Love in Action

Do you believe actions speak louder than words? Do you have more respect for the person who is doing good things or the person who talks about doing good things? Do you prefer to be around people to walk the walk or those who simply talk the talk?

There is a lot of noise in this world. Unfortunately, a large portion of it consists of people talking a really great game but doing nothing to support their talk. We see in all facets of life. We see in our bosses, our friends, our family, and our neighborhoods. We especially see it in celebrities and politicians.

It’s all exacerbated by the news media. Virtually every news agency in the world has agenda they are pushing. Oh, they may not outright lie or provide false information. What they will do is avoid reporting what doesn’t meet their agenda. The worst thing about this is, we follow them and repeat their behavior.

There is one extremely important thing we can do, regardless of whether we follow specific news agencies, celebrities, politicians, or take sides for or against bosses, family, friends, and neighbors. That is to show our love through our actions. We can take a stand against simply talking the talk and go into action.

Our world needs to see love in action. It needs to see people putting others ahead of themselves to satisfy needs. Each one of us needs to change behavior to demonstrate our love through actions. Otherwise, we are simply part of the problem.

Anyone can talk a good game. Only those who truly care will play a good game. To love through actions, we need to turn our hearts over to God. We need to allow Him to fill our hearts with His Spirit, His love, and His Word. When we become a heartfelt child of God that deeply appreciates what He has done for us, we can’t help but turn our hearts over to Him.

Will we become people who love through actions or continue to be nothing more than a gaping mouthpiece? It’s our choice. Will we choose to allow God to fill us? Or will we continue to have a gaping hole in our hearts? We all should choose wisely.

I pray each of us chooses to demonstrate our love rather than simply mouth the words. I pray we all choose to allow God to fill our hearts. I pray we become people of actions in love and leave behind our talking head behavior. Allow God to fill your heart. Go into action. Show your love by doing. Please God with your behavior.

1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

In The Beginning…

Have you ever wondered how something is made? Perhaps the computer or smart phone you are reading this on? Or the cake you love so much? Or the chair you’re sitting in? Do you ever wonder how the earth and all the stars you see were created?

We, the human race, have advanced exponentially over the past 30 years in our ability to make things. We have advanced to the point that we have made machines that can make things for us. I’m not talking about the old assembly line machines, but the 3D printing machines that can make intricate parts and machines of their own.

We continue to advance. The advent of the computer, further miniaturizing of processors, memory, and circuit boards has put computers in the palm of our hands that are more powerful than computers that filled an entire room just 30 years ago. Technology has allowed our creativity to grow at a rate that is mind boggling.

Yet, we still cannot create the very basics of life or for life. We cannot create dirt. We cannot create oil. We cannot create atmosphere. We cannot create life. We cannot create plants. We cannot create food.

You may object to some of those. However, I challenge you to create any of them without being given something to create them with. Try creating food with nothing. Try creating dirt with nothing. Try creating anything you want to create without the aid of being given the appropriate materials and chemicals. You can’t do it.

Now, think about life. Think about the complexities of the human body. Think about creating a single strand of DNA. Human DNA has about 3 billion bases in it and it can be found in the smallest slice of our skin. We have learned amazing things about our DNA and yet science continues to discover new information about it.

Who created all of this from nothing? The answer—God. More specifically, the Word of God, AKA Jesus Christ. You see, when God spoke, all of creation came into being from nothing. The Word of God that spoke all things into being is Jesus. So, when we hear that the Creator came to earth and sacrificed Himself for us, it is absolute truth.

I pray we all recognize our Creator. I pray we understand that our Creator loved us enough to be our perfect sacrifice. I pray each of us will be amazed at His creation. See Jesus for who He is. Praise Him for creating all of creation. Praise Him for creating you. Thank Him for your many blessings.

John 1:1-3, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made….The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Full Armor of God

Do you feel strong? Do you feel weak? Are you relying on a power that is far greater than you? Or are you relying solely on your own strength? If you were given the opportunity to access a greater power any time you needed it, would you?

Our world is fraught with people who feel weak. They feel like everyone and everything is against them. They feel like there is no way for them to win. They are correct on two of those three assumptions. They are weak. The whole world is against them. Yet they can win.

