Faith in Action
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by actions, is dead. __ James 2:17 (NIV)
There is an old saying that says, “Actions speak louder than words.” That is so true! The Bible tells us, “You will know them by their fruit.”
Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. __ Matthew 7:20 (NLT)
A person can tell you all day long how wonderful, honest, kind, and what a great person he or she is, but if that person behaves in a manner that is contrary to their words, their actions are what you will hear and believe rather than their words. Our actions definitely speak louder than our words!
Actions are what separate the winners from the losers! We also need to apply what we know to our lives. We may know what to do to improve our lives, but if we don’t do it, it will not make one bit of difference in our lives or in the lives of others.
The Bible lets us know, when we do not apply what we learn, we are deceiving ourselves.
James 1:22 (KJV) says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only deceiving your own selves.”
To be deceived is to believe a lie. Stop lying to yourself! Do what you know you are supposed to do. To know what to do and not do is sin.
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. __ James 4:17 (NASB)
James 2:17 says, “Faith without actions is dead.”
It is not enough to just know what to do. We have to do what we know to do to be a winner in life. Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it.
But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” __ Luke 11:28 (ESV)
James 2:17 lets us know that action gives life to our faith.
When we pray and God answers our prayers by telling us what to do, He expects us to obey. He wants us to TAKE ACTION!
We all want our dreams in life to come to pass, but Ecclesiastes 5:3 (NASB) says,
For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are a Great God. Help me to take action and do what I need to do to be successful and reach my goals. Help me to take the action steps I need to take to fulfill Your call on my life and be the leader you desire for me to be. It is so easy Lord, to talk about what we will do, but help me to just do it. Thank You that when I take a step to do Your will, You are right there to help. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
This article is an excerpt from, Leader to Leader by Miranda Burnette. Published by Keys to Success Publishing. Copyright © 2016 by Miranda Burnette. All rights reserved.
