Monday 19 April 2021

Prove Your Faith

Hello Readers & Followers,

How was your weekend? I hope you had a restful and lovely weekend? It is another week! Praise be to God for His mercies over us. This week's post is an opportunity for us to reflect on the genuineness of our faith. Most people may have heard someone say "I love You" to their spouse. However, I believe the phrase "I love You" carries better weight when it is shown through works. How would I know that my husband loves me? It is not only in what he says to me but rather in his actions toward me. This applies to our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Jesus would like us to prove our faith by our actions. Jesus said in John 14:15 that "If you love me, obey my commandments."


James 2:17 says "So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless." I love the way the TLB version explains James 2:17, it says "you see, it isn't enough to have faith but you must also do good to prove that you have it." In essence, James was teaching us that faith that does not show itself by good works is no faith at all, it is useless and dead. Is your faith producing good works? 

God would like your faith in Him to:

  • Produce good works
  • Be effective
  • Become more like Christ in your actions and your way of life.

We have examples of people in the Bible that lived a life that showed that they trusted in God. Hebrews 11 tells us that by faith Abraham obeyed God when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going (verse 8 of Hebrews 11).

It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise (Hebrews 11:11).

It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down (Hebrews 11:30).

We also have an example of the Rechabites, who were faithful to obey their father's command not to drink wine. Even when handed wine by a prophet in the temple, they remained faithful. This is a reminder for us to remain faithful unto God through our actions regardless of the circumstances that may come our way. 

1 Peter 1:7 talks about how the genuineness of our faith will be tested by fire and a prayer was said that may our faith be found to praise, honour and give glory to God. In fact, 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 says: "But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer a great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames."

Are your works going to be seen as valuable by God when they go through the fire?

Show the genuineness of your faith in what you do, what you say, what you think, and how you do things. Your faith can produce good works through the help of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you live a life that is pleasing to God. He is always wanting to help us. He said when we remain in Christ, we will bear fruit. - John 15:4.

If this article has blessed you — would you like to share it with someone? Send it to a friend, on your social media platforms, family members, and many more.

Also, I love hearing from you in the comment section. Please take a minute to say ‘hello’ by leaving a comment. 

May the Spirit of the Lord - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord rest on you, in Jesus' name, Amen (Isaiah 11:2).

Have a lovely week!

Yours in Christ,

Mysses Lafunky

I have a free e-book for you. The book (15 Women of the Bible: How they lived a Purpose Driven Life). This e-book was written by my Bible Study Group. To download on Google Drive for free, click here.

Picture reference: https://www.mowabt.org/faith-works-2/

2 comments:

  1. We are not saved by our works, but we sure do show our hearts by the fruit we produce. Faith is complicated but easy if our heart is right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by, Jp. Indeed! We are not saved by works. Ephesians 2:8 says that for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.

      I love how you mentioned that faith with works is easy when our heart is right. This is true. I believe as we submit to the Lord, our hearts will become transformed. Our deeds will then continually show the outer reflection of the inner transformation.

      Delete