The Importance of Christians Achieving Balance in Their Everyday Discipleship!

08 Sep 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

James 1:22.         But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Monday, oh Monday! What a joyful day it is! And some people will begin thinking that I’m crazy for exalting Monday. And they might just be right, who knows. (smile) But every day aren’t we supposed to mouth the encouraging scripture which says; ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it?’ (Ps. 118:24) Of course! So then, why isn’t Monday a joyful day, and one in which we ought to rejoice eh?

 Because we are often so ill prepared to meet it, and we try to take it out on the day, rather than our own inefficiency and lack of responsibility. And yes, it’s often tough getting up and going back to work on a Monday morning after sleeping in for a couple of days, to once again face all the stress and frustration inherent in our busy society. But that’s what life is all about, and we’ve been doing it for donkeys’ years now, so why does the problem of rejoicing and being glad in Monday still exist eh? 

Because we like to blame everyone and everything else for our problems, rather than look in the mirror and blame the one who’s staring back at us. That’s certainly reminiscent of the way James uses it as a spiritual metaphor, when he talks about hearers and doers of the word. ‘But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding (observing) his natural face in a glass (mirror): For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what kind of man he was.’ (James 1:22-24) 

Ah friends, far too many of us supposed believers fall into that category, where we talk a good talk but don’t walk the relevant walk. That’s why the world considers us to be nothing but a bunch of religious hypocrites or as Jesus called the Pharisees ‘whited sepulchres (whitewashed tombs), clean outside, but dirty inside. (Matt. 23:27) And they’re quite right, considering the compromises and lack of true Christian attitudes we so regularly display. 

However, according to James, this is the attitude that the true Christian ought to be displaying. ‘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 (what he does).’ (James 1:25) 

And the scholars offer these explanations on that verse. ‘The perfect law of liberty probably refers to the teachings of Christ and His apostles. This law is perfect, since Christ brought to completion the teachings and work of the Mosaic Law (cf. Matt. 5:17-20; Rom. 10:4). It is a law of liberty because it frees from the principles of sin and death (Rom. 8:2-3; Gal. 5:1, 13). James also describes it as the royal law (2:8) for it is the law of the messianic King (cf. Gal. 6:2) 

Now there are plenty of references for you to look up, so please check them out, because they greatly benefit us by increasing our knowledge and understanding of God’s Word. And James isn’t finished with his admonition. He continues: ‘If any man among you seem to be (thinks he’s) religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain (useless). 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.’ (James 1:26-27) 

And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘In verses 22-25 James has rebuked mere listening – by the hearer who does not do. In verses 26-27 he rebukes mere doing – by the doer who leaves his inner life unchanged. James offers not a formal definition but three key aspects of pure religion: controlled speech, altruistic service, and separation from the world.’ 

Again, if we use those explanations as a sounding board, too many supposed believers are guilty of those unchristian attitudes. We talk but we don’t do; we do, but our lives stay the same and our motives are often wrong! And yes, it’s hard to find a good balance in our Christian Walk, with all the evil and ungodly things going on around us, but that’s why we have the Bible, God’s unadulterated, infallible and ever wise Word to read, meditate upon and put into action, as well as His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in making wise decisions. 

Unfortunately though, we don’t utilize all the tools we have at our disposal, therefore the enemy has gained a large foothold in the world, and we now must come from behind, in second place, to recover what we’ve lost and thus protect the victory that Jesus so sacrificially won through His death, resurrection and ascension. But we can do it, if we put our whole hearts, souls, bodies and minds to the grindstone, for the enemy is not more powerful than us, we’ve just given him too much leeway, which he’s taken advantage of. 

And the first move for retaking our heritage is going to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine guidance. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’  

And the answer to our problems lies right within our prayer: humble ourselves, pray, sincerely seek God’s face, and turn from our evil ways. Then and only then will divine aid be forthcoming! Much LOVE!

…every day the Lord allows us to breathe His breath of life…is one He expects us to enjoy…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   11 July 2023 James 1:19.

11 Jul 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

James 1:19.       Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

And it’s a fine, sunny Tuesday in the month of July, the height of the summer season! And the weather has been behaving like it’s truly summer for the last few days; hot, humid and muggy, with the occasional sprinkle of heavenly blessings to either cool it down, or increase the humidity, your choice. (smile) 

And I’m chuckling here, because our God is indeed a great God who does work in mysterious ways. A while ago I was wondering what to write on today and decided to check our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin to see if I could find a good topic. And lo, and behold, the second place I opened it to, this marvellous topic opened unto me. It’s simply, but ever so appropriately titled, ‘A Quiet Tongue.’ 

