JAMES DAY 9 - Focus on Follow-Through

DAY 9
FOCUS ON FOLLOW-THROUGH
James 1:22-25

One summer in college, I got interested in healthy eating. I still remember some of the insights from one book I read. I read a lot and I forget a lot, but this I remember more than twenty years later. Why? Because I focused on follow-through. I focused on reading and rereading and putting what I read into practice.

James urges us to do the same thing as he pivots into v.22. He moves from angry words to God’s words and says, “Don’t just listen to the word: do what it says.” The “word” he’s talking about is the gospel (see v.18) and all of Scripture as understood through Jesus Christ. 

James also compares the word to a mirror. Most of us looked in a mirror before leaving the house for work or school or a date. Few would look in the mirror, notice what needs attention, and then do nothing.

But James says that too many of us do that with Scripture and the gospel. Like a mirror, they show us as we really are. We hear something in Scripture and the Holy Spirit points out a place in your life that needs some work. Something’s out of alignment with God’s ways. You see it...and do nothing about it. Even worse, you convince yourself, “Eh, it’s not so bad.” Have we really listened to God’s Words if we don’t act on them?

What’s the solution?

First, trust God that obedience to God’s way will bless you and truly make you free (v. 25). Second, focus on follow-through. Reading your Bible? Listening to a sermon? Attending a Life Group? Focus on follow-through. What should I do next because of what I sense God saying to me through God’s Word?

Faith that works isn’t intersted in Bible trivia. Faith that works focuses on follow through, because doing what God says helps us to love louder than words.

REFLECT
What are some practical ways you can focus on follow-through whenever you read or hear God’s word?

PRAY
Father, forgive me for treating your word with less honor than it deserves. Thank you for being patient with me. Help me to follow through on whatever you tell me to do. Amen.