James 1:22-24, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.”
What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror? Do you see peaceful thoughts and joy reflected in your face? Or is there an inward brow raise or biting your lip indicating insecurity and fear or worry? The question is, what is God saying to you, that you need to do today as you look intently into His spiritual mirror? That is a question I must ask myself every time I read or hear the Word of God. Then doing what it says will result in a blessing from obedience in receiving instruction, guidance, conviction, comfort, wisdom, and protection for the decisions and situations that come my way. “Jesus used this same point to conclude His great Sermon on the Mount. He said that the one who heard the word without doing it was like a man who built his house on the sand, but the one who heard God’s word and did it was like a man whose house was built on a rock. The one who both heard and did God’s word could withstand the inevitable storms of life and the judgment of eternity (Matthew 7:24-27).” David Guzik Blue Letter Bible Commentary.
Think about the word you chose for this year. Mine was endurance which takes perseverance and then results in patience. It all flows together. But it takes me doing what I hear and read in God’s Word, not just hearing about it. For example, verse 25 further goes on to say, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.“ NIV says, “. . . does not keep a tight rein on his tongue he deceives himself and is religion is worthless.” This involves endurance and persevering with self-control. I get opportunities to put this into practice every day. How about you? Too often, I share everything on my mind and say more than I should. Afterward, my brain doesn’t stop thinking, and I regret what I had said all night long. Everyone has regrets, but with God’s grace and mercy, we, I, can do better at applying God’s Word and not merely just reading over a verse of instruction and teaching and then forgetting it.
So I have several important things to do on my to-do list today:
- Bridle my tongue. Keep a tight rein on it. James 1:19 & 26.
- Quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. James 1:19.
- Remaining steadfast – endurance, perseverance, resulting in patience when received with faith while I wait for God to act. Hearing God’s voice in each trial. James 1:12.
- Asking for wisdom and for God’s thoughts to be mine. James 1:5-6.
- Today’s problem is temporary. Satan wants to wipe us out. Don’t give the enemy a seat at my table. Under pressure, my faith life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. God wants to show how faithful and real He is because Christ died for me. James 1:2-4.
What did you see in your God given mirror from His Word this past week? What is now on your to-do list for today besides the normal tasks? The Message version says it this way, “Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.”
Listen to Phil Wickham – This Is Our God (Official Lyric Video) (came out 2 weeks ago).