From: neilanderson@lists.crosswalk.com
To: jeff.king@enron.com
Date: 2002-01-31 10:00:55+00:00
Subject: Neil Anderson Devotional for Thursday, January 31, 2002

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N E I L   A N D E R S O N   D A I L Y   D E V O T I O N A L
             from Freedom in Christ Ministries

January 31

MODELING GROWTH

Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who
delude themselves (James 1:22).

I am learning about pastors and missionaries across the country
who are preaching against the very sins they are committing
themselves. Nationally known Christian personalities who
vehemently condemn immorality have themselves been found to be
hiding an immoral lifestyle. Those of us who are called to preach
or teach God's Word must put it on first. We must get on our
knees before God as we prepare the message and say, "God, is this
Scripture true in my life?" If not, we had better be honest
enough to say to those who hear us, "I wish I were a better
example of this passage than I am, but I'm still growing in this
area." To proclaim the Word of God as if it were true in your
life when it's not is a lie.

Those of us who receive the Word are also vulnerable to
self-deception if we fail to put it into practice. We hear a
sermon or a lesson and say, "Wow! What a great truth!! and hurry
off to share it with someone else without processing it ourselves
and applying it to our own lives. James said that hearers of the
Word who are not also doers of the Word deceive themselves.

Why are we afraid to admit it when our lives don't completely
match up to Scripture? I believe it's because many of us have a
perfection complex. We think we have to model perfection and not
admit to something less. But we can't model perfection, because
we're not perfect; we can only model growth. The people around us
need to know that we are real people in the process of maturing.
They need to see how we handle failure as well as how we handle
success. When we model this kind of honesty in the Christian
community, we greatly reduce the possibility of the deceiver
gaining a foothold.

Lord, forgive me for the times I have placed the quest for
earthly perfection ahead of growth in You and Your Word. Help me
model growth in my life today.


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