Writing Things Down So You Won’t Forget Them

Do you like to compile daily to-do lists? Not a to-do list someone else makes for you (like a honey-do list), but your own listing of tasks and appointments for the day. For much of my adult life I’ve done that and take some satisfaction in crossing an item off my list, knowing it’s been accomplished. 

Years ago, my employer enrolled me in two days of time management training. Admittedly, time management is a bit of a misnomer, because we can’t really manage time. We can’t slow it down; can’t speed it up; and certainly, can’t save it for later use. 

 

If it's important enough to
remember, write it down.

However, we can ‘budget’ our time, prioritizing the most important things so they don’t get pushed aside by squeaky-wheel, “urgent” things. I learned to give an ‘A’ priority to items that must be done, ones that would reflect negatively on me if I didn’t complete them. Other things would get a ‘B’ designation – nice to get them done, but if not there’s always tomorrow. I still practice that kind of prioritizing today.

Another thing I learned was to keep one master to-do list, rather than having separate ones for work and my personal life. That basically solved the problem of overscheduling – committing to something for work that conflicted with an important family activity or appointment. 

 

But the most important principle I learned about scheduling and daily planning was to write everything down. Experts say our greatest expenditure of mental energy is repeatedly having to remind ourselves not to forget something. Writing tasks and commitments down eliminates that need – as long as we remember where we wrote them.

 

Writing things down also can serve as a great asset for growing spiritually. At a conference or attending a worship service, for example, we use our eyes and ears to take in whatever’s being said. But how often have you left an event, having heard a powerful message, and then struggled to remember the profound things that impressed you?

 

An easy solution to that problem is to write it down as you’re hearing it. Behavioral scientists tell us that the more senses we engage in an experience, the easier it is to remember. If we see and hear something and then repeat it orally, we’re engaging several senses. Writing down key thoughts is another step in the process of retaining important information. As someone has termed it, “In the ears and over the lips and through the fingertips.”

 

Being a writer, this is second nature, but I always attend a worship service with pen in hand, ready to make notes of anything the pastor says that I want to recall later. I don’t always revisit what I’ve written down, but the simple act of writing down key thoughts helps to impress them on my mind.

 

Some people maintain journals as part of their regular prayer and quiet times. They jot down specific prayer requests and reread them later to see how God has responded. They also write thoughts and ideas they have while reading and studying the Scriptures. 

 

This can also help in doing what King David wrote: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word…. I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:9,11). For people who find memorizing Bible verses to be a challenge, the physical act of writing down passages they want to remember can be very helpful. Again, the more senses we can involve in the ‘remembering process,’ the better.

 

The Bible’s final book was written by the apostle John, whom the Lord instructed to, “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later…” (Revelation 1:19). Much of the Old Testament, scholars tell us, originally was passed down through a very meticulous oral tradition, but over time the process of remembering what the Scriptures taught was made easier by writing down what God had inspired through numerous men.

 

Much of the New Testament consists of letters the apostle Paul wrote to believers in various regions. I suspect that in the process of writing, he not only communicated to his readers the truths God had taught him, but also reinforced for himself the doctrines and precepts he knew to be true. “This is why I write these things when I am absent….the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down” (2 Corinthians 13:10).

 

As Moses was beginning to conclude his leadership responsibilities and pass them along to Joshua, God commanded him, “Now write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them” (Deuteronomy 31:19).

 

In a similar way, when God teaches us something important – whether through a sermon, something we hear over the radio, at a conference, in a Bible study, during a casual conversation, or as we’re reading the Scriptures – one of the best ways for retaining it is to write it down. That way we don’t have to expend unnecessary mental energy trying to remind ourselves not to forget. You could say it’s the ‘write thing to do’!

How Can We Rejoice and Be Glad in 'This Day'?

A popular child’s song from years past told us, “This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” It is based directly on Psalm 118:24. I don’t know if it’s still used much in Christian settings, but I always loved the happy, lilting tune.

 

As I mentioned in my last post, I like to recite this verse silently when I awaken each morning: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” But let’s be honest: Aren’t there days when we wonder, ‘How can I rejoice and be glad in this day’?

