Move That Mountain

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? (James 2:14-20)

Faith without actions is not really faith at all, is it? In fact, faith is revealed in action. Jesus never said, "See that mountain - look at it until it crumbles." He said, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen." (Matthew 21:21) Doubt looks at the mountain and does nothing - faith sees the mountain and sets everything in motion to see it actually moved. That doesn't mean we move the mountain - it means we do what God asks and then see him move on our behalf. Think about the Israelites marching time and time again around the walls of Jericho - God asked them to march, then on the seventh day to praise him with all they had. If they had of just sat there and 'trusted God' to remove the walls, do you think the walls would have crumbled? No, because he asked them to take specific actions and they did! God created us as both physical and spiritual beings - meaning we use all that he created to do as he says. 

God asks for passion, but he also asks for persistence. We persist in prayer, but we also persist in taking the actions he directs until he tells us to no longer take those actions. Lots of us have passion - we get all excited to see something accomplished, but how many of us have the persistence to act time and time again until God is finished accomplishing what needs to be done? We don't act in our own power - we act in his. We are obedient to the things he asks us to do, and we keep on taking those actions, until he tells us to stop. Ever see someone so intent on taking 'good actions', but lacking the relationship with Jesus that should go along with those good actions? Those actions may be all well and good, but they are a little hollow or empty, aren't they? We might think of these actions as 'philanthropic' or 'benevolent'. They are indeed 'good', but there is something missing - faith in Christ. When good deeds are an outflow of this relationship with Jesus, they are never 'hollow' - they are filled with love and grace.

God never focuses on the actions over the heart. He knows the heart innervates the actions, so he focuses on our heart first. When our heart is right with him, our actions are 'faith actions' - they are rich, meaningful, and with specific purpose. God asks us to be mountain movers, but we don't move mountains on our own. If you and I go through life just focusing on doing the 'right things' but neglect the 'right relationship' component of faith, our faith is not really faith - it is religion. Just sayin!

Buried, but not hidden!

As a kid, I always tried to cover up something I did wrong - I think it was more out of "instinct" than anything else.  You don't find too many kids who just come right out and say - "Sure, Mom and Dad, I broke the vase!"  Most try to hide the broken pieces by stacking them back together with Elmer's glue!  Now, don't look at me that way!  You had your share of "cover-ups" in your time!  


The sins of some people are blatant and march them right into court. The sins of others don't show up until much later. The same with good deeds. Some you see right off, but none are hidden forever.  (I Timothy 5:24-25 The Message)


Sometimes our sins are absolutely blatant.  Like the time Mom came home from shopping and immediately announced to me that I had been in my Grandmother's licorice!  Now, how in the world did she know that???  I was immediately shifting into the "cover-up" mode before I could think about it!  Denials be what they were, no amount of denying could cover-up the fact my tongue was a rich color of black and my breath betrayed the distinctive smell of licorice!  Some "sins" are just more "out there", aren't they?  Try as we might, we just cannot hide behind any "excuse" we could honestly defend!


Then there are those sins which just don't seem to be all that noticeable.  We find ways to hide these rather successfully from most of the people we know. Someone who is really close to us may know, but most just have no idea.  Scripture points to time after time when the sins were "buried", but eventually became evident.  I think about Achan in the Old Testament.  He was guilty of hiding some of the "loot" which was supposed to be completely destroyed in their raids upon the inhabitants of Canaan.  He hid it under his bedroll.  When Israel's army was defeated in their attempt to take Ai, Joshua pulls away to inquire of God as to why the defeat occurred.  Clearly, he hears there is "sin" in the camp.


In making a long story short, it is discovered Achan has hidden this loot of silver under his bedroll.  Do you know what they call the place Achan was buried?  Trouble Valley!  How appropriate!  In the place he brings so much trouble to the nation of Israel, he is stoned for his sin.  In the same place, he is buried, with a huge pile of stones placed on his corpse.  A "memorial" of sorts - of the consequences of trying to hide what God has declared "off-limits" for his children!


The entire camp suffered because of one man's sin!  Do you remember any other stories which exemplify the "amplification" of one man's sin?  Think about it and you will likely come up with the story of Adam and Eve.  Scripture tells us it was by the action of "one man" sin entered in (Adam), and by the action of "one Man" sin was dealt with forever (Jesus).  Eli was a priest back in the day.  A priest with many sons - sons he failed to lead well.  As a result, they allowed untold sinful practices to enter into the courts of God's tabernacle.  In turn, the sin of one man allowed the course of a nation to drift into the captivity of many years.  


