Day 6 - 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting
Day 6 - James 1:19-27
SCRIPTURE:
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
LESSON:
I want us to notice two things in this passage. First, this section is the conclusion of James' introduction which tells us that enduring trials leads to a crown of life and yielding to temptation can lead us downward to death. Because this is the case, the believer must be “swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath.” These three things lay out the outline for the rest of the book of James.
How many times have you been in a situation where you should have listened but instead spoke to quickly? Or jumped to conclusions in a situation where you didn’t have all the answers and your “wrath” ended up being unjustified? The truth is that this is pretty good advice even if you aren’t going through trials or temptations! Keep your mouth shut and your ears open! Maybe that’s all you needed to hear today…
The second thing I want to draw your attention to is how James draws a direct line from the “implanted word” to the bridleing of the tongue. If God’s word is planted inside of us it will have a direct effect on what we say and how we live. Not only that, but if God’s word is not having a transformative effect on us then we can be sure that our religion is useless! Yes. Useless!
However if we allow God’s word to transform us as we humbly submit to it, we will be blessed. Verse twenty-five actually says, “this one will be blessed in what he does.” Does that sound like what you want for your life? For your family? For your work? For your future? Well then, you should make sure that you are submitting to God’s word. Let God transform you. Be a real Christian! I would submit to you that if you do the hard work of allowing God to change you, you will find blessings that you didn’t realize could be possible!
I want us to notice two things in this passage. First, this section is the conclusion of James' introduction which tells us that enduring trials leads to a crown of life and yielding to temptation can lead us downward to death. Because this is the case, the believer must be “swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath.” These three things lay out the outline for the rest of the book of James.
How many times have you been in a situation where you should have listened but instead spoke to quickly? Or jumped to conclusions in a situation where you didn’t have all the answers and your “wrath” ended up being unjustified? The truth is that this is pretty good advice even if you aren’t going through trials or temptations! Keep your mouth shut and your ears open! Maybe that’s all you needed to hear today…
The second thing I want to draw your attention to is how James draws a direct line from the “implanted word” to the bridleing of the tongue. If God’s word is planted inside of us it will have a direct effect on what we say and how we live. Not only that, but if God’s word is not having a transformative effect on us then we can be sure that our religion is useless! Yes. Useless!
However if we allow God’s word to transform us as we humbly submit to it, we will be blessed. Verse twenty-five actually says, “this one will be blessed in what he does.” Does that sound like what you want for your life? For your family? For your work? For your future? Well then, you should make sure that you are submitting to God’s word. Let God transform you. Be a real Christian! I would submit to you that if you do the hard work of allowing God to change you, you will find blessings that you didn’t realize could be possible!
PRAYER:
Father, help us to receive your word with meekness. Help us to make the changes that you are asking of us. Help us to be swift to listen, slow to speak and slow to wrath. May we have true and genuine religion. Bless our lives as we surrender to you. We want this. We need this. Amen!
Father, help us to receive your word with meekness. Help us to make the changes that you are asking of us. Help us to be swift to listen, slow to speak and slow to wrath. May we have true and genuine religion. Bless our lives as we surrender to you. We want this. We need this. Amen!
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