We believe that God heals and provides for many with whom we come in contact. While faith is what we hope for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1), God is expecting us to exercise our faith through an action.
The Bible gives many instances where people exercised their faith through an action. We learned from the book of Ruth, chapter 1, that Naomi’s husband and her two sons had died. Naomi and her daughters-in-law left Bethlehem and settled in Moab because of the famine in Bethlehem. Naomi was returning to Bethlehem and discouraged her daughters-in-law from accompanying her, but Ruth was determined to go with Naomi not knowing how they would survive. By Faith, Ruth met Boaz, a wealthy landowner, a kinsman of Elimelech, Naomi’s late husband. The story continued with Boaz marrying Ruth and God providing for both Ruth and Naomi. Faith met with an action. Naomi and Ruth had faith to trust God and exercised their faith by returning to Bethlehem.
In the New Testament, we learned of a woman with a blood disorder who had gone to many doctors but did not receive healing. She decided to press forward in a crowd and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, because she believed if she did so, she would be healed, and she was. She exercised her faith with an action. What a chance this woman took. According to the law of Leviticus 15:25-27, the woman was ceremoniously unclean. She had been bleeding for twelve years and the laws prohibited her from being seen, much more pressing her way to reach Jesus.
During this pandemic, there are ways we can exercise our faith. We could help our neighbors, especially those who are in need, by picking up their groceries or medication, helping in the winter with snow plowing and any other need they may have. If someone is in need, having faith alone without works is dead. If your neighbor knocks on your door and asks for food, do you turn your neighbor away or will you give that person food? Faith without works is dead (James 2:17).
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