The truth is, we don't realize the impact of our sin - it may be neatly packed away, out of view to most, but it has an impact which is far-reaching!  Even the sin of "not doing something" has an impact.  Eli knew his responsibility as a father - he had been trained to instruct his sons in the way they should go.  In "abdicating" his role as their father, he actually "endorsed" their sin.  His "not doing" led to them "doing much".  


This passage doesn't stop there though.  In reading it in its entirety, we discover just as our "sin" might not remain covered-up for long, so our good deeds will surface!  I am not a person who likes much in the way of "public recognition".  In fact, just let me blend into the woodwork, give me a private pat on the back, and I am quite honored to have served.  As difficult as it is to "hide" our wrong-doings, it is equally as hard to "just blend into the woodwork"!  People recognize a job well-done - even Jesus notices!  


Here are some take-aways today:


1.  Bury something long enough and it will surely get exposed - in some place we might name as "Trouble Valley"!  Trouble has a way of bringing to the surface what we try to hard to hide, does it not?


2.  We never "sin" alone - it impacts those around us, even when they are not "involved".  Our "cover-up" does not ensure others will remain free of the "defilement" which the sin brings to the entire camp.


3.  Just as sin cannot remain under cover, so your good deeds will get recognized.  Here's hoping your "account" is filled with "good deeds" and very few "sins"!

King's Kids

¹ God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list?  ² "Walk straight, act right, tell the truth.  ^3-4 Don't hurt your friend,
      don't blame your neighbor; despise the despicable.  ⁵ Keep your word even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a bribe.  You'll never get 

   blacklisted if you live like this."

(Psalm 15)

David asks a simple question of God - one that is quite often a consideration of humankind.  He wants to know who it is that God shows favor to - who is it that is welcomed into his presence, made to feel at home, enjoying the very fruits of his rule.  Then, as he heard his answer from God, he recorded those traits that we see in a man or woman of God that make him/her free to move about in the presence of a holy God.

It begins with learning to walk straight, act right, and tell the truth.  We don't do this on our own - it is impossible to do this without the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  At the moment we cry out to God to cleanse us of our sinfulness, opening the door for the cleansing that comes by the blood of Jesus, we are inviting the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our lives.  It is his purpose to assist us in the revelation of truth - the enabling to behave in a different manner than we had previously responded in life's moments of decision.

Acting right is one of the most difficult challenges we experience in life - it is the very thing that good parents strive to influence their children to do from the moment they are able to first understand the consequence of their actions.   Yet, we must keep in mind that action alone is not what God desires - we can do all the "good deeds" we want to, but apart from a heart yielded to his desires, open to his leading, and abandoned in worship to him, we are only "being good".  

Not one human being could hit a home run out of the park on each and every one of these character traits listed in this passage.  We may attempt to live according to these standards, but we will find moments of compromise in our lives where we stray from the standards we set, no matter how hard we try to live by them in our own power.  It is impossible to be righteous in our own power!  Righteousness comes by one source - the blood of Jesus.  His sacrifice on the cross those many years ago is the only means by which we are viewed by God as righteous.

The "good deeds" that listed above are behaviors that are exemplary of the work of the transformational power of God - they are not of our own doing.  Try  as you might, you will find all these particular behaviors rather unrewarding without the empowering of the Holy Spirit within.  

So, if we are desirous of experiencing God's presence, being welcomed into his throne-room, not as guests, but as members of the Royal Family, we must be "in Christ".  As we come to Jesus, hearts open to his redeeming work, asking him to be Lord of our lives, he brings us into the family.  The outflow of that life leadership change is the exhibiting of the behavior listed in this passage.  We begin to look out from ourselves, seeing others in a new light.  We look beyond how the events of life affect just us, to seeing how there is an impact of each of our behaviors on another.

If we turn to another translation of this passage, you find the closing words:  He who does these things will never be shaken.  Want to live a life that isn't always on the verge of collapse?  Reach out to Jesus, welcome him as your Savior, and watch the life transformation of being welcomed into the family of a holy God.