Actions

Matthew: 17: 19-20 ¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” ²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” 

 

Jesus gave the disciples the power to drive out demons, yet when faced with this one, they could not do it. When they ask why they can’t Jesus tells them that they do not have enough faith. There is something very important to take away from this.  What you say, what you profess, what you believe, and what you do, are sometimes two very different things. We know that it is no secret that the disciples had their share of problems, they were all human after all, and all were flawed, just as we are, but it is important to understand that even these guys, who were literally walking with Christ missed the mark. I am quite sure that they talked at great length about their faith, they talked about how Christ was the Son or God, they talked about how they would follow Him anywhere, and in fact did. Yet at crunch time Christ tells them that their talk is not lining up with their actions.

Christ now depends on each one of us to be His tangible presence here on Earth. While we were not all given the power that was given to the disciples, we still have to make sure that our actions line up with our words. The more that this worlds drifts form Christ, the more compounded the problem becomes.   I can promise you that there are people in your circle, people in your office, and yes, people in your church have actions that do not align with what comes out of their mouth. For us today, it comes down to the appearance we project, and how caught up we are in that appearance, compared to the things we produce. I have met some of the most “righteous” men, men who speak of great things, great faith, and great love of fellow man. They have the right clothes, the right car, the right watch…they look the part. Yet upon getting to know them I found that their words ring hollow with their actions. I have also seen the lowliest of the low, the person that most would not give the time of day to, burn with the fire of Christ, and speak true to their actions.

The disciples had Christ walking with them every day. While they were not perfect, it was easy to see that they were working on it. Were they not, they would not have been with Christ. Today it is not so easy to see the works in progress, and differentiate from the ones who only talk the talk.  This is our challenge, this is our biggest obstacle when choosing whom we will surround ourselves with.. Matching our words with our actions, and filtering out those that have no intention of doing so. We live in some pretty crazy times. Things are not what they seem, people sometimes are not who they would have you believe they are. Now for the painful part……are we one of these people? Don’t get me wrong, I know we all struggle, I know that we are works in progress, but we must ask ourselves, are we still putting in the work, or have we found, like so many in the world today, that lip service can take you pretty far? Are we examining those around us, as scripture urges us to do, or are we just taking the short cut, and are believing whatever we are told? It has been said that Leaders are self-critical, and losers are critical of others. If we spend enough time, with ourselves, and with the Lord, we will find which column we fall into. AS much as I hate to say it, just like the disciples, I think we all find ourselves a little lacking in faith from time to time. The trick is to follow the lead of those that came before us. When we find ourselves in that situation, we double down. We put in the hard work, and find the faith that the Lord so readily holds out for us. The alternative is to fall even farther away, until we find ourselves talking a lot about faith, but walking straight to our death. Don’t worry if you are projecting the right image. Display your faith, let your action define your words, and the “look” will take care of itself.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

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The Ridge Fellowship

 

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