Hold Fast

As I was thinking about what I might share to encourage everyone who reads this post today, two words came to mind: hold fast. These words come from one of my favorite passages of scripture, Hebrews Chapter 10; to be more specific, in this case, verse 23 which reads: Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. As I considered this word usage, I thought about the fact that our language has changed since the translation of the Bible so I said to myself, 'I wonder if there's another phrase that would state the point more clearly.' As I spent some time on the vast sea of information that Google provides us, I began to realize that this was absolutely the best phrase that could be used. The direct definition of hold fast is, 'to stick to firmly.' That says exactly what is needed regarding the way that we are to hold firmly the confession of faith and commitment that we have to our Lord and His word.

Looking for further solidification on this subject, I continued down the road of research and found out that there is a tool that is sometimes used in carpentry called a hold fast (in the picture above). This tool is used to fix a piece of wood on top of a workbench while it is being worked on. WOW!! The reality that these words describe the tool that keeps an item being crafted in place, while the master carpenter works was such a beautiful prophetic picture of our being fixed on Father God's workbench, so to speak. All the while, through holding fast, we are firmly held in place as He completes the necessary work in our lives - remember, He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). As this truth came to light I was reminded of the cry of the psalmist in Psalm 138:8 - The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands. The Psalmist reminds us here as he cries out to the Lord, that the Father will perfect the work of His hands and not forsake us. Our responsibility is to hold fast our confession and commitment to Him WITHOUT WAVERING. Just like the work of a hold fast, our holding firmly to our commitment to Him will keep us securely in place where He wants us. No matter what struggles or temptations you may face, there is a hope which remains sure in our Father. 'He who promised is faithful' and never wavers. So my encouragement today is to stay on 'the workbench' and hold fast.

No Higher Calling

In this post I want to encourage anyone who leads worship in any way, to maintain your focus and realize the significance of our ministry. Whether you sing, play an instrument, dance, or do all of the above, we must all realize the value of what we do in the body of Christ, not because we're great, but because He is great. Each time we gather for corporate worship, we literally help people prepare the way of the Lord and bring them into a deeper communion with Him. At the end of the day, the responsibility of true worship is on the individual, but we help establish that atmosphere through the posture of our hearts and the way that we lead those around us to do the same. Never take it lightly and realize the privilege that we have. There is truly great value in sitting at His feet (Luke 10:38-42).

I'd like to share with you the words of a powerful song from years ago written by Lenny Leblanc that says it all:

No Higher Calling

Down at Your feet Oh Lord

Is the most high place

In Your presence Lord

We (I) seek Your face

We (I) seek Your face

There is no higher calling

No greater honor

Than to bow and kneel before Your throne

I'm amazed at Your glory

Embraced by Your mercy

O Lord, I live to worship You

Remember the high call that it is to worship Him and lead others to do likewise. Real communion and fellowship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords can never be replaced by anything else. Truly, in the life of all believers, when it comes to worshipping our Father, there is no higher calling.

Think on These Things

Today as I was considering all of the things that we're facing as individuals, as families, as a church and as a nation, I was reminded of the words of Paul in Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things [are] noble, whatever things [are] just, whatever things [are] pure, whatever things [are] lovely, whatever things [are]

of good report, if [there is] any virtue and if [there is] anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.

There are so many things that we face each day that can cause us to lose our focus, steal our joy or just bring us to a place of disillusionment concerning our faith. Through this post, I want to encourage you all today with what I have freshly received from the Father in this area. He is always able, He is always faithful and He is above all things. So whenever the opportunity arises to be thankful or complain, choose thankfulness. When the opportunity arises to worry or be at peace, be at peace. When the opportunity arises to be critical, choose to build up and encourage in truth. When the opportunity arises to walk in fear, choose to walk in faith. Just as Paul encouraged the Philippians in verses 6 & 7 of the same chapter, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

When we choose to believe Him and meditate on the true, noble, just, pure, lovely, virtuous & praiseworthy things that are of a good report, we demonstrate our trust in Him and His ability and not our own. Negative thinking is done away with and faith arises. Things look much more like a bright hope and future and not like doom and gloom. We see with His eyes and not our own. So today, I exhort and encourage you to remember the things that He says are good and 'think on these things.'

