Today, we know more about the Bible than at any other time in our human history. And yet where has this knowledge brought us? We have an abundance of information and a glaring lack of transformation. I fear in many ways and on many fronts intellect and talent have been substituted for God’s Word and the guidance of His Holy Spirit. I want more. What I sense in my spirit is an outpouring and harvest without rival. It is time for God’s Word to be lived out with unhindered, brash boldness.
God gave us His Word to direct our lives. The people we read about in Scripture didn’t have the tool sets we have that sometimes sit on a shelf and collect dust. My eye caught a glimpse of the five translations of Scripture on my bookshelf when the reality of this verse hit me:
“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and remaining wickedness and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man viewing his natural face in a mirror. He views himself, and goes his way, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in his deeds” (James 1:21-25).
It’s one thing to hear the Word. If we aren’t using our tools to apply the Word to our lives, we end up coming to this place where we are forgetful and don’t know who we are called to be. We forget what we’ve been redeemed from. When we have the Word implanted in our souls, we become more like Jesus.
Most Christians glance at Scripture. They don’t take it apart, unpack it and put it back together in their lives. When we are a people who know how to practically live out what the Word of God says, using Jesus as our example, then we are doers and not hearers only. We exemplify the Christ-transformed life and our souls come into line with the regeneration of our spirits when we receive with meekness the implanted Word.
Meekness means controlled strength, power under virtue and the ability to be teachable. Two of the best examples of meekness in the Bible were Moses and Jesus. They were passionate, strong and on fire, and they followed conviction and were consumed with a zeal for God’s house.
A lot of times, meekness is used to control women. But meekness is not weakness. It is strength under the control of virtue. As women, we cannot wait to be led into the Word by our husbands. It is not a husband’s job to instruct his wife. It is our own responsibility to have communication with God and to feed ourselves spiritually so we may walk in brash boldness.
Let’s be cisterns of life that are reinforced with God’s Word and renewed with the refreshing fountains of the Spirit. That’s where God’s great reward—a life and a promise without rival—can be found.{eoa}
Lisa Bevere is an international speaker, best-selling author, and co-founder of Messenger International. In her transparent style, Lisa shares God’s Word woven with personal experiences to empower lives with freedom and transformation. Her heart breaks over social injustice. As an advocate for change, she rallies others to be an answer to desperate problems near and far. Lisa begins her days with mochas and ends them laughing around the dinner table. Lisa lives in Colorado Springs with the love of her life, author and speaker John Bevere, and their family.
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