How do we win against a world filled with evil? First, we have to stop fighting on our own. We must put on the full armor of God to win that battle. We need to be strong in Him and allow Him to win the battle on our behalf. Paul lays it out very clear in the middle section of Ephesians 6. Let’s take a look at what he says.

  • Put the belt of truth around your waist (Ephesians 6:14a). The truth Paul is talking about is the truth of God’s Word. This is so we can discern between falseness, half-truths, and the truth. It will keep us from being deceived.
  • Put the breastplate of righteous in place (Ephesians 6:14b). This breastplate is given by God, it is not earned. God equips His people with protection and the breastplate is to guard our hearts. It is to keep our hearts from being pierced.
  • Put the boots of the peace of the gospel on your feet (Ephesians 6:15). I use the term boots to equate it to our soldiers today, who wear boots that can take the punishment of rugged terrain, provide them traction, and are light enough to allow full maneuverability. The gospel of peace performs the same functions for us in our spiritual fight.
  • Take up the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16). This shield is not the small circle shield often shown in the movies. It is the full body length shield the Roman soldiers used to walk side-by-side, effectively creating a moving wall moving forward. Or, it created a wall when under attack that didn’t allow a single arrow to reach a soldier. Our faith is our own, yes, but we are to interlock our faith with our fellow Christians. When the faith of many are interlocked, we build a wall against Satan’s attacks.
  • Put on the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17a). As we might expect, this protects our heads, which are the only portions of our body not behind the shields. Being confident in our salvation helps us defend against those doubts Satan sends our way.
  • Take up the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17b). This is the only offensive weapon. It is the Word of God. It is knowing our Bible and using it against Satan, to beat him back just as Jesus did. When we combine it with the truth, we can truly discern what is right.

Notice that Paul doesn’t just say to put on the full armor of God once, he says it twice (Ephesians 6:11, 13)! He knew it was doubly important to wear the full armor to fend off Satan’s attacks. He knew if we did not wear all of it, we would fail. Just like our current day soldiers, we can’t go into battle half dressed. We need it all.

I pray all of us will put on the full armor of God. I pray each of us will take time to fully dress ourselves in God’s protective provisions. I pray we study God’s Word more so we can take the offensive against Satan. Be fully dressed for battle. Protect yourself with God’s protective gear. Take up the fight against Satan. Trust that God will provide the win for you.

Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

God’s Path

Have you been predestined? Have you been called? Have you been justified? Have you been glorified? Do you know that God loves you? Do you know that God has done all of those for you? Are you living to fulfill the purpose He has set for you?

We often hear parents tell their children they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up. Why do we lie to our children like that? Especially when it can be a life destroying lie with extremely high expectations. It is extremely rare that any of us end up doing what we thought we wanted to do when we were children. Many times we randomly end up in a profession that we had no thought about.

For example, as a child, I wanted to be a professional baseball player. More specifically, I wanted to play for the St. Louis Cardinals. As I grew older, I realized that dream wasn’t going to come true. I thought I would go on to college and figure out what I wanted to do. Yet by the time I became a senior in high school, I wanted no part of any further schooling. I ended up joining the Marine Corps. I thought I wanted to drive trucks. I ended up working in a warehouse. I decided I had enough of that and got out and…ended up working in a warehouse. I rejoined the Marine Corps and by a strange twist of events ended up in the computer field. When I retired, I continued in the computer field for several years. It is only now that I believe I’m actually pursuing what God wants me to do, which is to become a pastor.

Did you catch all those twists and turns to end up where God wants me to be? In the end, I had very little to do with the choices I made and where I went. I thought I did. People gave me advice. I pondered decisions. Yet, upon reflection, I can see how God led me down a path to put me where He wanted me and provided me the experiences He wanted me to have in order that I would end up where He wanted me to be so I could help others.

After all my experiences and reflections, I now advise people to seek the path God wants them to be on. I found that when we are on the path He has chosen for us is when we are most at peace and experience the most joy.

We should teach our children to seek God’s path for them. We should look at them objectively to determine the skills God has blessed them with. We need to be seeking God’s path for them as well so we can guide them. If we truly have our children’s best interest at heart, we need to stop telling them they can be whatever they want to be and guide them onto God’s path.

