“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives,
and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power
to save your souls.” – James 1:21 NLT
First of all, we have to know that all of
us are sinners and doomed to death at the end of the age (Romans 5:12). “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23)
Because of this, the word of God is available to us, for it has the power to
save us from death. To be specific, it has the power to align our walking with
our heavenly Father (Ephesians 4:6) that can save our souls. This
is because every follower of Jesus is meant to walk with God through faith, as Ephesians 2:8 proclaims, “For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Hence,
the Bible declares, “For the word of God
is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to
dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes
of the heart. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a
righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The
righteous will live by faith.” (Hebrews 4:12, Romans 1:17) This is why the
word of God states,
All Scripture is
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every
good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
This means that not only we have to read
and hear the word of God, but we also have to accept every word and apply it in
our lives. This is because James 1:22 says, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says.
Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves,” due to the fact that all of us
are sinners (Romans 3:23). In addition, James 2:14-26 points out that faith without
works is dead This is why, the Apostle Paul declares,
Whatever happens,
conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I
come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand
firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without
being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them
that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it
has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but
also to suffer for him. (Philippians 1:27-29)
Although I write scripture-based
devotionals to influence others spiritually—please note that this is not the gospel
of Jesus Christ; the Bible is the Gospel. Therefore, I really encourage you
readers to read the Bible as well, as 2 Timothy 3:16 points out that it is
God-breathed. In addition, only the Gospel of Jesus Christ and power of the
Spirit are possible to change our lives. Devotional-writers and Christian
authors are only there to help us understand the word of God in deeper ways.
However, all of the writers are not the same. For instance, I always change my
old devotionals into new ones if bible verses from the Internet that I use as topic
of my devotionals appear the same as my previous ones, for Great Commission can
be a double-edged sword. On the contrary, the word of God proclaims,
Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday and today and forever. For the word of the LORD is right and
true; he is faithful in all he does. For no word from God will ever fail. (Hebrews 13:8, Psalm 33:4, Luke 1:37)
… "All people
are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass
withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever." …
(1 Peter 1:24-25)
No comments:
Post a Comment