Act It Out

Actions speak louder than words. You must act out your faith. Faith without works is dead.

These are some of the sayings I have been seeing over and over in my devotional time lately. One reason for this may be the fact our ladies group at church is doing the James study on Sunday evenings. Maybe I’m more prone to pick up on these sayings when I see them becasue of the subject matter I’ve been studying. Or maybe, in His Providence, God is nudging me (again) to chew on these words.

I can talk about Jesus and church until I am blue in the face, but if I don’t back up my words with actions-what good is it? If I don’t show kindness to a stranger or care for those in need, what example of Jesus am I setting for the world? Am I just giving Him lip-service or am I putting it all out there and giving heart-service?

Don’t get me wrong, talking about our faith is important. Sharing Jesus with those who need to hear about His grace is life-changing. But that’s not all He had in mind for believer’s to do. Did Jesus just hang out with the ‘church crowd’ everywhere He went? NO! He went to the least of them, the down-trodden, the needy. If we are to be like Him, we must do the same. We must get out there and BE the church, not just be WITH the church.

I read this today: ”Saying ‘I Love You’ can put a smile on someone’s face. Showing you love them can change their life.” Enough said!

Thank You Jesus for your Word and how it speaks to us. Thanks for the gentle reminder that our faith is not just in our words, but in how we act it out. Help me to be Your hands and feet on this earth. Give me a desire to go where You send me and to be the follower You have in mind for me to be.