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Monday
Read James 2:14-19; Luke 9:23-26
Faith in action involves giving up control of our lives and letting Jesus take full control. In Luke 9:23 we read, “Then He said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’” Giving control of our lives to Jesus would be like letting Him take over the steering wheel of our lives.
In the 1970s hitch-hiking was legal; today it is not. A person needing a ride would stand at the side of the road with his arm extended and his thumb pointing in the direction he wanted to go. This was done with the hope that some kind driver might stop and offer him a ride. This was called “thumbing a ride.” It was a common practice among college students, military personnel, and others who did not have a car.
Suppose you were driving down the street and you saw Jesus hitch-hiking at the side of the road. You jam on the brakes, throw open the passenger door, and shout to Jesus, “Come on, Jesus, get in; I’ll gladly give You a ride.” But Jesus just stands there and does not enter your car. You repeat, “Come on, Jesus, don’t You want a ride?” Still no response from Jesus. Puzzled, you ask, “Don’t You want to ride in my car?”
Jesus replies, “I don’t want to be a passenger; I want to be the driver.”
Jesus wants to take over the steering wheel of our lives and lead us into the ways He wants us to go. This is faith in action. He wants us to deny ourselves, not make our decisions on what we want, but on what He wants. He becomes the driver of our car.
“All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.
I surrender all, I surrender all.
All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” (Judson DeVenter)
This is true faith in action.
Reflective Questions
Are you willing to give God full control of your life? What might be preventing you?
Prayers
Neighborhood Homework House
Gratitude. NHH is grateful for a wonderful summer program for its students that included a reading program on-site, pool and waterslide days, pottery workshop, VBS, and a summer camp for its teens! Give thanks to God for His provisions.
Tuesday
Read Matthew 6:1-4
Faith in action involves not wanting any credit for our good deeds. Jesus says, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:3).
Here is an example of helping others without seeking recognition: Hody Childress, a farmer from the small town of Geraldine, Alabama, gave a hundred dollars to the local pharmacist each month. He instructed the pharmacist to use the money to help anyone who had difficulty paying for their prescriptions. The pharmacist was not to disclose the name of the donor; just tell them it was a gift from the Lord. The pharmacist agreed to the request.
This arrangement continued for about ten years until the farmer passed away. Then the pharmacist informed the farmer’s daughter of her father’s gifts. The pharmacist told the daughter about some of the situations where the funds were used: a mother who needed medication for a sick child, but had to wait several days until she received her paycheck; someone who asked for the cost of a prescription, but decided not to fill it; some elderly patients with cardiac issues who did not have insurance. (Hody Childress)
When we live out our faith by obeying the Lord’s promptings, we are to do so without any desire for recognition. We obey because we love the Lord, not because we want credit. Because God loved us so much that He was willing to give His only Son to die for us, His love for us moves us to love Him and others in return. Therefore, we gladly serve Him without any recognition for our efforts. We serve Him because we love Him so much.
Reflective Questions
Do you love the Lord enough that you are willing to gladly serve others without receiving any credit for your efforts? This is true faith in action.
Prayers
Neighborhood Homework House
Advocacy in changing times. Pray for NHH as it continues to work with long-time partners to advocate for immigrant families despite changing Federal policy. NHH is committed to being allies and welcoming agents to new members of the Azusa community.
Wednesday
Read Acts 16:16-34
Putting faith into action might result in pain in your life. Paul and Silas were obeying the Lord by going to Philippi to preach the Gospel. In the process they were arrested, stripped, beaten, severely flogged, and thrown into prison. While in prison, they prayed and sang hymns. Suddenly a violent earthquake shook the prison severely and caused all the prison doors to open, and everybody’s chains came loose. When the jailor saw all the prison doors open, he drew his sword to kill himself. Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here” (Acts 16:28).
The jailor fell on his knees before Paul and Silas and said, “‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” The jailor and his household believed and were baptized (vv. 30-34).
Paul and Silas obeyed the Lord by going to Philippi. Their obedience resulted in great pain for themselves, but it also brought great blessing for the jailor’s family. Sometimes God allows pain to come into our lives in order to bring blessings.
An example of pain becoming a blessing is Bernie Marcus, Atlanta, Georgia, who was fired from his job in 1978. His response: “What was I going to do? How would I ever find another job? Who would want me? How would I cover my bills? I had two kids in college, one in high school and a big mortgage to pay. I couldn’t afford to get fired. I had worked hard. Why did this happen to me?”
He knew his mother would have said to him, “It was meant to be. It was God’s plan. Something good would come of this. Even this.”