I pray we all seek God’s path for our children. I pray we guide them down the path God has blessed them to follow. I pray each one of us will no longer tell our children the lie that they can be whatever they want to be. Seek God. Seek God’s path for you. Seek God’s path for your children. Trust God. Know He is in control.

Romans 8:28-30 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Bowing Down

Who do you cater to? Who are the people you bow down to? Do you realize you are bowing down to others? Who are you putting ahead of your walk with Jesus Christ? Will you decide to put Jesus ahead of all others?

We bow down to more people in our culture today than we realize. Think you don’t bow down? Who do you worship? Who do you put on a pedestal? What TV shows and actors are you putting ahead of your relationship with God? What sporting events and stars do you put above your relationship with Jesus? How many people are in your conversations? Is Jesus in your conversation? Is God considered when you are with friends and family?

Today’s society puts so many people on pedestals. People seek to be put on that pedestal to point of doing crazy things, capturing them on video, then posting them on YouTube or Facebook in the hopes of the video going viral. Too often, we get caught up in the hype and become part of the problem, encouraging others to do the same.

We often put those who are rich and famous ahead of our relationship with God. Yet we see in today’s current environment, there is nothing those rich and famous can do to help us. We find that they often seem to be even more helpless than those of us who have less than they do. We have figured out these people are not as important in our lives as we might have thought previously.

Folks, it is our brothers and sisters in Christ who will care for us. It is not someone in Hollywood, not someone in Washington, not someone in a state capitol, not someone who owns a mega-business. God takes care of us through others who are in Jesus, who are following Him and His commands.

It is having a relationship with God and His people that we will find companionship, care, love, and solace. It is with God’s people that we can rest assured that we will be provided what we need. It is by turning our hearts to Jesus Christ, following His lead, and spending time with Him and His people that our deepest needs are satisfied.

I pray each of us decides to spend time with God. I pray we all build our relationships with Jesus Christ. I pray we delve into God’s Word to know His love and His commands and decide to follow Him. Put God first in your life. Build your relationship with Jesus. Know that He will provide. Realize it is God’s people who you can lean on. Trust God.

James 2:5-7 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

Produce Good Fruit

What are the fruits of your labor? What are the fruits of your relationships? What are the fruits of those you see around you? Do you recognize good fruits and bad fruits? Are you wondering what types of fruits you are producing?

We see all kinds of people as we go about are lives. We see people of different races, ethnic backgrounds, cultural backgrounds, shapes, and sizes. If we take time to notice, we’ll find that those don’t really matter when it comes to the types of fruit they produce. So, what does matter?

We might want to say it is the way they were raised. Yet we see people who were raised in bad neighborhoods or in foster homes that produce wonderful fruit. We may want to say some are just predisposed to be bad people. Yet we see people who have been in gangs, deeply involved in drugs and alcohol, and even sexual slavery who produce good fruit.

You see, it really comes down to two things. First, each person needs to hear the good news about Jesus Christ. Second, that person needs to decide to follow Him. Once these two things have happened, everything else will fall in place.

What we often observe is the person who has grown up in the church takes it for granted and often has a harder time producing good fruit. Yet the person who has lived in the horrible happenings of the world will make an immediate change, once they know Jesus. In some ways, we just don’t understand this. We would think the person who has grown up knowing who Jesus is would be more appreciative.

What I’ve found is that unless we have experienced hardship, we don’t appreciate the good. The most obvious experience I’ve had with this is attending Marine Corps boot camp and being a Drill Instructor. Boot camp has a plethora of tests, many of which purposely put your face in the dirt to determine if you will get back up or simply give up. Going through that crucible forces you to experience tough situations and appreciate the good.

This is why we often hear some people say it wasn’t until they hit rock bottom that they finally looked up and saw Jesus offering His hand to pull them up. It is at a time like this that we will fully accept Him. In order to produce the good fruit He wants us to produce, we must fully accept Him and live for Him. At that point, we become the good tree, not because of ourselves but because Jesus is filling us with His Spirit.

I pray each one of us will see the fruit we are producing and decide we need Jesus. I pray all of us will accept Jesus fully into our lives. I pray we follow God’s plan for our lives. Recognize Jesus’ outstretched hand and take it. See that you need Him. Decide to accept and follow Him fully. Trust Jesus.

