Today's Devotion: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Jas 1:22). In other words, practice what is preached or, if you talk the talk, then walk the walk.

Today's Comments: God's Word is meant to be lived, not to be heard and then stored away in some remote cavernous place in the mind. We must follow the scriptures both literally and figuratively. If we just listen without doing, we are, in a sense, lying to ourselves.

Doing what God commands is not easy. We deceive ourselves and allow ourselves to be deceived by the devil every day. Adam and Eve heard God, but they did not obey him. Instead, they were willing to sacrifice their relationship with Him for their own selfish reasons. They wanted to be like God, and Satan wanted control over God's creation so that he could be better than God. We can't let that happen to us.