Be a Doer

Matthew 7:24-25 “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. (MSG)

Lately I feel convicted about not sharing my faith enough with the world. I feel like God is telling me that I hide behind the Bible and Church.

Let me explain. You see I read the Bible almost daily, pray daily, most of my thoughts are center around God, I listen to almost nothing but Christian music, I am active in my church, filling the role as an elder, I teach Men’s Bible study on Wednesday nights, I am in charge of the small groups in our church, I maintain the church’s FaceBook page where I post daily scripture, and post my walk with God through this blog site. But, I keep having this nagging feeling that I am not doing enough.

So is it God or the devil telling me that I am not doing enough?  So I began to pray about this, shared this with several Pastors, and others at church. I got no encouragement one way or the other, so I pray some more and study more. I recently ran across an article titled: Satan Doesn’t Mind Bible Study Never Put Into Practice. Yep sounds just like where I am.

James 1:22-24 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. (MSG)

I feel like I am fooling myself when just because I heard or read or studied a truth, I internalized it. Actually, I can be so busy going to the next class, reading more, or listening more, that I have no time to implement what I learned. I forget it on the way to the next study. Without implementation, all my Bible studies are worthless.

John 13:12-17 Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life. (MSG)

It could be that I am afraid of speaking something that would offend or make me sound like a zealot, which is a person who has very strong feelings about something (such as religion or politics) and who wants other people to have those feelings. I want others to have that feeling, but I do not want to push my feelings on others.

I am constantly reminded of Brennan Manning’s quote: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

So I now pray for opportunities to share my faith. I know that I am encouraging others with my writings and leadership at the church, so I will not let that slide. I just ask for prayers for me and that God would strengthen my walk with Him. Let me become a Doer of His Word. Or like a famous quote: JUST DO IT!