Matthew 12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”

Praise God

Do you give thanks for what you have? Do you praise the courage of people who put their lives on the line for you? Are you generally a thankful person? Would you praise someone if they saved your life? Will you praise God?

We see a lot of thanks going out to doctors, nurses, and other medical staff at this time and rightfully so. We see signs along the road praising them and calling them heroes. We hear people giving thanks for the work these professionals are doing. We certainly should, since many of them are putting their own lives and the lives of their families on the line for us. Some are working tireless hours and may not see their families for days.

Yet are we forgetting to give thanks to someone? Are we forgetting to praise God for creating such wonderful people to serve us? There is absolutely nothing wrong for thanking and praising the medical professionals who are working hard during this time. Yet we also need to thank God and praise Him for creating a heart of service in these people. It is God who is working through them, whether they realize it or not.

If we truly believe that God creates everything, we must believe that God created these people. We must believe that God created a heart of service in them. We must believe that God gave them the intellectual capacity to learn their medical profession. We must believe that God put a spark in them that caused them to choose their profession. Do we believe that?

If we believe that God did all of this, should we not praise Him for doing so? I believe we should be praising God for all that He does, which includes creating the wonderful souls who serve us in this time of need. I believe God should be praised for His workmanship and His loving hands working in these troubling times. We know that God works everything for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). So, if we love Him and believe He created everything, let’s praise Him for creating these wonderful servants.

I pray we all take a few moments to thank God and praise Him for all He does for us. I pray each one of us will especially praise Him for creating our medical staff and working in their lives. I pray we believe God is the Creator of all things and all people. I pray we praise Him when we praise those who are serving us. Give thanks to God. Praise God for His works. Give God the glory He so rightly deserves. Know that God is in control.

Luke 17:15-19 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Loving Sacrifice

Do you consider yourself a sincere person? Are you a loving person? Do you love with sincerity? Are you willing to put those you love above yourselves? Are you willing to sacrifice for them? Do you honor those you love? Or, are you self-centered, only looking to your own wants?

God, through Jesus Christ, has called us to a higher standard. Jesus set the perfect example for us in love and self-sacrifice. Jesus shows us what it means to put others above ourselves. It wasn’t simply the fact He was crucified for us. It goes much further than that.

Let’s start with what many consider to be His first miracle. Jesus, a few of His disciples, and His mother were at a wedding. A potentially embarrassing situation arose—they ran out of wine. Jesus’ mother told Jesus and implied He should fix the problem. Jesus initially stated His time had not yet come but relented and turned water into wine. The embarrassment for the bride groom was avoided (John 2:1-12). Jesus put a friend’s need above His own desire to hold off performing miracles for a while longer.

We may say we would do such a thing, if we were put in that situation. Perhaps someone has been at a wedding reception where something was missing or running short and they went to get what was needed. I’m sure many of us would do such a favor for a friend.

Let’s take an example of something a little closer to home and far more common. What if we come across someone who is hungry? Are we willing to spend our money to buy food for them? I’m sure some of us would. Jesus provides another example when He feeds the five thousand in Matthew 14:13-21. You may say, “Well, He just performed another miracle.” That is true. Yet His disciples wanted to turn the people away. They wanted to send the people off to buy their own food. The disciples were unwilling to share what they had. They were unwilling to trust God to provide for them, if they were willing to give away what they had. Jesus did the opposite—He provided.

In another case, Peter is being pressured to pay the temple tax upon arrival in Capernaum. He doesn’t have the money and asks Jesus what to do. Jesus provides the money to bail out His friend. Sure, it is a miracle that He tells Peter to go fishing and get the coin from the mouth of the first fish he catches, but Jesus provides for Peter (Matthew 17:24-27). Notice that Peter would have known that Jesus didn’t have the money either, yet he went to Jesus to ask what to do about the tax. Also notice that Jesus saw the deeper, underlying question and likely panic Peter felt. Jesus loved His friend and provided for him.

I pray each of us will put others ahead of ourselves, especially our loved ones. I pray we give up our selfish desires as a sacrifice for others. I pray we all love with sincerity and show it to each other on a daily basis. Honor others. Put others above yourself. Do what is good. Love with sincerity. Trust God to provide.

