Believe, Say, Do!

Well, we made it through our first snowstorm of the season over the weekend.  Like I mentioned in our last blog, the storm didn’t produce as much severe weather as was originally forecasted... but did end up giving us more snow than the corrected forecast did after the weather service removed the winter storm watch.  We got enough to give us a thin blanket of white across our neighborhood lawns and the golf course right outside my windows.  The streets and sidewalks were still pretty warm, and the snow quickly melted as soon as it hit those surfaces.

The only downside for Fiver and I, was that the snow tended to pack in-between his pads making it very uncomfortable for him.  So, with that in mind, we only took one normal walk along the golf course and otherwise kept our activities to the backyard where we would chase the ball, stop and clean his pads and then toss the ball some more!  I’m going to look into a set of snow booties for him!

I was texting back and forth with our older son in Tennessee yesterday as they got the brunt of the storm that only tended to touch the northeastern parts of Oklahoma as it moved to the east coast.  One of the topics we touched on was how having the right clothes and equipment as well as some past experience, can make everything a lot more bearable… and maybe even a little fun!  We agreed that after the storms we went through last year (and my pervious experiences in North Carolina), that we had a good idea of what to expect and were more prepared and less concerned this time around!

The idea of having the right equipment and experience can also be said about each of our individual walks of faith.  We had a guest speaker at church yesterday who at one point in his message, told a story about a rough patch that his mom had gone through when he was young.  His parents were in the ministry and his dad was the pastor of a growing church of 2000 members… in a town with a population of around 3000 people.

And although he didn’t go into a lot of detail, there was a time span of a couple of years where his mom fell into a deep depression, where she spent most of her days alone in the parent’s darkened bedroom.  It seemed like nothing was working to help her until she got a hold of the same book that Piper and I had read very early in or marriage, that ignited a flame in us and acted as a catalyst for our faith for the rest of our lives together.*

The guest evangelist stated that what made her experience unique and set her free from the depression, was that she not only believed what she read, but that she also began to speak it out and then act out what she was saying.  One of the main foundations of the book is based on Mark 11:24 where Jesus taught saying,

“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” (KJV) 

Well, when I heard that part of the story I thought “YES!  That is exactly what set Piper and I apart from the rest of two extended families and gave us the vision, the peace, the joy, the dedication and the physical and emotional strength to succeed in life during both the good times and the more difficult ones.”  And I am not saying that to brag, but instead to humbly state that we did it… because it worked!

When Piper got sick, we saw how all kinds of individuals handled the situation.  There were those who believed God’s Word with the same understanding as us... but had failed to consistently say and do it.  As it turned out, they found it impossible to come into agreement with what we were doing.  By that time, our actions were almost second nature to us and were totally focused on the answers from God’s Word that we were EXPECTING.

Then there were those who didn’t believe exactly like we did but did believe in the power of prayer.  These folks hooked up with us where they could and continually encouraged us and stayed closely connected with us throughout our whole ordeal.  One good friend of ours even called me just about every day to pray with me!  And then when he got sick a year or so ago, I did the same for him until he went on to his heavenly home… and he’s probably telling his corny jokes to Piper in heaven as I write this post!

And lastly there were those who wanted to believe with us… but with a complete lack of Biblical understanding, could not get past what the physical circumstances were telling them.  On the positive side though, they would at least try to smile and tell us nice things… but the hopelessness in their eyes was very apparent.

Over the many years of my Christian walk, I have come to see that there is a vast difference in the level of an individual’s faith between just BELIEVING what the Word of God says… and BELIEVING IT, and then ACTIVATING IT by SPEAKING IT out, followed by putting feet to your faith and DOING what you’re saying.  Remember that Hebrews 11:1 gives us the definition of faith by explaining that,

“Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot (yet) see.”  (God’s Word ©)

That kind of conviction empowers one to say and do what they are believing for… because they know that they already have what they are EXPECTING!

Christianity isn’t just a set of principals or a doctrine that we believe in.  It is a living, breathing, power-packed, God-infused (through His Word) lifestyle that can not only change our personal lives, but through us, can literally influence and change the world for the better!

Isn’t that the kind of influence you want to have?  I sure do!

Have a terrific week, and as you do… keep believing for and EXPECTING God’ best in your lives!

 

*The Believer’s Authority” by Kenneth E. Hagin, © 1986 RHEMA Bible Church