"Verse of the Day"

Verse of the Day 7/17

James 1:21 Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil,[a] humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you.  Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

The other day we considered the importance of having God’s Word as a lamp to our feet (right now, right here) and a light to our path (for every step, every day forward).  Today’s verse came up as a verse of the day from Bible Gateway the next day and what stood out to me was the “implanted word”.  As we take in, study and memorize God’s Word it is there for a lamp and a light, we carry it with us and we don’t have to worry about losing it.  It is as if it we had the light planted in us to be used any time that we need it.

The other thing that we can readily acknowledge in our society that there is plenty of moral filth and evil in the world around us, in our environment day by day.  Lest we think too highly of ourselves we need to admit that there is plenty that can be cleaned up and tossed out in our lives.  

The more that we take in of His Word and the more that we apply it in our lives, the strength and impact of this implanted light will grow day by day by the grace of God.

Thinking about this and the words “planted” and “implanted” brought me to the Steve Green song, “God Causes All Things to Grow”.  He will guard the life that He’s planted in our lives with His implanted Word.

You know where I've failed
My weakness has been unveiled
And yet by grace you choose to love and to forgive
So come what may our home is here to stay
A witness to the lasting promise He has made

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

Blessings,

Mike

James 1:21-27 New King James Version (NKJV)

Doers—Not Hearers Only

21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and [a]overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 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; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 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.

26 If anyone [b]among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 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.