It’s amazing as I think back on my childhood and upbringing of how much fun we had as kids.
I grew up during the seventy’s and eighties, where there was not a myriad of activities and computer games. There were absolutely no cell phones with thousands of apps and social media to entertain yourself. They hadn’t been invented yet.
We played outside many times from dawn to dusk. The indication to return home, was the sun was going down. We were quite creative in finding ways to keep busy and entertain ourselves. We climbed trees, swam in the lakes, played tag, dodge ball, kickball, basketball, hide and go seek and one of my favorite games of course was “Simon says”.
But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].I must practice the Word of God that I hear. If you were a good listener you would hear the command and do it, but only if you first heard “Simon says”. If you performed a command without hearing Simon says, you then sat out. The last person to remain standing because he or she listened and followed directions well, was the winner of the game — and got a chance to become Simon. It sounds very basic, but it was lots of fun and a way to entertain ourselves. In today’s passage, we are warned to avoid self-deception by just listening to the Word but not practicing it. It’s important to God and beneficial to us to hear and obey the scriptures we read, the messages we hear preached and the leading of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. Like the game “Simon Says” we should be keen in our hearing, but experts in carrying out what we hear, that is if we would like to win in living this kingdom lifestyle. Prophecy: I prophesy this day, that self deception is now a thing of the past in your life and you are living the word you hear preached. Declaration: I’m not just a hearer but doer of the Word of God. Prayer: Father in the name of Jesus, I thank you for enabling me by the power of your Holy Spirit, that is living in me, to hear and obey everything you speak to me in Jesus name.
