Jim Brandt

11/16/2023

GOD, THE MEAN BAD GUY?!

In some circles, God seems to have the reputation of being the bad guy. After all, He sends people to hell, right? I’ve seen this judgement pronounced by atheists and others. What are we supposed to do when God is maligned like that?

First, God can take care of Himself. He doesn’t need our protection.

Second, we’ve got examples in God’s Word Of what to do. The answer to lies is the truth. For example, how Jesus responded to the temptations by Satan, who used the Scripture out of context as part of the temptation. What did Jesus do? He used the Scripture properly. So should we.

Third, what all Christians are to do is to fulfill the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19,20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The Great Commission is about saving people, keeping them out of hell and close to God.

Closely related is the Ministry of Reconciliation found in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christs’ behalf: Be reconciled to God.” Again, it’s about saving people, keeping people out of hell and close to God.

Even in the Old Testament God’s attitude is one of reconciliation between Him and us. We see how we should respond in Isaiah 1:16-19: “‘Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Come now, let us reason together’, says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool, If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword’. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Does this sound unreasonable? Even though Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden for their sin, God demonstrated His love by continuing to care for them. As seen in Gen 3:21 He provided clothing for them.

Although we can’t control how other people respond, as believers we are encouraged by Ephesians 5:1,2 “Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” So, let’s be imitators of God. Paul tells his readers in Ephesians 4:14,15 that when we’ve reached unity and maturity in Christ, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, although we do not determine who will and who will not be saved, one thing is clear, God wants us to reach out to the unbeliever, to, in love, present the message of God’s love and truth. We can only present the truth while it is the Holy Spirit who convicts one to recognize the need for salvation. This week, think about with whom you can share the gospel of God’s truth and love, then do it!

Your brother in Christ, Jim Brandt

10/19/2023

A CAUTION FROM HAGGAI
Haggai 1:3-5 says, “Then the word of the LORD came to Haggai: ‘Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?’ Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways.’” And it reminds me of today.

Haggai occurs late in the Old Testament, after many invasions and damage to Israel had been done. Even the LORD’s temple was in pieces. People had managed to recover, in part, and were beginning to live well again, even to the point of paneling their homes. The problem was that the priority of the people was upon their comfort instead of honoring God. The irony is that the people were experiencing want and loss because they prioritized themselves over God. Haggai 1:9,10 tells us, “’You expected much, but see, it turned out to be a little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth it’s crops.’”

In what ways do you prioritize yourself over God? In what ways are you focusing upon yourself and your will rather than upon God and His will? Can you recognize where you are experiencing a loss of blessings because of it?

Let’s open our eyes to the will and purposes of our Father in Heaven and set aside our own, which are less worthy. Let’s open our ears to the entreaty, “Give careful thought to your ways.” Let’s do what glorifies God as a priority instead of setting it aside to be done with our left-over energy.

My hope this week is that you may give careful thought to your ways and seek out how to fulfill God’s plan and purpose in your life.

Your brother in Christ, Jim Brandt

09/21/2023

Have my posts from after Aug 14th till today not been posting? I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know. They are not showing up as available on my end. Your courteous help is appreciated. Thanks, Jim Brandt

09/21/2023

THE SHEMA AND THE SCRIPTURES

The Shema, which means to “hear”, or “listen”, in Hebrew, refers to a passage in Deuteronomy beginning with Deuteronomy 6:4. 4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Matthew 22:38 describes this command to love the LORD saying, “This is the first and greatest commandment.”

I do not find it insignificant that this command is immediately followed by instructions regarding God’s commands having an immediate presence in the believer’s life. Deuteronomy 6: 6-9 states:

“6 These commandments I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

The commands of God are to be ever present in our thoughts and speech, and we are to be proactive to make sure that’s the case. Joshua was told:

“7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Like Joshua, we need to keep God’s commands in our thoughts and our conversation to be careful to obey them. After all, if we can’t remember them, we can’t obey them. This passage also offered Joshua the promise that if he did obey, he would experience success.

Psalm 1:1,2 tells us, “1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” We have a choice of what to place at the forefront of our thoughts and actions, and it includes the company we keep. If we listen to the counsel of the wicked, or dwell in way of sinners and mockers, how can we hope to keep God’s counsel predominant? We are instead supposed to delight in and meditate upon His Law.

