Wednesday, September 18, 2013
James 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls ...
MEET THE CHILD OF GOD: GALVANIZED INTO ACTION THAT REFLECTS THE FATHER'S GOODNESS
We need to know that as children of God we have daily work to do. There are two basic actions under which there are many items. The two basic actions are putting off the old man and putting on the new man. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls (James 1:21). Picture your basement being flooded. If you bail out water, but do nothing to prevent more water from coming in, that's pretty useless. If you stop the water coming in, but just leave a foot of water in the basement, that's futile also. In our spiritual lives the action is two-fold as well. Stop the wickedness, but also receive the word.
There is not a setting of neutral in your heart. You can't resist evil and think that that's all there is to it. You need to replace the evil with what is good. There is deliberate action to being a child of God. There are choices that you make each day that will either reflect your Father or the prince of this world. You can bring into your heart either something that will damage it or God's Word. Bring that into your life. Read it. Meditate on it. Inwardly digest it. You will yourself being strengthened and drawn closer to God rather than the world. And when you're receiving the Word, turn off the spout of evil. These things are not compatible.
Your Father is active. His children need to be active too. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22). You are fooling yourself if you think that being a Christian is a passive endeavor. Sometimes we get that idea because one of the main things that we associate with Christianity is the worship service, and quite a bit of that is passive. But Christianity is doing.
We have a wonderful God. He's given us all that is good. What better way to honor Him than to have people who know us say, "I want to get to know your Father."
