
And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. Acts 7:22
The Bible is a book mighty in both words and deeds. Moses was exemplary at both. If Christ has called His followers to anything, it is action.
We are to learn wisdom, knowledge and understanding, and within those three are actions. What is the point of learning if there are no works following? It is those actions that transform us into the followers Christ is seeking.
Like a light being turned brighter illuminating more of its surroundings, blessings flow outwardly as we enable our proper conversion. The changes and benefits to ourselves or others only come through our action.
Authors have written some marvellous books about taking action. For instance,
The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. From Good to Great by James Collins The Customer by Bob Ansett Never Give Up by Graeme Alford Killer Company: James Hardie Exposed by Matt Peacock.
Each book speaks of preparation and knowledge, followed by action—deeds. Even Killer Company speaks of evil thoughts put into action.
One thing we must learn as we grow in Christ is follow-through. That is, taking actions out of our head and turning them into something more useful. Part of Moses' teaching under Pharoah was about bringing things into being. Creating stuff. Egypt taught Moses to plan, assess risk, collect and quality-check materials, then build to completion. By the time he left Egypt at forty years old, he was a master at creation, just like his Heavenly Father.
Turning thoughts and dreams into action is also our job—performing deeds and carrying them through. Although, some of our ideas don't need action, just a bin to put them in.
What thoughts and dreams in your life are you not finishing? How many plans, lists, or ideas have been in your head but not brought into being? How many lists have you revised in an attempt to get them done this time?
When God made the world, there was an extra lesson for us about speaking things into being. That could be more Bible reading, more prayer, more helping others, or anything else you feel is urgent to do. Even a diet.
Taking a seed of thought and turning it into a useful tree takes preparation, planting, tending, watering, pruning and feeding, long before reaping take place.
I have learned by experience that the phrase, "Time waits for no man (person)" is only partly true. Maybe it should be rephrased, "Time waits for no procrastinator." Ouch!. That's got a bit more sting in its tail.
We don't need actions of the scale of Moses, leading a population half the size of Melbourne, Victoria, through a desert for forty years. But those small deeds we are to do are essential in the moulding of our overall character.
From the time of creation, one central theme throughout the Bible is that God always brings His Word is to completion. God does what He says He will do. Even Bible prophecies predicting events many years in advance are all brought to fruition exactly as told. Is that just because He is God, or is there a lesson in there for us? Do your promises get done?
I think the guy who couldn't even put his one talent to work was just lazy. (Matthew 25:14-30). He may have had many ideas swimming in his head, but in the end, he did nothing with them. Jesus was displeased that not one ounce of real work came from the small talent He gave him, especially knowing that God created the guy in His image, the image of the Creator, just as He did with the others who did invest.
God wants to see His people understand that being created in His image means we also become mighty in words and deeds.
Today's prayer: Dear Lord, I marvel at the abilities you have placed in me to get your works done. The entire process of taking a thought and turning it into an action fascinates me. Just thinking about how all your promises come true spurs me on to ensure mine also come to fruition.
Photo by Greenforce
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