Courage For Life creates emotional health, spiritual growth, and Bible study resources with the expectation of obedience to Jesus’ teachings. David Guzik notes, “In the ancient world, it was common for people to hear a teacher. But if you followed the teacher and tried to live what he said, you were called a disciple of that teacher.”
Jesus wants followers that are doers, not just hearers of His words.
What is the difference between being a hearer and a doer?
- A hearer only reads the restaurant review while a doer goes and eats the meal.
- A hearer knows which prescription is helpful while a doer gets the prescription filled and takes the prescribed medicine.
- A hearer watches the athletic event from the couch while a doer regularly engages in health-restoring exercises.
- A hearer acquires the biblical knowledge of what God says while a doer is actively trying to obey Jesus’ teachings.
The half-brother of Jesus had something to say about this very topic.
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. James 1:22-25
In this passage, James describes a man who looked long and hard in the mirror (the Word of God), both intently and sincerely. Still, this man turned away without acting on what he observed and learned. This man did not obey the Word of God because James says, if he had followed it, God would have blessed him in all he did.
In the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus makes the same point about hearing versus doing His teachings.
Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. Matthew 7:24-27
Jesus knew that if we do not immediately put what we have heard or seen into practice, we might forget it altogether. The morning Bible reading is a dim memory once the day begins, or the Sunday message is lost among all the cultural messages that inundate our lives via our devices. Jesus expects us to obey when He teaches us something. He reveals truth to us for His purposes. Our obedience increases our wisdom, and we receive the blessings by following His teachings.
Helping individuals grow in their obedience to God’s Word is different from any other teaching-learning experience. Most educational experiences, whether in academics or the marketplace, focus on sharing a specific body of content with the learners. Sharing content is usually the expectation of the learning experience. However, when helping individuals grow in their obedience to God’s Word, sharing biblical content is just the starting point at Courage For Life.
Courage For Life desires to help you embrace your God-given courage to live a life of faithful obedience to God and His Word.
We understand that sharing biblical content does not activate obedience to biblical truth. Therefore, we seek to journey with you for obedience-sake. We design biblical content with you in mind and with an expectation of faithful obedience to God and His Word. We do not merely share biblical content. We strive to guide you so that you discover biblical truth for yourself through our resources and learn how to obey Jesus’ teachings in your daily life.
Here are a few ways to activate your faith with Courage For Life resources.
- Download the Courage For Life Bible app for access to our all-female-voiced audio Bible in English and Spanish, plus additional digital resources.
- Follow our Instagram account for daily encouragement.
- Sign up for our monthly email for freebies, updates on new releases, and more.
- Save our blog page to your favorites for weekly devotionals and spiritual growth content.
- Check out our bookstore for access to additional resources.
