STEP FORWARD – 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” Mark 3:3 NKJV
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18 NIV
Our actions prove our words, our promises, and our intentions.
“Actions speak louder than words.” It’s a classic line we’ve all heard a thousand times. It’s true though, isn’t it? Words can be empty if they aren’t backed up by action. Our actions prove our words, our promises, and our intentions.
The greatest commandment we are given is to love God with all our heart and soul. The second greatest is to love our neighbor as our self (Matthew 22:36-39). Jesus tells us that people will know we are His disciples if we love them.
How do you know someone loves you? They may tell you, but, if it’s true love, their actions will also back it up. Would you say that you love others? What about those outside of your friends and family? What about those who are not Christians? If you say you love them, what have you done lately to show it?
John tells us not to love with words only, but also with our actions. James says “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17 NIV). He illustrates that in the verses just before by saying, “15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16 NIV). Over and over again we read that our actions give proof of our heart’s condition.
Our focus this week is on stepping forward and putting our faith into action. How can you step forward in what you do to show your love for others today?
APPLICATION
– Ask God to show you practical ways that you can show others your love and God’s love for them. Commit to doing something for someone else today.
– Ask God to motivate our church to continually demonstrate our love for others. Ask Him to guard us against a self-centered mindset and to help us remember that we are truly here for those who do not yet know Him. Pray that we will have a burden to show love for those who attend our campuses.
– Liberty is planning to step forward in showing our love to others by implementing a new Ministry Platform. This platform/database will enable us to improve our ministry to those who attend our campuses. It will help us to more quickly follow up with requests for more information, to track birthdays, hospital visits, etc., and to follow up when people have been out of touch for a few weeks. Pray for this new implementation process. Pray that people would sense the Lord’s love for them and our love for them through this new way of connecting.
– Pray that the Lord would continue to use the service projects that are a part of Liberty Loves Hampton Roads. Pray also for the team leaving today to serve in Northwest Africa. Ask the Lord to use their dental clinics in ways beyond what we could ask or think. Pray that others would see God’s love for them through their actions.