TUESDAY: OBEDIENCE
KEY PASSAGE
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
DEVOTIONAL
The Word of God is described in Hebrews 4:12 as “alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” God’s Word is alive and active—and when we hear it—it has the power to convict, instruct and direct our lives. But, how often do we hear the Word or read the Word and treat it as something common or just something to be admired?
We are living in a culture that is infiltrated with information. We have scripture verses, podcasts, devotionals, and sermons at our finger tips. But how often do we listen to them and remain unchanged? How often do we listen to the Word in order to make us feel good, or to check it off our religious to-do list but neglect to put the truth of God’s Word into practice?
In the verses to follow, James compares listening to the Word with a person who looks at their face in a mirror and after looking, goes away and forgets what he or she looks like. When we are a hearer of the Word, we passively sit under the teaching of God’s Words and remain unaffected by it. We neglect to do what it says. Being doers of the Word of God will build a firm foundation of faith. Being a doer is the epitome of GOING! Each small step of obedience builds our faith. God’s Word was never meant just to be heard, but to be lived.
James 1:25b says, “not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed by what they do.” You will be blessed in response to not just hearing, but doing what God’s Word says!
CHALLENGE
Are you a “hearer” or a “doer”?
Let’s put hearing the Word and doing what it says into practice.
Read James 1:19-20. How can you put these verses into practice today? Remember, being a doer of the Word does not require perfection—just responsiveness. There is grace available as you put this into practice in your life.