Good morning. It’s Wednesday, March 18th, aka National Sloppy Joe Day.

🥳 Congratulations on starting today with God, and thank you for letting us be a part of it.

📖 Verse Of The Day

— James 1:22

🧠 Devotional

Because of technology, we can hear Scripture almost anywhere now. Through podcasts, in newsletters, on YouTube, and of course in our Bibles and at church. But hearing it is only half the goal.

James says this in James 1:22:

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

So like James says, hearing Scripture is only half of it. The other half is actually doing what it says. And when we stop at hearing without doing what it says, we end up deceiving ourselves. It’s kind of like the popular saying, “practice what you preach.”

Think of it like this.

Hearing Scripture without doing what it says is like writing a grocery list and never bringing it to the store. You write down what you need. Milk. Bread. Eggs. But if the list stays on the counter, nothing in your kitchen actually changes. You still open the fridge and it’s empty.

Here’s the verse right before for context.

James 1:21 (NIV)

“Humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

And here’s the verse right after.

James 1:23 (NIV)

“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror.”

The verse before says the Word is meant to be planted in us. The verse after shows what happens when we only listen and don’t do. Put together, God’s Word is meant to take root and show up in how we live.

This idea shows up all over Scripture. Jesus says the wise person is the one who hears His words and puts them into practice (Matthew 7:24). He also says, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15). And Paul reminds us that it’s not the hearers of the law who are right before God, but the doers (Romans 2:13).

So here’s the question. Are you just hearing the Word, or are you actually doing something with it?