I'm not quite sure what prompted these thoughts, but this morning these verses from James popped into my head (yes, this is the KJV, since that's the version I used to memorize verses when I was younger):
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." - James 1:22
It's a rather familiar verse, and I've heard many, many sermons, Sunday school lessons and chapel messages on it. It's one of "those" Bible verses that we can always use for a devotional, because we all know that we're not following it to a certain extent. And I've always heard the application that we need to go out and serve others. Give to the poor. And I think that's an entirely valid application. But shouldn't there be something more?
This verse shouldn't just hit our outward actions. This should hit all of us.
There is a tension in our life between our outward action and our inward thoughts (faith and deeds argument). It's so much easier to take a verse like the one from James and apply it to one of those things - outward actions. But God wants His Word to impact all of us.
What if our entire life - our thoughts, attitudes, actions - showed that we weren't just "hearers" of the Word, but "doers"?
I realized this morning that there are so many things that God has told me in the Word about myself that I only hear. He loves me unconditionally. He wants me to rest in Him. I don't have to earn His favor. I've heard all those things, but I need to do something about them. Those truths should radically affect how I view myself, what I value, how I manage my life.
What have you heard lately that should change your life, inside and out?
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Decisions and Worship
Worship. It's something all of us do. Whether we're consciously thinking of it or not.
Everyone worships something. We're made to worship. It's part of our nature. It's what we do. That doesn't mean that everyone is "religious" - we worship things have have nothing to do with supernatural powers. Even those who are religious worship other things.
We worship whatever we value most.
The easiest way to find out what we value the most is to examine our life. What motivates us to get up in the morning (besides the alarm clock)? Where do we spend our time, energy, money, etc? If we seriously look at our life, our choices won't lie.
Life is made up of choices.
Not particularly profound, unless you think about the consequences that has. Every choice we make is significant, because every choice indicates what we value. Okay, whether you have Trix or Lucky Charms for breakfast may not impact eternity, but you see my point. Whether we choose to have a positive or negative attitude about something. When we choose how much effort to put into something. When we choose our words.
How often do we stop and think before we speak? Probably not often enough.
There are countless passages in the Bible that describe the life of a wise and righteous person. And in most of those passages that I've encountered recently, one of the first things that is mentioned is that the person keeps a tight reign on his (or her) tongue.
That's a virtue that's become lost. We're much better at forming a great retort, a cutting remark, or repeating something we overheard in the elevator than we are at keeping quiet.
Just something to think about before speaking or making a decision.
Everyone worships something. We're made to worship. It's part of our nature. It's what we do. That doesn't mean that everyone is "religious" - we worship things have have nothing to do with supernatural powers. Even those who are religious worship other things.
We worship whatever we value most.
The easiest way to find out what we value the most is to examine our life. What motivates us to get up in the morning (besides the alarm clock)? Where do we spend our time, energy, money, etc? If we seriously look at our life, our choices won't lie.
Life is made up of choices.
Not particularly profound, unless you think about the consequences that has. Every choice we make is significant, because every choice indicates what we value. Okay, whether you have Trix or Lucky Charms for breakfast may not impact eternity, but you see my point. Whether we choose to have a positive or negative attitude about something. When we choose how much effort to put into something. When we choose our words.
How often do we stop and think before we speak? Probably not often enough.
There are countless passages in the Bible that describe the life of a wise and righteous person. And in most of those passages that I've encountered recently, one of the first things that is mentioned is that the person keeps a tight reign on his (or her) tongue.
That's a virtue that's become lost. We're much better at forming a great retort, a cutting remark, or repeating something we overheard in the elevator than we are at keeping quiet.
Just something to think about before speaking or making a decision.
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