Truth Speaking

James 2:²¹ …Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions…²² You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete…²⁴ So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. [emphasis added].

God is clear in His Word about faith and actions. Unfortunately, there is this crop of Christians claiming that all you need is faith. They say that once you believe in Jesus, you can do anything you want to do. There is nothing you can do to make God love you less. While that is true, that is only one side of the equation – incomplete. A lot of married people are engaging in extra marital affairs and claiming a new dispensation of grace. I call that reading the Bible upside down.

Question 5: Am I being true to myself? One of the statements that pivotally changed my life is “unto yourself be true”. If you will deceive everybody [you really should not], please tell yourself the truth. When you are alone with yourself, tell yourself the truth. You owe it to yourself and to your children, even those yet unborn, to tell yourself the truth. After a game, it is typical for everyone to sit around and talk. The conversation can span from the game to anything really. It was during one of such conversations that the men were telling me that when they are chasing huge contracts, they stay away from extra marital affairs. And they said that God always comes through. I said to them that by God’s grace, I am a man of one wife; this truth created an awkward silence. I said the reason God always comes through is because He is showing them how they should be living. Imagine the traction such men would get if they live everyday the way God wants.

Why are you doing what you are doing? Why are you in that relationship? Why do you want to marry that person? Why are you not tithing? Tell yourself the truth and stop blaming pastors past or present. When you stand before Jesus, do you really think what your pastor did or did not do, will be reason enough? Why have you not surrendered your life to Jesus? Are you really born again? Why are you not treating your spouse well? Be truthful to yourself. We need to wrestle with these questions in order to move forward. Who do you need to forgive? Is there someone you need to love from a distance? What story are you telling with your life? Are you taking action? Are you being true to yourself?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I ask for the grace to be right with You by my faith and actions. Let my mouth only speak truth to myself and everyone around me, in Jesus Name. Amen!