1 John 4:6
When you hear the word of God and it does not become a part of who you are, you are prone to erratic practice. Erratic practice is when you hear "love thy neighbor as thyself" and choose to show this type of love to everyone in your circle, but not to the lady in the aisle at the grocery store. Erratic practice is when you hear "the Lord is worthy to be praised" and you praise Him with your whole heart until you get the job, house, and car that you want. Erratic practice is when hearing "let the redeemed of the Lord say so" prompts you to brag and boast about how you made it through instead of how God worked it out.
Erratic practice is so common that I could list example after example and still never be through. It is not hard to find someone who is employing erratic practice. I will use myself. For three solid years I listened to my pastor say "our main mission is soul winning". He said it in church, meetings, random conversation; you name it he said it. I heard him, but that word was not a part of who I was. It was something that had a good sound. It was not something that I took ownership to do.
Sure, I invited my friends to church. I even went as far as inviting my students. But I never, not once invited the cashier at the grocery store. I never invited the dry cleaner or any of the other people that I crossed paths with. I heard him say that our mission was soul winning, but hearing those words without taking ownership of them was just like not hearing them at all.
God wants us to hear about Him. More than that He wants us to take ownership of our relationship with Him. That requires us to step out of the realm of erratic practice into daily practice. Daily I will open myself up to hear from God and move on His directions. Daily I will open myself up to hear from His people and do something to ease their pain. Daily I will open myself up to be a hearer, a doer, and a disciple of God.
Adayinthelife :-)
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