Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 268

September 25;     James 1:22;      218/260(IV);      ‘A Doer of the Word’

James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves

One of the greatest joys in life is to read the Word of God.  The more you do, the more you understand and the more blessed you are, as you see very clearly how much the Lord loves you.  Jesus does not want us to only read the Word of God.  He wants us to do the Word of God.  Doing the Word is a command, not a suggestion.  This verse tells us that if we only read the Word and do not do it, we deceive ourselves.  Verses 23-25 teaches that if we only hear the Word and do not do it, it is like a man observing himself in a mirror, goes away and forgets what he looks like.  The Bible clearly shows us who we are in Jesus Christ.  If we never live by what the Word teaches, we easily forget who we are in Christ and have to rely on our own ability.  We were never meant to live like that.  Verse 25 tells us that if we do the Word of God, not just hear it, the Word of God will bless us in whatever we do.  The more time I spend in the Word, the more I see the truth of who the Lord Jesus created me to be.  As I do what the Word says, the more I see that I am and can do exactly what the Word says.  How exciting life becomes as we realize, just as Jesus told us, that we are in this world, but we are not of this world.  We live our lives in line with truth, the Word and as we forget about who we are in the natural and concentrate on and do who we are as Christians, life as we know it completely changes.  Doers of the Word continue the ministry of Jesus.  Faith in our Lord and having seen that the Word works by doing it changes us forever.