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Couch potato faith

Can faith really be faith if it has no expression? 

James 2:14-16 is the most quoted passage on the subject:

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing,16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about putting actions to your faith:

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

Years ago, I went to a church that adopted “Faith is a verb–live it!” as a reminder to the people that faith requires action. 

IMG_1563Putting feet to your faith means that your feet might get muddy. You might actually have to sacrifice something to walk it out.

The more I read about the early church–the church fathers and martyrs–I am convicted of my own selfishness. 

Am I really ready to give up everything?

What am I still holding back?

Do I talk about what I believe more than I demonstrate what I believe?

I’m just gonna stop here because there’s not much more I can say except that a read through the New Testament doesn’t leave any room for argument. 

Couch potato faith is not allowed.

 

 

 

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Time for Action

Isn’t it amazing how the things we get all worked up over are so small on the importance scale?

I ran into a few technical problems this morning with the PowerPoint for the conference at work. 

Guess what?

We all had a great time worshipping the Lord even though things weren’t running smoothly as planned. 

Majoring on minor details is the fastest way to lose sight of what’s important. 

I’m not saying to do sloppy work, but you can’t freak out when things aren’t “perfect”. 

Perfection will cripple you any chance it can. 

You’ll wait forever to do something under the premise of the “perfect moment” when the best time to do it–whatever “it” is–is now. 

The book of James tells us to be doers of the word and not hearers only. 

What are we waiting for?

Christians are told over and over not to sit around dreaming about what will one day happen. 

Maybe the reason God hasn’t done this or that (preachers have a new list every week) is because He’s just waiting on us to do something. 

It’s not like we don’t know what to do. God wrote it down for us. 

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A life of action

I was taught from an early age that waiting around for God to do something you can do is wrong. 

God does mighty things on our behalf, but we have a role to play too. 

Praying is great. Faith is great. 

Knowing when to put feet on our prayers and actions behind our faith? 

Even better. 

I have a lot of friends who say God requires them to wait forever. He never seems to show them what to do. 

This has not been my experience. 

God has always led me to action. Very few times have I been told to wait. 

I certainly believe that there are times and seasons of waiting, of growth. 

But my problem is not waiting. My problem is hesitation. 

If left to my own devices, I will second guess myself in every decision. I willtake forever to make a choice. 

So, God always charges me with action. 

Audra, do something! Anything!

There’s nothing wrong with waiting on the Lord. Just don’t wait so long you decide to set up camp and are not ready when He calls. 

There’s also nothing wrong with making a decision, especially if you know it lines up with Scripture. The Bible talks about this specifically. 

I want to leave you with a list of practical ways to make decisions. 

  1. Pray. Talk to God and then listen. 
  2. Read your Bible. What passages speak to your situation? Make your decision accordingly. I highly recommend you don’t do something that goes against the Bible. 
  3. Seek wise counsel. You’re not alone. Talk to the wise people God has planted in your life. 

After you do these things, make a decision! Faith without action is dead. 

Learning how to know and follow God’s voice is the most important thing a Christian needs to learn. 

Indecision is not a spiritual gift or a fruit of the Spirit. 

Every hero in the Bible knew how or learned how to make decisions. 

Because of Christ we have nothing to fear and nothing to lose. 

Let’s live out of that confidence instead of quaking in our boots, afraid to move. 

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No longer a victim

Sometimes I miss the walls around my heart.

This statement might shock you, but it’s true.

Many years ago, I watched a documentary about Patty Hearst. She was kidnapped at age 19 and a few months later was helping her captors commit crimes.

Seems kind of crazy, right?

Instead of being freed from her captors and returned home, she was thrown in jail. The case led to a long discussion about Stockholm Syndrome, which is when a victim begins to have positive feelings toward his or her captors.

The consensus was that Patty Hearst deserved her punishment, but President Jimmy Carter eventually pardoned her.

This brings me back to the walls around my heart. It’s easier for me to disengage than to risk pain. My dad and stepmom call me out on it all the time.

“Audra, you know what to do. You always have a choice.”

The gap between knowledge and action trips us up all the time.

  • You’re a diabetic who refuses to cut back on dessert.
  • You’re a procrastinator who refuses to turn off the TV or computer.
  • You’re an alcoholic who refuses to leave the party lifestyle.

It’s easier to give in than it is to put up a fight.

The hardest part in my own journey is knowing that personal responsibility still knocks at my door.

IMG_1563If I hide behind walls, I am choosing to hurt someone else.

Even if I didn’t mean to.

Even if I did.

I can’t blame psychology either. Stockholm Syndrome is real, no doubt, but it can’t negate the power of choice.

You and I are not victims anymore.

Those tired, old excuses for poor behavior won’t get us far.