draw near to God (v. 8)—pursue an intimate love relationship with God (Phil. 3:10).
4. Cleanse your hands (v. 8)—the added term “sinners”addresses the unbelievers’need to rec-
ognize and confess their sin (5:20).
5. Purify your hearts (v. 8)—cleansing the hands symbolizes external behavior; this phrase
refers to the inner thoughts, motives, and desires of the heart (Ps. 24:3,4).
6.Lament (v.9)—to be afflicted,wretched,and miserable.This is the state of those truly broken
over their sin (Matt. 5:4).
7. Mourn (v. 9)—the internal experience of brokenness over sin (Ps. 51:17; Matt. 5:4).
8.Weep (v. 9)—the outward manifestation of inner sorrow over sin (Mark 14:72).
9.Grieve without laughter or joy (v.9)—the signs of denial;the flippant laughter of those fool-
ishly indulging in worldly pleasures without regard to God, life, death, sin, judgment, or holiness.
10.Humble yourself (v.10)—this final command sums up the preceding 9.The word “humble”
comes from a word meaning “to make oneself low.”Those conscious of being in the presence of the
majestic, infinitely holy God are humble (Is. 6:5).

from the far north, and bring you against the
mountains of Israel. Then I will knock the bow
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November 24 out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to
fall out of your right hand. You shall fall upon
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the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops
Ezekiel 39:1–40:49
and the peoples who are with you; I will give
“And you, son of man, prophesy against you to birds of prey of every sort and to the
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39 Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall
“Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says
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Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and I will turn the Lord GOD. “And I will send fire on Magog
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you around and lead you on, bringing you up and on those who live in security in the coast-
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