History Makers

As we go about the day to day, I want to encourage you to realize the divine nature of our very existence. You might be going through it on the 9-5, facing some stressful situations, or even getting tired of what seems to be ‘the same old, same old.’ Regardless of where you are, realize that we are still ‘a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…’ Never forget that he called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light so that we could show forth His praises (1 Peter 2:9-10). Jake Hamilton from Jesus Culture said it well in his one of his songs: because of who we are, we will 'shape history.' Our responsiblity is to continue in His word and become who He’s called us to be through the work of Holy Spirit. Allow each day to be extraordinary simply because of who God has made you; you are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). With all of this considered, today and everyday, choose to be a history maker for the Kingdom of God.

Worship Unrestricted

Lately I've been considering the subject of worship a little more than normal; go figure right. What I've come to realize is that we often restrict our worship to music or even to just music on Sunday mornings/church gatherings. The reality is that Jesus called us to much more when he said that the true worshippers would worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). Truth encompasses all of who God is and who he's called us to be and the work of the Holy Spirit reaches every area of our lives as we submit to Him. This means that everything we do must be worship. Our very being cries out to worship in all that we do. That's why so many people pursue money, fame, sports, entertainment, relationships, etc. with such passion in an effort to fill the void of worshipping our Heavenly Father.

My encouragement to you today is to not let anything restrict the way that you honor the Lord, but to do whatever you do as unto Him (Colossians 3:23). So whether it's business, family, entertainment, exercise, teaching or music, let's offer everything we do and everything we are as a sacrifice of praise to our God as we make our worship unrestricted.

Do Your Part

'But God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.' (1 Cor.12:18) This scripture can sometimes be one that 'preaches easier than it lives' if you know what I mean. As people we have a tendency sometimes to desire what someone else has, even in a good way. We often look at someone else's gifts and desire that those were ours. Why can't I prophesy like him? Why can't I sing like that? I would love to dance like her. How come I don't have a healing ministry? Why can't I teach like that? The reality is that God through His great wisdom placed each of us right where we need to be in the body of Christ. Although some gifts are desireable to all of us, it's not promised that all of us would operate in them. Verses 27-31 of 1 Corinthians 12 explain this beautifully:

1Cr 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
1Cr 12:28
And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers,

after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
1Cr 12:29
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?
1Cr 12:30
Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
1Cr 12:31
But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.

Immediately after this, Paul goes into the famous 'love chapter' of the Bible (1 Cor. 13) where we are encouraged that above all things we should walk in love. This shows so clearly that Father God is concerned with us loving Him and loving others and that He would be the one to distribute gifts as He sees fit. Jesus even said that the two great commandments were loving God and loving your neighbor (Matt. 22:35-40). Consider this and never let yourself feel like you are less than someone else who seems more gifted; you are loved and complete in Christ (Col. 2:9-10). He has called you, He has established you, and He has placed you right where He wants you so long as you obey His word. Trust in Him to fulfill your purpose and release every gift and talent that He has ordained for you to walk in.

So the next time you're tempted to desire to be who someone else is, remember, He's simply called you to do your part.

Let the Word Dwell in You

In Colossians Chapter 3:16-17 we receive a great challenge from the Apostle Paul. As he gives some of the framework for how we should live as believers he inserts the 'meat and potatoes', so to speak, of how we live victoriously and advance God's Kingdom: 'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom ...' Simply stated yet profound in it's significance. We are called as believers not to simply know some of God's word here and there. Not to just know our favorite verse or 'bless me' scripture. Not to look to the word of God only when it's convenient. We are called to be so intimately tied to it that it dwells in us richly. One of the dictionary definitions of richly is 'in full measure.' What a beautiful way to describe our call to the word of God. It must be in us in full measure. Not in part, but in it's totality. Christ doesn't just come into our lives to hang out a little, but to abide in us always as we abide in Him. He doesn't come in part, He brings all of who He is and if we are to receive all of who He is, we must receive His word. When this happens there will be great wisdom, knowledge, understanding and whatever pertains to life and godliness flowing in and through us (2 Pet. 1:3). We will teach one another, encourage one another, worship the Father in unity and do all that we do in the name of Jesus so that God would be glorified (Col. 3:16-17).

