BY: Pastor Bob Miller
CHAPTER READ: James 1
SCRIPTURE SELECTED: James 1:22-25
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it-not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
OBSERVATION: We need to treat the Word of God like we treat our looking into a mirror. When I look into a mirror and see my hair needs to be combed or my face has a smudge I do something about it. The same is true with the Word of God. When we hear it, we need to then obey it and do what it says. For the Word of God has been given to us as a gift to set us free so that as we live it out our lives will bless both ourselves and others.
APPLICATION: When I’m finished with reading the Word this morning, I’d be a fool to simply set the Word aside and forget about it and not live any differently. I need to let its words soak in and make them part of my day. I need to take seriously what it shows me about myself and take action to ‘wash up’ and live out what it has shown me. Only then will I find the blessings that come with reading the Word.
PRAYER: Lord, may my time spent in Your Word be more than a duty, but rather a mirror which will show me areas in my life where I am still living in bondage and need to be set free. May I take what I’ve read this morning and apply it with Your guidance and power. Amen