Chuck Swindoll writes, Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it necessary to travel out of the country and spend an extended period of time abroad. So he says to you and the other trusted employees, “Look, I'm going to leave. And while I'm gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. You manage things while I'm away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip.” Everyone agrees.

He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time he writes often, communicating his desires and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and immediately discovers everything is in a mess--weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows broken across the front of the building, the gal at the front desk dozing, loud music roaring from several offices, two or three people engaged in horseplay in the back room. Instead of making a profit, the business has suffered a great loss. Without hesitation he calls everyone together and with a frown asks, “What happened? Didn't you get my letters?”

You say, “Oh, yeah, sure. We got all your letters. We've even bound them in a book. And some of us have memorized them. In fact, we have ‘letter study’ every Sunday. You know, those were really great letters.’ I think the president would then ask, “But what did you do about my instructions?” And, no doubt the employees would respond, “Do? Well, nothing. But we read every one!” (Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p. 242.)

We are pretty good at understanding God’s Word; how are we at actually doing it? Our spiritual growth is based on our attitude toward and practice of the Word of God. Here are three challenges regarding the Word of God, the Bible.

B. Hearing the Word demands doing what you already know. When you trusted Christ, your life was supposed to change. You are supposed to be morally different from the world. Do what you already know before expecting to get more out of the Word.

One’s religion may be a sham, a joke. Religious activity may include church attendance, prayer, worship, Bible reading, keeping a list of rules, etc. Some people are deceiving themselves, because, while they think they are pleasing God, there is no evidence of it. James cites three areas of evidence for our practice of God’s Word.

Hebrews 10:24 says, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Get into a small group, because you need to be connected to other Christians in order to do this.

John Kenneth Galbraith, in his autobiography, A Life in Our Times, illustrates the devotion of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family's housekeeper: It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House. “Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson.” “He is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb him.” “Well, wake him up. I want to talk to him.” “No, Mr. President. I work for him, not you.” When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure. “Tell that woman I want her here in the White House.” That is how we need to follow God’s instructions for us. The concept is simple: we know who we serve – God. We can read his instructions to us in his Word. And he expects us to carry out his instructions in the strength that he provides.