Joshua 7:25. Many people have a broken relationship with God. This is because of our sin nature. God cannot be in the presence of sin. To restore a broken relationship with God we must address the sin. When Israel started to conquer the Promise Land, sin in their camp broke their relationship with God. To continue their possession of the Promise Land they had to restore their relationship with God. Achan, one of their members had sinned breaking Israel's relationship with God. When Joshua determined that Israel was in broken relationship with God, Joshua sought out the sin in the body of Israel. The sin was discovered with Achan taking the accursed silver and gold from Jericho. From there Achan confessed his sin (Joshua 7:20, "And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:"). This confession of sin started the process to fix Israel's broken relationship with God. To complete the restoration process, Israel had to completely do away with the source of the sin. In this case it was Achan and everything associated with Achan ( Joshua 7:25, ".... And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones").

BIBLE SCRPTURE: Joshua 7:25, "And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones."

James 1:12. Keeping a relationship with God is more than addressing the past sins in our lives. Fixing a broken relationship with God also means avoiding sin every day. Temptation is with us everyday, but God desires for us to avoid sin. We prove our love of God when we endure temptation. God rewards us who truly love Him (James 1:12, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.")

BIBLE SCRIPTURE: James 1:12, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.")

James 4:7. God has given us the power and self-control to resist the devil and his temptations. All we have to do is exercise that self-control when fixing a broken relationship with God. If we resist the devil, He will flee from us. The only self-control we really need to fight temptation is the self-control to submit to God everyday. If we draw close to God, He will draw close to us. He will cleanse us of all of our sins if we submit to Him (James 4:7, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.")

BIBLE SCRIPTURE: James 4:7, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded;"