Attending Means More

 

 

“My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart.” (Proverbs 4:20-21)

 

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)

 

My children, listen to my words of wisdom and live them out. Make them part of who you are by thinking about and meditating on them. In this way, these wise godly ways of life will become yours in what you watch, say, think, and do. Remember most of all to guard your heart, for from what flows out of it in action and word shows if you are living according to God and His wisdom, about which I taught you. [paraphrase]

 

Attending to someone’s words is more than acknowledging him speaking, more than hearing him speak, and more than listening to what he says. Attending is listening, meditating on, understanding, and then acting upon what is taught. Inaction to what is taught is action. It’s refusal to believe and obey the person’s wisdom and teaching. 

 

Keeping a person’s words in one’s heart is part of attending. It’s a pondering on it, guarding that lesson as important, and acting upon it. Keeping a person’s words changes one’s life. In this passage, the person speaking was Solomon, the one to whom God granted wisdom as his gift. Keeping Solomon’s teachings—his words—can be considered equal to keeping God’s words because wisdom comes from God. 

 

Keeping God’s words is guarding them in your heart so that lies cannot change your mind, heart, and actions. Keeping God’s words protects you from evil. They remind you of what is good (from God) and what is evil. They protect your mind and the people you teach and help. They protect your heart so that your spirit is not confused and put into chaos. God’s words keep you connected to Him through His Spirit living in you, a believer in Christ. 

 

How can you hear, listen, and know God’s words, His wisdom? By reading, studying, and meditating on what you read in the Bible every day. By listening to Bible-based preaching and teaching. By praying and fellowshipping with other believers. 

 

Are you attending to and keeping God’s words? In what way are you slacking off in your relationship with Him—praying, reading and studying His word, worshipping Him, listening to Bible-based preaching and teaching? It’s never too late to return to God and to hear, listen to, keep, and do what He says. Right now, take the time to pray to God and return to Him.

Do the Right Thing: A James 4:17 Devotional

James compiled his teachings to Christians into one singular lesson. He said in verse seventeen, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” When a person is a Christian, he/she belongs to God’s family and knows right from wrong because of Jesus’ Spirit indwelling the person. People can comprehend the heart of God. No believer can say he or she did not know the right thing to do. The Holy Spirit teaches of righteousness and convicts of sin. James said if a person recognized he/she was supposed to do something, but did not do it, omitting or choosing not to do what is right makes him/her a sinner. Whoa, intentionally not doing something right is a sin! Intentionally choosing to do something wrong is a sin, too.

Christians cannot say they did not understand. The Holy Spirit will tell believers what is right and wrong to do, say, and think. Luke spoke about this in Luke 12:47. The person who chooses not to do what God says is right, God will judge. Jesus similarly told the Pharisees in John 9:41. Peter took this idea further in 2 Peter 2:20-21.

Since we understand James’ meaning in verse seventeen, how is it a compilation of his earlier teachings? Consider his teachings.

·        Do not show favoritism to the rich hoping to gain influence and help from them in the future. God provides for each person what he or she needs when she needs it. You have an inheritance in the kingdom of God. Love your neighbors as your self. Show your love of God in your obedience to His laws. Do the right thing. (Ch. 2)

·       Show God’s love even to the poorest person by giving food, clothes, shelter, and daily needs. In this, you show your faith by your works and fulfill the second greatest commandment. Faith without works is useless (2:20). Do the right thing. (Ch. 2)

·       Guard your tongues. Blessings and curses cannot come from the same mouth. Ask for God’s wisdom. Allow the Holy Spirit to help bridle your mouth, which bridles your whole body thereby showing the new creation your relationship with God through Jesus Christ effected. Teachers have a greater accountability and stricter judgment from God. Do the right thing. (Ch. 3)

·       Ask for God’s wisdom to guide you so jealousy and selfish ambition do not lead you astray to arrogance and lying against the Truth. Seek wisdom and produce the fruits from above. Do the right thing. (Ch. 3)

·       Do not envy another person. Envy leads to quarrels and fights. It makes a person an adulterer, hostile to God. God gives the greater grace – the better blessing(s) – salvation and eternal life. James gave six things for each believer to return to God.

