“But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves,” James 1:22. I have been a part of church my whole life, literally. From the moment my parents could haul me to church as an infant right up to the present day as your pastor. The churches, the seminary, and the church culture that I have been a part of have placed a premium on sound and faithful biblical teaching. I give a large part of my week to that task for our church. We want the bible taught correctly, faithfully, creatively, and passionately. All that is right and good. The problem is, that is often where we stop. As long as the Word is being taught in church, things are good. However, the scripture places a priority on obeying the word, as the verse above makes clear. It’s not just that we hear the word, or someone teaches the word that is critical, we must obey the word. This is the much harder part, but also the part that gives us life. God’s word is healing, protecting, and life giving. Obeying it is to our great benefit and to God’s glory. In fact, that was a key part of Jesus’ mission for the church.
Matthew 28:18-20 says, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
We are to make disciples, and a disciple is someone who observes and who obeys Jesus’ commands. Often, we are content to teach people what Jesus says, but in reality, we are to teach them to obey what he says.
So today, for your prayer time, ask God specifically if there is something He is urging you to obey. Maybe something from a recent time you were reading scripture, or from a sermon you heard which comes to mind. Write it down and pray for the strength and opportunity to put it into practice in your life.
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Day 10: Love your Enemies