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Devotional
Never Forget: James 1:19-25 – “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.”
Self deception is a dangerous disease, but do you even know what it is? Self-deception is the process of misleading ourselves so that we accept as true or valid something that is false or invalid. Self-deception, in short, is a way we justify false beliefs to ourselves. It means that you’re lying to yourself, and you’ve gotten so good at it that you don’t even realize anymore that you are lying to yourself. Think of it like a defense mechanism that you put into practice when you don’t want to face a harsh truth that might hold you accountable or make you feel bad.
God’s word says that if you truly love Jesus, you will be obedient to His commands; you will follow His teachings and live the way He instructs you to live (John 14:15,21,23; John 15:10; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 1:6). There is no getting around this truth and you cannot explain it away, no matter how good you are at arguing. Your love for God will be evident in how you live.
Reading your Bible and spending time studying God’s word are paramount to your life as a Christian. James encourages us to not only read the Bible, but live obediently to what we read. Don’t read your Bible for the purpose of checking off a “to-do” list Rather, read your Bible to gain instruction for your life. Live by that instruction; by God’s instruction. If you’re a Christian but you know you’re not living obediently to God, stop lying to yourself about it. Stop making excuses! Ask God for the wisdom to identify what needs to change in your life and for the strength to make that change. God promises that if you read His word and do what it says, you will be blessed.
** I encourage you to use these passages from God’s Word as a resource in your daily life. Don’t let this truth just rest on this tag or on this shirt. Use it! Let it become a part of you, let the cripture be written on your heart and move you to live your life in obedience to God out of love. Dive into God’s Word, spend time with Him in prayer, connect with other believers, live for Jesus who died for your sins and rose again! **
FYI – We have a Bible Study on Facebook.com and invite you to join. New scripture is posted daily. If you don’t have a Facebook Account, then you will need to create one to join the Bible Study. So, if you’re interested, sign into your Facebook Account and search “Facebook Bible Study – yes you can join!”
