Day 310 - Living by the Word!

Today's Reading: Ezek. 12-13 and James 4 

So much richness in these chapters, both Ezekiel and James. But I've been thinking as I've been reading the book of James again, "If we as a church just listened and followed the counsel in THIS BOOK, wow... how different our words would be, how different our relationships would be, how different our witness would be."

Do we just read the Word and then go on about our lives, or do we allow it do change our hearts, change our thoughts, grow us to be more like Him?

In James 4 we are reminded of so many golden truths. Here are a few:

• Where does wars and fighting come? From lust!
• Friendship with the world means enmity with God! (Period. Stop!)
• God resists the proud. But He gives grace to the humble!
• When we submit to God and resist the devil, he will flee. (Plain and simple!)
• Draw near to God, He will draw near to you!
• Don't be double minded! Don't be a hypocrite!
• Stop speaking evil of one another! (Period. STOP!)
• Don't make yourself a judge. God is the judge!
• You don't know what tomorrow holds. 
• When you don't do the good you know, you are sinning!

So simple, so straightforward! Need any of us say more?

I know I've shared this before... but reading these passages in James just makes me think of this quote from Inspiration. If we know these things from God's Word... Happy are we if we do them!

"Obedience is the test of discipleship. It is the keeping of the commandments that proves the sincerity of our professions of love. When the doctrine we accept kills sin in the heart, purifies the soul from defilement, bears fruit unto holiness, we may know that it is the truth of God. When benevolence, kindness, tenderheartedness, sympathy, are manifest in our lives; when the joy of right doing is in our hearts; when we exalt Christ, and not self, we may know that our faith is of the right order. “Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” 1 John 2:3. (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, p. 146)

Let's not just be hearers of the Word, but doers!

Tomorrow's Reading: Ezekiel 14-15 and James 5