~ Just Do It ~

We are busy people! In an age where smartphones are actually the things that keep us together is a bit frightening! Lol! But, I confess, my smartphone does keep me together as well.  I keep my calendar on there, my grocery list, my to-do list, and even reminders so I won't forget to change my air filters out every month.  Yes, yes, it is smarter than me, I admit it! We are surrounded by checklists. 

But where does God fit in your day? He is just another item on your to-do list? An item to be checked off to make yourself feel more accomplished? We put "go to church, read my Bible, pray" on our "list" and feel very religious that we can mark those off but, my dear friends, God is not an item that can be checked off. His Word is not any book that can be read and marked completed in our day. HE should be the absolute, purpose and meaning of our day! His Word should be the very substance of how we go forth in our day!

We can sit in the church service and shout "Amen" as the pastor preaches and highlight our Bibles with a beautiful rainbow of colors but if our Bibles are not marking our very souls then there is a problem! 

"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." 

James 1:22-25

James was a man that "tells it like it is". That may be why I like him so much. Now, I didn't care for him too much when I first started studying this part of scripture well, because, he stepped on my beautifully polished toes and that hurt! Haha! But when I really began to meditate and pray over this passage, I faced what this dear apostle was saying.  We can hear the Word all day long but until we start doing what it says, there is no depth to it.  

I love the analogy about the mirror that James uses here.  The purpose of a mirror is to check and make sure we are presentable. To fix any issues we see and make ourselves neat and clean.  If we just glanced, we might miss things, but when we gaze at ourselves, thats when we find the mistakes and can correct them.  Well, when we look with intention into God's mirror, we can see the conditions of our heart and allow for healing.  

This precious Book is not just any book! This Book gives freedom! If we know that, why don't we do what it says? 

I don't want to just be a hearer of the Word.  I don't want to just read my Bible, go to church, pray and then check those things off my to-do list. I want to DO what this Book says.  I want to examine my heart, as painful as that may be, and allow God to infiltrate every part of me. I want to do more than pray. I want to engage in a one-on-one conversation with the Savior of the world! Hallelujah! 

It's time for the people of God to step up and be doers! Its time to stop sugar coating everything and just be obedient to the Word! Make a commitment to stop putting God on your daily check list. Commit to make Him THE integral part of your day, of your life! Find freedom by heeding his Word! Blessings abound!

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22

Blessings~

Allison