"Words words words, I'm so sick of words!! ..." Audrey Hepburns view of lack of action on the part of a reluctant Rex Harrison in my fair lady. This is not to say I'm a star struck fan of musicals, rather a neat little way of entering into my topic!
I wonder if God ever gets fed up with our words! "Yes lord I'm going to do that." "Yes lord I've made a commitment... again." I fear our words sometimes don't add up with our actions. Our mouths are saying yea yea while our actions are saying no no! This is a discrepancy in our nature that desperately needs addressed.
To say words, is easy. Go ahead and try. Words.... There you did it!
Seriously though, words cost us nothing but they should hold meaning and intent to act behind them.
If we are to make our faith come alive and work for us and others, then we need to act also upon what we say.
James 2:12-26 is a crucial portion of scripture that you need to read, absorb into your spirit and then go apply it to your life.
v12 tells us this. "so speak you and so do" or in plain talk, let your words be the same as your actions friend.
v14 says it like this, "what profit is there if a man SAYS he has faith but has no actions with the belief. Can faith therefore save him?"
What a thought! If we only say we believe but do nothing to back up the fact we do, are we going to be saved out of our problem? Something to think about, no?
The difference with our father God when he speaks to us, is there's a follow through. He don't just swing at thin air with his words but they have power and things happen when God almighty speaks. i.e. "Just say the word and my servants going to be healed" note that's word then action! Signs follow them that believe.
We need to be careful with our words. Words can hurt and mislead folk, for example if you say to somebody that you will help them, and then you don't, are you being just someone who talks the walk rather than walks the walk. "Hey Fred sure I'm going to come along tonight and help you rebuild that ikea shelf." then you just don't show up!

We do exactly the same thing with God, perhaps it's not an ikea shelf but we say we're going to spend the time with him, then end up in front of the box, or we say we'll never do that 'thing' that we've been doing again but are back at it anyway.
We need to be sincere in our hearts towards God and allow his spirit to change us from the inside out. Remember that it's out of the heart that our mouths speaks. If we find were doing a lot of the talking bit without much action, then we need to look at what's going on on the inside and make changes!
As I say, change is good. Change is what keeps us from fossilizing into old crotchety dried up branches instead of the strong fruit laden leafy branches were meant to be. We are part of a fruitful vine that isn't about faith with nothing to show for it.
James 2:15 says it all. If you have a brother or sister in dire need of the very basic essentials of food and clothes and you say to them depart and be warm and fed, yet you don't give them the food and clothes, how does it help them?
Faith without works is dead. That one sentence alone sums up our need to both believe and to do. Faith alone, belief alone, abides alone.
James said this, show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works!
Getting up to do what Gods word says, to actually DO it, is the evidence that you believe what it says.
Noah, it says being moved by faith in what God had said, rose up and built himself an ark, by which he and his family were saved when everyone else refused to believe. Now if Noah had only believed God yet had failed to act upon his boat building project, would Noah have lived to tell the tale?
(think of the tremendous effort and long years of work that Noah put into the ark before you feel yourself fainting at a one day effort! Think 120 years!)
Join with me this week and let's begin again to walk and live the life of faith that BELIEVES what Gods word says and DOES it too!
Remember faith works with our works and by works our faith is made perfect.
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead."
Wise words to take deep into our hearts and let's allow the spirit of God to motivate us to action and line up our words of faith with our works.

Dade