Sometimes I wonder what Christians would look like if they stopped reciting the scriptures they have memorized in their head and start living by them, literally.
If instead of spouting out words when they seem to fit the occasion, we turn those words into action.
Because often times I see so many discouraged, purposeless, fearful, hopeless, faithless people and I wonder why.
It makes me wonder if we actually believe what we read in our Bible’s every day.
It makes me wonder how we would live if we lived by God’s Word, instead of read it for our morning devotion only to forget to follow it a few hours later.
If you believed that God cares about you more than you can imagine (1 Peter 5:7), that you have nothing to worry about because He will provide for you (Matthew 6:25-30), and that He has a good purpose for your life from the very moment you were born (Jeremiah 29:11) would you still stay up worrying about what tomorrow will bring late into the night?
Would you still face every day with dread and anxiety because you feel like you have no hope and nothing good will happen to you?
Would you still doubt the purpose of your existence?
Would you still feel like nobody cares about you, nobody loves you, and nobody wants to have anything to do with you?
Because you shouldn’t think or feel any of these things, yet so many Christians still do.
If you believed that God is fighting your battles for you (Exodus 14:14) would you still be running around in fear because you’re too weak to handle the problems you are facing today?
If you believed that you are worth more than gold (1 Peter 1:18) would you still be seeking to find some kind of approval and validation from people and from achievements to prove that you are worth something in this world?
If you believed that you don’t need to carry all your burdens alone (Matthew 11:28) would you still be walking around with heavy chains, carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders?
If you believe that God forgives you for your past, that He made you white as snow (Isaiah 1:18), that He gave you a brand new beginning with Him (2 Corinthians 5:17) would you still be holding on to the shame of your past? Would you still be stuck in your old habits? In your old lifestyle? In your old sin? Or would you embrace your brand new life with Him?
If you believed that you can find your satisfaction in Christ alone (1 Timothy 6:17-19) and that He will meet your every need (Philippians 4:19) would you still be trying to find satisfaction through empty pleasures? Through worldly means? Through a temporary high that never lasts?
If you believed that there is a heaven waiting for you and that there is more to life than this passing world that we see (Philippians 3:20-21) would you still focus all your time, energy, and money on making it “big” here on earth? On obtaining the fanciest things? Or would you devote yourself to living for the things that will matter in eternity?
If you believed that people who don’t believe in God are destined for a hell and an eternal death that awaits all sinners (Romans 6:23) would you still be too scared to share the gospel with the people you meet every day? Would you still care less that you know the truth that will set them free, the good news that will bring them hope for eternity but you won’t share it those who are desperately in need of Christ around you?
If you believed that you will be held accountable for every single word you speak (Matthew 12:36) and every judgement you make (Matthew 7:1) would you still be quick to spread gossip about others? Would you still be so quick to judge your neighbors?
If you believed that you need to treat every person the way that you would treat Jesus (Ephesians 6:7) and that you are called to help those in need around you (James 1:27) would you still pass by the homeless guy standing on the street corner without a second glance?
Would you still look at the little child yearning for attention and love as an annoying nuisance that’s not worth your time?
Would you still be okay with doing nothing to help the people in third world countries around the world who live in poverty and die by the minute because of lack of food and shelter?
If you believed that life is short, nothing but a vapor that is here today and gone tomorrow (James 4:14), and that there is no guarantee that you will live to see tomorrow would you still waste today on living for yourself?
Would you still waste today worried about the little issues in life that are so insignificant and trivial compared to those things that matter in the eyes of God?
Would you still be okay with doing nothing to make a difference to the world around you and just focus on “getting by”?
I don’t know about you… but I don’t want to live my life never practicing what I believe.
Never putting into action what God calls me to do through His Word.
Anyone can recite passages from an old book.
Anyone can talk about how they are “supposed to live”.
But God doesn’t want you to just read His book.
He wants you to believe it and live by it.
Do you?
Because I think the average “Christian” gets fooled into believing that reading the book is enough.
It’s not. God wants you to live by the book , not just know how to recite it.
The average “Christian” gets fooled into believing that attending church service on Sunday morning is enough.
It’s not. God wants you to be His hands and feet to the world every day of the week.
The average “Christian” gets fooled into believing that giving God the bare minimum is enough.
It’s not. God wants you to give your absolute everything to Him.
Today I challenge you to not be the average Christian.
Don’t follow God half-way.
Don’t give Him just part of your life, your time, and your energy.
Give Him your all, just like He gave YOU His all.
Read His Word and after you put it back on that shelf be careful to not forget it until the next morning, but practice everything written in it.
Don’t just talk about what you say you believe, start living it!
Be blessed! Anna… ♥
“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” – Joshua 1:8
Good stuff!
I heard a story once about a new pastor who came to a church. The first Sunday he preached a wonderful sermon and everyone raved about it. The next Sunday, he preached the exact same sermon. Most people forgave him because it was such a good sermon and he was, after all, new. The next Sunday he preached the same sermon again. Then again the next Sunday. After awhile, people asked him: “Why do you keep preaching the same sermon?” His reply: “I’ll preach a new sermon once this congregation starts living the first one.”
