TODAY'S RHEMA James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
No one could doubt Lucy's love for the Lord. Every week she never missed church and served in the ministry. She read the bible every day. But, after several years of doing that, Lucy found her faith became weaker. She was easily worried and short-tempered when facing hard times, especially at her workplace. God's help which she expected wasn't forthcoming. In her despair, she approached her cell group leader for some piece of advice. After telling her story, her cell group leader asked, "Lucy, I want to ask you a question, are you now able to forgive your co-worker in the office who stabbed you at the back?" Lucy answered, "I still can not, I am still trying to. I am still upset when I see her, so we can only talk about job-related matters for now." The cell group leader then slowly replied, "But that is not good, Lucy, she wronged you two years ago and you still kept it until now."
Just like Lucy, we contradict the word of God every day. We know what God wants us to do in many situations. But, when someone does a terrible thing to us, or when we are involved in a big problem, or when we are attacked by some incurable diseases, we tend to be easily tempted and become controlled by our feelings rather than by our faith in the Lord. Practicing the word of God is not always easy. Everything that God orders us to do seems to be contrary to our logical way of thinking. We become doubtful about the word of God. As a result, the spirit man grows weak day by day and our faith also begins to fade away.
Our spirit man will not grow if we only listen without doing, or if we only know the word but do not practice them. We have to dare and sacrifice our flesh in order to become doers of the word. Truth is, if we decide to fully obey the word, God will interfere and enable us to face our problems. He is able to do more than what we want and thinks (1 Corinthians 2:9). Strengthen your faith and become a faith giant who lives in the victory. REFLECTION Saudara Terkasih, Your spirit man WILL NOT GROW if you only LISTEN but do not become a DOER OF THE WORD. APPLICATIONS 1. Have you really walked the talk in your life? Are there areas in your life where you find difficult to do the word? 2. What hinders you from obeying the word of God? Mention them.
3. What do you have to do to become a doer of the word?
TODAY'S PRAYER "Lord Jesus, I receive forgiveness for expressing unbelief at your word and for deceiving myself, thinking that I am able and that I know what is good for me. Now I declare, Lord I want to obey and trust You fully, I want to step forward according to Your word. Enable me and strengthen my faith, because You are the only way, truth, and life. In the Name of our Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen."
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