Faith must be backed by actions. It doesn't do anybody any good if you say, "I wish
you luck getting into heaven." You know how to get to heaven! Tell them! If you have faith
you will do as Jesus commanded and love each other. People will notice your acts of love or
the lack thereof. What do people see when they look at you?
Do not make any promises. The only person who can make a promise is the Lord. We may not be
able to keep a promise. Every broken promise lessens the truthfulness of yourself. The only
way a person can keep a promise is if it is God's will. So instead of saying "I promise" say
"God willing".
What does it mean to be yoked? If you are yoked with someone you share an equal
responsibility with that person. It takes a commitment from both of you. If you
have made a commitment with an unsaved person, you may be heading for trouble. The
Spirit of God lives within you and helps you, but the unbeliever relies on the flesh.
If you are yoked with an unbeliever you also rely on the flesh because if that person
fails, so do you. Be wary of commitments with the unsaved.
Does your daily life reflect Christian attitudes? You may go to church
faithfully every sunday, and listen to the sermon but do you learn anything? The
way you act in the workplace should be no different than in church. If you hear
something that touches you on sunday remember it for the rest of the week. Don't be
a once a week pew warmer, be a 24-hour a day, 7 days a week Christian.
How is loving one another a new command? That message was written in
Leviticus. It is new because we must love one another with the same love Jesus has
shown to us. And how did he love us? It was a self-sacrificing love, even unto the
point of death. If we make sacrifices for one another, others will notice. They will
want to be a part of the family of God. Love one another.
Do not do good deeds in front of people just because you want to be seen by them.
It should be a private matter like prayer. Do them for God. People may give you a
reward, but God will not. What is a reward from man compared to what you will recieve
from God. The only one who needs to know is the Lord, and He already knows. There is
no need to show everybody how good you are. If you do, you are a hypocrite. Giving
should be so secret, the bible says, that if you are giving with your right hand, not even
your left hand should know about it. Be as secret about your giving as possible and
God will reward you later. The point is, do not act good for the sake of being
honored by men, but by God.
Do not be afraid to spank your children. They must have a certain amount respectful
fear. If they don't they will not be afraid to do wrong. If you love your children spank
your children when they misbehave, and they will respect you. If you don't they will be
trouble-makers and cause you much grief. They will have a higher tendancy to do things
they shouldn't when they get older, and then it will be too late to discipline them.