The word “meditation” as used in Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2, and many other Old Testament passages is used to mean serious consideration and focus. The word includes the idea of thinking about something so deeply that it is reflected in our speech and even mumbling. Variations of the word describe the Israelites’ grumbling against Moses during the wandering in the wilderness. There is a deep association between what is in our thoughts and what we say which Jesus pointed out to some pharisees. Jesus said to them, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34)

Considering these passages, I urge you to think about these questions:

What are you doing that keeps God and his commands at the forefront of your thoughts and speech?
What in your life interferes with God and His commands taking priority in your thoughts and actions?
What can you do about it?
Does the Shema have more meaning for you now?

My hope for you with this post is that you will turn to the Scriptures to learn more of God and to grow closer to Him.

Your brother in Christ, Jim Brandt

08/15/2023

HOW DO YOU DRESS FOR THE DAY? PART 2

Have you ever seen a model (or even a mannequin) wearing something that you’d want to wear? I expect most of us have. Have you tried wearing it and discover that it just doesn’t look good on you? An image was portrayed that you wish that you could match. Dieting or becoming more fit is often attempted to attain that image, but those efforts often fail. Do you feel that way about your relationship with God? That the measurements that He uses are like those of a model that you just can’t attain?

Yes, God’s standards are high. Regarding humility 1 Pe 5:5 tells us, “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” We are told, “Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus:” in Ph 2:5, right before expounding upon the humility Jesus displayed in His taking human form and subjecting Himself to even death on the cross. How can we uphold even just that!?

Yet we are given the responsibility to act according to those high standards. Romans 13:13-14 is the entreaty, “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in or**es and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” So, in this passage, we see that clothing ourselves with Christ includes decent behavior and denying the sinful nature. Colossians 3:9,10 adds that our new self is to take on the image of our Creator. It says, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

Galatians 3:27 says, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ”, giving us the picture that being clothed with Christ is, at least partially, already done. Then, there’s Ephesians 4:22-24 which tells us, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds: and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” This, like some other passages, show us that it’s an ongoing process to clothe ourselves with Christ. It also shows us that our hope to be like God in righteousness and holiness is ultimately realistic. It is the design of God that our new selves be righteous and holy like Himself!

In your efforts to be like Christ, are you depending upon God, or your own strength? Have you given up trying because you’ve failed so much in the past? If you are a believer in Christ then you were included in what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Be encouraged by Philippians 1:6 where Paul says, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” And remember 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” God enables us to be clothed with Christ through the resources He’s provided us, including His Word, His Holy Spirit and His people.

I encourage you to consider how you can clothe yourself in Christ each day.

Your brother in Christ, Jim Brandt

08/03/2023

HOW DO YOU DRESS FOR THE DAY? PART 1

What kind of statement do you make by how you clothe yourself? Are you saying that you are ready for work? Are you declaring yourself to be a representative of the law enforcement community, the military, or some other service? When you dress for the day is it clear that you are a nurse or something else? Does it show that you are fashion conscious or that fashion doesn’t concern you? Do you give a lot of thought to, or are you relaxed about how you dress for the day?

When you are preparing for the day, do you spend as much time clothing yourself spiritually as you do physically?

Colossians chapter 3 has quite a lot of things to say about how we should live spiritually that I can only highlight in this format. I recommend reading the entire passage of Colossians 3:1-17. The chapter begins saying, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (verses 1,2) In verse 5 we are told, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” The list of sins to set aside continues with verse 8, “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”

At this point Paul’s instructions to the Colossian believers take on more of the imagery of changing clothes. In verses 9, 10 he says, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Then, in verses 12-14, he tells us, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

So, spiritually speaking, how are you dressed today? Will you take more time tomorrow to clothe yourself as you should? Most of us would probably be serving Christ more effectively if we were to take the time at the beginning of our day to clothe ourselves in Godly virtues, proactively, rather than depending on our knee jerk responses later in the day. I know that it’s something that I need to do. Let’s be committed in this beginning today.

Your brother in Christ, Jim Brandt

07/27/2023

DISTRACTIONS AND FOCUS

Earlier this week I attended a business training meeting and was reminded of an important spiritual principle. In our walk with Christ, just like in business, we must avoid distractions, focus on what matters and take appropriate actions.

In 2nd Timothy 2:3,4, Paul said to Timothy, “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer.” The soldier is not to become distracted from his duties.

