Practice Makes Perfect
Today’s Verse:
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. ~James 1:22
One cliché that most of us have grown up hearing over and over again is “practice makes perfect.” The best way to be good at anything is to keep practicing at what we do. Michael Jordan, who attained fame as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, said that he missed 9,000 shots during his basketball career. However, he realized that practicing his shots would eventually make him a better player. Our devotion this morning centers on an important ingredient of succeeding at the Christian life. The Christian who succeeds best is the Christian who is a doer, or practitioner, of the Word and not someone who just sits and hears.
A good doer of the Word is one who is consecrated.
In James 1:21, this Christian understands the importance of laying apart all superfluity of naughtiness and filthiness of the flesh. In other words, he approaches the reading, studying, meditating, and memorization of the Word of God with the idea that it is to cleanse his life. Jesus said, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” A good doer of the Word allows the Holy Spirit to speak to him to point out sins and errors in his life and quickly makes confession to God for the purpose of having a cleansed life.
A good doer of the Word is one who is compliant.
He obeys what he hears. He complies with God’s command. Perhaps one of the greatest sins that we live with as Christians is our lack of compliance to what is preached to us. James uses the analogy of a man who looks in a mirror but quickly forgets what he saw about himself. Thus, this man remains trapped in the same sin or errors that he was in before. He sees it, but he does not do anything about it. It should bother us when we do not match up to God’s Word. It should bother us when we discover that we are coming up short in an area of Christian living that God is concerned about. Being compliant means we put feet and action into what we have heard.
A good doer of the Word is one who lives in continuance.
“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein….”An obedient Christian makes obedience his lifestyle. By continuing therein, he knows that practice makes perfect! The Word of God is called the perfect law of liberty. It gives us real freedom in living. It helps us to discover the power of living in the Spirit. He is not a one-time obedient Christian but a Christian who repeats the right things over and over again.
A good doer of the Word is one who is contented.
This man is blessed! His path shines brighter each day! He has great peace because he loves the law of the Lord. He is fruitful in every good work. He is walking in the Spirit. He sees his prayers answered consistently. He knows that he has the blessing of God upon his life.
Practice makes perfect! Being a doer of the Word is a necessary step in pleasing God. Have you been looking into the perfect law of liberty but quickly forgetting what you see? Maybe we need to take a long look at ourselves in the Word of God and allow it to change us into that person who is a doer and not a hearer only.
Have a “practical” God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Genesis 22-24