Remember the responsibility when you stand in front of the people to address them. It is not a place to validate ourselves or work out our issues. It is a place for feeding the sheep and loving God’s people.

The Bible teaches a faith that moves. The Book of James says to be doers of the word and not hearers only. The phrase “to deceive yourselves” is to reason falsely and convince yourself that something is true when it is not. You can convince yourself that you are walking by faith when you are not. Faith that never moves is not Biblical faith. Faith is not accidental, passive, but requires faith. Work proves that faith is alive.

Romans 10.17. Faith begins when we hear the word of God. This is a starting point. When you do not act, you deceive yourself. You can hear the Scriptures and remain stuck. The Word of God is a mirror. It reveals errors to be corrected and reveals the need for repentance. The word is not what fails us; it is the person’s failure to respond. We often reduced it to an agreement. Faith aligns our behavior with belief.

Hebrews 11. We cannot please God without faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. We must continue to do the work, even when we do not see results.

Faith is not skipping hard things and moving in another direction. James 1.4 says to let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed, lacking in nothing. Faith does not skip hard things. Sometimes faith is studying the details. Faith is consistency. Faith is delayed gratification. Faith is not buying junk food and then believing God will help you lose weight.

Align habits with prayer. We have to do the work. Faith is not a sign to quit. Failure does not always mean stop. Failure means to adjust. Faith is pushing forward, especially when no one believes what you are doing. We have to by faith and not by man’s commentary. The blessing is in the doing.

A good book to read:

Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success

Book by Napoleon Hill

You have the word that tells you to stick with it. You have the word to get up again.