“Talk is cheap. Words are plentiful. Deeds are precious.” ~ H. Ross Perot

Jesus backed up His words with actions. If we say we love God, and we say we love others, do we show it in our actions?

Jesus did.

“Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home! And the man jumped up and went home!” Matthew 9:4-7 NLT.

Good works do not save us, nor are they what it takes to “please” God. “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” Matthew 7:21 NLT.

There is a wonderful lesson the Lord gives to the disciples concerning their faith in the Gospels. They have just witnessed the feeding of the 5,000+ with the five loaves and two fish. Jesus tells the disciples to go ahead of him in a boat to the other side of the lake while He sends the multitudes away. He then goes up on the mountain to pray.

But while He is alone praying, the boat gets caught in a storm. So in the fourth watch of the night, or about three in the morning, Jesus comes walking to them on the water…

“And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ 

Now here is where things get interesting. Peter’s “talk” is about to get tested. He says he believes. All of the disciples just witnessed their Lord take a few loaves and a couple of fish and feed thousands of people! Now they are in trouble and they are even afraid. This same Jesus bids Peter to come to Him walking on the water! Well, what would YOU do?

“And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid…” I know Peter gets a lot of chastisement for his lack of faith once he was out on the water. But seriously, at least he stepped out of the boat! He didn’t just talk about it; he took a step of faith!

Yes, once out there, he faltered, but who did he call on?

“…and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’”.

He knew who could save him, who had the answers. But let’s not ignore the end of the verse: “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:26-30 NKJV. He saved Peter even though he doubted. He didn’t let him down!

Now, we have the faith part covered. Back to the action!

“But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:17-18.

Again, talk is cheap! If you see someone in need but you do nothing about it, or as the New Living Translation puts it, “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion-how can God’s love be in that person?”

I think that is pretty direct! How can God’s love even BE IN that person! If we ignore obvious needs, what kind of servants are we? “Let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

So, does that mean that Christianity is all about service? That our mission here on this earth is all about feeding the hungry and putting shoes on the homeless? No, a thousand times no. We were put here to share the Gospel, the Good News. Do you know what that is? That Jesus Christ came, gave His life, suffered, rose again the third day and conquered death, hell and the grave!

Now He lives to bring us eternal life! We are to tell others that they need the Gift of the Holy Spirit residing in them, baptized in His name, according to the Book of Acts the second chapter, which is the beginning of The Church!

Then these “deeds” will come automatically! We will walk in newness of life! We will want to serve others! We will want to show compassion, feed the hungry, reach out to the lonely, and our actions will speak louder than our words.

 

Sharing with Character Corner, Titus Tuesdays, Top Ten Tuesdays, Friend Connect Blog Hop, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Women Helping Women, Teach me Tuesdays, Wise Woman, a little R & R