May 31 2009
Active Faith
Okay, I’ll admit it, I am an Elvis fan! What is there not to like about Elvis? One of his great songs is titled, “A Little Less Conversation.” Part of the song goes, “A little less conversation, a little more action please.”
I was just in Nicaragua recently when, Willie Brown, my staff director there, had decided it was time for more action. Without even asking, Willie committed Rivers of the World (ROW) to building a bigger ship for our friends in Monkey Point, Nicaragua. When you hear the term “bigger ship,” you just never know what that could mean! For all I knew he was building a ship like the QE3 (Queen Elizabeth), a luxury cruise ship!
The village of Monkey Point needed a much stronger ocean going boat and now they have it! She is 35 feet long with a seven-foot beam, large enough to carry tons of crops and people to the market! This larger boat is more sea worthy and it won’t cost us that much more money. In the village of Krin Krin, which lies along the Rio Coco River, the church will now have two large mahogany canoes to use for ministry on the border of Nicaragua and Honduras. The Rio Coco River winds through Nicaragua and forms the border with Honduras.
We learn in James 2:17 (Amplified) that faith must be put into action to really constitute a faith in Christ. This verse says:
“So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).”
In order for the world to recognize us as genuine Christians, we must demonstrate an active faith. This means when we see a need in someone’s life, we find a way to meet that need. A passive faith is one in which all we do is simply tell people, “I’ll pray for you.” Move out of your comfort zone today and be the actual hands, feet, voice and heart of Jesus to those in your community.