Deeds: May 31, 2012

TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY MAY 31, 2012.

DEEDS

DEFINITION:

A thing done; an act.

SCRIPTURE:

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Accepting Christ as our Savior will bring about a change in our behavior and in our attitude if we sincerely believe in Him. It is not enough to just say we believe. Our conduct should back up our words. As believers we become a new creation in Christ and it should be evident by our deeds.

The apostle Paul speaks about what the heart of the believer must be like. He begins in verses 15-16 of Colossians 3 by saying that the believer’s heart must be ruled by the peace of God and to be filled with the Words of Christ.

With this in mind Paul goes on in verse 17 to tell us that as believers we are Christ’s representatives and every aspect of our life reflects on the name of Christ. He is telling us that our words and deeds need to exemplify Christ at all times.

We as believers have a choice. We speak and act and no one speaks or acts for us. Whether we speak and act for Christ therefore is our choice. The command is made clear in the verse we have written above, and that is that we are to, in our words and deeds, do all in the name of Christ. The choice is ours.

Paul tells us that we are to act and speak in the name of Jesus. What does he mean? First of all, the name of Christ is the only name that God accepts in His presence. Therefore, we are to live with the sole purpose of bringing honor and glory to the name of Christ.

To be what Christ wants us to be we must put all of our trust in the name of Christ and our total dependence on Him. We need to claim the name of Christ in all that we say and do. This includes all of our deeds. We must remember that the non-believers are watching and that we must represent Christ in everything we say and do.

Simply said, we must do nothing as believers in Jesus to dishonor Christ. When we speak, Christ should fill our conversation. When we act Christ should be upheld and glorified by our behavior.    

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Ecclesiastics 10:10.

If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success.

PRAYER:

Give me wisdom to honor and bless Your name through my words and actions. Help me to be saturated by Your Word that I may always have a clear understanding of what is right and what is wrong.