Don’t know if I’ve ever shared it before, but even if I have, it’s certainly worth sharing again, for our world is desperately in need of more quiet tongues than we currently have. The uproar of voices today, and many of them angry voices, surely seems like the whole world is talking together at the same time, talking a mile a minute on things most of us have no real clue about. 

The social media revolution has birthed an incredible amount of talk and opinions that are leading so many of us astray, especially the young, soft minded, easily led folks of this entitled generation. And with everyone talking at the same time, it obviously means that very few of us are listening. But anyway, enough of my rant, (smile) let’s read the poem and see if it can help us keep a quieter tongue. 

Please read with me: ‘Lord, a revealing fact Began to surface today: I talk more than I listen. I seem to be thoroughly convinced That my ideas My inspiring experiences My bits of wisdom Are exactly what all my friends need. Too often I break into conversations Confident that my enlightened insight Will solve the predicament – Whatever it is. Obviously, I feel more comfortable When I’m expounding. But this morning at a Bible study I cringed when I read Your command In the first chapter of James. 

“Don’t ever forget That it’s best to listen much Speak little, and not become angry.” At first I wanted to run. But as the words kept battering away At my guilty heart I finally circled them with red ink. Now, Lord, please help me to obey them. Remind me daily, hourly That listening is a discipline And a discipline always costs. I know I must pay a price The price for me Is a listening ear And a quiet tongue.’  

Oh my people, that poem ought to be shouted from the rooftops, television sets, radios, all social media, and wherever people gather, so that we can see, understand and learn to stop talking as much as we do, and learn to listen more, because we can learn much more by listening than talking! And most of us would already have surmised that the Bible Promise for the poem comes from the age old, but very wise words of James, when he warned, two thousand years ago. ‘Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:’ (James 1:19) 

Wow! What words of eternal wisdom! But are we listening to them today? Obviously not! Because words are being irresponsibly spouted more than at any other time in our long and irresponsible history! And the revolution of social media is not helping, but unfortunately allowing them to be spread more easily and widely than ever before. Now here’s a word from the scholars on the verse from James above. ‘This is a key verse because it expresses three topics that James develops later: hearing, verses 19-27; speaking, chap. 3:1-12; and wrath 4:1-12.’ 

Now those might be some excellent scriptures for us to spend some time reading and meditating upon in the near future. (smile) For now though, let’s deal with what comes next in James; the matter of hearing and doing. He continues: ‘For the wrath of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God… But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.’ (James 1:20, 22) 

Now that’s another good reminder for many of us, because in our great bursts of speech, like the Pharisees of long ago, we often speak the word, but very seldom do it, seldom put it into action. And we can’t dispute that fact because if we believers were more astute and responsible in doing the word, we are so quick to speak, our world would not be in the dire straits it’s currently in. 

And I like how James goes on to expound on our problem. ‘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 (mirror): For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 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 (what he does).’ (James 1:23-25) 

Oh my brethren, unfortunately, many of us are ever so guilty of James’ censure. We see ourselves in the mirror then walk away and completely forget who we are, and what we ought to be about in Christ’s kingdom. And as per the ‘perfect law of liberty,’ the scholars tell us it ‘probably refers to the teachings of Christ and His apostles. This law is perfect, since Christ brought to completion the work of the Mosaic Law (cf. Matt. 5:17-20; Rom. 10:4). It is a law of liberty because it frees from the principles of sin and death. (Rom. 8:2-3; Gal. 5:1, 13) James also describes it as the royal law (2:8) for it is the law of the messianic King (cf. Gal. 6:2).’ 

Ah mih people, I am seriously and sincerely suggesting you take a couple of minutes and look up those scriptures referenced by the scholars. I just did, and believe me, they are interesting and very enlightening on the subjects referred to. But enough for today, we’ll continue on this topic tomorrow, if God spares life obviously. (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong lock, stock and barrel. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And having declared (yesss!!!) that, let’s now go out and put it into practice, be doers of the word, share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…talk is ever so cheap…but action calls for sacrifice… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