reap – Praying Pint

44.s. “Wilderness” – 8.y. “herefore they shall eat the fruit of their way”

Exo 32:20  He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.

Proverbs 1:31   therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.

Proverbs 14:14   The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

Job 4:8    As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.

Isaiah 3:10-11    Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.  Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Galatians 6:7-8   Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Jeremiah 6:19    Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.

Ecclesiastes 11:9. Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

Proverbs 1:33  but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

There is much in the attitude of professing Christians in this day which fills me with concern, and makes me full of fear for the future. There is an amazing ignorance of Scripture among many, and a consequent want of established, solid religion. In no other way can I account for the ease with which people are, like children, “ tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine.” (Ryles)

“One great concern I have is that many of today’s Christians are not taking the Word of God seriously. For whatever reason, the Scriptures do not have authority in the Christian’s life in the way that is necessary for him or her to live a life to the glory of God.” (Tozer)

The longer I am in ministry, the more convinced I am that the church is filled with atheists. Now, I am not talking about theological atheists; I am talking about practical atheists. Many of us live our lives, conduct our relationships, and formulate our plans without ever once even thinking, “What would God have me do in this situation?” We live our lives as if there were no God. (Jeffress)

There is not much talk about sin and the sinfulness of man in light of the holiness of God. It is in this absence that a shallow approach is revealed to things of God and the wholeness of His Word. Where is repentance discussed? Where is sin called out? Where is holiness a pursuit? Where is the desire to live Holy? Where is the desire to be Holy Spirit led? Where is there separation from worldly and heavenly pursuits? Where is the desire to grow in understanding of God’s Holiness and our sinfulness so that we might repent and honor and glorify Him?

There is so much more to a Christian life than living “Justified by Christ” – Granted all must come to the place of redemption through Jesus Christ, but the Christian life that begins (born again) as a baby is expected to grow and mature – “Sanctification”. We can rest our salvation in our justification in Jesus Christ, but there should never be a moment where we are not seeking and desiring to honor and glorify Him in all we think, say, and do. Being complacent and neglectful in this desire will leave us void of the Word of God in our lives and of little value to bringing honor and glory to Jesus. How empty is the appreciation that says; “I repent and trust you Jesus” and then does not seek to live each moment desiring to honor and glorify Him?

We can rest in being justified but should never rest in our growth and desire to grow so that we can speak the word of truth and live so that honor and glory are given in all we think, say, and do, to Jesus Christ. Though we might start our Christian walk as a babe, let us not be content but rather seek to grow and mature in God’s Word.

25.r. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked”

2 Corinthians 9:6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

Psalms 41:1-3    Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;  the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.  The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.

Proverbs 11:24  One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

Proverbs 19:17    Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.

Proverbs 22:9    Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.

Galatians 6:7-9  Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

A farmer sowing seed may feel he loses seed as it falls from his hand to the ground, and we may feel we are losing when we give. But just as the farmer gives the seed it in anticipation of a future harvest, we should give with the same heart.

What do we reap when we give? We reap blessings that are both material and spiritual. Materially, we can trust that God will provide for the giving heart. The promise of Philippians 4:19 (my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus) is made in the context of the generous hearts of the Philippians (Philippians 4:15-18). If we give to God, He will give to us materially. Spiritually, we can trust that God will reward the giving heart both now and in eternity. Jesus spoke to this in Matthew 19:29: And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. Jesus obviously did not mean that we would receive a hundred houses if we gave up our house for Him any more than He meant we would receive a hundred wives if we gave one up for Him! But He did mean that we are never the losers when we give to God. The Lord can never be in debt to any man, and we should never be afraid of giving God “too much.” Spiritually or materially, you can’t out-give God. Every Christian should be a giver. Because of small resources some cannot give much but it is still important that they give, and that they give with the right kind of heart.

Giving should be motivated by the purposes of our own heart. It should never be coerced or manipulated. We should give because we want to give and because God has put it in our own heart to give. This can also be said in the sense that our giving reveals the purposes in [our] own heart. If we say we love the Lord more than surfing, but spend all our money on surfboards and do not give as we should to the Lord’s work, then the way we spend our money shows the purposes of our own heart more accurately than our words do. Jesus said it simply: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. God does not want our giving to be grudging (reluctantly, regretfully given with plenty of complaining) or of necessity (given because someone has made us or manipulated us into giving). Some people talk of the tithe as what they are giving but this I think is wrong. The tithe was an expectation God has place on us. Giving is separate from that. Giving is not given because it is an expectation but freely from the heart. Give some thought to this and ask God to reveal if you are giving out of love for Him or out of expectation.