Romans 12:9-12 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Filled With Hope

Are you filled with hope? Where does your hope come from? Does it come from the promise of a promotion at work? Perhaps a new relationship? Or, are you without much hope right now? Do you know there is a hope available to you that has no end?

When the word hope is used in our language today, it is often used to replace the word wish. That’s not really its meaning. The modern definition is having a feeling that something we want is attainable. Yet that isn’t the definition meant when we read it in the Bible. The meaning in the Bible is what today’s dictionaries call an archaic meaning, which is to put trust in whatever it is you hope for. In other words, if you put your hope in Jesus Christ, you put your trust in Him.

We are to hope in God, in Jesus Christ. Our hope should not be a simple wish, but a confidence that what we hope for will come to pass. Jesus is our cornerstone (1 Peter 2:6-8), our foundation. He came to provide us with hope, joy, and peace when we trust Him. He does this by filling us with the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps you are wondering why you don’t have hope, if you are filled with the Holy Spirit. The simple answer is our pride. You see, we want to be in control, we deceive ourselves into thinking we are in control, and we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to work our lives. Simply put, we squelch His work.

If we want to have an overflowing hope, we must get out of the way. We must stop thinking we are in control and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. We are to spend time in prayer, asking God to help us get out of the way and allow His Spirit to work for us and in us.

We have the ultimate hope readily available to us. We can have an overflowing hope that provides us with joy and peace. We can experience this hope regardless of our situation. Putting our trust in God is putting our hope into action.

Unfortunately, in our technology riddled culture, we have lost the awe of God. We put our trust in electronic gadgets. We can get answers to our questions in the blink of an eye with a quick search on our smart phones. We look at them to provide answers to every question that pops in our heads, never stopping to ask God to provide the answers to the most important questions. Instead, we try to rationally come up with our answers using logic based on answers we got from our smart phones.

I pray we all start looking to God to find answers to our important questions. I pray each of us will set aside our pride and belief that we are in control to rely on God, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. I pray we put our hope in God. Look to God for answers. Trust Him to provide. Put your hope in God. He is trustworthy.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Be of Sober Mind

Would you consider yourself to be of sober mind? Do you think rationally through the situation before reacting (or overreacting)? Are you relying on God to provide you an answer? Are you taking advantage of the blessings God has blessed you with to assess your situation properly?

Sober mindedness is a sorely needed trait in today’s culture. It seems everyone has gone overboard with their drama. We see people constantly having to out do everyone else. If someone has experienced pain, the next person’s pain had to be described as worse. We can’t simply be hungry anymore; we have to describe ourselves as starving.

Thankfully, there are a few sober minded people in our society. If we didn’t have them, our society would fall into complete anarchy. Unfortunately, it seems we have fewer and fewer of the sober minded people in positions they need to be in. We find people in leadership positions who overreact as badly as the five-year-old who just ran his battery powered jeep into a tree.

We see in today’s Scripture that we are called to be of sober mind. We are not to overreact. We are to be alert, aware of what is going on around us. This doesn’t simply mean what is physically going on but also the social, emotional, and spiritual happenings.

We see people who don’t want to watch the news. They say all that is shown is bad news. For the most part they are correct. Yet there are some good news stories that are shown. More importantly, there are information news stories that keep us updated on laws, ordinances, openings, closings, and a wide variety of events that affect our everyday lives.

Being of sober mind requires us to be educated. That doesn’t mean having a college degree. It does mean continuing to educate ourselves regarding new inventions, events, and new information that will affect our lives and the lives of our loved ones. If we keep our heads in the sand, we will be completely blindsided and wonder why.

Being sober minded also means putting our hope in Jesus Christ. It means understanding His grace. It means being assured we are covered by it while not taking advantage of it. You see, if we try taking advantage of His grace, we continue to willfully sin, which puts us in danger of falling from His grace. It can lead us down a path of destruction, one step at a time.

I pray all of us will be of sober mind. I pray each one of us will be alert. I pray we understand the grace of God. I pray we determine to not take advantage of His grace. Grow in maturity in faith. Be of sober mind. Hope in God’s grace. Trust Jesus Christ. Ask Him to guide you through life.

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.