Hearer or Doer?

 Over this past weekend, I was privileged to be a part of a large group from my home church who attended the Wildfire Weekend men's impact event held on the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. If you've not heard of Wildfire, its mission is: (1) to create a movement that inspires men to deepen their relationship with God, the one who placed these longings of competition, adventure, and the outdoors in their soul; and (2) to use what men love - hunting, fishing, football, baseball, motorcycles, classic cars, sporting competitions, racing, extreme sports and other outdoor activities - to bring them closer to the heart of God. A number of headline names made appearances during the course of the two-day event, including Drew Brees, Max Lucado, Paul Teutul Jr., Darryl Strawberry, Joe Teti and Jase Robertson. Regardless if it was during a one-on-one interview with a celebrity, a large group challenge from a pastor, or a recreational workshop hosted by an expert in that field, the 10,000 of us in attendance were offered solid spiritual truth and application to help us recognize where and how God was currently speaking to and molding each of us into His likeness. It was truly a powerful event and a life-altering weekend.

 

James 1:22-25 (NASB)

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

Perception

Over this past weekend, my son and I joined a group of nearly 30 men and their sons at Shenandoah River State Park for our bible study class' annual three-day river float and camping trip. A really great time was had by all each day on the river, the meals were phenomenal as always, and it was a new record high in number of attendees. We were very fortunate that the trip actually happened, though, due to heavy rains that fell during the middle of last week. According to several of the river gauges for this stretch of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River, water levels rose five to six feet in a matter of hours. Although the water did recede fairly rapidly over the next couple of days, enough that we decided it was safe to carry on with the trip, the water remained stained throughout our time there and this served to negatively affect the fishing conditions.

Matthew 16:15-16 (NASB)
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”