Verse of the Day 2/1

Verse of the Day 2/1

James 1:18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. New King James Version (NKJV)

We considered yesterday how important the Word, God's Word is in not drifting away from God and instead having Christ as the anchor of our soul every day of our lives, especially in times of trouble.

The verses below in James 1 have so much for us that they cannot begin to be addressed in a short post, but I'll just list a few. Every perfect give comes from above, dwell on that for a few minutes, EVERY PERFECT GIFT comes from God. Give Him thanks, give Him praise. He never changes, there is "no shadow of turning". When the sun casts a long shadow, the slightest movement will be evident in the shadow, but not in God. That line, "no shadow of turning" always reminds me of the great hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness". Morning by morning new mercies we see. He gave us this life, this new birth in Christ and we are His prized possession.

We don't drift but remain anchored when we stay in God's Word, read such things encourage our souls. Notice also in verse 21 it says that God has planted or as some of the older translation say, we have received the "implanted word". Many may hear God's word but it may come in one ear and go out the other as they say. Some may totally reject it, others take it in but then quickly forget it. But for God's true children, He plants it in us. It takes hold, it does a work in us, it grows in us and produces fruit. Think of the parable of the seeds and the soils.

May God's word do a work in your heart an life today, cause it to grow, to His honor and glory.

God causes all things to grow
Through every season we know
He will guard the life
That He's planted in our souls
And when we feel the cold winds blow
We'll hold to what we know
God causes all things to grow (God Causes All Things to Grow – Steve Greene)

The "all things" repeated here a couple of times bring me back to Romans 8:26-39 where God says "all things work together for good (v.28); how will He not graciously give us "all things", all the things we need? (v.32); in "all these things", our trials and tribulations we are more than conquerors in Him (v.37); and nothing, no heights, depths or anything else can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus . (v.39)

Blessings,

Mike

James 1:17-22 New Living Translation (NLT)
17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.[a] He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.[b] 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.[c]
Listening and Doing
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger[d] does not produce the righteousness[e] God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
22 But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

 

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