Easter Devotional - Day 32
"I was ashamed to ask the king to send soldiers and cavalry to protect us against enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king that our God takes care of everyone who truly worships him, but that he gets very angry and punishes anyone who refuses to obey. So we went without food and asked God himself to protect us, and he answered our prayers." Ezra 8:22-23
I worshiped with a church in Brazil whose sanctuary was in dire conditions. Termites were eating the exposed beams, as well as the very pews. The roof sagged under the ceramic tiles, as the wooden supports quietly eroded under the termites' attack. The members lamented the conditions of the building, throwing up their hands in despair and resignation. "We need to get the Americans to come back and build us a new sanctuary."
The congregation was poor, and several were out of work. Over several months I preached about trusting God. Finally one of the members spoke up, saying, "We say we worship an Almighty God. We say our God can move mountains. Here we sit, however, with a roof about to collapse on us. It is a bad witness to the community. It is time to stop lamenting and actually trust God to help us build something worthy of Christ Jesus." The church finally recognized that the issue before them was not a question of finances, but of faith, trust, witness, and spiritual dependence upon God.
Banks in Brazil do not generally give construction loans to churches. What loans are available come at rates greater than twenty percent over inflation. Few of the church members had income. Many were wives of unbelievers who held the reigns over their finances. Several families were unemployed. They prayed about the question of their place of worship. They decided they needed to honor God and take a step of faith into the unknown.
With the $400 in the bank, they threw together a fellowship area on a patio out back—cinder block walls with a corrugated roof. They contracted with a firm to tear down the old sanctuary for what might be salvaged. One member was losing his construction job. He decided to offer the church free labor for four months instead of taking the new job he was offered. Two years later, they were worshiping in a new sanctuary with seating for 250 and no loans to repay.
Faith calls us to do more than state a claim of dependence on God. Faith calls us to more than talk about God's love and provision. Faith calls us to enter into a relationship in which trust is the only support for life. A claim for God's power is empty when we refuse to place ourselves in a position to depend on the trust inherent in that claim. Faith demands that trust be transformed from words into action. It is there also, that our witness becomes reality and a viable message of God's sufficiency.
Are we willing to allow our witness to the greatness and love of God to become a practical reality in our lives? Otherwise, we simply spout empty words devoid of meaning—words we should be shamed to pronounce. It is in action and practice that our claims of faith are transformed into realistic witness for God. Effective witness and evangelism does not start with words. It begins with the action of faith—trusting God according to our claims of God's faithfulness.
Take stock of where God is calling you to faithful action and trust.
"Lord, make me an effective witness by acting upon my claims of faith in you."
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin
http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
My latest books can be found here on amazon
I worshiped with a church in Brazil whose sanctuary was in dire conditions. Termites were eating the exposed beams, as well as the very pews. The roof sagged under the ceramic tiles, as the wooden supports quietly eroded under the termites' attack. The members lamented the conditions of the building, throwing up their hands in despair and resignation. "We need to get the Americans to come back and build us a new sanctuary."
The congregation was poor, and several were out of work. Over several months I preached about trusting God. Finally one of the members spoke up, saying, "We say we worship an Almighty God. We say our God can move mountains. Here we sit, however, with a roof about to collapse on us. It is a bad witness to the community. It is time to stop lamenting and actually trust God to help us build something worthy of Christ Jesus." The church finally recognized that the issue before them was not a question of finances, but of faith, trust, witness, and spiritual dependence upon God.
Banks in Brazil do not generally give construction loans to churches. What loans are available come at rates greater than twenty percent over inflation. Few of the church members had income. Many were wives of unbelievers who held the reigns over their finances. Several families were unemployed. They prayed about the question of their place of worship. They decided they needed to honor God and take a step of faith into the unknown.
With the $400 in the bank, they threw together a fellowship area on a patio out back—cinder block walls with a corrugated roof. They contracted with a firm to tear down the old sanctuary for what might be salvaged. One member was losing his construction job. He decided to offer the church free labor for four months instead of taking the new job he was offered. Two years later, they were worshiping in a new sanctuary with seating for 250 and no loans to repay.
Faith calls us to do more than state a claim of dependence on God. Faith calls us to more than talk about God's love and provision. Faith calls us to enter into a relationship in which trust is the only support for life. A claim for God's power is empty when we refuse to place ourselves in a position to depend on the trust inherent in that claim. Faith demands that trust be transformed from words into action. It is there also, that our witness becomes reality and a viable message of God's sufficiency.
Are we willing to allow our witness to the greatness and love of God to become a practical reality in our lives? Otherwise, we simply spout empty words devoid of meaning—words we should be shamed to pronounce. It is in action and practice that our claims of faith are transformed into realistic witness for God. Effective witness and evangelism does not start with words. It begins with the action of faith—trusting God according to our claims of God's faithfulness.
Take stock of where God is calling you to faithful action and trust.
"Lord, make me an effective witness by acting upon my claims of faith in you."
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin
http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
My latest books can be found here on amazon
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