 

Sept. 11, 2001 was one of those days, when four commercial airliners were hijacked by terrorists. Two were flown into New York City’s World Trade Center towers, a third one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the fourth into a rural field in Pennsylvania, redirected by courageous passengers before it reached its intended target. 

Charlie Kirk, Wikipedia photo

Wednesday was another of those days, when Charlie Kirk, a popular Conservative activist and unapologetic follower and witness for Jesus Christ, was assassinated, apparently by a trained marksman or sniper.

I never had the privilege of meeting Mr. Kirk (everyone knew him as Charlie) but had viewed many of his videos on social media. I have no way of knowing whether his public persona aligned with his life off the stage, but people interviewed who were close to him confirmed he was the real deal, a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of person.

 

He spoke about crucial topics of today, including marriage and family, politics, sexual lifestyles, gender ideology, abortion, the poor, and most important of all, the life-changing, transforming power of Jesus Christ. I admired his intellect and rhetorical skills. He had a keen mind in being able to debate and disarm opposing arguments with logic rather than emotion, and usually with a smile, grace and compassion.

 

At only 31 years old, a husband and father of two young children, Charlie seemed to have a bright future and potential to become an even more powerful changemaker in society than he already was. So, how can we ‘rejoice and be glad’ in a day when he became the victim of such a heinous act?

 

While we mourn Charlie’s all-too-soon passing and grieve for his family, I believe there are many reasons we can indeed ‘rejoice and be glad’ despite such tragedy. Let me cite some of them:

 

He is now with the Lord. Every time he spoke, Charlie was intentional in communicating his faith in Jesus Christ and why he believed, as well as the importance for everyone to seriously consider the Gospel message. In 1 John 5:11-13 we read, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” This passage says that if we have trusted in Christ, we can know for certain that we have eternal life. Charlie knew this.

 

His message will continue. When Charlie spoke about his faith, as well as issues being discussed, he often referred to the Scriptures as his ultimate source of Truth. Over the years he addressed countless thousands of people, many of them college-aged and young adults. In addition, his videos were viewed – and will continue being viewed – by millions, thanks to the Internet and social media. Whether Charlie thought of it this way or not, he was planting seeds that will bear fruit for eternity. As Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31). And Hebrews 4:12 declares, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

 

God will raise up others in his place. Charlie wasn’t a lone ranger. His organization, Turning Point USA, has more than 850 campus chapters, and surely God will raise up others to fill the void he left behind. In 2 Kings 2:9 we read the account of the prophet Elijah ‘passing his mantle’ to his protégé, Elisha. Before being taken up to heaven by God, Elijah asked, “‘Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?’ ‘Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,’ Elisha replied.” Perhaps even now someone is praying, asking the Lord for a “double portion” of what God had given Charlie.

 

The Lord will carry his family through this difficult time. It is reported that ahead of Charlie’s passing, his wife, Erika, shared a favorite Bible verse on social media: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). The coming days will be unimaginably hard for the Kirk family, but they will find refuge and strength in the Lord to sustain them. This is an assurance we all have if we have entrusted our lives to Christ, being reborn as children of God.

 

God will turn this tragedy into His good. A verse we commonly turn to in times of adversity is Romans 8:28, which says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” There’s danger of overusing it, turning it into a platitude, but it’s true, nonetheless. I’ve experienced it many times myself, and hopefully you have as well.

 

The Bible gives many examples of how the Lord fulfilled this promise, including the story of Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, then falsely accused and imprisoned in Egypt. Yet God sovereignly enabled Joseph to rise to second in power only to Pharaoh and used by the Lord to save the people of Israel in the midst of a great famine. After encountering his betraying brothers, Joseph stated, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this…” (Genesis 50:20).

What good God intends to accomplish through this evil, murderous act against Charlie Kirk we can’t know right now. But we can firmly believe He will use it in His time. And knowing that even Sept. 10, 2025 – as well as Sept. 11, 2001 – were days the Lord made, we can rejoice in them.

Thinking Twice About Things We Take for Granted

There’s so much in this life that we take for granted. For example, running water. We turn on the faucet or the shower without wondering whether water will come out. Until it doesn’t – as happened to us recently. The water pressure was very low, so we instantly started worrying about if we’d have enough water for our morning coffee or to get cleaned up. But that doesn’t happen often. 

