As I write this devotion, I am almost finished with preparations for the Sawdust & Sandals trip to New Jersey this week (see our blog), I finished two days with four members of our congregation at the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Synod Assembly, and I am preparing to lead worship on Sunday and meet with our Sunday School teachers.

In churches, we do a lot of “hearing” – we listen to Sunday School teachers, we listen to the Scriptures, we listen to sermons, and we listen to reports and resolutions at Synod Assembly. Hearing certainly is not a bad thing, but, what would happen if all we did was talk and listen and didn’t ever do?

For this week’s devotion, I was led specifically to James 1:22 – “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” Notice the word “merely.” This verse does not say to be only hearers or only doers, but both hearers and doers. Let your mind wander and explore what hearing and doing as disciples of Jesus Christ might look like for you and for our congregation.

This Week

This week, I broke James 1 down into sections. If you’d like to read it all together, that’s fine, but just read it multiple times over several days.

• Monday: James 1:2-11
  • How do you receive this section?
  • The parts about “doubters” sounds pretty heavy. Hear beyond the judgement; instead, what is the effect of doubting?
  • What does verse 5 say about the nature and disposition of God?
• Tuesday: James 1:12-18
  • If you read this and your mind is overwhelmed by what all of this means … it’s ok … there’s a lot here.
  • The word “deceived” is introduced. In addition to “deceived”, it can mean wandering or straying from the truth.
  • What does James say is the source of temptation?
  • What does James say is God disposition?
• Wednesday: James 1:19-21
  • Just read and pray this one!
  • Everyone gets upset and even angry from time-to-time. What is James’ advice about anger?
  • When we get angry, we tend to want to talk more in order to convince someone else of our own position. The guidance from verse 19 is very difficult. Are there times when you find yourself getting angry? Can you use these verses in those situations?
• Thursday: James 1:22-25 –
  • As a hearer: What and who do you listen to? Who do you not listen to? Are there times that you listen to someone, but don’t really hear them?
  • As a doer: How do you feel about your “doing” specifically as it is related to your faith? Do you feel God tugging at you to do something? How are you reacting to God’s tugging – are you doing or resisting? Do you ever feel that you’re heavily invested in the “doing” but it would have been better if you did a little more “hearing”?
• Friday: James 1:26-27
  • How does James define “religion”?
  • Is it difficult to listen to what James is saying in this and the previous sections? What is your gut reaction – do you accept it or feel like you want to rationalize and chalk his comments up to words written a long time ago that really don’t pertain to us?
• Saturday: James 1:2-27
  • Read the whole passage as one unit. Do you see or hear anything that God may be trying to communicate with you?

The graphic below was shared by Pastor Dave Sonnenberg at the Synod Assembly in his discussion about stewardship and discipleship. As disciples, we are generous … generous with our time, talent, treasure … generous with giving of ourselves in conversation (listening and speaking) … and generous in doing.