Hear and Do

Hear and Do 

     If you read in the book of Ruth Ch 1, you will find that after Naomi's husband and sons pass away she moved. 

Have you ever thought about why she moved? Or better yet, why she moved where she was moving to (Moab)? The Scriptures say that she was moving because she HEARD that the Lord had visited his people there. 

Have you thought about the discomfort it must have caused her to leave? To pick up and go? After all, she and her family had been there for quite a while. They were there long enough for her sons to get married, her husband to die, and both her sons to die. Yet, because she HEARD, she WENT. 

The lesson for us here is two fold--
     1) that we should listen for the voice of the Lord. Listen for occurrences where God has moved in someone else's life. (Their testimony) What Naomi heard was not that God was still present there in Moab, but that he had visited there. That's past tense. In other words, she was moving based on God showing himself in someone else's life. She was basing her move of faith on someone else's testimony. 

     2) we should not hesitate to share what God has done in our lives. We should constantly tell our testimony to others. Why? Because we don't know if there is a Naomi somewhere waiting for, and listening for, our testimony in order for her faith to be activated.

      James 1:22-23  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

      Is God telling you to step out on faith? Is He telling you to move? What is it that the Lord is saying to you through the story of Naomi?

We love you, and we are praying for you. 

~Pastor Erroyl and Sis. Pinky

~SALT

Sis. Pinky’s Prayer:

Father, anoint my ears to be sensitive to Your voice, and then to share my testimony to those who have ears to hear. Increase our faith this day.

In Jesus’ name, we pray

Amen

Preach the gospel! When necessary use words.

Preach the gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere you go, and when necessary use words. -St. Francis of Assisi 

So what does this quote really mean? Does it mean that we are only to have a lifestyle Gospel? Does it mean that we should rarely speak about God’s goodness to others? Certainly not!

When an opportunity presents itself we should certainly use our words, our testimony, and the Scriptures to evangelize. 

        The issue, and point for this quote, is that we are not always able to talk. In fact, though it may not seems like it, the majority of the time we are not talking. Most often, our actions are what people see, and remember about us. So, the words of St. Francis do not give us a "get out of evangelism free" card. It actually suggests to us to live a Christlike life; to become a “living sacrifice” as we are urged to do in Romans 12:1. 

         The quote also gives encouragement to those who do not necessarily have the gift of gab. Most preachers are certainly verbose. We have a natural inclination to talk. This may also be the case with most teachers, and perhaps those in sales. But, everyone isn't blessed with the gift of gab. And at times, we all may find it difficult to verbalize what we may feel in our hearts. So, our actions are what people need to see, and feel. In many cases, maybe even most of the time our actions speak louder than words ever could. 

      

We love you, and we are praying for you.

~Pastor Erroyl

SALT

Sis. Pinky’s Prayer:

Thank you for the reminder that we are Your representatives on earth, and that our actions should line up with the Word. Help us through our words and actions, to not be stumbling blocks to others.

In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.