This week is part two of our series, Doers of the Word. (Note: rather than 4 weeks in a row, this series is spread throughout the year). Our focus is on how to study the Bible, and why it matters. Our goal is to become not hearers of the word only, but also DOERS of the word.
James 1:21-25
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
Reflections
What does it mean to be a DOER of the word?
Notice the difference between the one who looks only at him or herself in a mirror, versus the one who looks also at the law of the Lord. One forgets what is true, the other does not. One deceives him or herself, the other is honest and forthright and faithful.
Following Jesus requires not merely agreeing to a set of ideas about him, but also following his way. How am I doing in my walk with Jesus these days?
Prayer
Almighty God, who has written to us a letter of love we call the Holy Bible, help us to treasure the Scriptures, to not only revere them but also to read them, to ingest your message into our hearts and lives, and so become more like Jesus each day. We pray in his name. Amen.
