Deceived?

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." -James 1:22

Striving to be authentic requires daily attention to the stripping away of self-deception. I love how James defines this task....just "do what it says" (ie. God's Word). The self deception that he is referring to is, in essence, thinking we can somehow have a relationship with God without actually sowing the application of God's word into our experience. It's not possible. Oh, we can have a form of godliness and do "religious" things....but what's the point? If you think this task is too difficult or overwhelming, well, it is. Here's an idea: open the Bible, find a principle, a proverb, or a promise and make a decision today to align your life in accordance with that one thing. Amazingly, this will prove much more benefical than it sounds....really. And just like the directions on the shampoo bottle: "Repeat" (daily).