doers

Three men went deer hunting, and as they crossed the field going to the woods, a huge buck jumped up in their path.  All three fired at the same time. 

 The buck dropped, and as they came up on the buck, they realized they had a problem.  Which one of them shot the deer?

As they discussed the problem, a game warden came along to check for hunting licenses.  He offered to sort out the problem, examined the deer, and said, "One of you guys is a preacher, right?"  And sure enough, one of them was.

"Well, preacher, your shot is the one that got the buck."

Amazed, the guys asked how he knew one of them was a preacher and that the preacher's shot was the one that scored.

"Simple," the game warden said, "It went in one ear and out the other."

As a preacher, it does feel that way sometimes.  But it's difficult to be too harsh on those who listen to my sermons because I know that sometimes, as a reader of God's Word, I tend to do the same thing.  I read what God says.  I even understand what God says (though I wish sometimes that I didn't!).  It's just that I don't allow what I'm reading to make any real difference in my life.  It goes in one ear and out the other.

James wrote, "Do what God's word says.  Don't merely listen to it, or you will fool yourselves.  If someone listens to God's word but doesn't do what it says, he is like a person who looks at his face in a mirror, studies his features, goes away, and immediately forgets what he looks like.  However, the person who continues to study God's perfect teachings that make people free and who remains committed to them will be blessed.  People like that don't merely listen and forget; they actually do what God's teachings say." (James 1:22-25, GOD'S WORD)

May God's Word go in one ear, stay there, and then demonstrate itself in how you live this day.

-alan smith