Say and then... DO!

Well, if all goes as planned this afternoon, I should be able to complete the final piece of the puzzle of becoming a full-fledged resident of the great state of Oklahoma!  I have a 2:15 pm appointment with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety to transfer my drivers license over from North Carolina to Oklahoma!   The only other connection I still have with my former state is my checking and savings accounts, which I should be able to close in a few days… as soon as I receive my new debit card from my Oklahoma credit union.  And like I keep saying… so much continues to happen in a very short period of time!


While I was preparing the dog’s breakfast in the kitchen this morning, my mind drifted back to one year ago today.  Piper had only been gone a few days and my head was simply swirling!  Who knew all the events that would take place within the next 365 days?  If I had taken the time to think about it back then, I most likely wouldn’t have believed it possible!  To do everything that would be needed to replant a life some 1200 miles away would seem virtually impossible!


But then… our God is in the impossible changing business!  If you recall, Jesus Himself said that "The things that are impossible for people to do are possible for God to do." (Luke 18:27 God’s Word ©)  But just how does that work for you and me?  Well, once again, Jesus gave us a key to the puzzle when He stated: “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24 KJV) 


I’ve heard A LOT of teaching on this subject over the years.  I’ve seen this verse turned inside out and upside down as various pastors and Bible teachers dissected the various words and themes of this powerful subject.  To me though, the delicate theology of Jesus’ words balances on that one word: “BELIEVE!”


And just what does it mean to BELIEVE?  Well, let me say that this thought is one that I rolled around in my heart and mind over and over again throughout the battle that we fought for Piper’s health.  It’s something that I had to personally settle so that I could get up and face each new day… especially as my lovely wife’s physical symptoms grew worse.  It was also something that I had to face with people around me in the family, in our church, with our medical providers and with most people we met in public.


I discovered that it was very frustrating and confusing for me to see people saying one thing to us and then physically doing something contrary to their spoken words.  Or to utter all the right Christian terminology and then do absolutely nothing about it!  After a while though, I began to make the important connection between what we say and what we do!  


I eventually learned that the two have to match in in order for something positive to happen… in order to release the possibilities of God into our impossible situations!  If you look back over my blog posts over the years, you’ll see that I began to describe certain Biblical terms like “faith” and “love” as ACTION words.  Lately I’ve also added the word “believe” to that list as well.  


For me it is easier to see things this way when I purposely add the descriptive performance verb “actively” in front of the words “faith, love and believe.”  To me Christianity is a very ACTIVE lifestyle.  It is something that we are called to live and demonstrate on a daily basis.  If I really want to BELIEVE God and His word to work within the parameters of my life… then I’ve got to DO something about it!  I’ve got to study it, I’ve got think it, I’ve got to say it and then I have to actively DO it!


I’ll share some teaching I recently re-discovered on the subject of Bible BELIEVING next time… but until then… I would challenge you to consider the ways in which you DO and/or CAN actively BELIEVE God’s Word for your life… Then say with me… “I am expecting the promises in God’s Word to come alive in my life today!”