What kinds of distractions do we face as Christians? There are certainly temptations to sin, but not everything is so obvious. Paul brought up some other possible distractions to Timothy. In 2nd Timothy 2, he included “quarreling about words” (14), “godless chatter” (16), and “foolish and stupid arguments” (23). Jesus, in his Parable of the Sower, included worries of this world. “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22)

So, if we are to avoid distractions, how do we avoid being distracted? The writer of Hebrews gives us good direction. In Hebrews 12:1-3 we are encouraged:

“… let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

And in Hebrews 3:1 we are told, “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.”

So, we can clearly see that we need to be focusing on Jesus if we want to be living as what God has intended for us to be. Remember, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10)

In conclusion, Brothers, and Sisters in the Lord, let’s learn to avoid worthless distractions and focus on Christ instead. And let’s take a cue from James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

Your brother in Christ, Jim Brandt

07/13/2023

HUMILITY AND GOD’S WILL: MEMBERS OF ONE BODY

We discussed Romans 12:1,2 in my last post. Recall that in that passage was encouragement for the believer to live life as a living sacrifice to God. It included the commands to no longer conform to the world and to be transformed such that God’s will may be approved or discerned. These call for a demonstration of humility, the subjection of oneself to God’s authority. Romans 12:3-8 continues that call adding the role it plays in the relationships between believers in Christ.


Paul writes in Romans 12:3-8:
“(3) For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. (4) Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, (5) so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (6) We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. (7) If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; (8) if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

Paul sets the perspective that we should have in the first phrase of this passage, “For by the grace given me I say…” We need to always remember God’s grace in our lives, and in verse 6 we are specifically reminded, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us….” Whatever spiritual gift that God has given us was given according to His grace, not our merit. Our passion, our dedication, our humility, our skills, and our intelligence did not convince God to give us the spiritual gifts He’s given us. Paul also wrote to the Corinthian church regarding spiritual gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12:11 he says, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”

In both Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, Paul compares the physical body with its many parts, with believers comprising the body of Christ. In the terminology of that comparison, we find the question of why God gives different spiritual gifts to different people addressed. 1 Corinthians 12:18-20 says, “But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” 1 Corinthians 12:7 puts it more simply, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”

Allow me to conclude with a reminder for all of us, from Romans 12:3, “…Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

Your Brother in Christ, Jim Brandt

Encouragement and discussion of living a spiritually fruitful life for believers in Christ.

07/08/2023

HUMILITY AND GOD’S WILL: BEING MADE NEW CREATIONS

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ “(Jn 14:6) Coming to the Father produces great change. Jesus described this to Nicodemus with the phrase, “born again”. (John 3:3,7) In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul described this saying, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Paul also wrote, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). So, as believers in Christ we are “born again”, made “new creations”, and are God’s “workmanship”. And this is not because of our own merits, but because of God’s mercy and grace expressed by Jesus’ saving work on the cross.

Unfortunately, even as believers in Christ, we still contend with the memories and habits of sin from our old life. We should give careful thought regarding what we think of ourselves because of what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Consider what has changed about us that God should view us so differently! We were washed of our sins, justified, and sanctified! For what has God done these things for us? Among the most important things are serving and worshiping Him. Paul wrote, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Ro 12:1)

How can we do this? We can begin by recognizing that our hearts and our very thoughts need to become subject to and aligned with the will of God. Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Let’s focus on the phrase “be transformed” in Romans 12:2. According to The Letter to the Romans from Paul the Missionary: An Outline, Exposition and Commentary On the Book of Romans, Using the Literal New Testament, by Peter Jansen (pgs 166-167), in the Greek, “be transformed” is in the imperative mode. This means that it is a command, just as “Do not conform… (earlier in the verse) is a command. However, “Do not conform…” has an active voice, (meaning the person does it), while “be transformed” is in a passive voice, (meaning it happens to the person). Therefore, “be transformed” is a command for the transformation to happen to the person!

Most Bible translations I’ve been able to find say “be transformed”, (with slight variation) but a few translations attribute the action to being that of God. For example, The New Living Translation says, “let God transform you…”, the Contemporary English Version says, “let God change the way you think…”, and the Good News Translation says, “let God transform you…”. I found only one translation, the GOD’S WORD Translation, which renders it with the person being the actor, translating it as, “change the way you think”.

So, God makes us new creations and He continues working in our lives by transforming us according to His purposes. However, according to many Biblical passages, we have the responsibility to study the Scriptures and to listen to Biblical teachings. One of my favorite verses regarding this is John 14:26 which quotes Jesus saying, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26) I am always drawn to the thought that to be reminded of something means that it had to have been learned in the first place!

