The CEB Blog - February

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves,” James 1:22. 

“Lying on the desk in my library is my mother’s Bible. I gave this one to her many years before she died. Once I was observing the many notes she had written in her Bible, many of them being complete sermon outlines she had heard her pastor and others preach. I decided I was going to read through this red leather covered, King James only, Scofield Bible, and copy in a spiral notebook every note she had written. When I had finished, I had an entire notebook full of her precious notes. I would have to say that not only had my mother ‘marked’ in her Bible, but her Bible had ‘marked’ her life” (James F. Holmes, “Blue Collar Christianity: An Informal Exegesis of the Epistle of James,” page 51). 

For two millennia, believers have been consistently presented with the temptation to listen to God’s Word without applying its principles in practical obedience. Unlike the late Bro. Freddie Holmes’ mother referenced above, many believers refuse to allow God’s Truth to “mark” their lives in observable ways. This tendency existed among early Christians and still exists today. One reason the world continues to grow more wicked can be attributed to believers’ historic dereliction of duty in hearing God’s Word only but refusing to do what it says. Believers need a renewed call to apply the Word of God in their daily lives. 

Beginning March 3, the Bogard Press Adult Study Guide will take Sunday School students on a journey through the books of James, 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians in a study entitled “Practical Daily Living in a Non-Christian World.” This quarter will afford Bible students the opportunity to experience spiritual growth by applying biblical principles found in these practical New Testament epistles. We pray the curriculum offered this Spring will call us all to diligent obedience of God’s Word that will impact our world for the glory of God. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Mark Clements