DCLM HIGHER EVERYDAY 16 September 2022 — God’s word as mirror
DCLM Higher Everyday 16 September 2022 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi —God’s word as mirror
TOPIC: GOD’S WORD AS MIRROR
BIBLE TEXT: JAMES 1:21-27
22But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
26If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
27Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
MEMORY VERSE: “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass” (JAMES 1:23).
MESSAGE:
In summarizing Soren Kierkegaard’s perception, Steve Evans explains that, “The fundamental purpose of God’s Word is to give us true self-knowledge; it is a real mirror, and when we look at ourselves properly in it, we see ourselves as God wants us to see ourselves.” We use mirrors to assess ourselves every morning and make necessary adjustment to our appearance. While the mirror reflects us on the outside, God’s Word reflects us on the inside.
Also Read: DCLM Sincere Milk 15 September 2022 —God’s word as light
When we read or listen to God’s Word, we should check ourselves if there are sins to confess, examples to follow, instructions to obey, promises to claim, blunders to avoid or habits to change. Then we allow God to realign our hearts with His. You see, the Word of God is a mirror that the Holy Spirit uses to allow us to see ourselves as we really are. This view is how God sees us.
Mirroring your life with God’s Word comes with great blessings such as freedom from sin, Satan and his afflictions. Hearing God’s Word and rejecting it leads to self-deception and eternal doom.
QUOTE: God’s Word reflects us on the inside.
CHALLENGE: Go beyond hearing the Word, practice it!
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, show me how to look more like you.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
