Pursuit of His Presence

Matthew 7:24-29
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Devotional

More Than Mental Assent

by Gloria Copeland

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22
One of the greatest enemies of real faith is what’s called “mental assent.” People who operate in mental assent read the Word and think they believe it. But when pressure comes, they don’t act on it.
Mental assenters say, “I believe the Bible from cover to cover. I believe I’m healed by the stripes of Jesus because the Bible says so.”
But when sickness actually comes and attacks their bodies, they stop saying, “By His stripes I’m healed” and start saying, “I’m sick.”
Real faith believes what the Word says even though eyes and feelings say something different. Faith doesn’t care what the symptoms are. It doesn’t care how the circumstances look. It’s not moved by what the banker says, or the doctor, or the lawyer, or the bill collector.
Faith in God’s Word will change the symptoms. It will change the bank. It will bring the money to get the bills paid. Faith will turn every defeat into victory. It is God’s success formula!
But you have to give that faith an opportunity to work. You have to keep God’s Word in your mouth and meditate on it in your heart “that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it, for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success” (Joshua 1:8, The Amplified Bible).
So determine in your heart today to speak God’s Word out your mouth and to speak nothing contrary to that Word. Don’t be a mental assenter. Be a mighty person of faith. Be a doer of the Word!
Speak the Word
“I am a doer of the Word of God, and not just a hearer only.” —James 1:22
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