Friday, 31 May 2013

Do Good

Do Good

Today's Scripture:
Even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Acts 10:38, ASV.

Today's Word:
The first thing Jesus did before healing, before ministering, before delivering is that He was good to people. Think about that for a moment. We all have an assignment. You could say that we all have a ministry. It may not be up in front of people. It may not be to go overseas and be a missionary. Our ministry starts by being good to people.

When goodness flows out of our hearts, it catches people’s attention. It causes them to want to know more about what we have. We can say all day long, “I love you,” but true love is seen in what we do. If I really love you, I’ll be good to you. I’ll prefer you. God said to Abraham, “I will bless you and you will be a blessing.” One key to being blessed is: are you willing to be a blessing? Are you willing to do good?

Prayer for Today:
Father, today I ask that You empower me to do good. Help me to love others. Use me to be a blessing and be a testimony of Your goodness so that others may come to know You in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

***
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do.” (James 1:22-25 NIV)
James calls God’s Word a mirror. The mirror helps us evaluate ourselves. Once you look at a mirror, you can decide if you need to make any changes before you leave for the day. The Bible helps us do that, too.
You can look at the Bible in one of two ways. You can glance at the mirror, or you can gaze into it. On the old TV show “Happy Days,” the Fonz would glance at the mirror. He’d walk past the mirror, stop, look into it, and say, “Hey!” He didn’t have to do anything else. He was pure perfection. He just needed a glance.
That’s not the way you look into God’s Word. You don’t just glance at the Word of God in a rushed, hurried manner and then leave. Glancing at God’s Word won’t change your life. 
Do you want a life that God blesses? It all starts with gazing into God’s Word. James 1:22-25 gives you the blueprint for how to study God’s Word in a way that he blesses.
  • Read your Bible. “... whoever looks intently ...”
  • Review the Bible. “... and continues in it ...”
  • Remember the Bible. “... not forgetting what they have heard ...”
  • Respond to the Bible. “... but doing it ...”
Talk It Over
  • How do you “continue in it” after gazing into God’s Word?
  • Does the current amount of time you set apart for your quiet time leave you enough time to read, review, remember, and respond to God’s Word?

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