Wow. That’s an incredible story Andrew. (And it fits perfectly with this post!) It’s one thing to write notes down from a sermon and agree about how great it is, but God wants us to apply it to our lives every day after we get off our comfy pews on Sunday, that’s the not-so-easy part. This would be an awesome idea for all pastors to do 😉 Hope you have a nice weekend!
Thanks, you too 🙂
Amen! I couldn’t agree more! If only we’d really live to please the Father, rather than hardly living. Nice post. Blessings! Crystal
I totally agree Crystal. The world tries really hard (and succeeds often) to get us distracted by things that don’t matter and sometimes we don’t even realize that how we’re living our days isn’t really going to make a difference in eternity. If we only focused on living for God we would be less worried about living for ourselves. Hope you have a blessed weekend!
I agree! I hope you have a good weekend as well! Blessings, Crystal
Great Post!
Ouch! May we be “doers” of the Word and not “hearers” only. Great post, Anna.
Amen Mary! So much easier said than done, right? But with God’s help we can turn our words into action!
Reblogged this on Today's Woman in a Proverbs 31 Sort of Way! and commented:
Amazing! I hope I can put into practice the words I read in my Bible!
Thank you for the Exhortation–by God’s grace I hope to walk the walk I talk today. Blessings to you!
No problem Laura. By God’s grace I hope to do the same. 🙂 Hope you have a lovely day!
Thank you! Same to you!
“Because I think the average “Christian” gets fooled into believing that reading the book is enough.”
Very true indeed! 🙂
Sadly true. Anyone can read the book, but not everyone chooses to live by it. 🙁
So it starts with us! :)… The rest will follow 😉
Amen! 🙂
Love it. Great post. It is so comforting to hear/find other believers that see the discrepancy in the “Christian life” and actually want to invoke change. Keep it up!
– We Are Loved –
Thanks Joseph. I think there are many Christians out there who see the discrepancy (me included) in the “Christian life” – the hard part is to start making that change happen in our lives once we do because seeing it and talking about it isn’t enough until we take action and start doing something about it.
As I read this Joshua and Caleb came to mind. May this spirit be imparted to us in seeking to mark out our place in our generation. They were 2 out of 12 that had the spirit of faith and knew their God. These are powerful percentages. Their minority report was actually the majority report in the Spirit realm concerning the conquest of the Promised Land. Numbers 14:24 is a key one. Caleb is identified as one who the Lord favours and is pleased with because he has a “different spirit” to the rest of the crowd; of faith. And, he follows wholeheartedly. He is utterly abandoned to God. This is what brings victory. This is the power of the 2 of faith. Only these 2 entered the Promised Land whilst the others died in the wilderness. The natural heart fails but the heart infused with the Spirit of Faith never fails because it magnifies God and His power above our own power. They saw no giants but only the bigness of God. This knowing of God comes through experiential witness of his power and deliverance in our own lives. He`s done it before, He will do it again. The power of the covenant is only released through faith. It is very different to posture in these days and repeat the words and spout the rhetoric without the true experiences of His greatness and power. This is presumption and I pray that the Body of Christ will be rid of this. This will be part of its journey into the true Promised Land of life in the Spirit. This is why the Lord told them to go round the walls of Jericho over and over until their view shifted off the size of the walls and onto the bigness of God. This is what it means to “magnify the Lord”. The walls (obstacles, strongholds) became smaller and smaller.
David also comes to mind as someone that God called specifically because he would accomplish all that the Lord intended (despite his failures) in his generation. God said of him that he would do all that was asked of him. David always enquired of the Lord (stayed close to him in relationship) and his intimacy was such that he knew that the Lord had delivered him from the bear and the lion would come through for him against Goliath (1 Sam 17:36-37). This was more than a fleshly cocky attitude. It was a deep heart knowing – an unshakeable and unmoveable faith – that his strength was in God. This was born from experience of His power and faithfulness. The “Goliaths” in our life get smaller as we know God more. May we be ones who truly “know” Him as we seek wholeheartedly to do great and mighty things in His name in our generation.
Thinking about it, David did lapse on occasion in his closeness with the Lord.
The great and mighty things in Gods eyes are not the same as in mans eyes. When we humbly serve and give ourself to others, this is greatness in the eyes of The Lord. The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life. Whatever we are doing for The Lord, we give ourselves completely to Him and His grace with clothe us.
Yes! Such a hard concept to understand in our world. We have it all backwards here (for good reason, the enemy is the ruler of this world). It’s so beautiful to see believers who live a truly humble life that glorifies God alone and never themselves.
I am in no way not perfect in all these things but have a long way to go. I see the worshippers He is seeking though and I seek to feel and know His heart. Doing our own thing in life and driving our own car is our natural inclination. I seek to surrender more. I read often of those who are martyrs for Jesus in places in the world. It is so deeply moving. Just humble folks. No big ministry or tv show. Poor and living in simplicity.
Yes… it is those faithful followers of Christ who give up their life for His name that reflect His heart the most…
You’re right there. Even the Bible itself is not just for scholars alone, but for all to read as a story…and for understanding the spiritual or supernatural encounter with Yahweh.