Your Daily Devotional for August 18, 2006

 

August 18, 2006

 

We Need a Bath!

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 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: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But 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.”

 

James 1:22-25

 

Once we are saved, we are cleansed and sanctified through Jesus’ blood. Although we are clean, we often sin and get “dirty.” Because of this, there is a need for daily sanctification, maintaining purity in the face of temptation that we face each day.

 

Ladies, have you ever gotten up in the morning and were in such a hurry that you forgot to do your hair or put your make up on? How embarrassing! How many of us have ever gone to the mirror willingly and saw that our hair was messed up and just went on with the day and did nothing about it? We wouldn’t dare! It is the same thing in our Christian life.

 

The end of verse 22 and verse 23 say, “…he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” Friend, if we knew that there was something wrong with our appearance, we would change it! So then why don’t we change our hearts when there is something wrong? Is it not as important because “no one can see it”?

 

Christian, God can see your heart! That is more important than any person seeing your outward appearance! Every day, we need to come to God’s Word and use it as our mirror. We need to take what we read and compare our lives with the truths of the Bible. His Word will show us what is wrong and what we need to change.

 

Once we see what is wrong, we need to change it! It is not enough to just know what is wrong, but we must get rid of the “dirt” in our lives. As Proverbs 4:23 puts it, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” The heart is the most important part of the body! If the heart goes astray, then the rest of our lives will follow it!

 

A young girl was out with some friends late one night when someone suggested they go to a questionable place. She told them that she’d better not go there. One of her friends then said, “Are you afraid your father might hurt you if you go?” She replied, “No, I’m not afraid my father will hurt me. I’m afraid I might hurt my father.”

 

Is there something in your life that is hurting your Father today? Do you have sin you are holding on to that has control of your heart? Why not take a look into the mirror of God’s Word and let Him change you? Take time today to get alone with God and His Word and let Him show you what needs to be cleaned out. Then, clean it out! Take action and do it. Come back into sweet fellowship with Him today.

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