Running water isn’t the only thing we tend to take for granted. There’s the car starting every time we turn the key or hit the ignition switch (depending upon the age of your car). However, we’ve probably all had moments when we turned the ignition and … nothing.

 

What about food for breakfast? For most of us, it’s not a matter of whether we’ll have any food to eat, but rather what kind of food we choose to have: Eggs? Bacon, or sausage? Cereal? Toast? Cinnamon rolls or donuts? We even take for granted that we’ll be able to choose.

 

Then there are our joints. We know we’ve got them – knuckles, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles. We hardly notice them. We don’t consciously instruct them to bend. They’re just there, functioning unnoticed. Until something goes wrong – we twist them, strain them, break them. Or for no apparent reason, they just start aching. Suddenly those joints and the many movements they enable us to make become precious.

 

We could cite many other examples: Beating hearts, air in our lungs, clothes to wear, air conditioning when it’s hot, heat when it’s cold outside. It’s easy to take our loved ones for granted, something I try hard not to do. But it happens sometimes. 

 

Another thing we’re inclined to take for granted – and most important of all – is our relationship with God. For atheists and agnostics, of course, this isn’t a problem. But for those of us who profess to be followers of Jesus, we sadly can take Him for granted as well.

We might attend church regularly, spend a few minutes reading the Bible once in a while, pray before meals (when we remember), and act appropriately pious when the situation dictates. But how many of us can declare along with the apostle Paul, “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28)?

 

When a crisis arises, we’re quick to call out, “Lord, I need you!” When confronted with a difficult, important decision, we remember God. When a loved one is experiencing a serious illness, we pray and ask Him to intervene. When we discover there’s too much month at the end of our pay, our thoughts shift toward the Lord and plead for His provision.

 

However, when all is going well or circumstances seem manageable, our attitude is more like, “I’ve got this. No need to bother God with this one. I can handle it.” Kind of like pushing Him aside and saying, “I’ll let You know when I need You,” and moving on with our lives.

 

It’s interesting that in the second and third chapters of Revelation, where the apostle John records a vision God gave him while he was on the island of Patmos, taking God for granted was among the grievous sins of the seven churches in the province of Asia.

 

To the church in Ephesus, John was directed to write, “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance…. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” (Revelation 2:2-5).

 

And to the church in Laodicea, John was inspired to tell the believers, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of My mouth…. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:15-20).

 

We commonly use that last verse, “I stand at the door and knock,” in an evangelistic sense. That Christ is knocking at the door of a person’s heart waiting to be invited in. And in one respect that’s true. But the context here is the church in Laodicea, people already claiming to trust in Jesus. They were neither cold nor hot – essentially, they were taking their relationship with the Lord for granted. To use a contemporary word, “Meh.”

 

Believers in Ephesus had “lost their first love,” apparently becoming preoccupied with other things. The Laodiceans were “neither hot nor cold,” perhaps going through the motions but not demonstrating the joy and zeal for Jesus Christ that sets us apart from other people.

 

Granted, these God-inspired words were written nearly 2,000 years ago, but tragically many congregations – and many professing Christians – today also can be described in the same terms: having lost their first love, or being lukewarm – neither cold nor hot.

 

When I sense this in my own life, I try to recall and pray these words of repentance from King David in Psalm 51:10-12:

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

 

Considering everything the Lord does for us, much of which we don’t even recognize, He doesn’t deserve to be taken for granted. Maybe, as with the folks in ancient Ephesus and Laodicea, it’s time for us to repent.

Proving We’re Genuine By ‘Show and Tell’

When I was a boy in what we called ‘grammar school’ – we know it today as elementary school – one of the popular weekly activities was “Show and Tell.” We’d take turns bringing in favorite items from home, show them to our fellow classmates, and tell what they meant to us. They included things like favorite toys, dolls, dinosaur models, pet guinea pigs, and art projects.

 

I don’t know whether they still do “Show and Tell” in schools today – I haven’t had a chance to ask my grandkids – but it was always fun to see what my classmates were so excited about and hear them talk about it. The visual component added a lot to what they were telling us. Full disclosure: As a boy I was very shy, so when my turn came at showing-and-telling, I was terrified, but it was part of my growing experience.

