James 1:22

Verse of the Day: James 1:22

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

This is a very important verse.  There are many people who merely go to church, listen to a good sermon, read the bible verses with the Pastor, sing the songs during worship time, then go home.  There is nothing wrong with any of these things.  The problem is when this is all there is.

If, when we go to church or a bible study, there is no change in our lives that cause us to be evermore devoted to God, then the question I have is, what is our purpose for going?  James is very clear here.  It is not enough to just hear His word; it must become who we are.  Jesus said it this way.  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus basically said that if you do not do His will as seen in His Word, you really do not know Him, you only know about Him.

I want to challenge us to look at how we approach God and His Word.  Do we take it seriously?  Do we allow it to change us into true servants of God?  Examine your ways and if you find yourself falling short, go to God and confess it, and then submit yourself fully to Him.  Take His word and let it change you.  You will find there is no other life worth living.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Romans 2:13

Verse of the Day Devotion: Romans 2:13

“For it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.” – Romans 2:13 

Paul is writing to the Romans here, which have many Jews who believed they were saved by their adherence to the Mosaic Law.  Their belief is that if they are perfect in keeping the law, and this includes the sacrifices of such as the sin offering, then you are in good standing with God.  If they gave great deference to the Law, if they hear it read with attention and professed with their mouths a great desire and willingness to yield to it in obedience, they were the ones who were the saved.

We have many today who believe the same thing, and they think of themselves as Christians.  Many believe that if we hear or read the Bible and go to church occasionally, if we sing the words of a song without doing it in worship and praise to God, if we say a short and/or memorized prayer where the words are secondary to the action itself, then how different are we from the Jews who believed that as long as they heard the Law and performed the rituals they were good.

I am definitely not perfect here, however, when I detect this in myself, I immediately ask God to forgive me and I focus on what I am there for, reading His Word, singing as worship, praying in humility, or any other action in my service and adoration of God.  We must come to the point where we realize it is not the words we say or the empty actions we perform, but the heart and sincerity by which we do and say these things.  Jesus said the following, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37. This was said in answer to the question of which is the greatest commandment in the Law?

Jesus’ words bring additional clarity to our focus verse.  The greatest commandment in the Law is to love God with everything we have.  And that means whatever we do, whether it be reading or listening to the scriptures, praying to Him, taking communion or whatever else we are doing, ensure we are doing it with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole mind, and our whole strength.  If we do not, then we are mere hearers of the law who are simply going through the motions.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.