Before You Open God’s Word, Believe It

[Before You Open God’s Word, Believe It](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) Current Teaching Series [A Faith That Works When Life Doesn't: The James Series](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) [Listen to Today's Broadcast](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) [Before You Open God’s Word, Believe It](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) By Rick Warren — June 24, 2020 [Facebook](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) [Twitter](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) [Pinterest](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) [Email](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) [Devotional image from Rick Warren](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) “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.” James 1:21 (NLT) You may not always understand what the Bible says. But to anchor your life on the solid foundation of God’s Word, you need to humbly accept whatever God tells you. In today’s verse, the word “accept” is from the Greek word dechomai. It's a hospitality term. It means to receive like a stranger. You are to receive God’s Word fully into your life. That means before you even open your Bible, you tell God that you accept whatever he tells you. You agree to believe his Word, whether or not you understand it. Look at the first part of today’s verse. In order to accept God’s Word, you first have to take care of the filthy stuff in your life. Clean it out! Now, this doesn’t mean you need to clean up your life before you can come to God; Instead, it means sin can block you from hearing God. You can’t hear him when you’ve got something else filling your mind and heart. You’ve got to make space for the truth. Believing and applying God’s truth will change you and make you more like Jesus. In the Bible, God often compares our accepting his Word to gardening. He wants us to accept the seeds he is planting in our hearts and minds. But before the seeding and the feeding comes the weeding. Before you meet with God, you have to take out the emotional and spiritual garbage in your life. You do that by confessing and turning away from your sins. You admit to God what you’ve done that goes against his Word. Then, through acceptance and confession, God can produce the fruit of obedience in your life. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) Talk About It - What does it mean to humbly accept God’s Word? Why does humility matter? - Why does sin keep us from fellowship with God? How have you felt the effects of unconfessed sin on your relationship with God? - What does God want you to do with the parts of the Bible you don’t understand? 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[LEARN MORE](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r [Series Summary](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) Message 1: Real Faith Versus Fake Faith Message 2: A Faith That Loves My Neighbor as Myself Message 3: A Faith That Shows Respect to Everyone Message 4: A Faith That Leads to Emotional Health Message 5: A Faith That Stays Calm in a Crisis Message 6: A Faith That Anchors Me in a Storm Message 7: A Faith That Walks Through the Valley of the Virus Message 8: A Faith That Plants Seeds of Peace Message 9: A Faith That Isn't Troubled by Troubles Message 10: A Faith That Makes Tough Choices Easier Message 11: A Faith That Counters My Bad Habits [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r)[Twitter](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) [Instagram](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) [Linkedin](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r) to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](JgUAR-bNd:m:1:2618166767:40CB2AE54BCB592A558BA5C8648EE746:r). © 2020 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. This message was intended for: {EMAIL} You were added to the system December 23, 2016. For more information [click here](. [Unsubscribe](