 

Why do I bring this up? Because as followers of Jesus, we’ve been commanded to “be My witnesses” wherever we are and wherever we go (Acts 1:8), and an important part of being witnesses for Christ is showing – living out our faith and demonstrating its genuineness.

Years ago, a non-believing friend was telling me one of the reasons he had no use for Christianity. People he worked with would be very bold and vocal in their expressions of faith, but how they conducted themselves on the job seemed to contradict the principles they espoused. My friend’s attitude was, "If that’s a Christian, I don’t want to be one.”

 

I know there are many valid responses to that: No one’s perfect. It’s unfair to judge Christ by the behavior of His sinful followers. We’re saved by faith, not by works. All that is true. But my friend had a point: If professed followers of Jesus basically don’t appear to act any differently than non-believers, what’s the big deal?

 

It is a big deal in so many ways, as I tried to explain to my friend. But even the Scriptures teach that true faith is really a show-and-tell experience. One of my favorite passages about sharing our faith with others makes this very clear:

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (1 Peter 3:15-16).

 

There are three important parts to this exhortation. The first is to “set apart” (other translations say, “sanctify”) Jesus in our hearts as Lord. If we’re to live effectively and fruitfully for Him, we need to make sure He’s given the highest priority in our lives.

 

The second part is to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who ask…the reason for the hope that you have.” Another translation puts it this way: “…always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account….” Either way, we’re speaking about our faith in response to someone else’s initiative. If they ask us to ‘give an answer,’ this implies something about our lives has prompted them to ask about what we believe. ‘Making a defense’ similarly indicates someone else has taken the offensive, perhaps asking, “What makes you so sure about what you believe?” Or, "Why are you different?"

 

And the third part goes back to the ‘show-and-tell’ aspect of evangelism. We’re to be keeping a “clear conscience” and demonstrating “good behavior in Christ” so that those who speak against us will have no legitimate grounds for criticism. They will see us working hard for our employers, operating honestly and with integrity, and showing true interest in and compassion for others.

 

Even Timothy, the apostle Paul’s young protégé, was instructed to ensure that he not only knew and understood God’s truth but also lived it out consistently. Paul urged him to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

 

Without question we’re to be always be prepared to speak about our love for Christ and trust in Him. But as someone has wisely observed, “If your walk doesn’t equal your talk, the less said the better.”

Conquering the Conundrum of Discontentment

Have you ever been invited into a friend’s home for the first time and marveled with envy at their house and its design? Or gotten out of your 10-year-old car just as your neighbor drove up with a new SUV and you thought, ‘Wow, I’d like to have a car like that’? Maybe you’ve felt jealous of someone who had a better job than you – or a better income?

 

To be honest, there have been times when feelings like that have crossed my mind. I suspect this is one of the reasons “you shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17) is included among the Ten Commandments. In our materialistic world, we’ll always find someone having something we’d like to have ourselves. It might be the pool in their backyard, the photo-perfect vacations they take each year, their wardrobe, or their seemingly ideal marriage. We can become preoccupied with thoughts of, ‘I wish…. I want…. If only….’

 

On top of that, we’re bombarded daily with TV, radio and movie ads, billboards and other messages designed to develop in us a sense of discontentment. The ads might not say it in so many words, but subtly they’re telling us, “Your life isn’t complete unless you buy this.” Or, “This is what you can’t do without.” It gets to the point where it’s hard to distinguish between our genuine needs – and our wants.

 

Of course, these impulses aren’t new. That’s why God commanded all of us not to covet “your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” I don’t know anyone who’s confessed to coveting his neighbor’s ox or donkey, but that’s beside the point.

 

We might say the antithesis of coveting is contentment, being satisfied with whatever we have and wherever we are at the moment. Writing to his protégé, Timothy, the apostle Paul offered this perspective: “…godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

 

I remember an old friend I hadn’t seen in a long while. When I asked how he and his family were doing, he responded, “Well, we have a lot of wants, but don’t have any needs.” How many of us can say that and mean it? And yet, the Scriptures exhort us over and over to strive for contentment.

 

After thanking Christ followers in ancient Philippi for their support of his mission work, Paul added, “I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. In any and every situation I have learned the secret of being filled and being hungry, of having plenty and having need. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13). That is the key – through Christ.