22.p. “Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Proverbs 9:6    Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

Galatians 6:7    Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

2 Timothy 2:16-17    But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,  and their talk will spread like gangrene.

Hebrews 12:15     See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

Paul deals with the moral problems of the Corinthians: envy, divisions, pride, immorality, greed, irreverence, and selfishness. How much of this came in because of they kept evil company? This speaks to the vital need described in Romans 12:2: do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. By keeping evil company, the Corinthian Christians were being conformed to this world, and they needed to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Christians must let the Word of God shape their thinking, not the evil company of this world.

It is very easy to “get conformed to the world”. The world does not recognize God. The world does not speak about God, other than to say He does not exist. The world tries to replace the joy, hope, and trust in Jesus Christ alone with everything that promises to satisfy the soul but leaves the soul lacking and wanting more, something better. All-day long the world denies, rejects, and proclaims its self-center self-reliance and calls things of God foolish and false. Paul is saying rid yourselves of these influences. Take your guidance from the Word of God.

19.q. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked”

Romans 6:21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

Proverbs 1:30    Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.

Proverbs 5:13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.

Jeremiah 17:10     “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Romans 1:32  Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Galatians 6:7-8    Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

The fruit of disregard, disobedience, indifference, and careless neglect of God, God’s Word, and things of God will fill the stomach of the hungering soul of the self-serving, self-worthy, and self-reliant. In their heart, they feed on that which is pleasing to themselves without a single thought of God’s ways. They determine within their own minds what is an acceptable and right way to live. The driving force behind every decision is to bring pleasure and satisfaction and purpose to themselves. They can appear to be good people and have others’ best interests behind their motives. Yet deep down there is no thought of God, God’s Word, or things of God. They are slaves to sin, their sinful nature, and to worldly passions. Paul sends this letter to Roman Christians and tells them; “What fruit did you reap while you were pleasing the desires of your sinful nature? You know very well that since you have come to the saving grace knowledge of Jesus Christ you became aware of how much you were enslaved to sin and when you look back at how you were living, you see it clearly and are ashamed of how selfish, self-reliant, self-worthy, and self-righteous you were.”

It is very hard to tell a slave to live like a free man, but certainly, you can tell a free man to keep from living as a slave. We should not revert back to sinful thoughts and actions. We have been set free from the bondage of sin. We have been set free to live to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. We have been set free to rely on, cling to, and trust in Jesus Christ. We have been set free to find purpose and satisfaction in Jesus Christ. We have been set free to find peace, hope, and joy in Jesus Christ. We have been set free to know the difference between things of God and things of this world. It is in this freedom we choose what master we will serve. We have been set free and we would do well to ask God every morning to expose what He sees in our heart that is not pleasing or honoring to Him, and to lead us on single-purpose paths away from sin and toward bringing Him honor and glory.

11.h. “The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might”

Micah 7:13 But the earth will be desolate because of its inhabitants, for the fruit of their deeds. Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things. The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God, and they shall be in fear of you.

Job 4:8    As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.

Proverbs 1:31    therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.

Isaiah 3:10-11    Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.  Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Jeremiah 17:10    “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Jeremiah 21:14    I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the LORD; I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her.”

Galatians 6:7-8   Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

There is a time coming when all mankind will be held accountable for their deeds. Some will see in their lifetime the fruit of their deeds falling back on them. Others will pass on into eternity and it will be seeming to us that they beat the judgment due them. God is not mocked and their deeds will catch up to them in eternity at the Great White Throne Judgment. They are the ones who reject redemption through Jesus Christ, reject their sin, reject their need for repentance and forgiveness, and reject the gracious and merciful gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. They have chosen wisdom of this world over the understanding, knowledge, and truth proclaimed in God’s Word. We all were in this state before God, but He somehow softened our heart to the message of the gospel. We were just like those who still reject Jesus Christ. It is hard to say how God’s Word and Gospel cut straight into our heart but it most certainly did. I still don’t know how a person could have had their eyes, heart, mind, and soul opened up to the gospel and the need for salvation, forgiveness, and redemption and then reject it. But scripture is clear that there are those who do exactly that. For those born again, their deeds should all be for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. Our Savior bought and paid for our sin at a great price and we should ever be mindful to live to honor that great sacrifice and gift of eternal life.

