July 16th, 16

JULY 16,  What’s been Planted in Your Heart

Isaiah 29-31 and James 1

Here’s a question.  What is the word that God has planted in your heart?  James challenges us to humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts(Jms 1:21 NLT). So I ask you, what is the Word that God has planted in your heart?  James says that it has the power to save your souls. 

So we should be Very clear about what that word is.  The word that has power to change and save our soul is the word of Grace and the words “It is finished”.  In a nutshell, the Word is the Jesus, the Living Word.  That Good News has the power to save your soul, not the law.  Let’s be clear on this.  It’s not our performance, but God’s performance, that will save us.  This is the true Word that has the power to save our soul.  And James is telling us that if we humbly accept this gift of His life,  our souls will indeed have the power to be saved.  His Life does not simply give us a safe passage to heaven but it also transforms us, here and now.  The Gospel has that kind of power.  The Gospel has the power to transform lives.  We fool ourselves if we look into the mirror of God’s Law and walk away thinking that we have the power to live up to its demands.  We are told to carefully look into the perfect law that sets us free. (Jms 1:25)  When you look into the mirror of God’s perfect law, you will see, not what you can do, but what God has done for you, in Christ.  And you’ll be set free.  You’ll be given power.  You will recognize that it is the power of Christ in you that is the perfect Law, that sets you free.   That’s the Truth that empowers you to live a life of self-control, actually controlling your tongue, as James instructs.  It can empower you to live self-less, with genuine love for orphans and widows and the ‘least of these’.  The impossibilities of self-control and self-lessness are now possible because of the perfect law of God, Christ himself, living in you.  

So be careful when you look into the law.  Don’t see yourself.  See Him. That will make all the difference.

You are loved!