It’s so easy to get caught up on our own problems and think, “poor me, life is so difficult!” But what if instead of focusing on ourselves we look at the world around us for where God is needed.
“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 is telling us that it doesn’t matter how many times you read the Bible or how many verses you’ve committed to memory. It doesn’t matter if you go to church every single time the doors are open if you don’t do what you are reading or hearing from the Word.
It’s not the hearing that makes the difference. It’s doing what Jesus tells us to do! Are you checking on the widows and orphans? Are you reaching out to that family who walked through the doors on Sunday? I can’t think of anything worse than searching for a new church and no one speaking to you the whole service. As believers, we have to be the hands and feet of Jesus! We need to make a difference in the lives of others.
The blessing comes in doing. When we change the focus from our troubles to helping someone else, we receive the blessings of God. Why we do it matters, too. Are you reaching out for the sake of receiving or from a place of simply loving?
In Faith,
Pam
Where God Leads 