I was reading my Bible the other day and asked myself: “Am I really doing what I’m reading?,” “Am I really living as a Christian ought live?,” “Am I just filling my head with more knowledge, knowledge, knowledge, when I know darn well that I’m still not doing my best to live up to the knowledge I already have?”

A.W. Tozer (1897 - 1963), still revered after all these years as a non-compromising believer, said, “The Spirit-filled walk demands that we live in the Word of God as a fish lives in the sea. By this I do not mean that we study the Bible merely, nor that we take a ‘course’ in Bible doctrine.”

This great man of God, of course, wasn’t downplaying Bible study per se, but discouraging an overemphasis on intellectual “study” and an ungodly obsession with “doctrine” at the expense of life application and the manifestation of personal growth through being a doer of God’s Word. As he also said, “Unused truth becomes as useless as an unused muscle.”

Such a sentiment is beautifully confirmed in scripture by James, who declared: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). How can this be done? To be honest, obedience to this passage can take innumerable forms, but every act of obedience will likely fall into at least one of these categories:

1. Loving God & Loving Your Neighbor (Matt. 22:37-39; 1 Pet. 1:22)

2. Caring for Others (James 1:27)

3. Sharing the Gospel (2 Tim. 2:4; Rom. 10:15)

4. Making Disciples (Matt. 28:19)

5. Living in Truth (1 Cor. 13:6; Eph. 4:15; 1 John 3:18; 2 John 1:1)

If we could just live out these aspects of our existence with as much energy and focus used in other areas of our daily journey toward heaven, then the world would be a much better place not only for us, but most definitely, for everyone around us. That’s what I’m going to chase after over the course of these next two weeks -- being a doer of the Word and not just a hearer only. How about you? It could be terrifically exciting!

peace in him,

RICHARD ABANES