So as time passes and distractions come. As you have good days and bad. As you press forward in what God has called you to do and to be, remember that we must allow the word of Christ to dwell in us richly.

Stir it Up

I wanted to take a little time to share a recap of what we talked about on Tuesday night's devotion regarding stirring up love and good works toward one another. Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us as members of God's family that we ought to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works and not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. In a day when so many people take their friends and family for granted, we as God's ambassadors should be doing the opposite. When the world often looks to relationships for what they can get, we should look for what we can give. When the world loves if it's convenient, we should love unconditionally. When the world says, "someone should serve me", we should say, "who can I serve." These are just a few examples of the way in which we as children of God, saved by grace, redeemed unto greatness and called according to His purpose should conduct ourselves. Not as the world, but as Christ. Let's look at our times together as times of serving and loving one another and not as another thing to check off of the busy list. Let's realize that God has set us in family and appreciate and cherish it.

So I encourage you today to stir up the gifts of love and service one to another and never take for granted when we come together. It is truly a great time where God orders His blessing (Psalm 133) as we walk in the unity of the faith.

Faith and Patience

This is a short message of encouragement to all of you in your walk with God to never lose heart and trust Him with every area of life. As we've just completed another powerful season of seed sowing in our house, I believe it's an appropriate time to encourage one another in the areas of faith and patience. Sometimes we can be so overwhelmed by the curve balls that life continually hurls at us and the unexpected turns that await us on our journey, but rest assured that no curve ball or turn ever catches God off guard. He is faithful and just to fulfill every promise in His timing. Our responsibility in every situation is to 'respond well' (to quote Pastor Francis Anfuso). As we await the fulfillment of every promise of our infallible, ever-faithful Father in Heaven, we must catch the revelation of walking in faith and patience. Faith because we believe that He who promised is faithful, and patience because the promise often takes longer than we would like for it to be manifested (Hebrews 6:11-15). What we need to realize is that God is not bound by our circumstances or our perceived limitations, He is well-able to do what He said He would. We simply need to walk in patience as we put our faith in Him, knowing that His word does not return void, but it will accomplish what He sent it to do (Isaiah 55:10-11).

As you look for harvest on your seed, trust God for the salvation of a lost loved one, believe for provision, stand for healing, or whatever it is, always know that He does not waver concerning His promises, and will always come through; He is trustworthy. With that settled in our minds, we can stand firm on His word as we continually walk in faith and patience.

Free to Worship

As we complete the week following Easter, it's always an interesting time. Most churches across the nation have experienced one of the most well-attended services of the year, arts ministries are taking a little break from putting on some of their most extensive performances of the year and people who wouldn't otherwise attend a church service are now wondering, 'Should I go back this week?' With all of these things to consider, I would like to propose to us that we don't get caught in the event mentality that so many others do. We have been set free by the Truth (John 8:31-32) and are not bound to seek Him at only a certain date and time, but as Hebrews 10 says, '... having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ... let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith...' (v.19 & 22 - read the whole chapter if you get a chance).

So in keeping with this, let's draw near everyday, every moment, at every gathering, at every opportunity with the full assurance that by the blood of the covenant, we are welcomed in as we submit ourselves to Him. He is worthy of everything we have, all praise and all honor. Never forget how great He is and how privileged we are to worship Him at all times and not just on a particular day of the year. We most certainly are, free to worship.

