But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works-this person will be blessed in what he does.  James 1:22-25

If you ever wonder why I write this blog, well it’s because I felt called to do so. That’s a story that I won’t take time to go into right now. But now that I’ve started writing it, I continue to do so because I have this aching need for people to have the peace and joy that I have in my life. This peace and joy doesn’t come from my circumstances, they come from Jesus. They don’t have anything to do with what I am going through at any particular time, they have more to do with my faith in Him. When you have something this awesome, you want everyone else to have it too.

So with all of that being said, I must say that the turning point in my life was when I began doing God’s word. For a long time, I had been going to church. Sometimes I would even take time to pray or read my bible during the week. But I would read scripture and couldn’t tell you ten minutes later what I had read. Why? Because I wasn’t living it. I wasn’t taking that word and applying it to my life. But once I did, I can tell you that there was an awesome difference.

We spent the entire week last week talking about the power of prayer and the importance of our communication with God. We talked about how prayer is us talking to God and God’s word is Him talking to us. It’s an instruction manual for how we should live our lives. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God’s word is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of the soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart. There is so much power in God’s word. But if you read it and forget it, you forfeit all that power. You forfeit all the wonderful things it holds like the protection (Psalm 91), the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7), the unending joy that comes from being redeemed (Isaiah 51:11), and the wisdom and knowledge that only come from God (James 3:13-18).

You may sit on a church pew every Sunday, you may read a daily devotion, you may even give God ten minutes a day where you read your Bible, you may listen to some awesome preachers during the week, but if you don’t live it out, it does you no good. We are called to do God’s word. We are called to serve Him through serving others. We are called to trust in Him and obey His commandments. His word calls us into action.

I know firsthand the huge difference between simply hearing God’s word and doing God’s word. I have experienced the awesome impact it makes on your life. But sadly, many will attend church, glance over a few scripture passages, halfway listen to some sermons and go straight to hell. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Here, Jesus himself, clearly tells us that we must do the will of His Father in heaven. We must be doers of the word.

My friend, if you have been half-heartedly attending worship, reading your Bible, and even giving God a few minutes of half-hearted prayer and think this is good enough, you are kidding yourself. God wants whole hearted commitment. He wants someone who isn’t just glossing over His word. He wants someone who is paying close attention and following the instructions. This half-hearted commitment is considered by God to be lukewarm commitment. He has some harsh things to say in Revelation about this. In the letter to the church at Laodicea, in Revelation 3:14-22, God tells them that He knows their works and they are neither cold nor hot. He tells them that because they are lukewarm, He is going to spit them out of His mouth.

It’s time to stop kidding yourself. If you want to receive the best that God has to offer, you have to offer Him your best. The Bible is a book filled with wonderful stories in the Old Testament, some are romance novels, some are war stories, some are action packed dramas but all are applicable to our lives today. The New Testament tells us of the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It tells of the formation of the early churches and the troubles they went through. It ends with Revelation of what is to be expected when our life on this earth is over.

When I stopped just hearing God’s word and started doing God’s word, I experienced some wonderful changes. And even through the trials and tribulations, I was able to have peace and joy. I was able to feel His presence and His protection. I was able to tap into the wisdom and discernment that only God can provide.

I pray that you will do the same.

Have a great day!