BELIEVING AND DOING

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.”  (2 Corinthians 5:20)

If you plan to reach the next generation for Christ, don’t ask them to believe what you believe, instead invite them to do what you do.

Beliefs are a dime a dozen. This generation has seen every variety of spiritual beliefs you could imagine (and many you couldn’t imagine).

They’re extremely turned off by people who don’t live what they claim to believe.

This generation doesn’t want to hear about what you believe. They want to see your beliefs in actions. And if you’re daring enough to live like Jesus, you’ll have a shot at reaching the next generation. If your version of Christianity is limited to what you’re against, you’ll not likely reach many. If, on the other hand, your faith is so alive you must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and love the outcasts -- all in the name of Christ, the King -- you will attract interest.

As strange as it might sound, if you truly live a missional and Spirit-filled life, the young generation might join you and do what you do, then one day believe what you believe. 

-- Craig Groeschel 

DON’T JUST DO SOMETHING

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him…”  (Psalm 37:7a NIV)

We are an industrious people. We always want to accomplish something. The idea of doing God’s will sounds exciting. Once in a while, someone says, “Don’t just stand there… do something.” Sometimes individuals or churches are so busy carrying out plans they think will help achieve God’s purposes that they don’t bother to find out what He actually wants. We often wear ourselves out and accomplish little for the kingdom of God.

I think God is crying out to us: “Don’t just do something. Stand there! Enter into a love relationship with Me. Get to know Me. Adjust your life to Me. Let Me love you and teach you about Myself as I work through you.” A time will come when action is required, but we must not short-circuit the relationship (Psalm 37:7). Your relationship with God must come first. Out of your walk with God, He accomplishes His plans for our world. 

-- Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby and Claude King in “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”

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FIRST THINGS FIRST

Jesus said, “So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  (Matthew 6:31-33 NIV)

Jesus is saying that more will happen, more will get done, when we put Him first in our lives. When we keep order in our daily lives, then we keep our priorities clear. Order communicates priority. As Christians, we can be really busy doing a lot of good stuff for the wrong reasons. We slip into a mind-set of doing more so that we can feel like we’re closer to God or better Christians. But if we’re not spending one-on-one, intimate time with God each day and then acting  out of the overflow of that relationship rather than the other way around, then we have lost sight of why we’re doing all that we’re doing. One thing must come first and lead to the other. The order can’t be flipped. Whatever we put first place becomes the organizing principle for the other parts of our life. 

-- Chris Hodges in “The Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm and Love Well in a Culture of Compromise”

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WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." (John 14:6a NRSV)

The way implies that which is to be followed in order to get to a specific place. We are always going somewhere in life. It is like having a map that enables us to get from where we are to where we want to be. Such a condition raises the question, "Where do we want to be?" The Westminster Catechism answers the question, "What is the chief end of man?" (i.e. What is the purpose of life?) "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." The prophet Micah asked the question this way, "... what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). To walk with God means to follow the pathway that He would have us travel. Jesus is the way.

That way must be the true way if it is to lead to fullness of life. Jesus warned, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them ..." (Matthew 7:15,16). What a clear object lesson. The sheep are gentle, who would be afraid of them? But a violent, angry, savage wolf is a creature to fear and avoid. False ideas, false ways, a false inner spirit, leads astray. When we are mislead we cannot get to where we want to be, where we ought to be. The false prophet, the false leader, the false witness, all seek to injure us or at least manipulate us for their own advantage. The true guide in life seeks the good of the ones he or she is leading. As Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). Jesus not only teaches what is true, He is the truth. Jesus said, before Pilate, "...for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me" (John 18:37). So it is our faith that the way Jesus leads is the way that is true; and being true, it is the way that leads to life. 

-- Rev. Kenneth A. Mortonson in “What Do You See?” 

#4972

BEING PRECEDES DOING

Some of Jesus’ disciples were commissioned by Him to go out and preach, teach, and heal. But before conducting their missions of mercy, these disciples learned much from their master. In their case, being preceded doing. Loving God came before serving God. And that’s the way it should be for us too.

“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said to the brothers Peter and Andrew, “and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Following Jesus preceded casting their nets for more followers. Discipleship preceded evangelism.  

-- Steve & Lois Rabey, General Editors, in “Side by Side”


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DON’T JUST READ IT… DO SOMETHING

A businessman known for his ruthlessness, arrogance, and religiosity once told Mark Twain he intended to visit the Holy Land before he died, in order to climb Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud.  “I have a better idea,” Twain said. “You could stay here in Boston and keep them.”

We would rather cogitate on what we do not know than actually do the things we know we ought to do.

Organizations often suffer from inertia.  A company may know they need to improve quality control, so they discuss it, listen to presentations about it, read books, look at state-of-the-art systems -- but never actually get around to doing it. Their problem is one of knowing too much, but doing too little.

Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers.” (James 1:22 NRSV)

-- John Ortberg in The Me I Want To Be

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