Groundskeeping

Everyone generally knows about the Parable of the Sower that Jesus told in Matthew 13 and Luke 8. In this story, Jesus tells us of someone sowing seed and this seed falling on four types of ground: ground that didn't receive seed at all, stony/hard ground, ground overgrown with weeds and thorns, and lastly, good ground. Each of these is representative of the ways in which people receive the "seed" of God's word, but there is a key element to this entire progression that needs to be considered: each type of ground is in the condition it is in due to the preparation, or a lack thereof. This leads us to take a deeper look at our duty in this process.

As we ponder this topic, it's quite easy to look at this parable from the perspective that says that the ground is just the way it is by default. This viewpoint springs up so naturally given the absence of personal responsibility which has become so characteristic of our society. The reality though is that the ground gets into the condition it is in due to a host of factors: attention, care, neglect, the elements, etc. What we must realize is that these factors translate into human terms as well because the ground which Jesus was really concerned with was that of the hearts of mankind. We too can become ground upon which seed will only fall by the wayside if we don't have a heart to receive it. If we have a heart which is hardened, rigid and stuck in our way of doing things or we simply choose not receive all of what God's word has to say, we will be just like the stony ground upon which seed springs up quickly, but abruptly dies out due to a lack of depth. When we allow the cares of life to come in, whether they seem good or bad to us, they will choke out the growth of God's "good seed" in our hearts. Finally though, the desire of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for us is that we are good ground which has been prepared to receive, so that when the seed is planted it bears a good harvest which remains.

The question today is, are you keeping the ground of your heart or are you allowing it to fall into disrepair? The parable of the sower undoubtedly gives us an illustration that shows the significance of the posture of our hearts as we receive the word of God. His word is always good seed, therefore the burden lies upon the one who is charged with keeping the ground to have it prepared and ready to receive the seed. With this in mind, make the choice to position yourself and deal with the issues of life in such a way that your heart is always ready to take in the good seed of God's word with a "noble and good heart" (Luke 8:15) and in turn bear fruit that remains. Keep the ground well so that the good fruit you bear will be evident and those around you will be pointed to Father God, the ultimate seed sower.

Presence before Production

Last weekend I had the opportunity to hear a very powerful message from a fellow worship leader and musician. Of the many profound statements he made, the one that stood out to me the most was that we must be presence-driven and not production-driven. The presence that he was referring to of course was the presence of God. Being a director of a worship and arts ministry, this particular statement resounded loudly in my heart and mind and caused me to take a deeper look at how we approach the place of corporate worship.

So many times in our results-driven, instant-gratification society, we want to see things happen. Not only that, but we want to see things happen right now. That mindset has caused us to often times judge the place of corporate worship from a wrong perspective. If the music is played perfectly, if the singers are right on, if the songs are good, if everyone is really energetic, THEN worship was good. Our thought many times is, 'Did everything go well?' and not, 'Were we in His presence?' This is not the attitude which should accompany worship offered to the Ruler of all Creation.

As we look into the word of God, a great example of the type of attitude we should have toward worship is found in Exodus 33. God called Moses to lead the children of Israel into the land He was giving them, but their prior disobedience in creating the golden calf upon which to focus their worship caused God to respond with the following in verse 3 "... for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people." They had desired to SEE something - a product/result - so they created an idol upon which to focus their worship. We too can make this mistake if we focus our worship on the 'products' of the day: good songs, flawless music, great crowd response, good lighting, etc. Instead, let us choose the heart Moses expressed in verse 15: , "If Your Presence does not go [with us], do not bring us up from here." In the midst of an intense discussion with the Lord, Moses' cry was not, "Will you do it Lord? Will You help us get there?" He was in total opposition to being production-oriented. His simple plea was that if the children of Israel would not be privileged to have the accompaniment of Father God's holy presence, then there was no purpose in even taking the journey. No sense in having what would seem to others to be wonderful benefits, without the giver of those benefits. No point in having a 'flawless' worship service, if the presence of the Lord is not there.

