Daily Manna 23 June
KEY VERSE: “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” – (James 1:25).
TEXT: James 1:19-27
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
There are people who place a lot of emphasis on mere knowledge of the word of God. For them, it is not the compass for life on earth, but a body of knowledge to be studied. In the process, they miss the greatest benefit of the Scripture, which is to transform lives on earth and prepare souls for heaven.
Apostle James stresses that those who would benefit from the word of God must talk less and listen more attentively. They are expected to drop all filthy and wicked conduct and meekly receive the word of God that saves. They must be obedient to the Word; not merely listening to it, else they would be deceiving themselves. Those that study and obey the word of God are not forgetful hearers. They are not like people who claim to be Christians but cannot control their tongue and whose profession of religion is doubtful. It is only when we care for the less privileged in our society, remain unpolluted by the world that God can see us as pure and undefiled in His sight.
Our lives are true expressions of the effectiveness of our study of the Bible. Those who deal with us must observe a reflection of spiritual principles in our character and conduct. It must show them that we have been touched by the grace of God and are living by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Our obedience to God must be total and visible for all to see that we have abandoned all evil acts. It must be practical as we learn to consider other people, especially the less privileged. Mere profession of religion is not enough, we must obey God in all things to please Him. The question is: does your life show that you are obedient to God in all things?
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Obedience to God’s word is greater than any sacrifice we render to Him.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 8
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Obedience Counts – by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 23 June 2021
