²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. -James 1:22

I’ve been growing up spiritually for over 6 years now and I really enjoy reflecting on the journey. Zack Blair and I were just talking the other day about how far we’ve come in our journeys and how far we’ve seen others come in theirs. I believe that if a believer will seriously go after God with all of their hearts that they can become spiritually mature in about 4 years. Don’t get me wrong, we’ll always be maturing, I just mean that they’ll have a solid foundation built to build their lives on.

One of the things I’ve come to recognize about mature believers is that they are doers of the Word of God. In other words, they actually live their lives according to how the Bible tells them to live it.

How do you know someone is a doer of the word? – They’ll bear fruit (John 15:7-8). The Bible says you’ll know people by their fruit (Matthew 7:20). You’ll be able to tell by peoples lives whether or not they are a doer.

I really believe that so many people are missing out on God’s best for their lives because they’re not living out the Word of God. They listen to all the right sermons, know scripture, and know the right things to say, yet have nothing to show for it in their lives.I believe that’s why James said that people who are not doers of the Word are only fooling themselves.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not interested in people who can talk a big game, I’m interested in people who are actually living it and seeing the fruit of living for God. Those are the people I want to surround myself with. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not walking in this to the level I should be by any means, but I strive to be a doer every day and my hope is that as you read these posts, you will to!

So over the next few days I want to talk about the difference between being hearers of the Word versus being doers of the Word. The difference between the two could literally be the difference between life or death, being successful or failing, receiving healing versus staying sick, keeping your marriage verse losing it, being rich verse being poor, the list goes on and on. Have I got your attention yet?

We’ll dive into this tomorrow….

Thoughts?

Just wanted to share with you something I’ve been learning over the past 2 years. I’ve been learning how awesome the Word of God (the Bible) is. I bet you’re saying, Bubba, that is obvious! My question to you is, is it really?

• Do you esteem the Word?
• Is it a priority in your life?
• Do you read it more than you read blogs? Leadership books? Readers digest?

Early on in my Christian walk I got consumed with reading both spiritual and christian books and my emphasis was on them and not the Word. In my sermons, I’d use a John Maxwell quote (although it’s almost scripture haha) instead of the Bible. I knew tons of quotes, but few scriptures. I found myself saying things like this, “John Maxwell said, Keith Moore said, so and so said.” Instead of saying “God’s word says”.

Then I heard Keith Moore say, “Don’t take my word or anyone else’s opinion for it, get in the Word and find out what the Word says.” He went on to say that the greatest thing that Kenneth Hagin taught people was to love the Word of God. It was after hearing that, that I’ve made it a priority in my life to fall in love with the Word of God!

Some thoughts for you:

• Is the Word of God THEE authority and standard in your life? If not, why?

• If someone asked you to back up your beliefs, what you’re believing God for, what scriptures you’re standing on would you be able to bring them to the Word and show them scriptually?

• Do you take everything you hear from Pastors/Leaders as truth? Or do you get in the Word and see it and find out for yourself?

• How much time are you spending in the Word each day?

The body of Christ, including myself, have to fall in love with the Word of God and make it the standard and the foundation to how we live life. As my friend David Faulk says, “If you’re not in the Word, I’m worried about you.” and “You’ll never know what you’re capable of until you get in the Book.” GET IN THE BOOK TODAY and LOVE IT!

Read Psalm 119 a few times – it will pump you up about the Word of God

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. -Hebrews 11:1

Two weeks ago I wrote about the Faithfulness of God. I want to expound on what God’s been teaching me in this area. I was listening to a sermon the other day and the pastor said, “What is the outcome/result of faith?”. The Answer – “Proof!” Hebrews 11:1 says it is the evidence!

I remember reading Zack Blair’s Facebook page and one of his favorite quotes was “Prove it”. Don’t you hate when someone says that to you after you’ve just made a statement? Often it can catch us off guard, it can catch us bluffing, exaggerating, etc.. The reason that quote is so good is because it forces us to see reality and look at the facts. It exposes the truth.  You can’t argue with reality, truth, facts, or proof. People can argue all day long about what they believe, but they can never argue with proof, evidence, or actual experience. There isn’t a person on the planet that could convince me that God’s Word isn’t true – I’ve experienced it:

• My life being changed after making Jesus my Lord is PROOF that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.
  

• The fact that I was living a purposeless life and now I live everyday of my life with purpose is PROOF that He has an amazing plan for my life.
  

• The fact that when I’ve faced circumstances in my life that should have crippled me emotionally, spiritually, etc. and had a peace throughout the whole thing is PROOF that He’ll keep in perfect peace those whose eyes are fixed on Him.

• The fact that I’ve been in bondage to a number of things and have been set free from all of them is PROOF that God has set me free from every bondage in my life!

I could go on forever, but I think you get the point . . .

I hear people all the time say, “Prove to me that there is a God” “Prove to me that God exists” “Prove to me God heals”etc.. Well, it’s not my job to prove to you that God exists, has a plan for your life, etc.. God’s Word is true whether you believe it or not.  It’s my job to proclaim it to you and it’s up to you if you believe it or not. If you believe it and act on it – you’ll have PROOF (evidence)that God’s Word is true and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Then you’ll no longer need to wonder if God’s word is true, if it will work for you, etc… You’ll have proof.