Faith Is a Verb
by James MacDonald

"Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 57And they took offense at him... 58And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:54-58

One time in the Gospels it says that Jesus couldn't do much in the town "because of their unbelief" (Matthew 13:58). Wouldn't that be an awful thing to have said about your home, about your family, about you? Jesus couldn't do much in or through you because of you just didn't believe Him. "Lord, why don't You do more in our church?" Could it be because of people's unbelief?

Faith is the key. God's promises are activated by faith. Faith is not passive-it's an action verb. Don't say, "Well, I'm just waiting here. Maybe God will work; maybe He won't." What are you doing about it-Well, not much.

It's like the sick guy who needs to get better, but he doesn't go to the doctor. That's foolishness. You've got to do what you can.

Like the girl who is looking for a husband, but never goes to the Young Adult meetings at church. She just sits down in her basement. "My husband will have to find me here." Yeah, that's not a great plan. Do what you can!

Like the person who's filled with concerns and wants to have hope, but has never read the Bible.

It's God promises that give us hope. How many Scriptural promises do you know? How many promises have you memorized? How many are on the tip of your tongue? Well, no wonder you're filled with anxiety! No wonder you don't have any hope! You're not holding onto anything.

Get your heart around some of the exceedingly great and precious promises of God! Hold on to what God has said in His Word. Someday you're going to be in a difficult situation and the enemy will be try to pull you down but you've got God's Word hidden in your heart. His words will flood you with courage and fill your life with faith.

"God helps those who help themselves"-is not in the Bible but it is a biblical concept. Faith has to be active to be real. Remember the guy in 2 Kings 5 who had leprosy and Gold told him he had to go dip in the river? In faith, he had to do what he could. Like the woman in poverty in 2 Kings 4 who had to collect containers to hold all that oil God was giving her-she did what she could. Like a warrior heading into battle, he has to pick up his weapon.

Put some action behind what you believe and watch God work. -James MacDonald

Lord, I never want there to be a day that You can't do Your work in me because I just don't believe You. Increase my faith today, Lord. I believe that You are able to make all things are possible. Amen.

What am I believing God for right now for myself? For my family? For my church? Are there steps of faith I can take as I wait for Him to work?
Are there areas of unbelief in my heart? About what? Talk to the Lord about it today.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009