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bigmike

Coffee Break
"Clean Hands And Heart"
"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." James 4:8
I would like to read this verse for you in the Amplified Bible. "Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery]." I feel impressed to focus on the part about "cleansing your hands".
Our hands represent our work-- what we do. We are told to cleanse our hands-- this means that they are dirty. Are your works dirty? Are you working for the Lord out of a pure heart or selfish, self-centered motives for personal gain? Are you doing what is right when others are looking and what is wrong when they aren't? Are you being honest in public but in private you are practicing dishonesty-- taking a little extra that doesn't belong to you? Are you doing religious acts and deeds before others-- singing in the choir, teaching Sunday school, taking care of those who are helpless, giving alms? But when you are alone you are watching pornography, popping pills, getting drunk, gambling away your hard-earned monies, being abusive, etc.?
Do your "works"-- the things that you do in private as well as in public-- line up with your profession of being a Christian? If it doesn't, you are being "disloyal" to the Lord you say you serve. You are not serving and loving Him faithfully with all your heart. You are deceiving those around you. You are being a hypocrite. You are in need of having not only your hands washed but your heart purified as well. The "hand" issues-- what we do-- always start in the "heart". They are a product of what is inside. What you really are inside will be reflected on the outside-- in the things you do. (This is why the verse talks about hands and hearts.) And what you do on the outside is a reflection of what's on the inside.
Have a great day. Our hands will be clean when our hearts are clean too.

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