 

While we might feel envious or jealous of other people’s life circumstances, most often our “coveting” is directly to money or things money can buy. The unidentified writer of Hebrews pointed this out: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5). In essence, coveting what someone else has is like saying to the Lord, “You haven’t given me enough!”

 

King Solomon, whose vast wealth was coveted by leaders of other nations, ironically concluded from his own experience that discontentment – never being satisfied with what one already has – leads to vain pursuits: “He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

 

One of Jesus’ favorite topics during His earthly ministry was money and material possessions – but not seeking to accumulate them. Instead, He admonished us to concentrate on things that won’t become damaged or lost. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

 

Jesus made this declaration during His so-called “Sermon on the Mount,” but had more to say on the subject: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?... But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:25,33).

 

These truths are important for us to hold onto, especially with Christmas fast approaching. As if we needed a reminder of this, stores are already displaying Christmas trees and other holiday finery, even though Halloween and Thanksgiving haven’t yet arrived. In the retail world Christmas, what we could call our annual “season of discontent,” can determine the difference between a profitable year and one that finishes in the red.

 

Discontentment is a universal problem, but it’s especially concerning for followers of Christ. As Paul said, “godliness with contentment is great gain” – and a powerful witness to the unbelieving world that’s always grasping for more. In the words of the old hymn, as we “turn our eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face…the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It’s Off to Work We Go!

We’re just days away from our annual holiday oxymoron: Labor Day. It’s the day every year that most of us celebrate work – by taking the day off from work.

 

Many of us eagerly look forward to weekends and plan our next vacations with much anticipation, but it’s work that keeps the wheels of progress turning. The range of jobs and career paths available is greater than ever. Once a predominantly agrarian society, the United States saw that forever change with the Industrial Revolution, then computer technology. Yes, we still have farms and farmers, but even the work done there has been revolutionized.

 

We’ve got doctors, nurses, CPAs, lawyers, engineers, architects, teachers, homemakers, barbers, estheticians, artists, musicians, business executives, salespeople, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, entrepreneurs, scientists, retail clerks, first responders, masons, handymen (handypeople?), writers, editors, administrative assistants, financial planners, computer programmers, construction workers, technicians of many kinds, professional athletes, librarians. And that’s just scratching the surface of vocational options we have today.

 

For some, work is where they find their sense of worth and meaning. I don’t believe that is exactly what God intended, but in the Scriptures, we see that work was ordained from the start. The Creation account in Genesis 1-2 shows the Lord busily at work, creating the heavens and the earth, light, the stars, all the various forms of life, and finally humankind.

 

Then He assigned the work of maintaining His creation to us. “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground…. I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food” (Genesis 1:28-29).

 

Unfortunately, Adam and Eve chose to disregard God’s command not to eat from one specific tree in the garden of Eden, and that’s when work got complicated. One of the consequences of the first couple’s sin was that work would no longer be easy: 

“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you…. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground…” (Genesis 3:17-19).

 

Does this passage strike a chord with you? Are there days when you wake up and instead of saying, “Good morning, Lord!” you grumble, “Good Lord, morning!”?

 

Yes, work is often hard, even if your vocation or career is something you enjoy. Manual labor can be back-breaking; administrative and clerical work can be mentally taxing. Deadlines, budgets and other work demands can send us into a stress-filled tailspin. Nevertheless, the Bible tells us repeatedly that work – in whatever form it takes – is noble. And sacred.

 

In fact, 1 Corinthians 3:9 declares, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” And if we ever wonder what we can do to serve the Lord, Colossians 3:23-24 tells us one way is striving to do our jobs well: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

 

King Solomon of Israel, author of the largely non-uplifting Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, did have some hopeful insights about work. After commenting about the frustrations of life, including the pursuits of pleasure and wealth, he observed, “Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him – for this is his lot” (Ecclesiastes 5:18).

 

Solomon then reached a kind of good-news, bad-news conclusion: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

 

Clearly, our work is a way of serving God – and serving others. The grocery clerk working to earn money for college is stocking shelves where we find our canned goods, drinks and bread. The person in the nail salon also seeking a paycheck is helping some young woman look just right for her special evening. The road worker paving the street in the hot sun is helping to ensure we have a smooth drive – without potholes – to wherever we’re headed.

