Recently our young adults group ‘Connected’ finished the full Beatitudes series. It was awesome, each Beatitude was taught by two (& in the very last case three) people from the group. It made for very lively inputs and interactions.
Meanwhile I’ve been reading the Gospel of Matthew as part of my personal Bible reading & when I reached chapter 5 I was so happy thinking back on all the good teachings we were privy to listen to.
Last night I read chapter 7 where Jesus gives us the analogy of the wise man who builds his house upon the rock and the foolish one who builds on the sand.
Do you know what the actual difference between the two are? What actually differentiates the wise man and the foolish man? Let’s look at the verses again:
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”.
Matthew 7:24-28, NKJV
The difference is the DOING. Both men LISTENED to the Word of God. But only one of them DID what they were told to do. Wow.
James in his letter (Chapter 1:22) says a similar thing: “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers” and he adds an important line “who deceive themselves.” If we only listen and don’t do what we’re taught, we are only deceiving ourselves.
We all LISTEN to great teachings. Some of us every Sunday in church, some of us more often. But do we put it to PRACTICE? Do we act on them, do we DO what we’ve heard?
I listened to the Beatitudes series last. What’s the last teaching/s you’ve listened to? Have we ACTED on them? If not, we’re deceiving ourselves.
This year 2022, I pray we all have a year full of listening to great teachings AND DOING what we’re taught in the Word of God to do. Only then we’ll be building our homes on Rock.
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Post 1/52*
I’m doing 52 posts this year 2022: reflections/testimonies/book reviews/whatever God leads. Hopefully you’ll be blessed by something I share! X
Wow! What a way to start 2022! What you have said Mello, is so right. Some of us are so caught up in listening to talks and series, but don’t apply to our daily lives. At the end of the day, it only becomes head knowledge. Thank you for sharing and shall try to incorporate it in my daily life.
Yay thanks Mikhail! Firstly I’m glad someone, anyone is reading! And amen, may we all strive to not accumulate head knowledge but to be doers of God’s Word.
Beautifully written, Melody. Spot on! It is easy for us to preach the Word of God, but to be doers of the Word, is the challenge. Do I practice what I preach? Thanks for sharing and would love to intake and practice this in 2022. May we all be doers of the Word of God in 2022 and in the years to come.
Amen amen 🙂
Doing is important in all aspects, be it wanting to lose weight or even when it comes to our spiritual life. Thank you for sharing Melo. Great insights.
That’s a great analogy too! Especially at this new year time of resolutions! All my watching vids or reading up on exercise & diets is of no use if I don’t actually exercise or eat right!