LISTENING AND DOING JAMES 1: 19-27

LISTENING AND DOING

   My dear brothers, take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept The Word planted in you, which can save you.

   Do not merely listen to The Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what It says.  Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what It says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.

   If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  James 1: 19-27 (NIV)

LOOK IN THE MIRROR

  "...is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."  I got to thinking about this statement.  We all have to live with ourselves.  Are we living a life that makes it hard for us to face ourselves in the mirror?  I know there is so much I want to improve on.  Now, I don't know if that is what this verse means, but it is so appropriate.

  Looking intently into the perfect law and practicing it to it's full meaning is so hard. The perfect law is not just the 10 commandments.  Listening to Jesus explain the 10 commandments, we realize that there is more to it:  Such as when He compares anger to murder, right?  But just striving to keep the perfect law makes it easier to face myself in the mirror.  The Law was given to convict us, not to discourage us.  Once we are convicted of our sin (through The Law), we can repent and be washed of our sins and our sentence!  Jesus paid our debt for us and He will sanctify us.

LIVE LIKE YOU MEAN IT

  The Life Application Study Bible NIV says it like this, "When we give with no hope of receiving in return, we show what it means to serve others." 

 Of course, this is also when we deposit in our Heavenly account.

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