Upon repenting of our sin to follow the ways of Father God, our immediate response should be worship - which is truly summed up as a recognition of who He is, His authority and subsequently realizing that our obedience to Him is what's required. That is the place of truly abiding in His presence. The power of corporate worship is in a group of people recognizing the aforementioned points, declaring them, and most importantly living them. Our enjoyment or use of good music is only a part of this equation when we realize that in light of His holiness, we offer ALL that we are to honor Him (Romans 12:1). We must be focused on what it is to abide in His presence and not just have a good production - whatever that may entail.

Today and everyday, our desire must be to never get so overwhelmed with producing good results that we leave God's presence behind. Now certainly, we must prepare and be competent so that what we do is excellent and not a distraction to ourselves and others, but never to the point that our preparation and competence become our golden calf so to speak. We must be stripped of any desire to put anything above the Father so that He has the place He deserves in our lives: #1. In that place, our preparation and competence become acts of worship as we abide in His presence. Day by day, let us press on to embrace a life where His presence is far above anything else. Production is good in many areas, but let's never let it supersede the powerful principle of abiding in Him. Simply stated: let's always keep presence before production.

Sitting at His Feet

Although I'm on a brief blogging hiatus, I decided to share this devotion since we didn't get to it on Tuesday night:
After rehearsal this week I was immediately convicted about not sharing this devotion with you all. Interestingly enough, the very fact that I didn't make time to share this devotion was an example of exactly what this passage talks about. It's familiar to all of us, but I trust that you'll hear it with new ears today as you read:

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus'[fn11] feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell to help me." And Jesus[fn12] answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42 NKJV)

As you read through this passage I'm sure you are freshly convicted as I am to make the focus of our lives worship and not service. The encouragement I have for you today in addition to that is to not limit worship to sitting at His feet by way of what we consider contemporary worship - the singing of songs, playing of instruments, dancing, etc. Let us take our definition to that of an entire lifestyle surrendered to Christ and a firm adherence to His truth. Sitting at His feet is not only about adoring Him, but about hearing His words. Look at what the passage says of Mary: she "sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word." Jesus knew that if Mary would come and hear his words and truly receive them, that she would live and give everything in life to honor Him. He knew that her focus would not be on the works themselves, but that the works would come out of His word which was deposited in her spirit to produce good fruit. That should be our primary goal in sitting at His feet: hearing His word. Sharing our heart for him and acknowledging His greatness is necessary, but let us not stop at that. We must choose to continue to the place of hearing and receiving the words of life, because that's what will truly change us and cause us to do His will.

Remember that we can prepare all that we want to for 'good works', but without sitting at His feet to hear His word we may totally miss the mark. Even as the scripture says of Martha, "she was DISTRACTED with much serving." We can become oblivious to what God is saying through our own endeavors. He might be telling you to lay something down in order to pick something else up. He may be moving us in a new direction that will cause us to walk in a greater measure of faith. Whatever truth He speaks to us, the unwavering assurance we can have is that He will not only tell us what the truth is, but will also teach us how to walk in that truth. He is faithful to guide and direct our steps as we are promised in Psalm 37:23 & Proverbs 16:9. So today and everyday, especially as we prepare all of the many facets of our ministry, let's not forget what Jesus said, '...one thing is needed...' - to sit at His feet and hear His word.

Hiatus Time

I will be taking a brief hiatus from posting for just a couple of weeks. It's always good to step back, reflect and rest in Father God in order to not become mundane and full of empty religion in anything we do. With that said, look for some new posts in a few weeks.

Have a great day!

PS. This would be a great time to look through some of the older posts if you missed any of them. As the author I'm a little biased, but they are pretty encouraging :-).

Faith by Works

As I write to you today, my desire is to encourage us to strengthen our resolve to walk in God's word. As the church we've often regarded our role in God's Kingdom to simply keep a right heart with little regard to our actual fruit. The mantra of many of us in the church today is, 'we just need to have a right heart.' Although one of the reasons that Jesus came was to recapture the hearts of mankind, His imminent goal was to redeem us through our submission to His truth with a right heart, not one or the other. Although both of these are important in our lives, they should work in tandem and not with one above the other.

