God is always growing us. He is always speaking to our hearts and calling us deeper into His Word, His truth, His ways, and to KNOW Him. He opens our minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45), and we are taught by the Holy Spirit Himself (John 16:13).
How are we safeguarding those lessons so that we take them to heart and put them into action? The Word says that we deceive ourselves if we are hearers of the Word only (James 1:22-25).
It’s not those who hear and have a head knowledge of the truth and the ways of God who are compared to the wise man whose house is built on the rock not falling in the midst of the storms, it’s those who act on that knowledge (Matthew 7:24-27). It’s those who obey.
What He is teaching, what He wants to say, and the assignments are just too important for us to rush by and forget. Let’s have a plan in place to record what He is teaching, a journal or notebook, for this next year. Then, furthermore, let’s set aside specific times to go back and re-read what is written and ask ourselves, “Am I living accordingly, like I really believe this truth? Am I obeying what I know to be truth, what He has spoken to my heart, what He has taught me in His Word?” Or will we find that we have been lulled into thinking that we are walking in obedience to scripture just because we are familiar with it?
Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to search our heart and our motives (Psalm 139:23, 24), and make the necessary adjustments. May we not find ourselves building on sand, having only heard His Words but not doing them, not living accordingly.
He is intentionally pouring truth into your heart and life, for a purpose. Will you believe Him and act upon it? Or will you become a forgetful hearer?
“..prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” James 1:22 NASB
This is the time of year that I intentionally read back through my journal, underlining, marking, and color coding as I go. It’s a great exercise that reminds me not only of the faithfulness of the Lord, but of all the many things He has spoken and taught me in His Word, in our time together, and through the life experiences of the year.
Here is a little of what that looks like for me in case you find it helpful:
-I number the pages as I go. This not only alerts me that I’ve re-read that page, but also gives me a way to reference back to it if needed. For instance, if the same subject shows up 5 pages later, I can just jot a note of the page # to cross-reference those entries.
-I use colored brackets (or lines drawn down the length of the page) to highlight items. For example, any teaching I want to highlight I use the color blue and will write the subject of that teaching in blue at the top of the page. If it’s an area where God started speaking as I was journaling something out, I use orange to highlight that portion.
-Just as I mark key words in my bible, I mark key words in my journal. There are subjects that are repeated that I want to easily spot. That way I can see the particular instructions or insights I wrote down throughout the year on a subject (and maybe even go back and make a list of what I learned about each later).
I would love to hear how you ensure that you don’t forget the lessons He’s taught you.
I pray that you are enjoying this Christmas season!
May we not neglect or lose anything that He is teaching our hearts. And may we resolve to act upon it.
With love,
Traci
