August 9, 2004

Stay Home And Keep Them

Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. —James 1:22

Bible In One Year: Psalms 77-78; Romans 10

A church member told his pastor that he was going to the Holy Land. He said that it was his intention to visit Mount Sinai. "In fact," he told the minister, "I plan to climb to the top of that mountain, and read the Ten Commandments aloud when I get there."

Thinking this would please the pastor, he was surprised to hear, "You know, I can think of something even better than that." The man responded, "You can, Pastor? And what might that be?"

He replied rather bluntly, "Instead of traveling thousands of miles to read the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, why not stay right here at home and keep them?"

God wants us to read His Word, of course. But more important, He wants us to obey it. So, as we open the Bible each day, we should pray not only for illumination to understand it but also for a willingness to obey it. Hearing and doing must go hand-in-hand (James 1:22).

When Saul heard Jesus speaking to him on the road to Damascus, he asked, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" (Acts 9:6). That's a good question for us to ask whenever we read the Bible or hear it read.

Let's be "doers of the Word." —Richard De Haan

We take delight to read God's Word,
We say, "Ah, yes, it's true!"
But we must go beyond mere words
And seek His will to do. —D. De Haan

The Spirit of God enables us to obey the Word of God.