11.d. “Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness”

Micah 6:9 The voice of the Lord cries to the city—and it is sound wisdom to fear your name: “Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it! Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is accursed? Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights? Your rich men are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins. You shall eat, but not be satisfied, and there shall be hunger within you; you shall put away, but not preserve, and what you preserve I will give to the sword. You shall sow, but not reap; you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine. For you have kept the statutes of Omri, and all the works of the house of Ahab; and you have walked in their counsels, that I may make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing; so you shall bear the scorn of my people.”

1 Kings 16:25 Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him.

1 Kings 16:30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.

Do you ever think about what “counsel” you are walking in? What counsel is guiding your thoughts and actions? What counsel do your heart and mind listen to? Where are you finding direction for your life? In the times of Omri and Ahab, the people took counsel from their king even though what the king was doing was wrong in the sight of God. They blindly followed and eagerly joined in. Such is what happens when the Word of God is neglected, abandoned, disregarded, undervalued, unappreciated, and replaced by the counsel of the wicked. It is not as though you made a conscious choice to seek wick counsel but you did make a conscious choice to stay out of His Word. In the absence of God’s Word, what is it that fills our hearts and minds? I can tell you, it is worldly counsel. Counsel void of God’s Word. When there is this void, mankind will fill it with whatever seems right in their own eyes. Do you ever wonder how long God should wait until He calls into account all who have shunned Him and disregarded His Word? Godly counsel will fill a hunger in your soul. Godly counsel from God’s Word will revive your heart and soul. Godly counsel from God’s Word, that is obeyed, will bless your heart, mind, and soul. God’s Word is counsel to the wise and foolish to those who reject it. Spend time in His Word.

5.t. Because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience

Job 15:25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God and defies the Almighty, running stubbornly against him with a thickly bossed shield;

Job 15:31 Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself, for emptiness will be his payment. It will be paid in full before his time,

Isaiah 44:20    He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray

Galatians 6:7    Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Ephesians 5:6  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

The verse, “running stubbornly against Him with a thickly bossed shield” can describe many non-believers. They have not only chosen to disregard God’s call to salvation they also put up a strong shield against that call from God. I wonder what is was that hardened their heart to the point of actively shielding their heart, mind, and soul against the call of God. There are those who believe there is a “god” but just don’t believe in God’s wrath and judgment. They see no need for salvation because they are good enough and sin is what bad people do. They are much better than these bad people. There are those who do not believe in God and live according to their culture and the idols or gods their culture accepts. They close their ears to the call of God and chose to believe a lie and cling to false hope. There are those who know God and the need for salvation/redemption is real. They hear the call of God and come to Him for a one and done salvation moment. They seldom study God’s Word and seem to never grow in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of God. There is really no apparent change in their life that can be seen by practical application of the principles of God. They chose to live as an infant.

I really don’t know what person is worse, the openly hardened heart and the defiant person or the complacent, lukewarm, neglectful “Christian”. The openly defiant person is recognizable and stands up for and defends what they believe even if it is a lie. People who see them can see a vast difference between them and others. They can say that life is wrong and I don’t want to be like that. They may even be driven closer to God because these defiant people expose a choice that needs to be made.

The lukewarm, complacent, and neglectful Christian seems to have a more devastating effect. People who see them will never see any difference in their lives. They will never see how Love for Jesus Christ’s sacrifice has changed and continues to change their life. They will never see what it means to be a humble servant. They will never see what it means to live in such a way to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in what is said and done. They will never know how what thankful worship is. But the worst of it is that some may think if this is all a Christian life is I see no need for it, it adds no benefit or change to a person’s life.

We can say all we want about how bad a hardened and defiant hearted person is but truly the person doing much more harm is the acknowledging Christian who lukewarmly waters down the sacrifice Jesus Christ made by living in a chosen state of neglect and complacency.

103. Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near”

1 Samuel 14:6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.”

Zephaniah 2:3    Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.

Psalms 105:4     Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!

