Guarding Words and Actions
Poff, Stephen. Guarding Words and Actions, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55024 [retrieved August 27, 2021]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenpoff/3530640841/.
Doers of the Word
Let every word
be the fruit
of action and reflection.
Reflection alone
without action
or tending toward it
is mere theory,
adding its weight
when we are
overloaded
with it already.
Action alone
without reflection
is being busy
pointlessly.
Honor the word eternal
and speak
to make
A new world possible.
Helder Camara
Let every word
be the fruit
of action and reflection.
Reflection alone
without action
or tending toward it
is mere theory,
adding its weight
when we are
overloaded
with it already.
Action alone
without reflection
is being busy
pointlessly.
Honor the word eternal
and speak
to make
A new world possible.
Helder Camara
Exploring the Text: Listing Instructions
Overview
James is very direct and to the point in his letter. Halfway through the first chapter, James gives a series of practical instructions for a life spent following Jesus. One of the first steps in studying a passage, after prayer for God to open his Word to you, is to observe what the text says. Writing down your observations is a good way to process them. Since this passage is a list of instructions for Godly living, we can begin by observing those instructions.
Practice
Taken a pen and a piece of paper. Read through the passage and write out each of the instructions that James gives. After you have worked through the entire passage, read over the list of instructions he gives. Finishing by asking God to help you not just read and understand them, but to put them into practice in your life.
Overview
James is very direct and to the point in his letter. Halfway through the first chapter, James gives a series of practical instructions for a life spent following Jesus. One of the first steps in studying a passage, after prayer for God to open his Word to you, is to observe what the text says. Writing down your observations is a good way to process them. Since this passage is a list of instructions for Godly living, we can begin by observing those instructions.
Practice
Taken a pen and a piece of paper. Read through the passage and write out each of the instructions that James gives. After you have worked through the entire passage, read over the list of instructions he gives. Finishing by asking God to help you not just read and understand them, but to put them into practice in your life.
Spiritual Practices: Breath Prayer
Overview
In James 1:22-25, James warns about hearing the Word of God but not actually doing it. Just learning about God isn't good enough; just learning how to live for God isn't good enough; we need to follow through and put it into practice as well. We need to do the Word of God, live out the Word of God, not just learn the Word of God. It needs to be the foundation of our life, not just an intellectual exercise. This breath prayer is a request that God do more than help us learn, but to take the final step and help us live.
Prayer
Abba Father, make me a doer of your Word
Overview
In James 1:22-25, James warns about hearing the Word of God but not actually doing it. Just learning about God isn't good enough; just learning how to live for God isn't good enough; we need to follow through and put it into practice as well. We need to do the Word of God, live out the Word of God, not just learn the Word of God. It needs to be the foundation of our life, not just an intellectual exercise. This breath prayer is a request that God do more than help us learn, but to take the final step and help us live.
Prayer
Abba Father, make me a doer of your Word