Before Opening God’s Word, I Need To Believe and Be Willing to Accept It

In review of James 1:21 this morning, James reminds me, “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.” (NLT)

James advises me to get rid of all that is wrong in my life and "humbly accept" the salvation message I have received, because it alone can save me.

I may not always understand what the Bible says. But to anchor my life on the solid foundation of God’s Word, I need to humbly accept whatever God tells me.

In today’s verse, the word “accept” is from the Greek word dechomai. It's a hospitality term. It means to receive like a stranger. I am to receive God’s Word fully into my life. This means before I even open the Bible, I tell God that I accept whatever he tells me. I agree to believe his Word, whether or not I understand it.

Look at the first part of today’s verse. In order to accept God’s Word, I first have to take care of the filthy stuff in my life. Clean it out! Now, this doesn’t mean you need to clean up my life before I can come to God; Instead, it means sin can block me from hearing God. I can’t hear him when I’ve got something else filling my mind and heart. I’ve got to make space for the truth. Believing and applying God’s truth will change me and make me more like Jesus.

In the Bible, God often compares my accepting his Word to gardening. He wants me to accept the seeds he is planting in my heart and mind. But before the seeding and the feeding comes the weeding. Before I meet with God, I have to take out the emotional and spiritual garbage in my life. I do that by confessing and turning away from my sins. I admit to God what I’ve done that goes against his Word.

Then, through acceptance and confession, God can produce the fruit of obedience in my life.

In summary I need to get rid of all the filth and evil in my life, and then humbly accept the word God is planting. James advises me to get rid of all that is wrong and "humbly accept" the salvation message I have received. I am to anchor my life on the solid foundation of God’s Word, and humbly accept and receive whatever God tells me.This means before I even open His Word, I tell God that I accept whatever he tells me from it. I agree to believe, whether or not I understand it. To accept God’s Word, I first have to take care of the filthy stuff in my life. Sin can block me from hearing God, for I can’t hear him when I’ve got something else filling my mind and heart. So make space for the truth. God often compares my accepting his Word to gardening. But before the seeding and the feeding comes the weeding. I do that by confessing and turning away from my sins. I admit to God what I’ve done that goes against his Word. Then, through acceptance and confession, God can produce the fruit of obedience in my life.

Father I admit that I have things in my heart that linger there. Actions I take to please myself only. I ask you for forgiveness and with the help of the Holy Spirit to remove those things from my life. I want to leave room for what you teach and tell me. I want to use it to serve not only you but others as well. I ask you for wisdom and guidance for my day, my tasks, my plans, my leadership and my interactions with others. I pray these things through your Son Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.