ü  Submit to God

ü  Resist the devil

ü  Draw near to God

ü  Cleanse your hands

ü  Purify your hearts

ü  Humble yourselves before God.

                        When a believer does these things to return to the Lord, God will draw near

                         the person and exalt him/her. Do the right thing. (Ch. 4)

·       Do not slander and judge another person. By doing so you judge God. You are not greater than God, so you cannot judge another person. Do the right thing. (Ch. 4)

·       Consult God when planning your future – in business and everyday life. You do not know the future and cannot plan without God’s guidance, recognizing He holds the future, provides the profit, and gives everything you need. Do the right thing. (Ch. 4)

Each lesson James taught to the Jerusalem Christians in his epistle dealt with the whole person – heart, head, mouth, and body. He taught how to speak and act as Christians in this world. James taught Christians to be “doers of the word and not hearers only.” That means embodying the love of God in their daily lives. Christians understand what they are to do because of the indwelling Holy Spirit and Christian teaching. They sin if they did not do what is right and just. Christians cannot say they do not want to get involved. As Christians who understand the right thing to do, they must do the right thing in situations encountered in daily life.

Be “doers” of the word, not “omit-ers.”

Taming the Tongue: A James 3:8-10 Devotional

8 “But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.” (James 3:8-10 [NASB])

James included in chapter one teachings about the tongue. He taught disciples to bridle their tongues or else they would have deceived hearts and that would prove their religion worthless (1:26). Before that, in verse nineteen, James taught the people they must be slow to speak. In both these instances, he taught Christians to control their mouths because the words people speak reflect their hearts and who they really are.

For James, bridling one’s tongue is an action and James taught continually about faith and actions going together. Jesus taught this, too, when He said it is not what goes into a person that makes him or her defiled, but what comes out of his or her mouth defiles them (Matthew 15:11). Each of these men understood what is in a person’s heart and mind is reflected in what a person does and says. Because of this, James taught that faith without works is dead because a true faith would show a new person indwelled by the Holy Spirit who did the actions God led him or her to do. Without the changed heart, evil would continue to dwell in the person’s heart and mind and at times would be evident in the person’s words and actions. For this reason, James taught a Christian could be noted by his or her actions and words that reflected his or her faith in Jesus Christ.

When James spoke in James 3:8-10, he emphasized that no one could tame the tongue. He spoke truth. Without the power of the implanted Holy Spirit in our hearts as Christians, we would continue to periodically speak or do things that were not righteous, but evil. Our emotions, heart, and mind would still be led by the whim of Satan as we battled him in our own strength. At one moment, our mouths could pour forth beauty upon a person for their accomplishments or offer encouragement, solace and hope to someone who needs sympathy and at other times, it could speak profanities and swear about God. A person who speaks both good and bad words is not under the power of God. No human strength is great enough to defeat Satan’s in our lives because we are sinful and unrighteous. God is stronger than Satan and offers His strength and power to Christians to combat the power of sin, the temptations Satan hurls at believers.

Blessings and curses should not come out of the mouths of Christians. Bridling the tongue shows ones faith. It is an action. The power to control one’s tongue comes from the power of the Holy Spirit in that person’s life. The Holy Spirit has the power to change the heart and mind of the person. By accepting and using the power the Holy Spirit gives, a person can bridle his or her tongue. In that way, the person is acting out his or her faith and growing more Christlike. With each step of walking in the power of the Spirit, a believer grows stronger in his or her faith and is able to thwart more of Satan’s attempts to trip up and deceive him or her.

Bridling the tongue requires a changed heart, a heart given to God through faith in Jesus Christ. It also requires the Christian to enact the power the Holy Spirit gives him or her to hold one’s tongue and words in check so that only holy and loving words are spoken. Faith requires mental assent and action and results in righteousness, love, and peace. Only God can do this for people, for without Him humans are sinful and prone to fall to the temptations Satan puts in their ways.

Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Have you allowed the Holy Spirit He implanted in you to give you power and strength to combat Satan and temptation? Have you acted upon the power of the Spirit to live your daily life? If you have, then you will see fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, meekness, and self-control.

I urge you today to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

I urge you to walk with the strength and power of the Holy Spirit acting with His power to bridle your tongue so God’s goodness and His glory are made known.