With that in mind, let’s accept the responsibility of hearing and heeding God’s Word. Let’s confidently look forward to and pray for God’s performing the transformational work in us that only He can do. Let’s not “kick against the goads” as Jesus told Saul that he was doing! (Acts 26:14)

Your Brother in Christ, Jim Brandt

06/22/2023

HUMILITY AND GOD’S WILL: JESUS’ EXAMPLE

Let’s face it: A major obstacle to God’s will being fulfilled in our lives is our own will, our self-centeredness and pride. Anyone who says that their will isn’t an obstacle to God’s will is practicing self-delusion. Even Jesus struggled in fulfilling God’s will! Our natural will, however, can be overcome. In fact, however, it must be overcome on an ongoing basis. To overcome our selfish will and replace it with a will that aligns with God’s we need humility.

Although Jesus never sinned, even He suffered in the struggle to submit His own will to His Father’s will. Luke 22:41-44, Mark 14:35-39, and Matthew 26:39-44 each record Jesus suffering in prayer over the imminent betrayal and coming crucifixion He was to face. Jesus prayed passionately that He would not have to endure it. But each time that He asked that it not be required of Him, He subjected Himself to God’s will. God’s will was preeminent to Jesus, and should be for us as well.

How can we subject our wills to that of God? Exercising humility is what Jesus did, and we are told to follow Jesus’ lead in Philippians 2:5-11:

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

How can we demonstrate this attitude? One way is taking a cue from the verses that immediately precede what we just read. Philippians 2:3,4 tell us, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.”

My hope this week is that we will seek God’s revelation of where we are holding onto our wills rather than submitting to Him. Pray with me that He will give our spirits new and strengthened resolve and power to submit to His will, remembering that “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

Your Brother in Christ, Jim Brandt

06/20/2023

KNOWING GOD’S WILL AND THE BIBLE

The verse that I consider is at the heart of my page is Ephesians 2:10. It says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

All of us should want to fulfill God’s desired purpose in our lives, which includes doing the good He’s prepared for us to do. There is a problem, however. We often wonder what that good we are supposed to do is! We may complain that God hasn’t revealed it, and it’s true that God doesn’t always reveal what we might want Him to reveal to us. Sometimes He doesn’t reveal things to us because we’re simply not ready for them. Sometimes it’s because it’s just not the right time for us to know. But sometimes, maybe most of the time, the problem is that we’re just not paying attention to Him. God can be trusted to let us know what we need to know, when we need to know it. To know what God wants of us we need to pay attention to God, His Word, and His Spirit.

2 Timothy 3:16,17 tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We all need God’s Word and its counsel to fulfill God’s purposes. Reading it, meditating on it and praying over it, are good practices if you want to know God’s will in your life.

But does studying God’s Word mean that we will know God’s will? Not necessarily! Jesus faced a lot of abuse during His earthly ministry, especially from the Jewish leadership who had memorized vast portions of the Scriptures. They understood and knew them in detail. But, with little exception, that leadership was spoken of very critically by Jesus. John 8:44 records Jesus saying to them, “You belong to your father, the devil…” In just one chapter, Matthew 23, Jesus calls them “hypocrites” 6 times (verses 13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29), “blind guides” (vs 16, 24), “blind fools” (vs 17), “blind men” (vs 19), “blind Pharisee” (vs 26). He said they were “like whitewashed tombs” (vs 27), and addressed them, “You snakes! You brood of vipers!” (vs 33). Clearly their spiritual standing with God was not helped by their “knowledge” of the Scripture.

What they were missing was a relationship with God. When they asked Jesus to answer if He was the Christ, “Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.’” (Jn 10:25-27) The difference between those men and us is that, as believers, we are God’s sheep!

James tells believers, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22) This short verse acts as both a warning and a command. The warning is that listening to or reading the Bible without letting it make an impact or bear fruit is a practice in self-deception. The command is for us to do what it says. God’s Word is meant to be acted upon!

James continued the thought saying, “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.” (Ja 1:23-25)

I think that if we want to know and follow God’s will for our lives, we’ve got to do something that we may find very hard to do. We need to evaluate ourselves in light of the Scriptures. Ask yourself, “What do I already know of God’s will that I’m ignoring?” and “What part of my life am I not subjecting to God’s authority?” Then listen to God’s Word and His Holy Spirit for your answer if you don’t already have it.

A very good place to start is obeying what God has already made known to you. Take James 1:22 seriously, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

Your Brother in Christ, Jim Brandt