Isaiah 55:6-7     “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;  let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Amos 5:4-6     For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live;

Jeremiah 29:12-13    Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Hosea 10:12     Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

Going through life with nods toward living each day fully for Jesus Christ is not the same as seeking His presence and continue living with a desire to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey with all your heart, mind, and soul. The battle within us to serve self-following after what the world offers or to serve Jesus Christ nothing new. Serving self places Jesus 2nd and us first. Where does self fit into to “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you”. We seem to want “all these things” that the world has to offer more than the joy, peace, rest, power, might, hope, love found in seeking first the kingdom of God.

Be intentional in your commitment to serving Jesus. Be committed to seeking and desiring Him more than things of this world. Place Him first in your heart, mind, and soul. Keep His word in your life each day with a desire to feed on it. Drink in knowledge and understanding with the purpose of living in a manner worthy of Jesus Christ sacrifice. Breath in the breath of the Holy Spirit into your mind and produce fruit that honors Jesus. Nothing honors the sacrifice of Jesus more than a heart, mind, and soul that every moment of every day is thankful, repentant, humble, serving, following, and seeking to obey the word of God and quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit.

100. “But the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

1Samuel 8:1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

The nation of Israel did not have an earthly king for many years, they were under the guidance of God. Men like Samuel were God’s intermediary between God and the people. Samuel was the last of the Judges of Israel. Because Samuel was getting old and his appointed sons did not follow after God, the people of Israel they demanded that Samuel appoint them a king so they would be like all the other nations. They wanted a King he could judge them, and go out before them and fight their battles. God was not enough for them. They rejected His Lordship.

Do we possess a secret desire to reject the Lordship of Jesus in our lives? Do we want to benefit of the relationship, but we seem to be complacent when it comes to developing the relationship with Him? “They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king.” Are we walking down a watered down walk of faith without realizing the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives is being rejected? God told Samuel to listen to the people, but also to warn them of what will happen if they choose to want an earthly king to rule over them. Likewise, any time spent in God’s word reveals that there are two paths of life we can pursue, the path with Jesus as Lord and the path without Him. Both of these have consequences. One leads us on a path of searching for satisfaction in things of this world and what it offers to fill the yearning and every day is filled with uncertainty. The other leads us on a path of joy, rest, peace, satisfaction, hope, courage, faith, and certainty for eternity.

When one chooses to reject the Lordship of Jesus in their life, they are not free, they are enslaved to sin. God allows people to make the choice but it is a choice they will have to live with. God will allow you to choose who will be Lord of your life, but know you will live with the consequences of that choice.

Samuel warned the people of what was to come if they chose the path they were on. They refused to listen to Samuel. No, they said. We must have a king over us then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles.” The nation wanted to trade God in for corrupt man, the nation wanted to trade God in for sinful man. “For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools”

Do not be fooled and give any ground to a complacent life with Jesus. He died for us so that we might repent, turn away from sin, be forgiven and live an abundant life with Him now and for eternity. Choosing to reject His lordship over your everyday life is rejecting Him for eternity. Spend time in His word, humbly server, honor, follow, obey, and rely on Him each waking moment of every day.

2. Be Doers

James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Matthew 7:21-25     “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.’

Luke 6:46-48    “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

Luke 11:28     But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Romans 2:13     For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Obadiah 1:3    The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?”

Galatians 6:7    Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

It does not take much reading of scripture to be reminded of being “Doers of the Word” – “Keepers of the Word” – “Keeping oneself Unstained from the world” God speaks to us through His word from either reading it or hearing others read it. If we spend the time in it we find hope, peace, guidance, and encouragement for the trials that surely follow each day.

How are we to keep unstained if we are not aware of what causes the staining? How are we to be doers if we don’t know what to do? Do we think for a second that we are guiltless or won’t be judged for neglecting His word?

Satan implants lies into our minds. He tells us we are ok enough. He tells us we are better than others. He tells us that we are too busy. Too tired. He tells us we get enough of God’s word on Sunday. He tells us we are content with how we are living for God. He tells us we are not good enough or know enough to be of any value in spreading the Gospel or making disciples. He tells us tomorrow we will have more time for God. He tells us we deserve a break from serving God. He tempts us with stuff that will never satisfy our soul. He looks to confuse and cause division. He deceives us with partial truths and we have not spent enough time in God’s word to know we are being deceived.

Be hearers – read and study God’s word

Be doers – obey God’s word