Read: James 1:19-27

Be doers of the Word, and
not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves. -James 1:22

A church had a new pastor who preached the same sermon every Sunday.
When people started complaining, he told the congregation, "I’ll
preach a new sermon when you act on this one."

That pastor’s statement reminds me of the words of the apostle
James: "Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only" (1:22).
As followers of Christ, we are to live what we learn.

Michael Baughen, a speaker at a Bible conference in England, stated,
"James wants you to have a holy faith – worked out in the
world." Baughen pointed out that some people, though involved in
the church and regular in giving, never care for anybody. "The
world calls that hypocrisy," he said. Indeed, our empty lip
service never fools the world. James said we fool only ourselves. Our
faith is "pure and undefiled" when it overflows in service to
others (v.27).

Baughen lamented, "Too many times at a funeral I hear, ‘He
never did any harm,’ and I want to scream, Did he ever do any
good?’"

Some Christians are little more than "harmless" citizens
in the world, for they are hearers only. Others are compelling
witnesses, for they are both hearers and doers.

Let’s not just learn what God says. Let’s live it!
-Joanie E.
Yoder

A faith that is vibrant, impassioned, alive,
Will certainly work
itself out;
A faith that is eager to roll up its sleeves
Will
find that there’s no room for doubt. -Gustafson

YOU HAVEN’T REALLY LEARNED THE WORD
UNTIL YOU LIVE THE WORD.

OUR DAILY BREAD, Copyright 1998 by Radio Bible Class, Grand
Rapids,Michigan. Used by permission.