Are You A Daily Bible Reader AND Doer?
Spiritual Questions with Scriptural Answers.
It is a great practice to read the Bible every day. The Bible is the Word of God and is our all-sufficient guide (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:3).
While our bodies need physical food to survive, our souls need the spiritual food that God provides if we want to be “fed” and “nourished” (Matt. 4:4).
I want to encourage you to read through the Bible this year. I know it can seem like a daunting task, but it is so rewarding! It requires a great desire and great discipline, but it will benefit and bless your life.
Again, it is extremely important to read the Word of God and be a “daily Bible reader,” but in this article, we want to ask a very pointed question: “Are you a daily Bible doer?”
You see, information without application does not lead to transformation; however, when you hear the Word of God, believe it, and do what He says to do, it will change your life and can help positively impact others!
The Importance of Reading and Doing.
James, in writing to Christians, gives some very practical yet important information regarding daily Christian living. The Book of James has been called the “Proverbs of the New Testament” because of its practicality.
One reading plan that I have practiced over the years is to read the Book of Proverbs every month (thirty-one chapters; read one chapter a day) and to read the Book of James once a week (five chapters; read one chapter Monday through Friday).
This will supply your daily dose of Heavenly wisdom that is so needed to navigate through this life!
James emphasizes the importance of not only knowing the will of God, but doing what God says to do:
“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (Jas. 1:21-27).
From this inspired text, we learn that we need to be daily Bible readers AND doers! How do we accomplish this goal?
Prepare Your Heart.
First, you must prepare your heart and have a willingness to know the will of God and to do it.
James says to “lay aside” what may hinder you from pursuing God so that you can “receive” with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls (vs. 21; cf. Psa. 19:7).
There is a great Old Testament example of this which can greatly encourage us today (Rom. 15:4). The great servant of God, Ezra, prepared his heart to be a “doer”:
“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10).
Notice that he prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, to do what God said to do, and to teach it to others. This is the pattern for us today!
Listen to God.
Second, you must do what God says or you will be deceiving yourself (vs. 22).
The word “deceiving” is a present tense verb meaning it is a continuous action. You will continue to deceive yourself if you know what to do but fail to do it.
Jesus gave an illustration about the “wise man” and the “foolish man” (Matt. 7:24-27). The wise man is the one who both hears and does what Jesus says to do (Matt. 7:24) but the foolish man is the one who hears but does not do it (Matt. 7:26).
James also gives an illustration about a man looking at himself in the mirror but forgetting what he looked like when he walks away. The man who looks into the mirror of God’s Word (the “perfect law of liberty”) and does what it says (being a “doer of the work”) will be “blessed in what he does” (Jas. 1:23-25).
Obey What God Says.
Third and finally, you must put into practice what God says to do (Jas. 1:26-27).
One’s religion (the activity and practice of showing devotion to God) is useless (vain; empty) if he or she does not obey God from the heart.
James says “pure” and “undefiled” religion is this (note the practicality and simplicity): To visit (see to the need) the fatherless and widows AND to keep oneself unspotted from the world (i.e, be “in” the world but not “of” the world — Rom. 12:1-2).
If you do these things, you will be a “doer” and not a hearer only!
May God bless you as you strive to be both a “daily Bible reader” AND a “daily Bible doer” in 2024 and beyond!
Drew Suttles is a minister for the Quitman church of Christ in Quitman, Georgia, and one of my best friends in this world. They live-stream all their Bible classes and sermons on their YouTube channel.
Drew also hosts the “Weathering the Storm” podcast on the Scattered Abroad Network. Drew talks about facing life’s challenges as a child of God. His podcast will be a blessing to your life.
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