 

After God commanded the Israelites to construct an elaborate tabernacle for worship, He equipped certain individuals with all the abilities that would be needed. “He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiders in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers…” (Exodus 35:35).

In a similar manner, the Lord has gifted each of us with unique skills, talents and passions for fulfilling the calling He has place on our lives. As the title of a book written years ago by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks informs us, Your Work Matters to God. Maybe we need to be like Snow White’s seven dwarfs who, on their way to the mines, would sing, “Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to work we go.” 

What We Put Faith In … Is What We Put Feet In

Faith is a curious thing. We can’t see it, hold it, smell it or taste it. People talk about it all the time, but it doesn’t mean the same thing for everyone.

 

‘You’ve got to have faith,’ we’re told – but faith in what? When the subject turns to “people of faith,” that can include people coming from a wide range of religious and spiritual backgrounds and beliefs, some that follow tenets diametrically opposed to others. Then there are those who seem to think simply having faith in faith is enough. “I have faith that things will just work out.”

 

Faith can manifest itself in many ways. There’s the faith we all exercise in driving down a two-lane road, trusting the driver in opposite lane won’t swerve into ours, or the person at the next intersection will heed the stop sign and not pull out in front of us. We have faith in the physician who prescribes treatment or medication for our latest malady. Couples happily exchange wedding vows, having faith that their partner won’t later forget those vows.

We board airplanes in faith, trusting pilot and crew (and the plane) will transport us safely to our intended destination. We accept jobs in other parts of the country, selling the house and uprooting the family, acting in faith that the new job will work out. So, even non-religious folks have faith of some sort. But what’s it based on? 

 

At its essence, Christianity is all about faith. A full chapter in the Bible is devoted to citing exploits of many heroes of the faith. It opens with what amounts to a definition: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). I like the New King James Version translation: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

 

But faith, the Scriptures inform us, isn’t a passive pursuit. Genuine faith demands action. Someone has termed it as, ‘putting feet to our faith.’ Because the Bible gives us many examples of people who took the first step before the Lord responded, whether providing for their needs, delivering them from danger, or performing miracles.

 

Hebrews 11:7, referring to Noah and the ark recounted in Genesis 6-8, states, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” God had promised to save Noah, his wife, sons and their wives from the global flood – but Noah first had to obey by building the ark, something no one had ever done before.

 

Then the chapter cites Abraham, who put feet to his faith in the most literal way: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).

 

This was hardly Abraham’s only step of faith. James 2:21-22 reminds us, “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”

 

We can hardly turn a page of the Bible without encountering someone who either acted in obedience to God, according to their faith, or chose to rebel because they lacked faith. Here are some examples: 

The prophet Elijah, who built an altar to God and had it drenched with water, so when God sent fire from heaven to consume it, that would expose the prophets of the false gods (1 Kings 18:17-40).

The impoverished widow who obeyed another prophet, Elisha, by gathering empty jars from neighbors. God miraculously filled them all with oil, enabling her to pay off her debts and meet her and her sons’ needs (2 Kings 4:1-7).

Brothers Simon (Peter) and Andrew had spent an entire night without catching any fish. But at Jesus’ request, they again let down their nets, catching so many fish the nets nearly broke (Luke 5:1-11).

Jesus’ mother Mary, who came to Him when the wine at a wedding feast had run out. When He instructed that large jars be filled with water, the servants Mary had summoned did as they were told and Jesus turned the water into wine (John 2:1-11).

The invalid Jesus encountered who had been crippled for 38 years. When Jesus commanded, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk,” the man obeyed, standing for the first time in nearly four decades and walking – maybe even running – home (John 5:1-8).

 

The “walk of faith” for a follower of Jesus truly is that, putting one foot ahead of the other as we seek to go as the Lord guides and do as He directs. It’s not perching on a park bench somewhere, waiting for God to do something to resolve our problems or intervene in our circumstances. God does His part, but He also expects us to do ours – by faith.

 

The apostle James stated it this way: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him?... Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do…. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead” (James 2:14,18,26).

 

We’re saved by grace through faith, as Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us. However, genuine faith inevitably reveals itself through action on our part: Waiting when the Lord impresses us to wait; moving forward when He tells us to go. What is the Lord asking you do – in faith?