Day 24 - Issue 35
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READ: James 1:23-24 NLT
'Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.'
I love the way James writes but I’m not sure he would make easy company. He is so incredibly blunt. If the Christian faith doesn’t get translated into daily action then he wants nothing to do with it. Here he makes the obvious but powerful point that there would be no point in looking in a mirror if it didn’t cause you to do something as a result. If you learn that your hair looks a complete mess then action is required!
Reading the Bible is not like reading any other book. Other books might be entertaining, interesting or informative but they will rarely change our lives. The Bible is one of the principal ways in which God has chosen to speak to us, and so whenever we read it we need to ask the question, “Lord what are you saying to me?” If we merely read the Bible as a beautiful work of literature then we have missed the point.
In Psalm 1 the writer speaks of the result of meditating regularly on God’s word. He says that those who do this “are like trees planted along a riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither and they prosper in all they do.” By reflecting deeply on the Bible we allow God’s wisdom to enter into our ways of thinking and acting. Every part of our lives cries out for God’s wisdom whether we are looking at our employment, relationships, possessions, leisure or future. God has something to say to us and longs for us to listen.
The psalmist only had access to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. We are far more blessed than he was because we have a further 61 books of the Bible to meditate on. But they won’t do us any good unless we listen to what God is saying to us and then adjust our lives as a result.
QUESTION: What actions are you going to take as a result of reading the Bible today?
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for giving us the Bible. Help us to hear what you are saying to us and act accordingly. Amen.
Released on 3 Nov 2020
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