DEVOTION:
James 1:22 (NIV) — “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”THOUGHT:
How much authority does God's Word really have over the way we live? We read our Bibles, listen to sermons, attend Bible studies, and perhaps even have a favorite Scripture hanging on the wall. But what happens when God's Word challenges the way we are living? Who we put our trust into? Changes our tradition? What happens when Scripture tells us to love someone we would rather avoid? To be generous when we would rather hold on to what we have? To live God’s truth when remaining silent would be easier? To serve when we would rather be served? To put God first when we have already filled our lives with everything else? Do we change our lives to follow God's Word, or do we look for a way to make God's Word fit the lives we have already chosen?
James doesn't leave much room for misunderstanding. He tells us that listening to the Word without putting it into practice is deceiving ourselves. We can learn Scripture, quote Scripture, and even teach Scripture without allowing it to change us. And perhaps that is one of the greatest dangers facing Christians today. We can become so comfortable with hearing God's Word that we stop allowing or continue to refuse it to challenge us.
The Lord knows, I struggle with being obedient to the entire teachings of Jesus. Yet, Jesus never promised that following Him would be convenient. In fact, He told us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. That is not a call to fit Jesus into our schedules, whenever we have a little time left over. It is a call to make Him the center of our lives. God's Word is not a collection of suggestions from which we select whatever agrees with us. It is meant to guide our decisions, challenge our thinking, shape our relationships, direct our priorities, and change the way we live every single day.
And we must be careful about something else. It is very easy to recognize where someone else needs to follow Scripture. It is much harder to recognize where God's Word is speaking directly to us. Perhaps before we ask why someone else isn't living according to God's Word, we should ask whether we are.
So here is my question for this Sunday morning: Are we reading Scripture to discover what God wants us to do, or are we searching Scripture to justify what we have already decided to do? Because if God's Word never challenges us, never interrupts our plans, never changes our minds, and never asks us to live differently, perhaps we need to ask ourselves whether we are truly listening.
The purpose of God's Word is not to make us comfortable with the lives we are living. It is to make us more like the Messiah we claim to follow. Our journey continues….
PRAYER:
Almighty and Holy God, thank You for this Sunday morning and for the opportunity to come together as Your family. Thank You for another week of life, for the blessings we sometimes take for granted, and for Your love that continues to carry us through each day. Thank you fro the much needed rain. Lord, this morning we thank You especially for Your Word. You have given us so much to guide us in the way we live, yet sometimes we find ourselves listening only to what we want to hear. Help us to do more than read Your Word, study it, and talk about it. Help us to live it. When Your Word challenges our thinking, open our minds. When it challenges our actions, give us the courage to change. And when we are tempted to follow only the parts that are easy, remind us that You have called us to follow all of You.
Lord, we lift up our church family this morning. We know there are those among us who are struggling with illness, those waiting for test results, those facing difficult decisions, and those carrying burdens that others may never see. Be with them today. Give them strength, bring healing where it is needed, and remind them that they are never alone. At the same time, Lord, we give you thanks for successful surgeries, cancer treatments that work or bring hope, and advances in our mental health. We pray for those who are grieving, especially those facing their first days, weeks, or months without someone they love. May the memories they carry bring them comfort, and may they find peace in knowing that You are with them through every difficult day.
We thank You for our children and young people, for our Sunday School teachers, and for everyone who gives their time to help another generation come to know Jesus. Help us remember that the greatest lesson we can teach them is not simply what we say on Sunday morning, but how we live throughout the rest of the week. Lord, we pray for our community, our nation, and those who have been entrusted with positions of leadership. Give them wisdom, patience, and hearts that seek what is right. We pray for the nations of this world, especially those suffering through war, hunger, violence, and uncertainty. Be with those who have lost their homes, those who live in fear, and those who are working to bring peace. And Lord, help us remember that even those we struggle to understand are people You have called us to love.