Whether you refer to having the right motives as purity of heart, having pure motives, good intentions or any other title of choice, to focus solely on having a right heart is to depart from obedience to God's word. This was of course what got us in this mess (the fall of man) to begin with; not obeying God's word. Now obviously I don't attempt to say that the condition of your heart is unimportant, but what I will say is that it is not the end. The coming of Christ to the Earth in order to redeem mankind was an ushering in of a renewed opportunity to commune with God by obeying his word through a heart that was turned to Him. To receive the lordship of Jesus Christ is to surrender to His authority. And who is Jesus? The word of God (John 1:14). By viewing our present situations in life through this lense opens up our responsibility in this wonderful process of the redemption of mankind. The truth (Jesus) came, and it was then/now that the ball was in the court of mankind to respond to that truth with worship/obedience (John 4:21-24). Our response to God's truth is what is paramount today. Your heart must be right in receiving that truth, but it's your response to it that will determine the results. It's the outworking of that heart that tell us whether we truly have faith in Him.

Imagine a man who spent his entire marriage refusing to disciple his wife and children in the word of God. Breaking promise after promise to his family. Living in such a way that he frivolously wasted any inheritance that could have been set aside for his family. And putting every other area of his life above his family. Now with all of that considered, imagine that he justified his life to his family, friends and God by saying: 'I wanted to do good' or 'I had good intentions' or 'Look at all of my other accomplishments.' Would we call this man faithful? Would this man have fulfilled his God-given responsibilities? Would we say he accomplished his God-given purpose? I don't even need to ask for your response because I can hear all of you yelling NO at your computer screens. The problem is, this is how we've often viewed our walk with Christ. We often fall short and do not fulfill what God has required of us as His children, and then our redeeming statement is that God knows our heart or that we had a heart to do right. I would say to this that I believe God is looking at us and saying: Yes I do know your heart which is why I sent the Way the Truth and the Life so you could walk in My heart for you. So you could not just have good intentions, but bear fruit worthy of repentance (John 14:6 & Matthew 3:1-12; Matthew 4:17 - NKJV).

As we have a fresh start on the calendar this year, let us choose each day to be diligent to show our faith by our works. A right heart is a start, but it is not what completes the race. Jesus declared to us that those who endure to the end would be saved, not those who have the purest of motives and intentions. He said to us that those who did the the will of His Father would enter the Kingdom of Heaven, not just those who had a desire and said: Lord, Lord, have we not done all of these things in your name? (Matthew 7:21-27) It's not just about a right heart or about good works, it's about the will of God. Let's take the challenge to be true to the word and the spirit and not ourselves (as the world would have us believe). Our allegiance is to the Father and His will and not the feelings that we have within our heart. Let's hear truth and respond to it and do whatver is necessary in order to apprehend and fulfill the plans of God for our lives. Let's begin with what He expects of all of us from His written word and then allow Him to paint the individual pictures for each of our lives in that context. Let your works speak of what is in your heart, confirming that you have responded appropriately to truth. The grace has been given to us by God to be saved, but then for us also to go forth and do good works. Ephesians 2:8-10 is a passage that highlights this beautifully:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of

God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared

beforehand that we should walk in them.

We have been saved by grace through faith and not of ourselves, it is God's gift. Thank God for His mercy, but we then must go on to verse 10 in which Paul tells us that we are the Father's workmanship. In that, we are created in Christ Jesus for good works that God HIMSELF prepared for us to walk in. This is great news as well as a great responsibility. Thankfully, Father God has poured out an ample supply of grace for us to complete every task which He has prepared for us to do. He has given us great and precious promises as we're reminded of in 2 Peter 1:2-10. Everything that pertains to life and godliness is ours by His divine power. Therefore, I encourage you today not to stop at having a right heart, but to go on to respond to the Father's truth in such a way that we show our faith by our works.