THE LORD’S VENISON
(JAMES 1: 19-27 NLT)
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 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. 22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. 26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
The perfect venison to give to God is our complete obedience to HIs word and instructions. Verse 22 sheds light on the fact that coming to church and reading the word is not all that is required of us. Obeying what we read and hear is the requirement that we must not neglect. Every instruction given by God is for our benefit as stated in verse 25.
I encourage you to find time to evaluate yourself and see how obedient you have been to God this year. Ask God to show you where you are on His obedience chart, if you are behind ask for His mercy and make your way right.
The Lord’s venison is an obedient heart.
God bless you.