We thank You for this church and for the many ways You continue to work through this family of faith. Help us to be a welcoming church, a generous church, and a church that is never so comfortable with the way things have always been that we stop listening to where You are leading us. And Lord, as we begin another week, help us carry what we hear this morning into our homes, our workplaces, our conversations, and our everyday decisions. May we not be quick to point out what others need to change while overlooking what You are asking of us. May the way we live each day show others that Your Word is alive in us. We ask all of this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
James 1:22 (NIV) — “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
THOUGHT:
How much authority does God's Word really have over the way we live? We read our Bibles, listen to sermons, attend Bible studies, and perhaps even have a favorite Scripture hanging on the wall. But what happens when God's Word challenges the way we are living? Who we put our trust into? Changes our tradition? What happens when Scripture tells us to love someone we would rather avoid? To be generous when we would rather hold on to what we have? To live God’s truth when remaining silent would be easier? To serve when we would rather be served? To put God first when we have already filled our lives with everything else? Do we change our lives to follow God's Word, or do we look for a way to make God's Word fit the lives we have already chosen?James doesn't leave much room for misunderstanding. He tells us that listening to the Word without putting it into practice is deceiving ourselves. We can learn Scripture, quote Scripture, and even teach Scripture without allowing it to change us. And perhaps that is one of the greatest dangers facing Christians today. We can become so comfortable with hearing God's Word that we stop allowing or continue to refuse it to challenge us.
The Lord knows, I struggle with being obedient to the entire teachings of Jesus. Yet, Jesus never promised that following Him would be convenient. In fact, He told us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. That is not a call to fit Jesus into our schedules, whenever we have a little time left over. It is a call to make Him the center of our lives. God's Word is not a collection of suggestions from which we select whatever agrees with us. It is meant to guide our decisions, challenge our thinking, shape our relationships, direct our priorities, and change the way we live every single day.
And we must be careful about something else. It is very easy to recognize where someone else needs to follow Scripture. It is much harder to recognize where God's Word is speaking directly to us. Perhaps before we ask why someone else isn't living according to God's Word, we should ask whether we are.
So here is my question for this Sunday morning: Are we reading Scripture to discover what God wants us to do, or are we searching Scripture to justify what we have already decided to do? Because if God's Word never challenges us, never interrupts our plans, never changes our minds, and never asks us to live differently, perhaps we need to ask ourselves whether we are truly listening.
The purpose of God's Word is not to make us comfortable with the lives we are living. It is to make us more like the Messiah we claim to follow. Our journey continues….
Almighty and Holy God, thank You for this Sunday morning and for the opportunity to come together as Your family. Thank You for another week of life, for the blessings we sometimes take for granted, and for Your love that continues to carry us through each day. Thank you fro the much needed rain. Lord, this morning we thank You especially for Your Word. You have given us so much to guide us in the way we live, yet sometimes we find ourselves listening only to what we want to hear. Help us to do more than read Your Word, study it, and talk about it. Help us to live it. When Your Word challenges our thinking, open our minds. When it challenges our actions, give us the courage to change. And when we are tempted to follow only the parts that are easy, remind us that You have called us to follow all of You.
Lord, we lift up our church family this morning. We know there are those among us who are struggling with illness, those waiting for test results, those facing difficult decisions, and those carrying burdens that others may never see. Be with them today. Give them strength, bring healing where it is needed, and remind them that they are never alone. At the same time, Lord, we give you thanks for successful surgeries, cancer treatments that work or bring hope, and advances in our mental health. We pray for those who are grieving, especially those facing their first days, weeks, or months without someone they love. May the memories they carry bring them comfort, and may they find peace in knowing that You are with them through every difficult day.
We thank You for our children and young people, for our Sunday School teachers, and for everyone who gives their time to help another generation come to know Jesus. Help us remember that the greatest lesson we can teach them is not simply what we say on Sunday morning, but how we live throughout the rest of the week. Lord, we pray for our community, our nation, and those who have been entrusted with positions of leadership. Give them wisdom, patience, and hearts that seek what is right. We pray for the nations of this world, especially those suffering through war, hunger, violence, and uncertainty. Be with those who have lost their homes, those who live in fear, and those who are working to bring peace. And Lord, help us remember that even those we struggle to understand are people You have called us to love.
We thank You for this church and for the many ways You continue to work through this family of faith. Help us to be a welcoming church, a generous church, and a church that is never so comfortable with the way things have always been that we stop listening to where You are leading us. And Lord, as we begin another week, help us carry what we hear this morning into our homes, our workplaces, our conversations, and our everyday decisions. May we not be quick to point out what others need to change while overlooking what You are asking of us. May the way we live each day show others that Your Word is alive in us. We ask all of this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.