Listen, Receive, and Do God's Word

In FUEL last night we studied James 1:19-25 which is about listening, receiving, and doing God's Word. We have to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger when it comes to listening to God's Word. We often hear God's Word but don't often "hear" it. We have too much other junk in our lives that interferes with our listening to His Holy Word. We are commanded to receive God's Word upon listening to it. But often we are consumed with moral filth and evil that take up our heart and mind. But we must remove all that filth from our lives so that we can grow spiritually and take in more of God's Word. The process of spiritual growth begins at the salvation experience and then the sanctification process of removing the bad and filling it with the goodness of God. Once we listen and receive God's Word, we then must do God's Word. The doing is the part we all struggle with because we often "forget" what we have just heard or learned just like "a man who forgets what he looks like just after looking in the mirror"(v. 22-23). We need to remove the nastiness in our lives and replace it with the joy and greatness of Jesus Christ. Don't be angry and grumpy, but be joyful because of your Savior!