Devotionals by Raul Ries
SATURDAY July 18, 2026
Practice What You Preach
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
James 3:1-2
Teaching God’s Word is a huge responsibility. James taught that if you are called to teach, as teaching is a gift of the Holy Spirit, you had better practice what you preach. There is a far stricter judgment for those teaching God’s Word. Why? Teachers are held to a greater degree of accountability–– “to much is given, much more is required.” Those who teach must lead holy lives. How can you teach others when you cannot apply what you are teaching to yourself?
How can you lead others when you fail to take leadership of your own life? The question is “How do you lead other people?” Simple––it is by following Jesus Christ and living your life in submission to Him. If you are called to lead, which is another gift of the Holy Spirit, then you are not to follow other people.
Christian leaders must remain aboveboard. They need to meet the qualifications taught in the book of 1 Timothy and the book of Titus. Paul’s sermon to the elders in Acts 20 should also be taken into account. The responsibility of a leader is to be blameless.
God desires to move mightily in the Church within the lives of the leadership. In churches today, I am seeing that there is a missing quality in leadership. We do not have strong, anointed leaders. It seems many leaders in the Church have their own motives and agendas for being in ministry. A leader must be called and anointed by God.
If you are called to teach, make sure that you are hearing from the Lord for your message, not getting sermons from online sources. There will be no power behind your messages if they are not from the Lord. If you are called to be a leader, then there is value in learning from the men in the Bible. Study men like Nehemiah, Daniel and King David.
Do not let your deeds belie your words, lest when you speak in church someone may say to himself, “Why do you not practice what you preach?”
~St. Jerome~
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About Raul Ries
Raul Ries is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Golden Springs and President of Somebody Loves You Ministries. After his miraculous conversion in 1971, Raul began to read and study the Bible extensively even though he had a limited education. In 1974 he began a home Bible study with seven other committed individuals. Soon, he started to preach and counsel youth during the noon hour at his former high school, Baldwin Park High. Calvary Chapel West Covina grew out of Raul's home fellowship, as well as his Kung-Fu studio, and was soon meeting weekly at an old converted Safeway store. In 1993, the congregation moved to Diamond Bar and occupied a 101,000 square-foot corporate building on 28 acres. Calvary Chapel Golden Springs (as it is now called) draws between 10,000 - 12,000 in attendance weekly.
Author of several books, including Fury to Freedom (the story of his early life and dramatic conversion), Raul Ries has also produced three films: Fury to Freedom (feature film dramatization of the book); A Quiet Hope (a riveting and stirring documentary detailing seven soldier's accounts of the Vietnam War and its aftermath); and A Venture in Faith (a documentary of the history of the Calvary Chapel movement).
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