...actions speak louder than words...

“14 I am not writing this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16 I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me. 17 For this reason I sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18 But some of you, thinking that I am not coming to you, have become arrogant. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power. 21 What would you prefer? Am I to come to you with a stick, or with love in a spirit of gentleness” 1 Corinthians 4:14-21?

Yesterday the Apostle Paul pushed us to be honest about ourselves. Today, Paul asks, “What will I find when I visit you?…Will I find out you talking like arrogant people? Or will I find your power” (verse 19)?  “For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power” (verse 20).

Now Paul says this because he knows he was hard on us yesterday, so today he returns to us “hoping to find us demonstrating and sharing the power of God, instead of talking sweet talk with our friends!” In other words, Paul wants to see how we are ACTING, not what we are SAYING! Talk is cheap; actions speak louder and truer than words!

So today, dear friends, continue to look in the mirror. Pray that we all live the Gospel, instead of living our culture and just talking about Christian living.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living god, have mercy on me a sinner.

Today’s Prayer

Oh Lord, I want to please You by the choices I make,

not by the words I speak.

I want to make promises to you, not in what I say,

but in the choices I make and by what I do!

Lord, may the way I live bring joy to You,

not the words i speak or the promises In make.

Fill me with Your grace to make good choices,

not to speak eloquently.

In Your name I pray, Amen.