In time, he was able to pursue his dream, a huge store, a combination hardware store/paint store/lumberyard, where everything was under one roof. With other partners, Home Depot was born. God brought blessings out of the pain of being fired. (Bernie Marcus)
Reflective Questions
Putting faith into action might result in pain. Are you willing to fully follow the Lord even if it might cause you pain?
Prayers
Neighborhood Homework House
NHH Relocation. NHH is working to be out of its current site by September 1, 2025. Pray that there are no disruptions to NHH services for its students this fall. NHH needs the support of many to make this happen. Pray for the time, treasure, and talents of many volunteers.
Thursday
Read Hebrews 12:1-3
Putting faith into action requires perseverance. “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, … Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1-3). In spite of the opposition we might face, let us persevere in our obedience. Perseverance is essential to living out our faith.
A pastor in Bangladesh, Brother Davd, learned this lesson in perseverance. He regularly visited a Mro tribal village to share the Gospel. After not seeing any results over a period of time, he was ready to give up. Then he was able to attend a training program where he learned tools for sharing the Gospel.
After completing the training program, he returned to the Mro village and lived in it. After a year of ministering to the Mro people, thirty-three people were saved. On their baptism day, they brought all their Buddha statues and other pagan images and paraphernalia, piled them up and destroyed them. They also destroyed the places where they used to offer animal sacrifices.
Today, 75% of the village people are Christians with 130 church members. They have a new church building in the village. Brother David has trained local Christians to lead the church and has moved on to plant other churches. After his early discouragement, he learned well the benefits of perseverance. (Ethnos Asia Ministries)
Putting faith into action may not produce desirable results but only discouragement. However, one must persevere in obedience to the Lord.
Reflective Questions
When you are trying to put your faith into action but see no results, what should you do? What might keep you from persevering? What can you do to strengthen your perseverance?
Prayers
Neighborhood Homework House
Overall Financial Health. For the first time in ten years, NHH closed the Fiscal Year 2024-25 with a deficit (aka in the red). Many other local non-profits are experiencing similar trends. Pray that NHH has resources to ensure that Fiscal Year 2025-26 is not a financial loss.
Friday
Read Acts 16:6-10
Paul wanted to go to the provinces of Asia and Bithynia to preach. The Holy Spirit stopped him and his companions. Then Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia begging them to come to Macedonia and help them. From this vision, Paul concluded that God had called them to go there. They had no idea what awaited them.
They did not know that an abundant spiritual harvest awaited them in Macedonia. Lydia’s and the Philippian jailor’s families and the Bereans were there and eager to believe. Paul obeyed by going there and assumed that God would give further directions after they arrived.
Faith in action involves obeying God when He gives only preliminary instructions. When we obey Him in the first steps, in time, He reveals more.
An example of following simple instructions is Samuel Mattson of Cheshire, Connecticut, age 19. He arrived in New York City from Sweden not knowing a word of English. A woman in Sweden told him of a cousin in New York who might be of help to him. She gave him a note that said, “Lars Olsen—Steinway Piano.”
In New York on a sweltering day, Samuel wandered the city for hours looking for the Steinway factory. He was so tired. He saw a parked car and sat in the front seat. In Sweden anyone could rest in someone else’s vehicle. He had hoped that the same was true in the U.S.
Samuel fell asleep. He was awakened by someone yelling at him in English. Samuel answered instinctively in Swedish that he was sorry. Amazingly, the stranger responded in Swedish, “What are you doing in my car?” Samuel explained and showed him the piece of paper.
The man smiled; he was Lars Olsen. The car was parked near the Steinway factory. Lars took him to the employment office, and Samuel was hired as a painter. (Samuel Mattson)
Samuel followed simple instructions which turned out to be a blessing. Faith in action involves obeying God when He gives only the first steps; in time we will understand more.
Reflective Questions
We need to obey even when the way is not spelled out. Are you willing?
Prayers
Neighborhood Homework House
NHH Scholarship Program. In the coming days, the NHH Scholarship Committee will work to determine how to distribute scholarship awards to its alumni students who have applied for them. Pray for wisdom and discernment as those decisions are made.
Sources
- Judson W. Van DeVenter, “I Surrender All,” hymn written in 1896.
- Hody Childress, “Alabama Family Learns Veteran Dad Secretly Paid Neighbors’ Pharmacy Bills for a Decade: ‘Wanted No Credit,’” Fox News: Lifestyle, January 30, 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/alabama-family-learns-veteran-dad-secretly-paid-neighbors-pharmacy-bills-decade-no-credit.
- Bernie Marcus, “How This Out-of-Work Dreamer’s Idea Became a Household Name,” Guideposts, January 2003, p. 29-31).
- Ethnos Asia Ministries, Prayer Focus, October 2023.
- Samuel Mattson, “Fresh Off the Boat,” Morning Story and Dilbert, His Mysterious Ways, August 27, 2012.
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